By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will discuss the nation’s economic crisis and pending passage of a public lands bill during his Wednesday visit to Hood River.

Wyden voted on Tuesday in favor of the Senate’s $838 billion economic stimulus package. He believes the funding will save thousands of good-paying jobs in Oregon.

“This bill will give the economy a desperately needed jump-start so we can finally help Americans begin to reclaim their financial security,” said Wyden after the Feb. 10 vote.

“I will be spending the next days working with my colleagues in both the House and Senate to restore the much-needed funding for our states and schools, but the important message for today is that Congress is taking decisive action to get the economy back on track.”

The Senate legislation was approved by a 61-37 margin after three Republicans crossed party lines to vote with Democrats. The House stimulus package of $810 billion failed to garner any Republican support because programmatic spending outweighed tax cuts for individuals and businesses.

As of press time on Friday, the House and Senate plans had been reconciled through a joint conference into a $789 billion package. The revised Americans Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was expected to be approved by both chambers and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., reported on Thursday that about 35 percent of the latest package constitutes tax cuts and the remainder involves government spending.

Wyden is looking forward to stimulus funding being used to improve Oregon’s roads and bridges, expand access to broadband technology and provide financial relief to families facing health care costs and the threat of unemployment.

He is also anticipating passage of his plan to expand Wilderness on Mount Hood by about 128,000 acres. The House is expected to approve the Senate Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 within the next few weeks.

The Act, a compilation of 164 separate bills, preserves 200,000 acres of federal property in Oregon, as well as 2 million acres in other states.

Included in the legislation is the Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2007 that was authored by Wyden. His plan adds almost 80 more miles to Mount Hood’s Wild and Scenic River system.

A land exchange that settles years of divisiveness in Hood River County is also incorporated into the act.

In a trade facilitated by the U.S. Forest Service, Mt. Hood Meadows Oregon LLC will forego its plans to site housing on 769 acres of Cooper Spur holdings.

Instead, the company will adhere to a settlement agreement reached with the Hood River Valley Residents Committee, a conservation group, in 2005. The properties in the southern sector of the county will be exchanged for 120 acres near Government Camp, an area already largely developed.

Once the land swap is completed, Meadows will forfeit the right to any new development from the Mt. Hood Country Store to the county’s southern boundary. The prohibition also extends from the store to the east and west borders of the county.