Oregon senators advocate for emergency funding for state, local and tribal governments

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dozens of senators including Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have joined forces this month to advocate for state, local and tribal government to receive dedicated, flexible funding in the next COVID-19 emergency funding package.

Recently, Merkley and Wyden along with 31 of their colleagues wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

According to a press release from Merkley’s office, the letter comes amid uncertainty among tribal, state and local government officials in Oregon and across America regarding their financial stability as they work to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“On behalf of our state, local, and tribal governments, it is essential that you include robust, dedicated, and flexible funding to all units of state and local government in the next interim emergency coronavirus package to support their ongoing efforts in the fight against this pandemic,” the senators wrote in a letter to McConnell and Mnuchin. “Not only are these public servants on the front line of the immediate response effort, they are also major employers navigating unprecedented declines in revenue just as the need for their services hits an all-time high. We can and we must work together to get this essential funding to our local partners as quickly as possible.

“We stand with our country’s governors, mayors, county officials, and tribal leaders in asking you to put politics aside and support our local partners. They cannot afford to wait any longer,” the senators continued.

Merkley and Wyden were joined in the letter by U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Doug Jones (D-AL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Edward Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The letter is available here and follows below.