Sen. Ron Wyden spoke to a sparse crowd of 35 people during Mother’s Day on Sunday afternoon at Hawks Ridge Assisted Living Center in Hood River.

Although small in number, the crowd had plenty of questions for the congressman. Wyden stopped in town as part of a four-stop series of town hall meetings during the weekend.

Hood River County Chairman Ron Rivers asked Wyden what was the status on the county payments issue. He was referring to money the county used to receive from the federal government under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.

Wyden responded that while the Senate had passed his proposal of renewing the payments for five years and the House had passed a one-year plan, those proposals stopped upon reaching the White House.

“But the president has vetoed everything so far. Now another effort is being made,” Wyden said. He said the importance of the county payments bills literally relates to the survival of rural communities throughout Oregon.

Several community members asked questions about immigration reform. Some felt there needed to be a different system to protect guest workers; others spoke against the money being spent on educating the children of illegal immigrants. Wyden responded that the Senate will take up the issue on Wednesday.

“The immigration system is flawed; it doesn’t work for anybody,” he said. “The question becomes ‘What is the way to fix it?’”

Wyden listed three items as essential to any reform plan. Those included controlling the nation’s borders, enforcing the law and considering the economic implications of immigration reform.