Federal funding bills advance out of committee, include $3 million for COCC’s Madras Campus expansion

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) – Senator Jeff Merkley, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced he secured critical investments for Oregon families and rural, coastal, and underserved communities in the third set of fiscal year 2025 government spending bills to pass the committee—a key first step on the road to becoming law. 

Merkley helped to make sure the investments—including over $39 million for 29 critical community-initiated projects across Oregon—were incorporated across three separate spending bills: the FY25 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill that expands access to affordable, quality health care, mental health resources, and education options; the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) bill that supports economic development and manufacturing in Oregon; and the Energy and Water Development (E&W) bill that bolsters water infrastructure, small ports, and fisheries, while strengthening Oregon’s commitment to combatting climate chaos with renewable energy. All three bills cleared the committee with bipartisan support.

“As I hold a town hall in each of Oregon’s 36 counties every year, I hear firsthand from folks about what matters most to them, including building on the foundations working families need to thrive: housing, health care, education, and good-paying jobs—and these latest funding bills deliver on these essentials,” Merkley said. “From making significant investments in our education and health care systems, to supporting small businesses and innovation, and strengthening our water infrastructure and building drought resilience, the funding included in these bills for programs and critical community-initiated projects will benefit Oregonians in every corner of the state for years to come.” 

Merkley is the only Oregon member of Congress from either chamber since Senator Mark Hatfield to serve on the Appropriations Committee, which is one of the most powerful on Capitol Hill. He joined the committee in 2013 so that Oregon would have a strong voice in decisions about the investments our nation should be making.

Health Care and Education

Merkley, along with Senator Ron Wyden, secured the following 20 Oregon community-initiated projects in the Senate’s draft FY25 LHHS funding bill to expand affordable health care and mental health resources, as well as increase childcare, early education, and career and technical training options throughout the state:

