PORTLAND (AP) - The Pentagon will fund a Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Unit in Oregon, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio announced this week.

The unit, consisting of select members of the Oregon National Guard, will respond to threats involving devices that spread lethal materials.

"If a suspect device was found now, we would have to wait for a team to be sent from California or Washington state. That's a very substantial delay," DeFazio said from his Washington, D.C., office.

Oregon's team would be part of a $120 million nationwide program aimed at providing states with the local ability to find, assess and possibly disarm a bomb or other dangerous device.