Oregon counties get rescue timber payments
By Guest Opinion
Oregon counties are set to receive a much needed but short term one year extension of federal timber payments. The advancement was made possible by a last minute House-Senate conference committee agreement that is part of the federal transportation bill. The plan would give $346 million to 700 counties divided up between 41 states.
Senator Ron Wyden stated,”Maintaining the federal government’s historic obligation to rural Oregon and to rural America has always been my top legislative priority,”
Congressman Greg Walden stated, “The House gave a lifeline to rural communities to keep essential services like law enforcement and schools up and running. The entire delegation worked together to get this done for Oregon,We can’t rest now though—the clock is ticking. We will continue our bipartisan work on a long-term solution to create jobs in the woods to make our federally-forested communities self reliant once more for the long term.”
Senator Jeff Merkley stated, “This news is a huge relief for Oregon’s struggling timber counties. These funds are desperately needed to keep teachers in our schools, first responders on the job and cops on the beat.”
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