By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
March 31, 2007

Federal money to aid rural counties has stalled while Congressional Democrats engage in a political battle with President George W. Bush over troop withdrawal from Iraq.

The House went into a two-week recess on Friday with a presidential veto pending on an emergency supplemental bill. The legislation is intended to cover war funding and provide disaster relief.

Hood River County officials do not want to wait any longer for a restart of the “county payments” law. The local government is now looking for ways to absorb the financial loss.

That means the fiscal year 2007-08 budget, which has to be adopted by July 1, will have $1.7 million less for road maintenance.

In addition, Sheriff Joe Wampler has emptied his reserve search and rescue account. He said the $50,000 in federal dollars to fix airplanes, snow cats and other emergency vehicles must now cover operational costs.

Wampler said the budget to aid lost and injured recreationists was already drained in December by $27,000 after three climbers went missing on Mount Hood. The deficit of $13,000 cannot be repaid since the Secure Rural Schools and Self Determination Act lapsed at the end of 2006.

“We can get by this year — if we don’t have another major event. I’m more worried about what’s going to happen next year,” he said.

According to Wampler, Mount Hood National Forest and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area are drawing more visitors each year. He said 98 percent of local search and rescue efforts take place in the two Wilderness areas — so the federal government should rightfully fund these exercises.

But county payments are hung up in a showdown between Bush and the Democratically-controlled Senate and House. The respective supplemental bills of Congress include language calling for U.S. troops to leave Iraq in 2008.

Bush doesn’t want restrictions placed on military commanders. He contends that Democrats do not have enough votes to override his veto — so they shouldn’t pursue the issue. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi counters that the war is unpopular and Congress is representing the will of the American people.

Bush is also upset that $20 billion has been included in each of the two bills for “pet projects.” He defines numerous listed expenditures as “pork,” including $100 million to each party for next year’s presidential conventions.

“This disagreement over troop deployment is something that’s going to have to be worked out by Congressional Democrats and the President,” said Andrew Whelan, press secretary for U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.

Walden, who resides in Hood River, contends the economic plight of 700 counties in 39 states legitimately qualifies as a disaster.

He said Congress needs to keep its longstanding promise to compensate counties for lost taxing potential by having property within their borders designated as national forest. Sixty-one percent of Hood River County’s land base is under federal ownership.

Walden voted against the House supplemental funding bill on the belief that it could not become law — and left counties stranded without money for essential services.

According to Whelan, the House will take up the war and disaster funding bill again on April 16.

Sec. of Defense Robert Gates said this week that military cutbacks will begin as early as April 15. However, Congress has taken past action to provide the armed forces with enough money to get through June while debate on war funding continued.

The House supplemental bill seeks a fully-funded 12 month extension of payments to rural counties. Walden and Blumenaur have introduced separate legislation asking for seven more years – and plan to pursue its passage in 2007.

Oregon Senators Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., have gained a seven year addition of county payments in the Senate supplemental bill. However, the funding decreases by 10 percent until 2011, when it falls off sharply.