• $3 million for Central Oregon Community College to expand their campus in Madras. The funding will go toward construction on the campus to help address the shortage of trained health care workers in nursing, certified nursing assistants, and medical assistant programs – one of Central Oregon’s most pressing needs.
• $2.98 million for the University of Oregon to create a bachelor’s level program within the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health to address critical shortages in the pediatric behavioral health workforce. Students in this innovative training program that’s based in Portland will be integrated into pediatric primary care settings to deliver evidence-based services.
• $2.5 million to Clackamas County for the construction of the Center for Treatment and Recovery, a substance abuse recovery center. The center will help ensure individuals struggling with substance use disorder receive timely person-centered support, treatment, and resources.
• $1.7 million to the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) for their Mobile Dental Clinic project. The funding will allow OIT in Klamath Falls to purchase two mobile dental clinics to provide dental care to underserved and at-risk residents in rural Southern Oregon.  
• $1.658 million to Wasco County for the Columbia Gorge Resolution Center, a comprehensive behavioral health campus.They will use the funding to help address mental health service gaps in rural communities in the Mid-Columbia region.
• $1.611 million for Lines for Life to hire additional staff and conduct youth workforce and volunteer training to expand the reach of YouthLine, their statewide youth suicide prevention program. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death of young people in Oregon.
• $1.6 million for Lane Community College to purchase equipment for their new Industry and Trades Education Center. This project addresses a critical workforce gap in skilled labor by establishing a center that focuses on apprenticeship training, construction technology, manufacturing technology, and other skilled labor sectors.
• $1.5 million for Valley Family Health Care, Inc. to construct a modern facility in Nyssa that will integrate medical, behavioral, and dental care in this medically underserved area of rural Eastern Oregon. This will replace the current facilities in Nyssa which are aging and spread out. By combining services under one roof, this will increase use of health care services. 
• $1.5 million for the City of Portland to expand Portland Fire & Rescue’s successful Mobile Medication for Opioid Use Disorder pilot program. This program enables them to quickly respond to and treat opioid overdose in the community, saving many lives.
• $1.369 million for Vision to Learn to purchase and equip a mobile vision clinic van to expand their free, exam-to-glasses services to students primarily in rural Willamette Valley and Central Oregon public schools.
• $1.356 for Grande Ronde Hospital to purchase a new nuclear medicine machine. As the only hospital in rural Union County, their current machine is operating past its intended lifespan and is expected to lose all manufacturer support in July 2025. This new diagnostic machine will enable treatment for a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers and heart disease.
• $1.3 million to the Lomakatsi Restoration Project for their Inter-Tribal Ecological Forestry Training Program. Funds will be used to train young adults in a year-long program, where they will gain experience in forest health and fuels reduction while performing critical wildfire prevention work in high wildfire risk areas.
• $1.25 million for Harney District Hospital for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment.  This frontier Critical Access Hospital’s HVAC system is nearing the end of its life, and the nearest larger hospital is located 130 miles away. Ensuring the hospital has a reliable heating and cooling system is essential for local community members and people traveling through this extremely rural area.
• $1.041 million to the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians to purchase a mobile mammography and x-ray unit. This equipment will enable the Tribes to provide more comprehensive medical care to tribal members in remote locations across a five-county region of Southwest Oregon.
• $1.023 million to the Amani Center to construct a permanent facility for child abuse intervention and assessments in Columbia County. This will enable the Amani Center to better serve victims of child abuse and their families by doubling the center’s forensic medical service capacity, ensuring quality evidence collection for legal proceedings, and increasing privacy and safety at the Center.
• $854,000 to Portland Community College for their Increasing the Mental Health Workforce Initiative to help address Oregon’s critical behavioral health workforce shortage. Funding will be used to develop and implement a student support program to recruit, retain, and graduate students seeking to join the behavioral health workforce.
• $816,000 for Valley Family Health Care, Inc. to implement medication-assisted opioid use disorder treatment in Eastern Oregon county jails. Funding will specifically be used to purchase medication and provide addiction treatment consultation to sheriffs and jail medical staff in Malheur, Union, Baker, and Umatilla Counties. This will help address the fentanyl crisis, which is particularly acute in rural America.
• $750,000 for Mental Health and Addiction Advocates of Oregon to complete the renovation of their Recovery Campus—the first peer-run, no-barrier behavioral health center in East Portland. The Campus will provide mental health and addiction recovery services throughout the Portland Metro region.
• $567,000 to the Morrow County Health District to purchase a new Computed Tomography (CT) machine at Pioneer Memorial Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in rural Heppner. The hospital’s current CT equipment is nearing the end of its life and can no longer be upgraded.  The new machine will provide a number of benefits, including an 80 percent reduction of radiation to patients and employees, and significantly reduce wait times for results on critically ill and trauma patients.
• $163,000 for the Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center (NEOAHEC) to purchase an Advanced Maternal and Neonatal Simulation System. Much of Eastern Oregon lacks access to this critical equipment, and the region faces many challenges when it comes to providing care for expecting mothers. This project will allow NEOAHEC to deploy obstetric and maternal health training which needed to keep health care professionals in a practice ready in rural Eastern Oregon.

Click HERE for quotes from community-initiated project recipients included in the draft Senate LHHS bill. 

Other key highlights in the LHHS bill include:

Rural Health: The LHHS bill includes critical investments in health care access and delivery in rural areas, including $155 million for the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program and $14.5 million for State Offices of Rural Health, including the Oregon Office of Rural Health. The bill also includes $5 million to further elevate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office of Rural Health, which was created  by Senator Merkley’s Rural Health Equity Act and bipartisan work in in the FY23 funding bill.

Nursing: The LHHS bill includes $310.5 million to support current nurses in Oregon and across the country and address the nursing workforce shortage, an increase of $5 million in funding will be used for nursing workforce development programs, which support nurses at all levels of education, training, and retention.

Reproductive Health Care: The LHHS bill includes funding for reproductive health care programs, including more than $286.5 million for the Title X Family Planning Program.

