Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon and Washington could see hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars in additional federal money coming their way, under legislation moving through Congress.

Lawmakers say they are hoping to wrap up the year’s Congressional business within the next two weeks.

And, as central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports, Northwesterners should be watching a couple of key bills as the action heats up in Congress.

Vancouver Democratic Congressman Brian Baird says he’s so busy, he had five meetings scheduled simultaneously this week.

Baird is working on votes for big, national issues. But like all lawmakers, he’s also dealing with specific requests from his constituents back home.

So he says anytime he runs into a powerful lawmaker he’ll try to talk up a key regional need – for instance, the billion-dollar subsidy for rural counties, also called the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.

Rep. Brian Baird: “You know, I bumped into a couple of the folks who are critical in this issue moving. And as I approached them, I said, ‘you mind if I talk to you?’, and he said, ‘Secure Rural Schools, right?’ And I said, ‘yes, just wanted to make sure you hadn’t forgotten.”

Until this week, that funding seemed unlikely to continue. But under a deal worked out in the Senate, Baird and other Northwest lawmakers are cautiously optimistic.

Secure Rural Schools was originally passed eight years ago, as a way to supplement rural county budgets – budgets that were devastated when timber sales dried up because of government regulations.

Washington state raked in about $50 million a year from the program. But by far the biggest winner was the state of Oregon.

More than a dozen Oregon counties together received close to $250 million annually under the program, until it expired this year.

The money funds cops, roadwork, and as the bill’s name says, schools.

Yes, the halls of Congress are noisy right now. But so are school hallways in Oregon’s rural counties.

And those halls will get even more crowded if the money doesn’t come – counties say they’d be forced to close some schools and lay off teachers.

Even the bill’s original author, Portland Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, says the new four-year extension is far from a reality.

Pendleton Republican Senator Gordon Smith, facing a tough reelection fight, is one of several key Republican votes for the bill.

Sen. Gordon Smith: “I can’t overemphasize just how important this is for vulnerable, rural counties who are surrounded by federal lands on which they have no tax base. And of course, if the bill doesn’t get too ladled up, the president will sign it, just as he did last time.”

The Northwest delegation says there are a few other pieces of key regional legislation still out there.

For instance, the rural counties subsidy is included in a package of tax credits for renewable energy, the House just passed.

Plus, the payments are bundled with a proposed Senate vote to give states without income tax a federal deduction for their sales tax.

Washington Democrat Brian Baird already got the House to sign off on that in April.

Rep Brian Baird: “At the end, we may or may not get all that we are asking for, I want to manage expectations a little bit. We’ve sure been down the disappointment highway on Secure Rural Schools before.”

Lawmakers say the Senate could vote on the legislation this week. The House would follow, where it would wind up on the President’s desk – awaiting an uncertain outcome.