Newhouse, Didier Spar in Ephrata

EPHRATA — One of the few things the two candidates vying for Washington’s 4th Congressional district seat could agree upon Wednesday evening was that immigration is “the biggest problem” the United States faces.

Though incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse and his Republican challenger Clint Didier could only kind-of agree on how to deal with the problem.

“We seal and secure our borders, put the military on the borders, we stop all drug trafficking and human trafficking, and then we deal with the people here illegally,” Didier told a crowd at a candidate forum sponsored by the American Legion.

“There are 11 million people here illegally, and we need to provide a path for legal status,” Newhouse said, without providing any details.

The candidates spoke briefly at the forum and then answered questions from the audience.

Didier, a regular candidate for public office in Washington, said Newhouse was insufficiently conservative, and during his two years in Congress, had voted for a Republican leadership that “was undermining America” through its support of international trade agreements and had taken significant campaign contributions from outside Washington.

“Who is Dan beholden to?” Didier asked.

Filings with the Federal Election Commission show that as of Sept. 30, Newhouse received over the last two years significant contributions from across the country, including from consultants and lobbyists in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. Most of his contributors, however, live and work in Washington state.

During this election cycle, Didier only received one contribution from outside Washington — $5,000 from Sarah Palin’s political action committee in Florida.

Newhouse defended his voting record, saying he was “proud of the work” he has done on behalf of veterans, getting farmers access to water, and holding the U.S. Forest Service accountable to prevent the kinds of wildfires the swept across large portion of the state last year.

He specifically emphasized legislation that mandated veterans receive care any time they walk into a Veterans Administration medical facility as well as the VA Choice program, which allows veterans to see any doctor if they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility.

“Every time I take a vote, I do it deliberately, thoughtfully, I take my time and consider what is best for the 4th District, for Washington, and for the United States of America,” Newhouse said.

Newhouse defended his recent vote against a continuing resolution to fund the federal government because continuing resolutions take power away from Congress.

“We had a whole month to our work in a responsible way,” he said.

Didier said he would refuse to vote for any continuing resolutions or omnibus spending bills and simply shut down the government.

“When will we put a limit on the spending of this government?” He asked.

The two candidates, however, did agree that privatizing the Veterans Administration health care system and turning it into a non-profit corporation is a very bad idea.

“If we do that, our veterans will be forgotten and left out,” Newhouse said.

“If the vets are against it, I’m against it,” Didier said. Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com