Maternal and Child Health: The bill includes over $1.18 billion for programs to improve maternal and child health, including $8 million to expand support for a maternal mental health hotline.  

Mental and Behavioral Health Care: The LHHS bill includes over $1 billion for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant to improve mental health services in all 50 states. Oregon benefited from nearly $15.3 million in Fiscal Year 2023. The bill also includes over $539.6 million in funding for 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Medical Research: The LHHS bill includes a $2.05 billion increase in base funding for the National Institutes of Health, totaling $48.8 billion in the fight against cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, and other devastating conditions.

Community Health Centers: The LHHS bill includes over $1.85 billion in funding to support ongoing efforts to increase accessibility of medical services through community and school-based health centers. These centers serve a vital role in ensuring access to primary care for rural and underserved communities.

Childcare and Early Education: The LHHS bill includes over $10.3 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, a $1.6 billion increase, over $12.9 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start, a more than $600 million increase, and $315 million for preschool development grants to build or enhance preschool program infrastructure.

Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Education: The LHHS bill includes over $97.3 million for programs for migrant students and seasonal farmworkers. Through this program, higher education and non-profit organizations can receive funding to give migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their children the opportunity to attend higher education or earn their GED. Oregon State University, Chemeketa Community College, Portland Community College, Treasure Valley Community College, and community-based organizations in Oregon receive funds through this program.

Accessible Education: The LHHS bill includes over $15.7 billion, an increase of over $300 million, for special education programs. This includes funding to assist Oregon in providing a free, appropriate education for children with disabilities and provide support services for 7.8 million students nationwide, including those participating in early intervention and preschool programs.

Student Support: The LHHS bill includes $1.21 billion for TRIO, a suite of eight educational programs that supports students from first-generation college students and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. The LHHS bill also includes $910 million for the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant program and $1.23 billion for the Federal Work Study program. As the first person in his family to graduate from college, Merkley knows firsthand the value of this type of support and has been a fierce advocate for these programs. The bill also continues to support a total maximum Pell Grant award, the cornerstone of student financial aid, of $7,495 for the 2025 – 2026 school year.

Career Training: The LHHS bill includes nearly $1.5 billion for career, technical and adult education programs, which supports the workforce and economy by training young people to fill in-demand, twenty-first century jobs.

Community Services Block Grants: The bill includes $770 million for the program, which provides critical support for rural Oregon communities.

Community Service: The bill funds AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers at $103.2 million; Senior Volunteer Corps programs at $236.9 million; and National and State AmeriCorps grants at $592 million.

Job Creation and Innovation

Merkley and Wyden secured the following 5 community-initiated projects in the Senate’s draft FY25 FSGG funding bill to support economic development in Oregon:

• $2 million to the City of Pendleton for the Oregon Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Accelerator project.  Federal funds will be used to renovate and install equipment in a World War II-era B-17 Hangar at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport. This will create a world class tech accelerator that will help small startups commercialize autonomous systems and robotics.
• $1 million for the City of Portland for their regional procurement dashboard project. The funding will be used to standardize and compile public agency buying and contracting data into a single, unified data source and a publicly accessible dashboard. The goal of the dashboard is to improve access to government contract bids for small businesses.
• $750,000 to REAP Inc.’s Young Entrepreneurs Program, which will expand mentorship and internship opportunities. This funding will be used to help empower and equip underserved Portland-area young people with entrepreneurial skills and experiences including leadership and employment skills, networking, and mentorship.
• $610,000 to the North Coast Food Web in Astoria to purchase equipment including cold storage and a solar array for a new regional food hub facility. This facility will support small and start-up food business incubation and provide year-round market opportunities for locally sourced farms and fisheries, cultivating a resilient and equitable local food system on the North Coast.
• $200,000 to Built Oregon for to expand their Farmers’ Market Booth program into multiple Oregon counties. This will create access to farmers’ markets for small, underserved producers and manufacturers – a critical launching point for many Oregon small-businesses.

