September 30, 2021 3:20 a.m.

On Thursday, Congressman Peter DeFazio announced that over $3.2 million in federal funding for the Hobby Field airport in Creswell, to help fund airport runway upgrades has been secured.

A release said the funding was made possible by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program and the American Rescue Plan.

Part of the funding came from the $8 billion DeFazio secured for airports nationwide in the ARP. DeFazio succeeded in providing airports with a 100 percent federal match for development projects, removing the need to use local resources.

DeFazio said as Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, he is committed to enacting legislation that will strengthen airport infrastructure while also creating good-paying jobs and supporting economic recovery.

The release said DeFazio was a key negotiator and champion of several critical provisions of the ARP, including nearly $100 billion in relief for transit, airports, Amtrak, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was approved by his committee in a bipartisan vote.