Oregon

To: Interested Parties
Fr: White House Communications
Da: April 22, 2009
Re: The Obama-Biden economic plan: creating jobs, strengthening the economy for Oregon families

 

Facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, President Obama started his Presidency with decisive action -- proposing and quickly passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Since the bill went into effect, the ARRA has already helped put money back in the pockets of 95 percent of working Americans, created and saved jobs across the country and made key investments in our community to help kickstart the economy. To ensure that the funds are spent efficiently and effectively, President Obama tasked Vice President Biden with overseeing the implementation of ARRA, and projects have already begun to come in under budget across the country. As the President prepares to introduce the details of his budget and further plans to revitalize the economy, here’s a look at how his policies have impacted Oregon in the first three months of his administration.

IMPACT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ECONOMIC POLICIES ON OREGON

Working Families:

  • Making Work Pay: The President’s tax-cut – which covers more Americans than any in history – is putting more than $700 million back in the pockets of more than 1.4 million hard-working Oregon families.
  • $22,510,354 to support child care for working families.

Energy:

  • $33,501,500 in block grants to foster energy efficiency in building, transportation, and a wide range of other improvements.
  • $38,512,236 to support the weatherization of homes, including adding more insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment.
  • $42,182,000 to the State Energy Program, available for rebates to consumers for energy saving improvements; development of renewable energy projects; promotion of Energy Star products; efficiency upgrades for state and local government buildings; and other innovative state efforts to help save families money on their energy bills.

Education:

  • 848,700,207 dollars potentially available to Oregon to lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save thousands of teaching jobs at risk due to state and local budget cuts.

Health Care:

  • $5,977,971 to expand services at 25 existing Community Health Centers, which will expand service to an additional 32,506 patients and create or save a projected 120 jobs.
  • $1,219,482 to provide meals to low-income seniors.
  • $155,826,609 made available in Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to protect health care for the families hit hard by the economic crisis and some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
  • $2,490,016 in vaccines and grants to ensure more underserved Americans receive the vaccines they need.

Transportation:

  • $333,902,389 in highway funds to help build and repair roads and bridges.
  • $75,716,939 to repair and build public transportation infrastructure.

Law Enforcement:

  • More than $22 million for state and local law enforcement assistance available through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. The JAG Program supports a variety of efforts such as hiring and support for law enforcement officers; multijurisdictional drug and gang task forces; crime prevention and domestic violence programs; and courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives.

REAL RESULTS IN OREGON

Thanks to the Obama Administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, real impact is already being felt across the state.

Portland Regional Metro Said That Stimulus-Funded Projects Could Generate 1,400 Immediate Jobs and 2,100 Secondary Jobs. The regional Metro said the stimulus package would result in $102 million in projects in the Portland region, including $44 million for the mass transit agency TriMet, $19 million through the Oregon Department of Transportation and $38 million distributed by Metro. The projects ranging from street repaving to improvements in light rail to a new bus washing and fueling facility are expected to generate 1,400 immediate jobs and 2,100 secondary jobs, Metro said in a news release. [The Associated Press, 3/8/09]

Oregon Clinics Will Use Stimulus Funds to Hire Eighteen Doctors, Nurses, and Medical Staffers. "Stimulus funds flow to county health agency. The Multnomah County Health Department’s primary care clinics can take in an additional 5,500 poor and uninsured patients, thanks to an $854,000 federal grant awarded in late March. The money comes from $337 million set aside for community health centers under the federal stimulus act. The county has received half of the grant funds, with the rest to follow next year. Three county clinics will hire 18 new doctors, nurses and support staff. The department also plans to use federal grants to undertake more than $2 million in capital improvements, and use some stimulus funds to increase the use of electronic medical records." [The Gresham Outlook, 4/14/09]

Wildfire Fuel Reduction In Southwestern Oregon Expected To Create Over 150 Jobs. "More than 150 people will begin working to reduce wildfire danger in southwestern Oregon this spring, thanks to roughly $3 million in U.S. Forest Service contracts funded by the federal stimulus package. The largest is $1.4 million for the Hope Mountain Stewardship Project in southeastern Illinois Valley. The joint effort is a partnership involving Uncle Sam and the Lomakatsi Restoration Project based in Ashland and Siskiyou Regional Education Project in the Illinois Valley. The stewardship effort, which will employ about 35 people for a year and create an additional 15 indirect jobs in the community, involves cutting brush and small trees on about 890 acres in the Wild Rivers Ranger District of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest." [Mail-Tribune, 3/24/09]

