BY RACHEL CHEESEMAN

PORTLAND- Yesterday, Oregon’s Rep. David Wu (D-01) introduced the Urban University Renaissance Act of the 21^st Century.

“While we face many challenges in Oregon and around the nation, none is more urgent right now than the recovery of our economy and getting people back to work,” Wu said in a press release.

The goal of the legislation is to help universities in urban centers, like Portland State University, better serve their local communities.

Wu’s spokesperson, Julia Krahe, said that on a practical level, these goals would be realized through a number of different grant programs.

“It’s hard to say what the federal commitment would be,” Krahe said. “The actual monetary amount would come in consultation with the appropriation process.”

She said that some examples might include supporting public health research to reduce health care disparities in urban communities or supporting research on environmental issues that face low-income neighborhoods.

The legislation also mentions training teachers specifically for teaching in urban schools to improve the quality of K-12 education.

“It’s a whole variety of different things that essentially come down to helping urban universities work even more strongly with their communities,” Krahe said.

Portland State University President Wim Wiewel said, “Congressman Wu understands that it is only by supporting partnerships with local business, nonprofits and K-12 that universities like Portland State can achieve their mission.”

Andrew Weelin, spokesman for Rep. Greg Walden (R-02), said the legislation was too new for comment.

Krahe added that it was too early in the legislative process to speculate as to the support the bill would receive in the House.

While Krahe acknowledged the economic difficulties of implementing such legislation at this point in time, she felt it would be a wise investment for urban communities.

“It’s this sort of investment that leads to the long-term to sustainable growth that our communities need,” she said.

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- Campaigns for many of Oregon’s incumbent congressional candidates are drawing a majority of their funds from out of state rather than in-state donors.

Half of Oregon’s congressional candidates facing re-election in November draw over 50% of campaign funding from out of state donors according to OpenSecrets.org, a website that tracks Congressional elections and campaign contributions.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden’s campaign gets 65% of its funding from out of state, primarily New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

“If you are looking to represent a state, the majority of the money you are earning from contributions should come from that state, otherwise you lack integrity,” said Wyden’s Libertarian opponent, Marc Delphine.

Sen. Wyden’s campaign declined to comment.

Rep. David Wu, D, represents Oregon’s first Congressional District including Washington and Yamhill counties as well as the north coast. His campaign’s war chest is composed of 66% out of state donors. These donors come primarily from New York, San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

“Congressman Wu has a number of supporters in his district, across Oregon, and throughout the country,” said Julia Krahe, spokeswoman for the Wu campaign. “But his number one priority is representing his constituents.”

Fifty-one percent of the war chest for Rep. Peter DeFazio’s campaign is from similar places mentioned above including Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Elkhart-Goshen in Indiana.

Those candidates whose contributions did not come mostly from out of state sources include Rep. Greg Walden, R-Medford, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland, and Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby. Walden and Schrader have less than 20% out of state contributions while Blumenauer has 47% out of state contributions coming from Washington, DC, Oakland, Chicago, and New York.

UPDATE: This note is given at the bottom of the in state vs. out of state data table on OpenSecrets.org. “As a general rule, incumbents get more out-of-state money than challengers, a reflection of their status as members of Congress and the wider circles in which they travel. Challengers and newcomers are rarely well known outside their state, so their ability to raise funds beyond their district is more limited.” Also, OpenSecrets.org updates their data monthly and may not reflect the most up to date data from campaigns.

BY SARAH ROSS

WASHINGTON- President Obama’s State of the Union address to Congress on Wednesday night drew mixed responses from Oregon’s Congressional delegation.

The speech, which focused primarily on job creation and deficit reduction, included plans for the money reimbursed from last year’s TARP bailout to go to community banks for small business loans. It also included a three-year government spending freeze starting in 2010. These plans drew some praise and some criticism from Oregon’s congressional members.

“Tonight’s speech was about getting back to the fundamentals: a strong economy, the creation of good jobs, a college education, and access to quality, affordable health care,” responded Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland. “This was the best State of the Union I’ve heard, and it came at an important time for his Administration and the country.”

Rep. David Wu, D-Portland, was not so kind to the President’s plan, saying the spending freeze is not the right move: “We should make smart investments in the American people, grow the economy, create jobs, and restore revenues—and then have the fiscal discipline to pay down our national debt. The president has been poorly served by the Wall Street focus of his economic team.”

Criticism of the speech also came from Rep. Greg Walden, R- Pendleton. “Americans cannot afford for this government to continue on the current borrow-and-spend track,” said Rep. Walden. “Under the Democrats’ budget, America will have deficits of more than $900 billion a year. After increasing spending by 66 percent last year alone, freezing it at that level is hardly fiscal restraint.”