Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Representatives Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader, and Suzanne Bonamici, are pushing the U.S. Office of Management and Budget to provide the Army Corps with annual funding for maritime infrastructure maintenance crucial to public safety and the vitality of economies up and down the Oregon Coast and throughout the Columbia River system.
“Oregon’s 23 public ports are a key component in sustaining Oregon’s economy and quality of life, including in our state’s most rural areas. Oregon’s ports support tens of thousands of family-wage jobs that are directly or indirectly tied to cargo movement, as well as recreation, industrial, commercial, and other activities that contribute billions of dollars in wages to Oregon’s economy,” the lawmakers wrote. “In addition, Oregon ports support the activities of Federal agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Coast Guard. None of this would be possible without adequate funding to maintain jetty infrastructure and conduct dredging operations.”
