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Congress Moves Bill to Address Energy and Earthquakes

BY ROB MANNING

Portland, OR  May 14, 2009 5:12 p.m.

Oregon stands to gain 58 million dollars under a multi-billion dollar bill that passed the U-S House Thursday.

The so-called “green schools’ bill” is meant to create thousands of jobs, nationally, by building energy efficiency into public school buildings.

Northwest Oregon congressman, David Wu, says the house included his proposal, to expand the bill to also allow spending on seismic upgrades.  

Congressman David Wu: “It’s just in the last 15 to 25 years that we’ve found out about a severe earthquake problem in our corner of the country, and we haven’t had as much time to adjust to the earthquake threat as, say the California schools have. So I hope some of the money will go into seismic retrofits.”

The bill now moves to the Senate. Wu says he's optimistic about its chances, even though senators stripped similar provisions out of the federal stimulus package, earlier this year.

Republican rep Greg Walden was the only member of Oregon’s delegation to vote against the green schools’ bill Thursday.

© 2009 OPB

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Comments

May 15, 2009
11:14 a.m.
David Wu dressed up the bill in order to come across as Mr. Environment! What he failed to do was ask for an E-verify provision that makes sure legal Oregon workers are protected! In David Wus world, illegal aliens have the same right to tax payer money projects as a legal unemployed union crafstman? here is the additions David WU made: Congressman Wu’s amendments expanded the items that grant funds can be spent on to include: 1) Storm water runoff systems, which provide an environmentally friendly way of managing Oregon’s plentiful rainfall, 2) Seismic upgrades, which are necessary to ensure that students will be safe in the event of an earthquake in Oregon or along the West Coast, 3) Energy generation from woody biomass, a renewable energy source that is abundant in Oregon, 4) Energy generation from waste-to-energy, a green energy source currently being researched by scientists at Oregon State University, and 5) Energy generation from solar-thermal systems, which will allow Oregonians to generate heat by harnessing solar rays.

— Posted by Stephan Andrew Brodhead


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