Congress

Facing a serious revenue shortfall, the Oregon Legislative Assembly ought to heed the first rule for when you find yourself in a hole: stop digging. Here’s the problem. Congress is drafting economic recovery legislation that is likely to contain a large shovel for Oregon called bonus depreciation, a business tax break recognized as an ineffectual economic stimulus. Under a misguided state law provision passed in 1997, paused in 2003 and renewed again in 2005, Oregon automatically follows the federal definition of taxable income. So if the feds hand out a bogus business tax break, Oregon’s treasury takes the hit —...

The huge economic stimulus bill going through Congress will likely shower hundreds of millions of dollars on Oregon's state government and help legislators dig their way out of a huge hole in the Oregon budget. But first, the Legislature may...

In all this talk of the stimulus package working its way through Congress, there's a whole lotta billion this and billion that. As Senator Everett Dirksen once famously said, "A billion here and a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money!"It can be pretty tough to put all that in real terms. Well, the O has a story that itemizes what the stimulus package might mean right here in Oregon:According to congressional analysts, the House bill would give Oregon:-- $747 million to help the state balance its budget.-- $210 million to modernize, renovate and repair public schools.-- $33...

The numbers are starting to trickle out of how much each state could get from the jumbo-sized $825 billion stimulus package being put together by Congress and the Obama administration. By spreading these numbers outside the Beltway, policymakers hope to...

Putting Barack Obama in the Oval Office in place of George W. Bush hasn't changed the public's distaste of the $700 billion financial bailout - and judging by the latest votes in Congress, that's as true in Oregon as anywhere...

Everybody knows that small businesses in Oregon and across the country are struggling with health care. As rates continue to skyrocket, small businesses are paying an arm and a leg for questionable coverage that often doesn’t meet their needs. At the same time, lots of people (including Members of Congress, state lawmakers, and the public too) will be looking to small business to find out what they think should be done to fix the health care crisis. Rather than guess what small business owners want, the Oregon Action Small Business Council went out and asked them. Formed in September 2008...

Jeff Merkley skipped the middle man MSM and went right to the netroots today to talk about his vote in the affirmative for TARP: From the moment we were notified of the pending vote, I worked night and day to convince the Obama team to dedicate a large chunk of the funds directly to working families for mortgage relief. Millions of working families have already lost their homes and millions more are behind on their payments. It is time that Congress and the President immerse themselves in assisting these families. Direct mortgage relief does three things. First, it restores the...

It looks like Congress is rolling toward passing a 61-cent-a-pack cigarette tax that will expand health coverage for needy children. That's good news for Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who is seeking his own state tax hikes to provide coverage for all...

Congressman Earl makes the New York Times: Mr. Blumenauer, a passionate advocate of cycling as a remedy for everything from climate change to obesity, represents most of Portland in Congress, where he is the founder and proprietor of the 180 (plus or minus)-member Congressional Bicycle Caucus. Long regarded in some quarters as quixotic, the caucus has come into its own as hard times, climate concerns, gyrating gas prices and worries about fitness turn people away from their cars and toward their bikes. “We have been flogging this bicycle thing for 20 years,” said Mr. Blumenauer, a Democrat. “All of a...

A bunch of notes from the nation's capital: This morning brings news that Senator Jeff Merkley will be joining the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee - colloquially known as the HELP committee. The committee, chaired by Senator Ted Kennedy, will be a central player in this Congress - as health care reform and the Employee Free Choice Act will likely move through the committee. Previously, we learned that Merkley would be on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Merkley is expected to be named to a total of three or four committees. Senator Ron Wyden is helping lead the...