Oregon Rep. Andrea Salinas discusses state’s mental health crisis and immigration debate

Ken Boddie and Jenna Deml

3 minutes ago

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Andrea Salinas is nearing the end of her first term in Congress. The Lake Oswego Democrat is running to retain her seat in Oregon’s 6th Congressional District, a new district created in 2022 due to changes in Oregon’s population.

It covers all of Polk and Yamhill counties, as well as parts of Clackamas, Washington and Marion counties, including Salem and Oregon’s wine country.

Before being elected to Congress, Salinas served in the Oregon Legislature and was a lobbyist and congressional aide.

Rep. Salinas returned to Eye on Northwest Politics, where he reminisced about the former Senate President Peter Courtney, who passed away this week.

“He was someone who understood the institution and what it meant to be bipartisan, to bridge the gap, to bring different perspectives to policy,” she said. “And he understood the importance of all of those relationships across the state. He will be missed. I know I will miss him.”

As a mental health advocate and member of the mental health caucus, Salinas noted that they started “Mental Health Monday” to raise awareness. She further stated that the caucus has worked across the aisle to ensure that bills are filed where people in different parts of the country are dealing with mental health issues — including Oregon.

“Oregon has some of the highest rates of mental health, substance abuse, behavioral health, but also some of the lowest rates in terms of access to the care that they need,” Salinas said. “So I’ve been working with a number of folks on the Republican side to figure out how do we provide telehealth mental health services nationwide? How do we make sure that peer support specialists are part of the equation?”

Republicans have made border security a top priority this cycle. Salinas, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, said we need to give immigrants “certainty” and pay more attention to the “humanitarian crisis” at the border.

“I went there in May of 2023 and saw what was happening and Border Patrol told me that first of all, they need more agents. They also need more technology,” she recalled. “My Republican colleagues are not willing to invest the dollars that are needed to fund that kind of work. We also need, on immigration, more asylum attorneys and more judicial services to make sure that those who are seeking refuge from some of the harm and dangers of different countries can be processed.”

Salinas also noted that abortion rights, in vitro fertilization, and reproductive health care in general are already under national review this cycle. This is particularly evident in the outline of Project 2025, an initiative aimed at promoting conservative and right-wing policy proposals.

“It’s an extreme agenda that’s coming from former Trump officials, some of whom I expect could be in the administration if Trump gets into office, who essentially have a radical vision of what government should look like,” she said. “(My district wants) someone who can work across the divide, make sure that we’re listening to all sides and make reasonable decisions on these issues. There’s none of that that’s reasonable in Project 2025. And I know that my opponent, Mike Erickson, hasn’t come out and basically said, ‘This is a bad agenda.'”

On the question of whether President Biden should withdraw from the race in favor of another Democratic candidate, Salinas noted that he has to consider all the variables and make that decision on behalf of the American people. However, her priorities are moving Oregon forward.

“We have so many needs, whether it’s housing, healthcare, gas, groceries. That’s what I hear from my parents,” she emphasized. “My parents don’t really come to me and talk to me about the discussions that are going on in the Democratic Party. They want Andrea Salinas, their representative, to move forward and help them move forward. And that’s what I’m completely focused on.”

Watch the full interview in the video above.