Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley-who serves as the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-issued a statement on the bipartisan infrastructure deal, including announcing a number of key wins for Oregon:<\/p>\n
“From the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus crisis, to the Labor Day fires and this year’s unprecedented blazes, it’s been a bruising 18 months for Oregonians in every corner of our state,” said Merkley. “There has never been a better time to invest in job-creating infrastructure projects that will help communities gain access to drinking water and other essential services; protect our families and businesses from the threat of more catastrophic wildfires; and maintain the incredible natural treasures that have long made crucial contributions to the spirit and economy of our state. I’m pleased to have been able to secure provisions in this package to help us achieve each of those goals.<\/p>\n
“But it must be noted that while this package contains valuable provisions, we still have miles left to go. I’m furious that this package breaks with decades of precedent and President Biden’s strong commitment to organized labor by omitting strong labor standards for new federal investments. By itself, this bill is a failure on the climate. It omits critical investments in other aspects of infrastructure like the dramatic shortage of housing working families can afford.<\/p>\n
“That’s why it has been critical from the beginning of this conversation that the Senate act on all of President Biden’s agenda, not just a narrow sliver. This bipartisan bill must be paired with an ambitious reconciliation bill that delivers transformative investments in our many critical priorities. My colleagues and I on the Budget Committee have worked out a plan for such a bill, and it is imperative that the caucus have consensus around moving both bills together.”<\/p>\n
Las disposiciones que Merkley asegur\u00f3 en el paquete bipartidista incluyen m\u00e1s de $50 mil millones en inversiones en infraestructura de agua, incluido el reemplazo de tuber\u00edas de plomo y esfuerzos de remediaci\u00f3n para eliminar los qu\u00edmicos PFAS del agua potable, y m\u00e1s de $3.5 mil millones para proyectos de infraestructura de agua y saneamiento en comunidades tribales. Merkley tambi\u00e9n trabaj\u00f3 para asegurar $500 millones para el programa de Operaciones de Prevenci\u00f3n de Inundaciones y Cuencas Hidrogr\u00e1ficas, que ha sido una fuente fundamental de financiamiento para la modernizaci\u00f3n de tuber\u00edas e irrigaci\u00f3n en la cuenca de Deschutes para conservar agua, aumentar la resistencia a la sequ\u00eda y mejorar el h\u00e1bitat de la rana manchada. , ayudando a mantener en funcionamiento las granjas familiares de Oreg\u00f3n Central. La financiaci\u00f3n adicional para el programa ser\u00e1 fundamental para ayudar a las comunidades de Oreg\u00f3n y el oeste de los Estados Unidos a adaptarse a condiciones de sequ\u00eda cada vez m\u00e1s severas.<\/p>\n
Adem\u00e1s, Merkley trabaj\u00f3 para incluir m\u00e1s de $160 millones para apoyar los esfuerzos de restauraci\u00f3n ambiental en la cuenca de Klamath para mejorar la calidad del agua y restaurar el h\u00e1bitat para los salmones, los matalotes de Lost River y el salm\u00f3n; y casi $80 millones en fondos para apoyar los esfuerzos de restauraci\u00f3n en la cuenca del r\u00edo Columbia, incluida la limpieza, la reducci\u00f3n del uso y el control de los niveles de sustancias t\u00f3xicas.<\/p>\n
Merkley helped shape substantial funding-over $8 billion-for the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior to better prevent and respond to wildfires, and restore fire-ravaged landscapes. Within that funding, $2.4 billion would be allocated for hazardous fuels reduction efforts that help to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires; $2.1 billion would go toward ecosystem restoration activities; and $1 billion would fund grants for at-risk communities to fund wildfire mitigation activities.<\/p>\n
Para ayudar a apoyar a la fuerza laboral de extinci\u00f3n de incendios que ha trabajado incansablemente para proteger a los habitantes de Oreg\u00f3n de los incendios forestales catastr\u00f3ficos y para acelerar la recuperaci\u00f3n ecol\u00f3gica de las tierras afectadas por los incendios forestales, el Servicio Forestal de EE. UU. y el Departamento del Interior de EE. UU. tierras quemadas por incendios forestales; $600 millones se utilizar\u00edan para aumentar el salario de los bomberos y aumentar la fuerza laboral durante todo el a\u00f1o; y $316 millones financiar\u00edan subvenciones estatales y subvenciones de asistencia para bomberos voluntarios. Merkley tambi\u00e9n luch\u00f3 para garantizar que $250 millones en fondos se asignar\u00edan a proyectos Legacy Roads and Trails, y $100 millones estar\u00edan disponibles para proyectos de restauraci\u00f3n colaborativa de paisajes forestales (CFLR). Oregon tiene m\u00e1s proyectos CFLR que cualquier otro estado.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley-who serves as the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-issued a statement on the bipartisan infrastructure deal, including announcing a number of key wins for Oregon: “From the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus crisis, to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n