Oregon Public Broadcasting

The details of what the Northwest will get from the Congressional stimulus package are starting to emerge.  It's about one-third tax breaks and two-thirds spending.

The measure includes formulas to divvy up the spending, but does not specify which exact projects to build.

Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

For highways, roads and bridges, Washington State can expect about $500 million, Oregon about $350 million and Idaho $215 million.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington says the spending should give the region’s economy “a jolt.”

Patty Murray: “Those are infrastructure jobs.  That means putting people to work today and helping to rebuild the economies of many of our communities.”

Murray says the stimulus package also includes a $3.25 billion loan to the Bonneville Power Administration.  That’s money to modernize the power grid and hook up more wind farms in the region. 

Clean up of radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear site gets an estimated $2 billion infusion. The final package includes less money than earlier versions for legislatures to use at their discretion to spare state programs from cuts.

The peak of the construction spending from the stimulus package will probably come in 6 to 12 months.  No Republicans from the Northwest delegation have said they will vote for the measure.