A federal lobbyist briefed the commissioners on a proposed Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rule that would give political appointees significantly more control over the federal grant process, including the distribution of formula funds. The commission discussed the potential impact this rule could have on local governments, noting that Senator Patty Murray has successfully championed a temporary pause on its implementation. Additionally, officials reviewed ongoing efforts to secure federal grant funding for specific port infrastructure projects, such as the Terminal 1 marketplace.
Cross_cutting
Port of Vancouver Board of Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026 · 21:42–21:55 · Watch on CVTV ↗
Keywords: federal grant
What was said
20:42 kind of a four package bill deal that has been pulled down both times. The Senate Appropriations Committee is having a pretty vibrant debate on how much to spend on defense. The president has requested $1.5 trillion with a T. And that's significantly beyond what we've spent on our Defense Department ever. So that and some other social program cuts the president wants is kind of gumming up the Senate process. The Senate did, on Saturday morning, pass a continuing resolution through December 11th. And the House had passed one through December 4th. So when they come back after the Labor Day holiday, they will kind of hammer out the differences on those CRs. With the CR, you're simply allowing the members to campaign and to avoid a shutdown, which is very damaging. One issue important to us and a lot of other local governments
21:37 is the OMB has sought to take more control over the federal grant process. They have a rule proposed, which would give a lot more power to the administration and the political appointees within it, even over things like federal formula funds that a lot of local and state governments rely on. Our Senator Murray has been successful, including a temporary pause on the implementation of that rule. There's not one in the House version, the CR. We think the one in the Senate will stick. And December, I think the senator will try to nix that rule altogether. It's going to be a big debate. The reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Bill, which is the programs and funding levels for all our surface transportation programs at the federal level, is up for debate. The current law expires at the end of September. We will likely have an extension just
22:36 because of how deep and long that debate is. But I think that will be a big part of our agenda come 2027. There are several members of the Pacific Northwest delegation who are on important committees as far as that piece of legislation. Congressman Rick Larson is the ranking Democrat
Evidence (1 match)
cross_cutting keyword 21:42–21:55 federal grant
differences on those CRs. With the CR, you're simply allowing the members to campaign and to avoid a shutdown, which is very damaging. One issue important to us and a lot of other local governments is the OMB has sought to take more control over the federal grant process. They have a rule proposed, which would give a lot more power to the administration and the political appointees within it, even over things like federal formula funds that a lot of local and state governments rely on. Our Senat