Click HERE for quotes from community-initiated project recipients included in the draft Senate FSGG bill. 

Other key highlights in the FSGG bill include:

Small Business Development: The FSGG bill includes $385.6 million to support entrepreneurial and small business development.

Mass Timber Expansion: The FSGG bill includes language encouraging the General Services Administration to partner with the innovative wood products industry to expand the use of mass timber and other innovative wood products in federal buildings and for future construction projects.

Wine Labeling: The FSGG bill secured $159.7 million for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, including to accelerate label applications, helping Oregon businesses get their new products to customers sooner.

Water Infrastructure. Renewable Energy, and Coastal Priorities

Merkley and Wyden secured the following 4 community-initiated projects in the Senate’s draft FY25 E&W funding bill to enhance water infrastructure and conservation and supercharge renewable energy projects in Oregon:

• $3.625 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to fund Lost Creek and Applegate Lake line items to reconstruct the water supply system for Cole Rivers Hatchery in Jackson County. Recent investments led by Senator Merkley have addressed issues with the power supply and other deferred maintenance at the Hatchery and project sites. This additional investment to restore the water supply system will result in a more climate resilient hatchery that is able to fully meet its mitigation obligations and reliably sustain regionally important fisheries and economies.

• $1.718 million for the USACE to fulfill their fish mitigation responsibilities by addressing unmet capabilities at nine Willamette Valley System hatcheries, which breaks down as follows:
  • $492,000 for Lookout Point Lake
  • $492,000 for Detroit Lake
  • $423,000 for Cougar Lake
  • $206,000 for Green Peter and Foster Lakes
  • $45,000 for Lost River at Cole Rivers Hatchery
  • $45,000 for Hills Creek Lake
  • $7,000 for Fall Creek
  • $4,000 for Cottage Grove Lake
  • $4,000 for Dorena Lake
• $1 million to the Ochoco Irrigation District for their floating solar project. This will generate 900 kilowatts of power and benefit local agriculture, residential homes, and local industry.
• $275,000 for continued coordination between the USACE, Tribes, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Village Development plan. This plan will comprehensively address adverse impacts to Indian villages, housing sites, and related structures as a result of the construction of The Dalles Dam, Bonneville Dam, McNary Dam, and John Day Dam. This funding was secured with the support of Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray and U.S. Washington Senator Maria Cantwell. 

Click HERE for quotes from community-initiated project recipients included in the draft Senate E&W bill. 

Other key funding in the E&W bill includes:

Army Corp Navigation Maintenance: The USACE navigation maintenance programs will receive additional funding of over $681 million for deep-draft harbor and channel improvements, $65 million for inland waterways, $20 million for navigation maintenance, and $329 million for small, remote, and subsistence navigation.

Water Conservation and Habitat Restoration: The WaterSMART program would receive $65 million to fund projects that will help irrigation districts comply with the Endangered Species Act. The WaterSmart program has supported the collaborative process in Central Oregon launched by legislation written by Merkley and former Congressman Greg Walden to conserve water, improve habitat for endangered steelhead and the spotted frog, and keep Central Oregon family farms in business.

Expanding Renewable Energy: This bill includes $300 million for solar energy technologies, $165 million for wind energy, and $15 million for distributed wind, which is the use of smaller wind turbines that help offset emissions from homes, public buildings, and businesses. The bill also includes $190 million for waterpower, which will support ongoing research at Oregon State University.

Electric Vehicle Deployment: This bill provides $450 million for vehicle technologies, including $250 million for battery and electrification technologies.

Energy Storage: The E&W bill includes $94 million for energy storage research and development. This important funding ensures stability, reliability, and resilience of the U.S. electricity grid as the country deploys and uses more renewable energy.

Now that the bills have cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee, they next head to the Senate floor for a vote before the bills can be conferenced with counterpart bills in the U.S. House of Representatives. The final, merged legislation must then be passed by both chambers before it is signed into law.