Merkley, Wyden Deliver Over $100 Million for Critical Community Projects Funding Across Oregon

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced they secured over $100 million in federal investments for essential community-initiated projects in nearly every Oregon county in both Fiscal Year 2026 packages that recently cleared Congress.
Both Merkley and Wyden hold a town hall in each Oregon county every year and work hard to ensure that local feedback informs every aspect of their work in Washington, D.C. This local feedback is directly reflected in the projects that were chosen for federal funding in the first two packages of this year’s spending bills to help meet critical needs in Oregon communities.
“Community-initiated projects are rooted in the fact that no one knows the unique needs of communities across Oregon like the folks living and working in them. The communities identified top projects, and we fought for them,”Merkley said.“Together with Senator Wyden and members of Oregon’s House delegation, we secured funding for 54 of these important homegrown projects that will benefit Oregonians in every corner of the state for years to come.”
“No-one knows what a local community needs more than the local community itself. That’s why I hold town halls and meetings in every nook and cranny of the state: to hear directly from Oregonians about their needs and bring that back to D.C. to fight for these critical projects,”Wyden said.“I am gratified to work alongside Senator Merkley and our Oregon delegation to bring home these federal investments to help communities throughout Oregon thrive.”
Merkley is the only Oregon member of Congress from either chamber since Senator Mark Hatfield to serve on the Appropriations Committee, which wrote the funding bills and is one of the most powerful committees on Capitol Hill. He joined the committee in 2013 so that Oregon would have a strong voice in decisions about the investments our nation should be making. Merkley’s position on the committee—including his key role as the top Democrat on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee—is vital to lock in the state’s priorities in the drafting of the bills, and Merkley and Wyden are highly-effective at working together to deliver projects for Oregon.
The 54 Oregon community-initiated projects, combined totaling $102,692,000, secured by Merkley and Wyden in the first two packages of FY26, broken down by region, are as follows:
MID-WILLAMETTE VALLEY & NORTH COAST(Marion, Polk, Yamhill, Tillamook, Clatsop, and Columbia Counties)

ClickHEREfor quotes from Mid-Willamette and North Coast community-initiated project recipients.
METRO(Multnomah and Washington Counties)

ClickHEREfor quotes from the metro area community-initiated project recipients.
MID-COLUMBIA(Clackamas, Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, and Gilliam Counties)

ClickHEREfor quotes from Mid-Columbia community-initiated project recipients.
EASTERN OREGON(Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Grant, Baker, Harney, and Malheur Counties)

ClickHEREfor quotes from Eastern Oregon community-initiated project recipients.
SOUTH-WILLAMETTE VALLEY & CENTRAL COAST(Lane, Linn, Lincoln, and Benton Counties)

ClickHEREfor quotes from South-Willamette Valley and Central Coast community-initiated project recipients.
CENTRAL OREGON(Klamath, Lake, Deschutes, Crook, Jefferson, and Wheeler Counties)

ClickHEREfor quotes from Central Oregon community-initiated project recipients.
SOUTHERN OREGON(Curry, Coos, Jackson, Josephine, and Douglas Counties)

ClickHEREfor quotes from Southern Oregon community-initiated project recipients.
STATEWIDE

ClickHEREfor quotes from statewide community-initiated project recipients.
This press release has been updated.
###