Portland’s Government Will Use $100 Million for Repaving, $44 Million to Portland Transit Agency All Expected to Create 3,500 Jobs. "Thursday, Portland's regional government, Metro, picked the transportation projects that will get a slice of the federal stimulus package. $100 million will go to repaving hundreds of roads, bike paths and sidewalks in the area. Metro counselor, Rex Burkholder, says picking projects was a rushed job… Burkholder says all the work should help create about 3500 jobs. Now, local agencies have 120 days to put the contracts out to bid; get them signed; and people working. Burkholder says all the work should help create about 3500 jobs. Now, local agencies have 120 days to put the contracts out to bid; get them signed; and people working. Portland's transit system, TriMet, will get $44 million. Wilsonville's transit system, SMART, will get about half a million dollars. The rest will be split between Metro and the Oregon Department of Transportation." [Oregon Public Broadcasting, 3/6/09]

Oregon Will Receive $1.73 Million To Reduce Diesel Emissions and Create Jobs. "In a move that stands to create jobs, boost local economies, reduce diesel emissions and protect human health and the environment for the people in the State of Oregon, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $1.73 million to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The funding can be used to support clean diesel projects and loan programs to address the nation’s existing fleet of over 11 million diesel engines…The funds provided by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009 will go to the state's Oregon Clean Diesel Initiative. In addition to helping to create and retain jobs, the clean diesel projects would reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year." [United States Environmental Protection Agency, 4/9/09]

Stimulus Funding Will Help Multnomah County Health Care Clinics Care for Thousands More Patients. "Multnomah County's health clinics will be able to care for 5,500 more people, thanks to an infusion of cash from federal stimulus funds. The county joins 24 other local health providers in Portland and statewide that are sharing roughly $6 million in federal stimulus money, so they can serve more people during the recession. Congress designated $337 million of the $787 billion stimulus package so community health centers could help the increasing number of people left poor and uninsured by the bad economy…Health Department leaders told county commissioners the money will let them hire 18 doctors, nurses or staffers to care for more patients. Last year, the six county-run primary care clinics, along with disease-specific clinics and 13 school health centers, cared for about 66,500 people. The primary care clinics are now at capacity and have been turning some patients away. The new employees will work at three county clinics that need extra staff." [Oregonian, 4/10/09]

Stimulus Projects in Eugene Are Expected to Create 142 Jobs. "More than $5.4 million in federal stimulus funding has been awarded to projects in the city of Eugene. Four pavement preservation projects will get $3 million. They include a $1.1 million repair of West First Avenue from Seneca to Bertelsen roads, $800,000 to preserve Garfield Street from Sixth to 11th avenues, $750,000 to repair High Street from Third to 17th avenues, and $340,000 to repair Crescent Avenue from Game Farm to Shadow View. The projects are scheduled to be designed and bid out by the end of 2009. Construction on these projects would begin in 2010 and create 40 family-wage jobs. Eugene was also approved by the Oregon Transportation Commission for $2.25 million in Transportation Enhancement grants to construct a 1000-foot-long elevated pedestrian-bicycle path over the Delta Ponds and Delta Highway. The $6.2 million project would begin construction this summer, and create 85 construction jobs. In addition, the OTC approved a $180,000 Transportation Enhancement grant to fund pedestrian facilities, traffic calming and bicycle-related components as part of a large site improvement project at the Eugene train depot. Design of the $1.25 million project is 95 percent completed, and is scheduled to go to bid in June. Construction is set to begin this summer. Approximately 17 new jobs will be created for the depot project." [Daily Journal of Commerce, 4/2/09]

Recovery Act Funds 100 Jobs For Wildfire Prevention. "As part of the first phase of USDA Forest Service economic stimulus funding in Central Oregon, two more Deschutes and Ochoco National Forest contracts have been awarded today under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in Jefferson and Deschutes Counties. This is in addition to the two contracts that were awarded on March 17th. The contracts will employ crews to thin and hand pile hazardous fuels in the forest. Thinning and hand piling of juniper will occur on the Crooked River Grassland of the Ochoco National Forest in Jefferson County in three project areas amounting to approximately 1,939 acres. PatRick Contracting of Redmond, Oregon was awarded the contract for $421,960. This will employ approximately sixty persons in Jefferson County. Another award for $412,322 was made to GFP Contracting of Sisters, Oregon for work on the Sisters Area Fuels Reduction (SAFR) Project. Work will begin on approximately 502 acres of the Deschutes National Forest near homes that have been evacuated during large wildfires in recent years. This contract creates work for approximately forty persons in Deschutes County." [KOHD-TV, 3/23/09]

