COOS BAY - During his break from Congress, Rep. Peter DeFazio made a stop in Coos Bay, Thursday, to address concerns and discuss current issues at one in a series of 16 town hall meetings.

Perched on a table in the Coos Bay City Hall council chambers, in front of a full house of constituents, the Oregon Democrat shared Congress' progress on a number of hot topics over the past seven months. He said much of the headway on these federal issues is in part connected to the Democrats taking control of Congress eight months ago.

These included reduced interest rates on college loans, the one-year extension on county payments, a health care expansion for low- and moderate-income children, re-established fiscal discipline, an ethics/lobbying reform, a new energy policy that was passed in the house, increased federal minimum wages for the first time in 12 years, and fixes to Medicare such as increased physician reimbursement, improved preventative care and the reimportation of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs. He also discussed a timeline for the war in Iraq.

He said the fiscal discipline policy, or “Pay as you go” means the government will have to find ways to pay for its projects, even if that means making cuts.

“You can't just keep borrowing forever,” DeFazio said, adding that the national deficit has increased immensely in the past six years. “That's a bill that will be paid by our kids and grandkids.”

Regarding the College Cost Reduction Act, DeFazio said there is a plan to reduce interest rates for student loans, capping the amount of money a bank can charge students and their families.

After the short update, the congressman fielded questions from the public that ranged from impeaching President Bush, increasing employment and immigration issues to the brown water that pours from people's taps. In addition to community members, the meeting also was attended by Dan Smith, the CEO of Bay Area Hospital; Jeffrey Bishop, the executive director of the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay; North Bend City Administrator Jan Willis; North Bend Mayor Rick Wetherell; Bob More, the director of housing and emergency services with the Oregon Coast Community Action; and Sen. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay.

Congress can't impeach the president without a provable crime, DeFazio said, or over the war in Iraq, because Congress authorized the conflict. No articles of impeachment have been filed against Bush, he said adding it would be better to “apply ourselves to undo the damage caused by George Bush,” rather than to struggle to impeach him.

DeFazio also did admit that he believes U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should be impeached.

Many people in the crowd applauded these words.

A resolution introduced by Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., directed the House Judiciary Committee to investigate whether Gonzales should be impeached after the furor over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys and secret wiretapping.

When one man asked about the war in Iraq, DeFazio said Congress has worked toward developing a timeline on the conflict. He said he believes the military has done what it can and it is time to pull out of the Middle East. Although legislation was passed that would begin to draw the war to a close, President Bush vetoed it. Congress required a two-thirds vote to overturn the veto, but not nearly enough congressmen in the House and Senate saw eye-to-eye on the issue.

“Every Democrat could vote for that and that doesn't bring us anywhere near two-thirds,” DeFazio said.

Coos Bay resident Carl Siminow asked the congressman about cultivating jobs in the area. He later said he brought up the issue “because I see we don't make anything anymore.”

DeFazio said overseas trade has become a problem, especially with countries such as China, which recently threatened to “destroy” the American dollar. He said he has voted against free trade bills and believes more jobs will be created if production remains in the states.

“We are borrowing ... to buy stuff we used to make in America,” DeFazio said, adding that the middle class is declining and the country will be in a bad situation if imports become more expensive or if the value of dollar plummets. “I think we are in very serious jeopardy. We need a strategic plan to ... keep industry here at home.”

After DeFazio's reply, Siminow said he appreciated his comments.

“I thought it was fine. He's battling the system and hopefully (if we) get a democratic president things will change for the better,” Siminow said. “I'm happy Peter DeFazio is representing us.”

DeFazio also responded to comments from audience members about issues that he said should be dealt with locally. Holding up a plastic bottle filled with brown water, audience member Becky Music of Coos Bay complained about the condition of drinking water in the area, saying she doesn't want to drink it, bathe in it or even give it to a pet.

DeFazio said she should consult local providers - the North Bend -Coos Bay Water Board - and state agencies like the Department of Environmental Equality for help.

“It doesn't look good to me. I wouldn't (drink it),” DeFazio said.

DeFazio held two other meetings in Bandon. These will be followed by two today in Brookings and one in Gold Beach.