Oregon’s Congressional delegation recently sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Office of Management and Budget urging funding for the state’s port infrastructure as the Army Corps implements the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA).
A total of 23 public ports are essential to Oregon’s economy.
“The passage of the IIJA represents an investment of approximately $17 billion through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for navigation and waterway infrastructure,” the letter said. “This includes significant funding for construction, studies, and operations and maintenance. While some federal navigation projects in Oregon received funding in the Administration’s proposed FY2022 and the draft House and Senate FY2022 Appropriations bills, significant maintenance and rehabilitation needs remain.”
The lawmakers listed several investments they seek, including additional resources for the Construction General, the General Investigations and the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) accounts, and for O&M projects.
The lawmakers said funding these accounts and projects would stimulate economic development and increase job growth.
The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and U.S. Reps. Cliff Bentz (R-OR), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and Kurt Schrader (D-OR).