U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas is nearing the end of her first year in Congress representing Oregon's 6th Congressional District, and she called in to this week's episode of Straight Talk from Washington DC to talk about the ups and downs of her first term so far. 

Salinas won the first election for the newly-created district in November 2022 after previously serving three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives. 

She weighed in on two topics that have been dominating headlines in recent weeks: The ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and congressional Republicans' struggle to elect a successor, as well as Hamas's attacks on Israel and subsequent conflict in the Gaza Strip. But she also discussed a range of federal legislation that she's worked on this year that could have and the potential environmental, economic and health care impacts for Oregonians.