Wyden votes yes, Merkley no on big spending bill

Oregon’s two U.S. senators split early Friday as the Senate approved a $1.3 million spending bill to keep the federal government running until September, with Jeff Merkley saying the lack of addressing the issue of ‘Dreamer’ immigrants meant he had to vote no.

“I fought hard for many of the priorities that are reflected in this bill, and I’m proud that this bill will finally deliver resources to fight the opioid epidemic, invest in rural broadband, fix the way we fund fighting wildfires, and more,” Merkley said in a statement after the Senate voted 65-32 to send the bill to President Trump’s desk.

“However, this bill fails in a critical area: It still does nothing to address the 800,000 Dreamers who have been left out in the cold by President Trump. While I have other concerns with the bill, this reason alone is significant enough that I could not support it,” the senator added.

Sen. Ron Wyden, however, supported the “must-pass” measure.

“Congress tonight took significant steps toward addressing the infernos that are ravaging Oregon and the West,” Wyden said. “I have fought for years to end ‘fire borrowing’ and provide a long-term, bipartisan fix to the Forest Service’s common-sense defying wildfire budget.

“I’m proud that my solution with Sen. Crapo will now become law and start allowing the Forest Service to get back to work in the woods to do the fire prevention that can save lives and protect communities in Oregon and nationwide.

“The bill also includes resources for Oregonians in the Klamath Basin facing another dire drought forecast. It invests in affordable housing, including the low-income housing tax credit, and much-needed infrastructure projects throughout Oregon. Simply put, this bill contains a lot of good news for Oregon communities and the people who live and work in them.”

The omnibus spending bill includes a wildfire funding solution that Wyden and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, championed since 2013. The bill also includes a two-year extension of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. SRS has brought more than $3 billion to rural Oregon counties since Wyden authored the bill that created the program.