Office of the Senate President   900 Court St., N.E., Room S-203 Salem OR  97301 www.leg.state.or.us/senate/senpres

News Release

 

Contact:    Robin Maxey                                                                  September 23, 2008

                   (503) 986-1605   

                   robin.maxey@state.or.us                                                             

 

 

Facing Tough Budget, Legislature

Can Work to Create Jobs

(SALEM) – Oregon lawmakers should focus on putting Oregonians back to work through a series of needed construction projects when the 2009 Legislature convenes in January, Senate President Peter Courtney said Tuesday.

 

“A public works program will offer people a chance to work and earn a living while improving the state’s infrastructure.” said Courtney, D-Salem/Gervais/Woodburn. “Oregonians are hurting. We need to make 2009 the Jobs Session.”

 

Unemployment in Oregon has climbed a full percentage point in the last two months. It currently stands at 6.5 percent – the highest rate since January 2005 – and the number of Oregonians who are unemployed has grown by 25,000 in the last year.

 

Courtney said Oregon’s rising unemployment rate is a result of the slumping national economy and continued bad news from Wall Street. He acknowledged, too, that the Legislature will face a tight budget in the 2009 session.

 

Projects would be funded through the sale of bonds, Courtney said, allowing a smaller annual investment to produce more jobs.

 

Every $100 million in construction projects will directly create more than 1,000 jobs and indirectly add another 650 jobs to the Oregon economy, according to data compiled by the Legislative Revenue Office. That means $1 billion in construction projects would put more than 17,000 Oregonians to work.

 

“We’re not going to get the help we need from Washington. We can either choose to cross our fingers and hope things will get better, or we can take a bold step that will create jobs, put Oregonians back to work and jump start our economy,” Courtney said. “The choice is whether or not we are willing to invest in Oregon’s people and Oregon’s future.”

 

The Senate President said lawmakers won’t have to dream up a list of projects. Needs have already been identified across the state with dozens of projects simply waiting on funding.

 

Some examples, Courtney said, include a highway system that is overloaded; needs in mental health; more than 1,100 schools that would crumble and collapse in the event of an earthquake; a new prison and other maintenance projects in corrections; and college campuses across Oregon that need to modernize to compete in the global marketplace of the 21^st Century.

 

“On one hand, we have significant infrastructure needs,” Courtney said. “On the other hand we have thousands of Oregonians out of work. With a public works program we can address both problems while making a lasting investment in the future of our state.”

 

Courtney said he doesn’t believe it’s a partisan issue.

 

“I’d like to think the Legislature can come together and make this happen,” he said.