| Remarks by Governor Kulongoski |
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| February 11, 2009 |
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The Oregon Way Announcement
REMARKS BY GOVERNOR TED KULONGOSKI
February 11, 2009
Good morning. I called this press conference today to talk about the federal economic recovery bill that is now moving through Congress in Washington, D.C.
There is still a great deal of uncertainty today about what a final federal package will look like, but Oregon stands ready to take any federal assistance and put it into action – for schools, health care and improvements to our public infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs across the state immediately.
The state is also doing its part to create jobs and accelerate an economic recovery. Last week I signed into law Go Oregon – a $175 million state investment in public works projects statewide. I have a transportation package before the legislature that will create and sustain thousands of family wage jobs for the long-term.
And there are nearly $1 billion in other capital investments from the state hospital to our universities and community colleges that will also create thousands of family-wage jobs.
These measures are important actions that the state can take to put Oregonians back to work immediately – and they are actions the legislature must take to do our part to stimulate the economy. But we cannot only look at the short-term picture. We must also look long-term and begin to transform the way Oregon invests in public infrastructure.
Ultimately, we need to transform the way we approach public works projects so that we not only create the immediate jobs, but also continue to create jobs long after the construction of the project is complete….and so that we not only make the needed infrastructure improvements, but we do so while also reducing our carbon footprint – which will also lead to annual savings for the life of the building or project and taxpayers.
And we have an opportunity before us with the federal economic recovery package – in whatever form makes it to the President’s desk – to put this new approach to work and showcase to the world that Oregon is a leader in doing business smarter and greener while creating jobs and sustainable economic opportunities now and in the future.
In the Senate bill, as of today, there are approximately $37 billion in competitive grants available to states. This amount is comparable to the amount available in the bill that passed the House of Representatives several weeks ago.
I want to make sure Oregon is prepared to compete for – and win – as many of those $37 billion in competitive programs. That is why today I am announcing a new public-private advisory council – called the Oregon Way Advisory Group – to help Oregon capture these competitive grants.
My goals with this new approach are to: 1) create family wage jobs immediately and jobs that are sustainable into the future; 2) attract new economic opportunities for Oregonians and Oregon companies as a leader in innovation and green development; 3) improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions; and 4) change the way government works to compete in this tough economic environment by strategically partnering with the private sector.
This group will work to identify signature projects across the state that demonstrate innovation, meet a real community need, and create economic opportunity through both the supply side as well as job creation.
The group will identify projects that meet six specific criteria: Immediate Job Creation; Use of Oregon Companies; Green Job Training; Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction; Innovative Approach; and Potential to attract future federal grants.
The reason for this new approach is two-fold.
First – it is a smarter way to do business. Mark Edlen, with Gerding Edlen will talk more to this, but a good example is deferred maintenance on older buildings.
If we just take the federal dollars and fix the leaking roof, we are applying a band-aid instead of a long-term solution. While on some buildings – that’s the need, it’s immediate and that’s what we must do. But on others, there is a great opportunity to leverage federal dollars to do this differently. To do this smarter by retrofitting a building with a new roof, upgrade energy efficiencies, using Oregon suppliers and Oregon workers – delivering an improved infrastructure with long-term energy savings.
The result is a better building, long-term energy savings, and a new group of workers trained for competitive green building and retrofitting jobs.
Second – this approach will ensure Oregon remains a leader in this green revolution. We no longer have the luxury of looking short-term when it comes to the economy or the environment. We cannot move forward on one without regard for the other – and this new approach ensures we continue to lead the nation in innovation and in meeting our ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals and creating economic opportunity here at home.
For example, Oregon already launched the nation’s first solar highway, using Oregon manufacturers like SolarWorld for the solar panels, PV Powered from Bend for the inverters and a consortium of small Oregon businesses installed the solar system supplying jobs today and renewable energy for decades to come.
There are federal grants available in the bill that’s moving through Congress that Oregon should compete for to help us expand our solar highways to other parts of the state and perhaps even build the world’s largest solar highway.
Oregon’s leadership, innovation and achievement are creating opportunities for Oregonians at home and throughout the nation. Let us build on that success together.
As I said, we must not only look short-term. We must look at ways to maximize and capture potentially millions of dollars – and not just use them the same old way, but use them the Oregon Way. Use them to showcase to the world our expertise in green planning and green development. Use them to retain as many dollars here at home by using Oregon worker and Oregon suppliers. Use them to build buildings while also building a cleaner environment.
If we do this right, we will create lasting economic opportunities. We will secure our leadership role in green, smart development. And our knowledge and expertise will become an export commodity for other states that look to follow in our footsteps.
Times are hard, but as we face what is certain to be very challenging times, Oregonians are not looking for short-term fixes that give the illusion of being painless – and carry no political risk.
They are looking for winning ideas that will put Oregon on a path toward long-term prosperity – and we have an opportunity with this federal package to put winning ideas into action.
With that, I’d like to introduce Mark Edlen, with Gerding Edlen….
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