First Oregon Stimulus Project Will Employ 70 People, Including Bringing Back 30 People That Were Recently Laid Off. "Contractors will always celebrate winning a big paving contract, especially in a slow economy…The federal stimulus package changes everything. On Thursday, Baker Rock Resources president Todd Baker found himself talking shop with politicians, state officials and reporters. Baker Rock's $4.9 million contract includes the first federal stimulus money for an Oregon project. The contract calls for repaving U.S. Highway 26 between Northwest 185th Avenue in Hillsboro and Northwest Glencoe Road in North Plains, and installing signs. Stimulus dollars will pay for cable barriers in the highway median and ramp paving. The project is set to start this spring...To the casual observer, the federal stimulus plan has been mostly talk so far. That's why Baker's voice carried so much weight. He's a local contractor, based in nearby Beaverton, and is keeping employees on the job.’ This contract means we'll be working again, when we otherwise might not be,’ Baker said. ‘For our portion, we're able to bring back 30 laid-off people and hire 10 more.’ Counting subcontractor work, the project will employ 70 people, Baker said." [Daily Journal of Commerce, 3/23/09]

Port Of Portland Will Receive $16.3 Million In Stimulus Funds To Modernize The Port And Create More Than 300 Construction Jobs. "The Port of Portland on Thursday announced it will receive $16.3 million in federal stimulus grants. The largest grant, about $8.9 million, will go toward crane and wharf modernization projects at the port's Terminal 6. About $7 million will go toward the rehabilitation of one of the taxiways at Portland International Airport and about $400,000 will help fund a right-turn lane at the Troutdale Interchange on South Frontage Road at 257th Avenue. The new lane will provide relief for the heavy demand for the eastbound and southbound traffic at the interchange that serves surrounding businesses, the Troutdale Airport and the Port's Troutdale Reynolds Industrial Park, soon to be the home of the new FedEx Ground distribution hub. At Terminal 6 about $1.6 million will be used to install modern motor drives and a new programmable logic controller in one of the nine cranes used to haul cargo on and off ships. The grants will create more than 300 construction jobs, according to the port." [Daily Journal of Commerce, 3/23/09]

Stimulus-Funded Projects at the Port of Portland Will Create More Than 300 Construction Jobs. "The Port of Portland on Thursday announced it will receive $16.3 million in federal stimulus grants. The largest grant, about $8.9 million, will go toward crane and wharf modernization projects at the Port's Terminal 6. About $7 million will go toward the rehabilitation of one of the taxiways at Portland International Airport and about $400,000 will help fund a right turn lane at the Troutdale Interchange on South Frontage Road at 257th Avenue… The grants will create more than 300 construction jobs, according to the port." [Daily Journal of Commerce, 3/20/09]

Portland Business Journal: Oregon gets $76M in transit funds Oregon will receive $75.7 million to improve public transportation systems, the Obama administration announced Thursday. The allotment comes two days after the administration announced the state would receive nearly $334 million in funds to repair roads and bridges. All of the money comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress last month. The public transit funds come from an overall pool of $8.4 billion, meaning Oregon received 9 percent of the overall package, a far higher percentage of money than it received from the overall $787 billion stimulus package. Oregon is expected to receive $1.78 billion in total. LINK

First Oregon Highway Construction Project Funded by the Stimulus Will Install a Cable Barrier on a Busy Portland Metro Roadway. "The first Oregon highway construction project funded from President Barack Obama’s stimulus program will install a cable barrier on a busy Portland Metro roadway. Gov. Ted Kulongoski on Thursday unveiled a new federal stimulus project sign at the project site, between 185th Avenue and Glencoe Road on the Sunset Highway west of Portland. Oregon Department of Transportation awarded the $5 million contract to Baker Rock Resources of Beaverton. About $3 million of the project’s funding came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009… About seven miles of the Sunset Highway were slated for repaving by ODOT. The federal funds will widen the state project’s scope and include a cable barrier. At least 3,300 construction jobs were scheduled to begin this summer with federal stimulus funds." [KGW.com, 3/19/09]

