U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (The Enterprise/file)
ONTARIO – U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, the Republican from Ontario, is scheduled to speak on Monday, March 14, at the luncheon of the Ontario Area Chamber of Commerce.
The free event is at noon at the Four Rivers Cultural Center. Lunch had to be pre-ordered but a few may be available at the door. The speech is open to all, and not limited to members of the Ontario chamber.
Bentz, a lawyer and rancher from Malheur County, is in his first term in the U.S. House, succeeding Greg Walden. He has been focused on natural resource issues in Congress.
He also has spoken up about the war in Ukraine.
“The invasion of Ukraine is a war of inexcusable aggression initiated by a dictator with no internal limits on his power,” Bentz said in a statement issued March 1. “Vladimir Putin will kill thousands, destroy the lives of millions, and produce ruinous economic consequences for Russia and Ukraine. His obvious intent is to crush Ukrainian freedom and expand his Stalinist rule by fear and raw military power.”
But Bentz blamed the Biden administration for the war, started when Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
“We must recognize that after the Afghanistan debacle the world perceives the Biden Administration as weak,” Bentz said. “As a result, bad things like the invasion of Ukraine happen.”
For more information about Monday’s event, contact the chamber at 541-889-8012.