[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 59 (Thursday, April 10, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 COLUMBIA REGIONAL CENTER OF INNOVATION

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 2014

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a remarkable 
economic partnership under way in the Pacific Northwest, where the 
Columbia River Gorge joins the states of Oregon and Washington. This 
initiative, the Columbia Gorge Regional Center of Innovation, is aimed 
at streamlining the region's education to prepare its students for the 
modern workforce, in turn, bringing economic growth and development to 
the region.
  With economies originally based firmly in agriculture and natural 
resources, communities within the Columbia Gorge have become a center 
for a burgeoning technology sector, anchored by a Google data center in 
The Dalles, Oregon, and a Boeing subsidiary, Insitu, in Bingen, 
Washington. Quality of life, outdoor recreation, and natural beauty 
helped attract those employers.
  While regional prosperity beckons, challenges remain. The cost of 
housing in the area makes it difficult for persons on low to moderate 
incomes to live where they work. There are significant infrastructure 
concerns, most notably two interstate bridges serving the central 
Columbia Gorge. And most importantly, the continued growth of the 
region's technology sector requires a skilled workforce. This is a 
special challenge in a region where 80,000 people are dispersed over a 
rural area roughly the size of Massachusetts. Innovation, creativity 
and collaboration are essential to address these common challenges.
  The Columbia Gorge Regional Center of Innovation is a cross-sector 
partnership that brings together private industry, economic 
development, a regional housing authority, workforce training, K-12 
school districts, early childhood education, community colleges, the 
land-grant universities of Oregon and Washington, and other regional 
public and private universities to find solutions to these challenges. 
The result of this partnership is improved cooperation across the state 
line; innovative strategies to construct ``attainable housing'' for the 
region's workforce and tackle infrastructure concerns; and promoting 
job creation through improved access to industry-specific skills.
  This dialogue will continue on Friday, April 18, when the first-ever 
Columbia Gorge Education and Industry Summit takes place on The Dalles 
Campus of Columbia Gorge Community College, and on May 16, 2014, when 
the first-ever Columbia Gorge Bi-State Legislative Summit will bring 
together state lawmakers from Salem and Olympia. The goal is to 
recognize the Columbia Gorge as a bi-state region with common concerns, 
which can best be resolved through improved cooperation across the 
state boundary in partnership with the federal government, Mid-Columbia 
Economic Development District, and the Columbia River Gorge Commission.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in commending local leaders of the bi-
state Columbia Gorge for their innovation and courage in addressing the 
economic challenges that still confront their region. Their hard work 
deserves our recognition.

                          ____________________