OREGON
A8 — THE OBSERVER
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022
Biden touts $1 trillion infrastructure program
icant eff ect as defi ned in a 1970
law.
Oregon also will get aid for
upgrades of water and sewer
lines and expansion of broad-
band capacity. Leah Horner
has been named by Gov. Kate
Brown to oversee infrastructure
spending.
President stopped
briefly in Portland and
then headed to Seattle
for a two-city West
Coast tour promoting
infrastructure spending
The law’s eff ects
By PETER WONG and
JONATHAN HOUSE
Oregon Capital Bureau
PORTLAND — President Joe
Biden led a political pep rally
Thursday, April 21, at Portland
International Airport, which
he called “a perfect example”
of what the $1 trillion legisla-
tion he signed last year can do
to overhaul the nation’s aging
infrastructure.
The airport already is under-
going a $2 billion moderniza-
tion project, including a greatly
expanded passenger terminal
and a new mass timber roof that
will be its crown jewel. The air-
port already has benefi ted from
$19 million in federal funds for
runway work.
As Biden spoke to a crowd
of elected offi cials and union
workers inside a hangar at the
Air National Guard base on the
airport’s southern edge, the air-
port was visible through the han-
gar’s open door.
Biden thanked Oregon’s two
senators and four of its fi ve rep-
resentatives — all Democrats
— for their votes for the bill he
signed on Nov. 15, 2021. (Ore-
gon’s lone Republican in the
House voted against it.)
“I want to thank them for
helping prove that America can
do big things again,” he said.
Although some in Oregon’s
congressional delegation talked
about other big projects that
could benefi t from the new fed-
Jonathan House/Oregon Capital Bureau
President Joe Biden made remarks in Portland on Thursday, April 21, 2022, on a two-city West Coast tour to promote his
infrastructure spending bill, which he signed last year.
eral money — replacement
bridges across the Columbia
River connecting Portland and
Vancouver, Washington, and the
widening of Interstate 5 at the
Rose Quarter interchange with
Interstate 84 — Biden made no
specifi c commitments.
He did say that $25 billion of
the new money is earmarked for
airports such as Portland, which
sees 20 million passages annu-
ally and ships 330,000 metric
tons of goods.
According to World Economic
Forum reports, the United States
now ranks 13th in the quality of
its infrastructure. Biden said the
legislation is a start in changing
that.
“Here’s the deal: It’s been
much too long since America has
invested in our own airports, our
ports and our rails. We haven’t
Oregon gas prices steady
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
The Oregonian
SALEM — After a few
weeks of gradual decline,
Oregon’s gas prices are
holding steady, as crude
oil prices rise and demand
for gasoline pushes costs
upward, according to AAA.
The average price per
gallon in Oregon this week
is $4.66, a 1-cent increase
over last week. In Portland,
prices were unchanged from
a week earlier at about $4.74.
The national average also
increased by 1 cent, and is
now at $4.10.
The average price in
Bend also increased 1 cent,
to $4.68 a gallon for regular.
Prices this week remained
below the record highs
set last month. Gas prices
nationwide and in Oregon
peaked on March 11; Oregon
hit $4.74 a gallon and the
United States reached $4.33.
Portland broke its record on
March 27, cresting at $4.79
per gallon.
But as gas prices fall from
those record highs, demand
for fuel is increasing again,
said AAA spokesperson
Marie Dodds in a written
statement.
“We tend to see gaso-
line consumption increase
this time of year, as the days
get longer and people drive
more,” Dodds said. “But
these lower pump prices
could be temporary if the
global price of oil increases
due to constrained supply.”
Nationally, Oregon’s gas
prices remain among the
highest, behind only Cali-
fornia, Nevada, Hawaii and
Washington.
In Union County, AAA
reports that gas prices are
at an average of $4.63 per
gallon and Wallowa County
averages $4.73 per gallon.
The average price per gallon
is $4.38 in Umatilla County
and $4.62 in Baker County.
Rural Oregonians overwhelmingly
snub 1850 Donation Land Act
By MICHAEL KOHN
The Bulletin
SALEM — In 1850, Con-
gress passed the Donation
Land Act, which granted
free land to white set-
tlers in Oregon as a way to
encourage Americans to go
West. The act ushered in a
wave of migrants and carved
Oregon up into plots of land,
largely at the expense of
Native American tribes.
