Gutierrez touts McCain to Oregon business leaders

HILLSBORO — U.S Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez touted presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s proposed domestic policies to a standing-room-only crowd of Oregon business owners and leaders in a town-hall meeting Friday morning.

It was the first stop for Gutierrez, who is taking a three-day, four-state swing through western states, meeting with residents and answering their questions about Sen. McCain’s (R-Ariz.) policies. Oregon was his first stop; from there he plans to speak in California, Nevada and New Mexico.

There were a range of issues on the minds of the 50 Oregonians there, including the estate tax, immigration, and education. Gutierrez addressed their concerns and said McCain would be able to address all of these problems once he was elected to the Oval Office.

The estate tax was a big concern for the small business owners that showed up to the event. Currently, many present said they face uncertainty about passing their businesses on if their heirs have to pay a high tax to receive it. Gutierrez said  McCain would eliminate the estate tax permanently.

“Otherwise, you get taxed all your life, and then you get taxed one more time before you go,” Gutierrez said.

Immigration was on the mind of others, such as Lisa Miller, who showed up to the event before work. Miller came to the U.S from Nicaragua and was an illegal immigrant for 13 years before finally gaining citizenship.

“Being an illegal immigrant is seen as a crime, and that bothers me,” she said.

Gutierrez, who emigrated to the U.S from Cuba, assured her that McCain, who had been a proponent of the comprehensive immigration reform that failed in 2007, would be the one candidate able to permanently solve the immigration controversy.

“Unless we have comprehensive immigration reform, we can’t grow economically,” Gutierrez said. “Now we know how to deal with immigration. We are a country of immigrants. We can do this right. Sen. McCain has taken huge risks on this issue, and I believe he has the bipartisan ability, the courage, and the conviction to get it solved.”

Gutierrez spoke often of McCain’s honor and integrity. Before leaving, he assured the crowd that McCain, whom he believed to be the most upstanding member of Congress, would get rid of the corruption that has been on Capitol Hill.

“Sen. McCain has been in Congress for 26 years and has never sponsored a pork barrel project for his state,” Gutierrez said. “I don’t know of anyone else you can say that about.”