A legislative provision to prohibit Oregon’s tolling plan and to strengthen critical Southwest Washington priorities to include restoring assistance for Lewis County communities advanced the the U.S. Senate yesterday after being approved by the house.
The provisions were authored by Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, and were included in the spending plan put together by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee for the 2018 fiscal year. For the first time in seven years, Herrera Beutler helped to successfully advance all 12 appropriation funding bills through the House, meaning every item received a full debate and was subject to amendment by the House, according to a press release from her office.
One item in the spending plan for Southwest Washington restores assistance for Lewis County communities that were deemed “too affluent” by the Department of Housing and Urban Development because of faulty census data. The towns were not eligible for Community Block Development Grants. Herrera Beutler’s provision requires transparency in data by HUD and requires them to formulate alternative ways to measure a community’s income level. The data previously used has margins of error as high as 91.5 percent, according to the release.
Another item blocks Oregon from its tolling plan for Interstates 5 and 205 at the state line.
“I work for residents of Southwest Washington; their economic well-being, health, and security are foremost in my mind when we are debating how to best allocate their tax dollars,” Herrera Beutler said. “I’m pleased this spending plan defends Washington commuters from paying Oregon a senseless toll that won’t improve our shared infrastructure needs, and hope Senators Murray and Cantwell will join me in this effort. The other priorities I helped secure for economic development of rural communities, salmon runs, wildfire prevention, and the support for our retired military servicemen and women will help make life better for folks in our region.”
The spending plan provides $3.4 billion for wildfire prevention programs, $20 million for the “fishery disasters” in Washington and $2.8 billion of funding for research in agriculture.
It raises pay for military personnel by 2.4 percent, provides prevention measures against military sexual assault, provides health care research for military service members, repeals the “Waters of the U.S. Rule,” protects waterways from invasive species, supports law enforcement and advances maternity care priorities, among other items, Herrera Beutler said.
For information on the other items included in the spending plan, go online to www.herrerabeutler.house.gov and click on “Press Releases” under the “Newsroom” tab.
