Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today announced that he has used his seat on the prestigious Senate Appropriations Committee to secure investments that will help create jobs, support affordable housing, and improve infrastructure in communities across Oregon in the committee’s spending bills. These bills are the basis for negotiations with the House, as Congress works to fund the government for fiscal year 2021.
“Every year I do a town hall in every county of Oregon so I can hear firsthand what all of our communities need to thrive, and then I bring that input to Congress to push investments and strategies that can make a real difference in people’s lives,” dijo Merkley. “These bills include key investments to create jobs in the woods and reduce wildfire risk. They support stakeholders working on collaborative water solutions so family farms have the irrigation water they need to make it to the next generation. They will create new housing where it’s desperately needed, help modernize infrastructure without burdening ratepayers, support port dredging on the coast, and keep small airports open for business. Government is supposed to be how all of us—We the People—come together to solve problems and build a better future, and I’m trying to make sure Oregonians’ voices and priorities are reflected in our investment decisions.”
Merkley es el único miembro del Congreso de Oregón de cualquier cámara desde el Senador Mark Hatfield que forma parte del Comité de Apropiaciones, considerado uno de los más poderosos del Capitolio. Se unió al comité en 2013 para que Oregón tuviera una voz fuerte en las decisiones sobre las inversiones que nuestra nación debería hacer.
The U.S. Department of Interior Appropriations bill includes funding to support wildfire management, following another year of unprecedented blazes, as well as providing funding to support efforts to address the water crisis in the Klamath Basin:
- Restauración y colaboración de la salud forestal: The bill provides $40 million for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP). With the addition of the new CFLRP project in October, Oregon has three active CFLR projects: Northern Blues Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, Southern Blues Restoration Coalition Collaborative Landscape Restoration Project, Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project, and Lakeview Collaborative Landscape Restoration Project.
- Gestión de incendios forestales: In anticipation of the next fire season, the bill includes $1.34 billion for fire suppression at the Forest Service and Department of the Interior. Fiscal year 2020 was the first year that the bipartisan “fire borrowing fix” went into effect; this fiscal year, $2.35 billion of additional funds are available for fire suppression and other priorities within the Interior bill.
- Conservación del agua y la vida silvestre de la cuenca de Klamath: In continued efforts toward a long-term solution in the Klamath Basin, the bill maintains the increase that Merkley secured last year, providing $6.5 million to support strategies to restore fish habitat and scale up ongoing efforts to restore healthy populations of shortnose and Lost River sucker fish. The bill also maintains the additional $5 million in funding that Merkley secured for habitat restoration in advance of the removal of Klamath River dams.
- Pago en Lugar de Impuestos (PILT): El proyecto de ley incluye $515 millones para el programa PILT para financiar servicios vitales para las comunidades rurales, incluida la seguridad pública, los servicios sociales, el transporte y la vivienda. Estos fondos se destinan a los condados de Oregón que tienen grandes extensiones de tierra federal, que no pagan impuestos sobre la propiedad. La inversión aprobada por el Congreso es de $73 millones por encima del pedido del presidente.
- Infraestructura de agua: Programas de préstamo de infraestructura crítica de agua bajo el Ley de la Autoridad de Innovación para el Financiamiento de la Infraestructura del Agua (WIFIA) received $60 million to leverage billions of dollars in investments, such as the new projects in Hillsboro and Portland. Merkley authored the WIFIA program in 2012, working to ensure public drinking water and wastewater infrastructure are well-maintained—critical for public health and safety, strong local businesses, population growth, and clean rivers and aquifers. WIFIA was passed into law as part of the 2014 Ley de Desarrollo de Recursos Hídricos.
- Programas tribales: The Indian Health Service, which provides health care to thousands of Oregon Tribal members, received $6.21 billion, $163 million more than fiscal year 2020. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education received $3.34 billion, an increase of $117 million to the fiscal year 2020 level.
- Fondo de Conservación de Tierras y Aguas (LWCF): El proyecto de ley prevé $900 millones, como exige la Ley del Gran Aire Libre Americano, which Merkley helped pass into law this summer; the funding is enough to fund all pending LWCF projects in Oregon. For over 50 years the program has been the main source of funding for federal land and water acquisitions. Acquiring and protecting public lands not only provides environmental and recreational benefits, but also creates jobs in the tourism, recreation, timber, fishing, and other natural resource sectors.
