BY SARAH ROSS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the Thursday night passage of the national Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, the Sellwood Bridge is $650,000 closer to being replaced.

The nearly three-quarters of a million dollars, secured by Congressman David Wu, D-1, adds onto the $1,266,000 that Wu brought in last year to help “reduce the hazard of head-on collisions between vehicles on the narrow lanes.”

“We cannot afford to sit back and let the Sellwood Bridge remain in a state of despair that threatens the safety of all of us,” said Wu in a media release sent out Friday morning. “A new Sellwood Bridge will once again be an economic driver that can carry busses and freight for local businesses.”

Immediacy, however, is not key to the project according to Multnomah County spokesman Mike Pullen who says that construction isn’t set to begin until 2012. He stressed the fact that the weight of cars is not the problem with the bridge. Instead, the condition of the bridge itself is the biggest problem.

As it stands, the bridge is closed to vehicles weighing more than 10 tons, meaning that busses and semi-trucks are barred from using it, due to cracks in the infrastructure discovered in 2004. Pullen said that the project is still seeking $40 million in federal funding to round out its $330 million tab.

The bridge, which connects the Sellwood neighborhood of southeast Portland with Highway 43 in Oregon City on the west side of the Willamette River, was built in 1925 and is the lower Willamette River’s oldest “non-moveable bridge,” according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

State transportation legislation was passed during the 2009 session that provided $30 million for the Sellwood Bridge project and allowed the involved counties, Multnomah and Clackamas, to pass a surcharge on their local vehicle registrations to create additional funding.

Director of the Center for Real Estate at Portland State University, Gerard Mildner, suggested tolling on the bridge might be a better way to pay for the project. He noted that the surcharge on vehicle registration in Clackamas and Multnomah counties gets closer to his desire in terms of geographic equity and presents the option for a section of the state with “acute” needs to not have to wait for the rest of the state to pitch in.

He argued that the idea of a flat surcharge did nothing, however, to address the fact of those not using the bridge but still having to pay for it.

“To me it’s the second or third best option, but it is certainly better than the statewide or federal funding source,” said Mildner.

BY RACHEL CHEESEMAN

PORTLAND- Yesterday, Oregon’s Rep. David Wu (D-01) introduced the Urban University Renaissance Act of the 21^st Century.

“While we face many challenges in Oregon and around the nation, none is more urgent right now than the recovery of our economy and getting people back to work,” Wu said in a press release.

The goal of the legislation is to help universities in urban centers, like Portland State University, better serve their local communities.

Wu’s spokesperson, Julia Krahe, said that on a practical level, these goals would be realized through a number of different grant programs.

“It’s hard to say what the federal commitment would be,” Krahe said. “The actual monetary amount would come in consultation with the appropriation process.”

She said that some examples might include supporting public health research to reduce health care disparities in urban communities or supporting research on environmental issues that face low-income neighborhoods.

The legislation also mentions training teachers specifically for teaching in urban schools to improve the quality of K-12 education.

“It’s a whole variety of different things that essentially come down to helping urban universities work even more strongly with their communities,” Krahe said.

Portland State University President Wim Wiewel said, “Congressman Wu understands that it is only by supporting partnerships with local business, nonprofits and K-12 that universities like Portland State can achieve their mission.”

Andrew Weelin, spokesman for Rep. Greg Walden (R-02), said the legislation was too new for comment.

Krahe added that it was too early in the legislative process to speculate as to the support the bill would receive in the House.

While Krahe acknowledged the economic difficulties of implementing such legislation at this point in time, she felt it would be a wise investment for urban communities.

“It’s this sort of investment that leads to the long-term to sustainable growth that our communities need,” she said.

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- Campaigns for many of Oregon’s incumbent congressional candidates are drawing a majority of their funds from out of state rather than in-state donors.

Half of Oregon’s congressional candidates facing re-election in November draw over 50% of campaign funding from out of state donors according to OpenSecrets.org, a website that tracks Congressional elections and campaign contributions.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden’s campaign gets 65% of its funding from out of state, primarily New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

“If you are looking to represent a state, the majority of the money you are earning from contributions should come from that state, otherwise you lack integrity,” said Wyden’s Libertarian opponent, Marc Delphine.

