Getting a Coronavirus Vaccine to Every Corner of Oregon

As Oregon continues to battle an unprecedented spike in coronavirus infections, there’s a lot of work left for each of us to do to drive this pandemic into the ground. We each have the power to keep our guards up by staying home when we can, wearing a mask, and limiting contact with those outside of your households. There’s also a lot of work left for the government to do, from passing another much-needed coronavirus relief package -- which Jeff has been pushing for -- to ensuring that we have the critical supplies and infrastructure in place to keep responding to the crisis.

That infrastructure must include the ultra-cold storage containers that will be necessary to store and distribute some coronavirus vaccines. So last month, Jeff teamed up with 11 of his Senate colleagues in urging the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work with state, tribal, territorial, and local stakeholders to identify gaps in ultra-cold storage. The push included an emphasis on rural and underserved communities, in order to help ensure that people across America -- and in every corner of Oregon -- have the storage capabilities needed to prevent supply shortages once vaccines start being distributed.

Covering the Costs of Our Wildfire Recovery

Thanks to rain and the hard work of our dedicated firefighters, the catastrophic wildfires that broke out in September have been largely extinguished. But there’s still a lot of work ahead of us to address the damage created by the unprecedented blazes. That’s why Jeff and his colleagues in the Oregon congressional delegation are requesting that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provide critical support, including an increase in the Federal cost share for debris removal costs related to the fires.

Usually, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments pay 25 percent of FEMA assistance costs. But given how widespread and severe the damage from the fires is, the delegation is requesting that the federal government waive the 25 percent requirement, and cover the entire cost.

"In the span of a few short days, fires burned an area the size of the State of Rhode Island. As a result, thousands of our fellow Oregonians have been displaced, and countless businesses have been lost. Furthermore, the State and local governments continue to respond to and recover from four additional Presidentially-declared disasters since May 2019, including three counties which are covered under both Major Disaster Declarations from floods and the wildfire disaster last month… Oregon and her citizens are suffering under the strain of enormous calamity,” the lawmakers wrote as they outlined their request in a letter to FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor.

Fighting to Fund Oregon’s Top Priorities

Last week, Jeff announced that he has used his seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee to include in the Senate’s spending bills a wide variety of investments to help create jobs, support affordable housing, and improve infrastructure in every corner of Oregon.

"Every year I do a town hall in every county of Oregon so I can hear firsthand what all of our communities need to thrive, and then I bring that input to Congress to push investments and strategies that can make a real difference in people’s lives,” Jeff said in the announcement.

Those investments include key provisions to help keep Oregonians safe and help them thrive. Jeff fought to include $1.34 billion for fire suppression at the Forest Service and Department of the Interior, and $40 million for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP). Oregon currently has three active CFLR projects, which are helping restore our forests and reduce the risk of future catastrophic fires.

In addition, the bill includes $85 million for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to support regional earthquake initiatives including $25.7 million for the West Coast ShakeAlert early warning project. The bill also encourages the USGS to continue developing a system to help prepare for and mitigate the negative human and economic impacts of a major seismic event in the Pacific Northwest.

Jeff also fought for funding to support affordable housing and homelessness services -- including $3.455 billion for the Community Development Block Grant Program, which funds vital housing rehabilitation, supportive services, public improvements and economic development projects. Jeff successfully advocated to help keep roofs over the heads of low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities in Oregon, by leading the charge for $833 million in funding to continue rental assistance for 1.2 million households and protecting funding for housing programs that benefit the elderly. Additionally, Jeff made sure the bill would include nearly $3 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, $40 million in rental assistance funding for homeless veterans, case management, and clinical services, and more.

These funding items help every corner of our state, and Jeff also worked to secure funding for the particular programs that help each of Oregon’s unique communities -- from dredging small ports on the coast, to PILT in Southern Oregon, wine grapes in the Willamette Valley, irrigation modernization in Central Oregon, and wind energy and dry land farming in Eastern Oregon. For the complete list of programs Jeff fought to secure, click here. The next step for the bill is passage through both houses of Congress -- potentially as soon as this week.

Thank you!

Thank you for reading -- and don’t forget, you can see the latest updates by liking Jeff on Facebook and following Jeff on Twitter. And be sure to check Merkley.senate.gov for more information and current events.

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