- Preparación para terremotos: The bill includes $85 million for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to support regional earthquake initiatives, including $25.7 million for the West Coast ShakeAlert early warning project. The bill also encourages the USGS to continue the development of a system for Cascadia that will help prepare for and mitigate the negative human and economic impacts of a major seismic event.
The Energy and Water appropriations bill includes vital funding for Oregon’s small ports on the coast and irrigators across the state:
- Pequeños Puertos y Navegación de Cuerpos de Ejército: The program, which is vital to help Oregon ports pay for dredging and other necessary infrastructure projects, received $591 million for deep-draft harbor and channel improvements, $70 million for inland waterways, $44.6 million for navigation maintenance, and $65 million for small ports, which supports the small ports that are the lifeblood of Oregon’s coastal economy.
- Conservación del agua y restauración del hábitat: The WaterSmart program received a $26 million increase, to $60 million, to fund projects that will help irrigation districts comply with the Endangered Species Act. The WaterSmart program has supported the collaborative process that is underway within Central Oregon to conserve water, improve habitat for endangered steelhead and the spotted frog, and keep Central Oregon family farms in business.
- Expansión de las energías renovables: The bill includes $115 million—a $15 million increase—for wind energy and $10 million for distributed wind. The bill also includes a $148 million for water power research, which will support ongoing research at OSU, and $233.8 million for solar power programs.
The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill includes support for affordable housing and homelessness services—which are of particular importance as the state grapples with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic:
- Subvenciones en bloque para el desarrollo comunitario: Merkley successfully advocated for $3.455 billion for the Community Development Block Grant Program. This program funds vital housing rehabilitation, supportive services, public improvements and economic development projects in communities across Oregon and the nation while encouraging local investment.
- Vivienda asequible: As rural and urban communities across Oregon continue to experience housing crises, Merkley successfully advocated to increase for affordable housing programs for some of Oregon’s most vulnerable people—low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Merkley led 37 of his colleagues in a successful effort to provide an additional $833 million to support continuing rental assistance for 1.2 million low-income households. The senator also protected funding for housing programs that benefit the elderly and people with disabilities.
- Vivienda Rural: El Programa de Oportunidades de Autoayuda para la Propiedad de Vivienda (SHOP) y el Programa de Creación de Capacidad Rural recibieron $10 millones y $5 millones, respectivamente. SHOP proporciona fondos para constructores de viviendas sin fines de lucro, como Habitat for Humanity, para cubrir la compra de terrenos y los costos de infraestructura. Los fondos de Capacidad Rural están destinados a desarrollar la capacidad de las organizaciones sin fines de lucro de viviendas rurales de bajos ingresos al proporcionar capacitación, información, asistencia técnica y financiamiento.
- Subsidios de asistencia para personas sin hogar: Merkley secured $2.95 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, a $174 million increase that will benefit organizations across Oregon. Within that appropriation, rapid rehousing programs for victims of domestic violence received $50 million; homeless youth programs received $80 million; and Emergency Solutions Grants—particularly important to the Portland metro area—received $290 million to support street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing assistance.
- Programa de sociedades de inversión HOME: The bill includes $1.375 billion for the program to provide states and localities with flexible resources to respond to their affordable housing challenges, including rental housing and paths to homeownership for low-income families.
- HUD-Vivienda de Apoyo para Asuntos de Veteranos: The program received $40 million to provide rental assistance vouchers for homeless veterans, along with case management and clinical services. These vouchers have been critical to reducing veterans’ homelessness by 49 percent since 2010.
- Programa de subvenciones de inversión de capital: The bill includes nearly $2 billion for the program, which provides funding for major transit investments that support sustainable transportation and reduced congestion in cities like Portland, Eugene and Salem.
- Subvenciones CONSTRUIR: Formerly known as TIGER, the program received a $1 billion investment for 2021. This critical transportation grants program has helped fund projects across Oregon such as the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge replacement project.
- Servicio Aéreo Esencial y Torres Contract: Merkley secured $142 million for the Essential Air Service. The Essential Air Service program supports flights between the City of Pendleton and Portland International Airport, a vital connection to support economic development across Eastern Oregon. Additionally, the bill increases funding for FAA Contract Towers to $172.8 million. There are six contract towers across Oregon, and this funding ensures their continued operation.
The next step for these bills is merging with counterpart bills from the U.S. House of Representatives, in order to be passed by both chambers and signed into law.
Spanish 
English