January 2, 2009
Working for Oregon: Southwest Region
Lane, Douglas, Coos, Curry, Josephine, Jackson, Klamath
Keeping Oregonians Healthy and Safe
After reading reports about the excessively high levels of benzene – a known carcinogen – found in Oregon’s gasoline, Senator Wyden mounted a campaign to pressure the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt a standard for benzene that didn't "turn the Northwest into an environmental sacrifice zone." After months of unrelenting pressure, the EPA agreed to institute a nationwide cap on the amount of benzene in gasoline that would reduce benzene levels in the Northwest by threefold.When U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld proposed shutting down the Portland-based 142nd Fighter Wing, Senator Wyden worked with state military leaders and local officials in a successful effort to have the proposal rejected. Eliminating the 142nd Fighter Wing would have left Oregon and all of the Northwest more vulnerable to attack.
Senator Wyden has been a leader in the fight against methamphetamine and has worked to give law enforcement officials, treatment providers and communities the tools they need to address this problem. He cosponsored and helped pass the Combat Meth Act, which provides law enforcement officials and prosecutors with resources to pursue and punish producers and distributors of methamphetamine. The bill also sought to increase community awareness of the methamphetamine problem and establishes new treatment options for those suffering from methamphetamine addiction. In addition, Senator Wyden has worked with state and local law enforcement officials to ensure that additional Oregon counties get designated as High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) and thus receive more federal funds to fight against methamphetamine and other drugs.
Following years of devastating wildfires, Senator Wyden brokered a compromise wildfire prevention bill that sought to protect communities from catastrophic wildfires, restore unhealthy forests, and preserve old growth forests. The bill, known as the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, was signed into law in late 2003. Since then, Senator Wyden has led the fight to fully fund the hazardous fuels reduction work authorized by the law.
Protecting Oregon's Treasures
In 2003, Senator Wyden wrote the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area land transfer legislation, which transferred control of approximately 68.5 acres from the Bureau of Land Management to Douglas County. Signed into law in 2004, the bill was intended to improve access to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and to reduce traffic congestion along Salmon Harbor Drive.Working with local government, community leaders, hunters and fishers, Senator Wyden introduced the Copper Salmon Wilderness Act to permanently protect the 13,700 acres that encompass the headwaters of the Elk River in Southern Oregon. Renowned among fishermen, Copper Salmon is one of the last intact watersheds on the southwest Oregon Coast and is widely regarded as Oregon’s last, best coastal salmon and steelhead stream. The tract is adjacent to the existing Grassy Knob Wilderness Area within the lush rainforests of the Siskiyou-Rogue River National Forest.
Growing Oregon's Economy
Federal transportation funding represents an important investment in Oregon's economy, and Senator Wyden has secured funding for several important regional transportation projects, including the I-5 interchange in Coburg, the I-5 Fern Valley interchange in Medford, improvements to the Eugene and Medford airports, and various transit projects in Eugene and Springfield.As the author of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, Senator Wyden sought to create more jobs for Oregon in the areas of nano- and microtechnology. He has also secured tens of millions of dollars in federal research and development funding for the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), a collaborative effort among Oregon's three public research universities (the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Portland State University), the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the state of Oregon, and the private sector.
Senator Wyden believes that a bottom-up approach is the best way to foster economic growth in Oregon. As chairman of the Oregon Business Plan Leadership Committee, Senator Wyden led an economic development tour of the state that gave local businesses and community leaders an opportunity to share their ideas for fostering economic growth. The tour included forums in Medford, Klamath Falls, Bend, Eugene, Newport, The Dalles, Pendleton, La Grande, and John Day that have helped shape economic development plans for the entire state.