Stimulus Funds For Oregon Start Construction On Sunset Highway. "Gov. Ted Kulongoski says the first federal transportation stimulus project for Oregon has been launched, involving paving and adding a safety barrier to part the Sunset Highway, a state priority for more than two years. He said the $5 million project will provide jobs and improve infrastructure on the road from Portland to the Pacific Coast. The project includes paving about seven miles between 185th Avenue and Glencoe Road and installing a cable safety barrier along the divided highway." [AP, 3/19/09]

Recovery Act Will Create 1,500 New Oregon Youth Conservation Corps Jobs. "In Oregon, the Rogue River – Siskiyou, Umpqua, Deschutes, and Ochoco National Forests are all on the list for fuel reduction projects using stimulus funds. Knappenberger says this is the first round of project funding from a total of $1.15 billion allotted nationally to the Forest Service under the federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Among that money, $6.5 million is going to the Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, a state agency that administers the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps. The OYCC is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps created by the federal government in the 1930’s. ‘As soon as we can get approval to spend this money, there will be youth that are already in school in OYCC crew programs that will start up immediately,’ says Krissa Coldwell, deputy commissioner of the Community Colleges and Workforce Development. Coldwell says the federal money will create 1500 new OYCC jobs over the next year and half, many of them on national forests. ‘It’s about conservation and natural resources. So they’re working on trail building, invasive species removal, and fish and wildlife habitat work,’ says Coldwell." [OPB, 3/16/09]

Forest Service Work in Oregon and Washington To Create Hundreds of Jobs, Reduce Fire Hazards. "Millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds are now available in Oregon and Washington for public lands projects. The money is expected to create hundreds of jobs. The U.S. Forest Service will start awarding $10 million in contracts this week for hazardous fuel reduction projects in Oregon. That work will go to private companies already under contract with the Forest Service and is expected to employ about a hundred workers. ‘It’s the kind of work we’ve been doing for many years. Reducing fuel in the fire prone areas, thinning trees out,’ says Tom Knappenberger, a spokesman for the Forest Service. ‘In some cases, it’s mechanical. In other cases, it’s prescribed burns. All the normal tools we use to reduce the fuels in places that are likely to burn and would cause threats to resources.’" [OPB, 3/16/09]

Portland Area Could See As Many As 3,500 Jobs Created Thanks To Stimulus Funding For Transportation Projects; Said Metro’s Infrastructure Finance Manager, "We Have A Goal Of Getting As Much Out The Door As Possible By The Summer Construction Season And Creating New Jobs Now, While Investing In The Future." "Metro kicked the region’s federal stimulus plan into high gear last week by quickly approving $102 million in Portland-area transportation projects. The council’s vote opens the floodgates for federal transportation dollars, creating as many as 3,500 jobs, according to Metro officials. ‘This is a very good day for the entire region,’ said Metro Council President David Bragdon. ‘This stimulus package will help create immediate jobs and fund a variety of projects that accomplish a broad range of improvements.’ Northern Clackamas County communities will rake in more than $4.5 million in street improvement money, with another $900,000 headed toward the I-205 light rail line and almost $3 million going toward improvements to pedestrian and bike trails. All told, Metro allocated $38 million to local jurisdictions, and approved $44 million in TriMet projects and $19.5 million in Oregon Department of Transportation projects.’…The shift to allocating money in one phase instead of two potentially could speed up the process of hiring contractors and starting work, a key requirement of the federal stimulus money…‘We have a goal of getting as much of this out the door as possible by the summer construction season and creating jobs now, while investing in the future,’ said Andy Shaw, Metro’s infrastructure finance manager." [The Clackamas Review, 3/10/09]

 

U.S. Forest Service Announced Enough Recovery Act Funding For Brush Clearing And Forest Thinning In Oregon To Create About 100 Jobs. "Federal stimulus spending is paying for more brush clearing and forest thinning in Oregon to reduce wildfire danger. The U.S. Forest Service announced it is spending $10 million for contract crews - enough for about 100 jobs - to do the work on public and private lands in six rural Oregon counties: Curry, Crook, Deschutes, Douglas, Jefferson and Josephine. To get moving quickly, the money is going to outfits that already have contracts with the Forest Service. The money comes in addition to $6.5 million for youth conservation education and jobs. So far, the Forest Service has allocated 10% of the $1.15 billion it has nationally to combat the recession." [Associated Press, 3/11/09]