Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Senate voted in favor of the $700 billion bailout bill Wednesday.

Republican Gordon Smith, in the midst of a tough reelection fight, voted for the measure. Democrat Ron Wyden voted against the package.

Besides the financial bailout, the bill also includes money that Western legislators requested: the billion-dollar county payments subsidy for timber-dependent counties.

And yet, the bill's future in the House of Representatives remains uncertain.

And it won’t have the support of Springfield Democrat Peter Defazio, one of the most vocal supporters of county payments.

Peter Defazio: “I’ve always said, ‘anywhere anytime, move county payments.’ And getting it done is absolutely fabulous for our communities. No one can say I didn’t work as hard or harder by anyone else affected by this program. And I’ll take credit. I just could not support the vehicle they stuck it in.”

The bill also includes some other popular, though costly, provisions: changes to the alternative minimum tax and mental health parity legislation.