Published: August 25, 2008 08:10 am      

Rice makes stop in Woodward

State Sen. Andrew Rice, the Oklahoma City native who recently defeated Jim Rogers to claim the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race against incumbent Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., stopped by Woodward Friday to attend a reception at the Woodward Chamber of Commerce on Oklahoma Avenue.

C.J. Montgomery, the chamber’s president, said Rice requested the use of the facility in order to better acquaint himself with Woodward and its residents.

“His folks had actually contacted some of our other chamber members and just wanted a facility to use for a meet-and-greet,” Montgomery said. “Obviously, the chamber is interested in assisting that type of event...we’ll certainly make facilities available to help better inform the electorate.”

Montgomery said all of the chamber’s membership was invited.

“We had sent an e-mail to all our chamber members, you know 340-plus chamber members received e-mails,” Montgomery said.

Rice told the dozen or so present that he was in Woodward to “find out what’s going on in this county--what you guys are looking for from the federal government.”

He spoke briefly about how and why he got into politics. Rice said after his brother David was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, he became more interested not just in political issues, but in having a direct hand in ensuring that things are done properly in government.

Rice was first elected to public office when he won Oklahoma’s 46th District Senate seat in 2006. He said he has now set his sights on Washington because so many of the issues that concern him are federal issues.

Rice said he decided to challenge Inhofe because “he seems more interested now in party politics” than in solving problems. “People need a choice this year,” Rice said. “Someone...outside of Washington.”

Rice moved on to address what he sees as critical issues facing the nation which the next president and the next Congress will have to address.

First among those issues, Rice said, is the problem of energy.

“Costs are going up all across the board because of the energy crisis we have,” Rice said. “There’s no really overnight solution.”

“The key is to get us on our own energy sources here,” Rice offered. He said he supports a multi-faceted approach to relieve America’s dependence on foreign oil.

“I am open to off-shore drilling in some areas under some circumstances,” Rice said, “as long as it is part of a bigger plan.”

That bigger plan, Rice said, should include a transition toward more widespread use of non-petroleum based fuels, such as wind energy, biodiesel and natural gas, a move which he said would stimulate economic growth in Oklahoma.

“Oklahoma’s going to really, really benefit tremendously by expanding our energy capacity,” Rice said.’

He also said the next Congress will have to address the issue of healthcare. Rice said treatment of the uninsured, who often do not seek preventive care and end up with much higher medical bills when health problems become more advanced, is costing the taxpayer around $45 billion annually.

“$45 billion is a lot of money,” Rice said. “We’ve got to find a way to treat people on the front end.”

Rice said his healthcare plan is more similar to that of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., than to that of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

“Mine is a public-private partnership,” Rice said. “His goes more of a single-payer direction.”

“Individuals would pay a small percentage based on their income,” Rice said. Employers would pay a larger share, followed by state governments. Under Rice’s plan, the federal government would pay the highest percentage of an individual’s healthcare costs, which Rice said would lower the cost of healthcare for everyone by removing the need for doctors and hospitals to raise prices to make up for revenue lost treating the uninsured.

“The key is the costs are going to come down dramatically,” he said. “The major driver of costs right now is the uninsured driving up the cost.”

Rice answered questions from the media before leaving the event. He had similar events scheduled for later Friday in Guymon and Boise City.

Montgomery said no other candidates are currently scheduled to visit the chamber, but “we would certainly help promote that and make our facilities available...we’d certainly welcome that, obviously.”