"Earmarks" In Spending Bill Bring Millions To Oregon

President Barack Obama has signed a $410 billion spending package that will keep the federal government operating through September.

The bill includes thousands of earmarks, which are spending items inserted by individual lawmakers. President Obama has criticized the earmarks, but he said he signed the bill to keep federal agencies from closing down.

Those "earmarks" include $250 million for Oregon projects.

Among them are:

• $1.5 million for the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls for a geothermal power plant on campus.
• $700,000 to consolidate two existing dispatch centers in Jackson County.
• $475,000 to build a passing lane on Highway 199 for northbound traffic to Grants Pass.
• $3 million to assist with the removal of the Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River.