A survey that gauged Ore-
gonian’s perceptions on the
Donation Land Act revealed
that rural people view the act
as unfair in larger percent-
ages than people living in
urban areas.
According to the survey,
77% of people polled in rural
areas said the Donation Land
Act was not fair to people
who were not white. For the
same question, 70% of people
in urban areas also responded
that the act was not fair. The
percentages were even higher
in Oregon’s suburbs, where
80% of people said the policy
was unfair.
The online survey was
conducted by the indepen-
dent, nonpartisan Oregon
Values and Beliefs Center.
It polled 1,584 Oregonians
and had a margin of error
of 1.5% to 2.5%.
Jermayne Tuckta, an
archivist at the Museum at
Warm Springs, fi nds irony in
the numbers.
“It’s interesting that a lot
of rural people would fi nd
this unfair because they are
the ones who benefi ted from
the Donation Land Act the
most,” said Tuckta, a member
of the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs.
Tuckta said the diff erence
between rural and urban atti-
tudes could come down to
which side is more exposed
to Native American issues
on a daily basis. People in
urban areas do not regularly
see the impacts of the Land
Donation Act on Native
Americans, he said.
“Those in the rural areas
probably often run into tribal
members who are looking
for places to gather edible
roots,” said Tuckta. “So
people in rural areas are
seeing fi rsthand the cause
and eff ects of what the land
donation act did.”
Tuckta said Native
Americans often ask per-
mission from local land-
owners to dig for roots on
private property, common
situations that bring the two
sides in direct contact.
done it,” he said.
“We used to have the best
infrastructure in the world.
We stopped investing in our-
selves. We stopped investing in
our communities. We stopped
investing in America. I know
people are tired of hearing
me say it. But this time, we
are going to lead the world in
investing in ourselves, in our
nation and in our people. That is
the place to start.”
What Oregon gets
Oregon will get at least $4.5
billion over fi ve years, though
much of that amount is in the
form of renewed federal aid for
highways. But at least $1.2 bil-
lion is new money for road and
bridge repairs, mass transit and
other alternatives to reduce
carbon emissions from cars,
safer streets and roads, infra-
structure for electric vehicles,
and resilience from natural
disasters and climate change.
Most of this money is channeled
through the Oregon Department
of Transportation, but some goes
directly to local governments.
Oregon also has the oppor-
tunity to compete for shares of
$100 billion for projects deter-
mined by the U.S. secretary of
transportation, such as the I-5
bridge and the I-5 widening men-
tioned above.
Biden, in a Jan. 14 video mes-
sage, did mention the I-5 bridge
replacement as one of three
examples of bridges that could
benefi t from the legislation. That
project is undergoing a supple-
mental environmental impact
statement, which is required for
projects likely to have a signif-
Biden has given similar
speeches elsewhere, trying to
marshal support for Demo-
crats as they face a tough mid-
term election Nov. 8, when their
tenuous majorities might fall to
Republicans.
Biden was introduced by
Lauren Heitzman, who had sev-
eral jobs before she became an
apprentice electrician with Local
48 of the International Brother-
hood of Electrical Workers. She
was raised by a single mother; she
said they were not poor, but eco-
nomic insecurities plagued them.
“To me, not only is this project
a symbol of modern advancement
and ingenuity, it is a vehicle for
a promise of a better life,” said
Heitzman, one of the workers on
the airport modernization. “This
airport is a landmark. I will for-
ever drive by it and see it as a
symbol of how far I have come.
Projects like this change lives and
keep Oregon moving forward.
“I have health care, I have a
pension, I have the security of
good pay — and with the extra
income, I can take my mom gro-
cery shopping whenever she
wants.”
But Heitzman also said the new
law and the ensuing work that it
funds have a broader eff ect.
“The law that passed last year
is not just an investment in infra-
structure. It is also an investment
in good union jobs, good schools
and strong communities. It is an
investment in me and my union,”
she said.
People with HIV
are our neighbors.
More than half of Oregonians with HIV
live outside Portland, often in suburbs or
small towns like this one.
But with today’s advances, HIV isn’t what it used to be.
People with HIV are living longer, healthier lives, with the
help of medication. By talking about HIV, we can support
our community. Testing and early treatment protect you
and your partner. Help is available if you’re HIV+.
Learn more and find free testing at endhivoregon.org