Sen. Wyden’s campaign declined to comment.

Rep. David Wu, D, represents Oregon’s first Congressional District including Washington and Yamhill counties as well as the north coast. His campaign’s war chest is composed of 66% out of state donors. These donors come primarily from New York, San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

“Congressman Wu has a number of supporters in his district, across Oregon, and throughout the country,” said Julia Krahe, spokeswoman for the Wu campaign. “But his number one priority is representing his constituents.”

Fifty-one percent of the war chest for Rep. Peter DeFazio’s campaign is from similar places mentioned above including Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Elkhart-Goshen in Indiana.

Those candidates whose contributions did not come mostly from out of state sources include Rep. Greg Walden, R-Medford, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland, and Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby. Walden and Schrader have less than 20% out of state contributions while Blumenauer has 47% out of state contributions coming from Washington, DC, Oakland, Chicago, and New York.

UPDATE: This note is given at the bottom of the in state vs. out of state data table on OpenSecrets.org. “As a general rule, incumbents get more out-of-state money than challengers, a reflection of their status as members of Congress and the wider circles in which they travel. Challengers and newcomers are rarely well known outside their state, so their ability to raise funds beyond their district is more limited.” Also, OpenSecrets.org updates their data monthly and may not reflect the most up to date data from campaigns.

BY SARAH ROSS

WASHINGTON- Oregon’s delegation followed the near party line vote on Sunday’s passage of the health care reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, with all of its Democrat Representatives voting for the bill and its sole Republican voting against it.

“In 50 years, we’re going to look back on the health care battles of today and wonder what was so hard about making these necessary changes,” said Rep. David Wu, representing Oregon’s 1^st Congressional district. “When we look back, health care reform will stand beside Social Security, the GI Bill, and Medicare as a pillar of American progress and humane values.”

Several of the delegation’s votes were kept very quiet and said to be undecided until Medicare reimbursement language was secured for the package on Saturday. Previously, Canby’s Rep. Kurt Schrader said he was undecided and Eugene’s Rep. Peter DeFazio said he would vote no.

“This agreement begins to change the culture of healthcare delivery. States like Oregon should not be penalized for providing high quality care for less,” stated Rep. Schrader in a press release following the announcement that the delegation had secured Medicare reimbursement language. “ I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the delegation to make sure the promises made by House leaders and the Administration come to fruition so we can finally address this problem once and for all.”

The bill which originated in the Senate was passed in the House with a vote of 219-212, with 34 Democrats and all Republicans voting against it. It required just 216 votes to pass the House and is now on its way to being signed by President Obama.

Along with the passage of the health care bill, the House passed the reconciliation bill, which includes the language desired by the House members to “fix” the Senate bill. This passed 220-211 and will now proceed to the Senate for debate and voting.

BY SARAH ROSS

WASHINGTON- President Obama’s State of the Union address to Congress on Wednesday night drew mixed responses from Oregon’s Congressional delegation.

The speech, which focused primarily on job creation and deficit reduction, included plans for the money reimbursed from last year’s TARP bailout to go to community banks for small business loans. It also included a three-year government spending freeze starting in 2010. These plans drew some praise and some criticism from Oregon’s congressional members.

“Tonight’s speech was about getting back to the fundamentals: a strong economy, the creation of good jobs, a college education, and access to quality, affordable health care,” responded Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland. “This was the best State of the Union I’ve heard, and it came at an important time for his Administration and the country.”

Rep. David Wu, D-Portland, was not so kind to the President’s plan, saying the spending freeze is not the right move: “We should make smart investments in the American people, grow the economy, create jobs, and restore revenues—and then have the fiscal discipline to pay down our national debt. The president has been poorly served by the Wall Street focus of his economic team.”

Criticism of the speech also came from Rep. Greg Walden, R- Pendleton. “Americans cannot afford for this government to continue on the current borrow-and-spend track,” said Rep. Walden. “Under the Democrats’ budget, America will have deficits of more than $900 billion a year. After increasing spending by 66 percent last year alone, freezing it at that level is hardly fiscal restraint.”