Jeff believes access to quality, affordable health care is not a privilege, but a human right. Jeff’s perspective on health care has been influenced by his wife, Mary, a registered nurse, who sees the world through the eyes of her patients: the people who should be at the heart of our health care system.
Throughout his career, Jeff has fought to expand access to quality, affordable health care coverage. As Speaker of the Oregon House, Jeff lowered prescription drug prices by expanding the state’s bulk purchasing program and fought to expand and improve children’s health care coverage. Jeff continues working to improve health care quality and coverage for all Oregonians in the U.S. Senate.
Merkley on 2024 State of the Union Address: America is Strong When Working Families Succeed
Washington, D.C. – Tonight, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following response to President Joe Biden’s annual State of the Union Address to Congress and Americans:
Merkley, Matsui, Kiggans Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Keep America’s Nurses, Patients Safe
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA-07) and Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02) announced the introduction of the Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act. This bicameral, bipartisan bill would provide nurses with stronger federal workplace safeguards. To address staffing-related challenges, nurses are often forced to
Merkley, Wyden, Bonamici: $2 Million for Community Health Clinic Training and Professional Development
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) announced that OCHIN, Inc has received $2,001,642 from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to support OCHINS’s health information technology recruitment and training program for health clinics in underserved communities. Together, Merkley, Wyden, and
Merkley, Colleagues Push to Increase Nursing Education and Workforce Support
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Angus King (I-ME), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Alex Padilla (D-CA), introduced the bicameral Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN)
Merkley, Colleagues: Ban Menthol Cigarettes Now
Senators: “Simply put, delays in finalizing these rules will only bring more addiction and death.” Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), led 22 senators in a letter to the
Merkley Joins Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Workers’ Physical and Behavioral Health in Commercial Fishing Industry
Legislation would expand life-saving safety training and research grant opportunities for Oregon’s commercial fishing industry WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley joined U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) in the introduction of the Fishing Industry Safety, Health, and Wellness Improvement (FISH Wellness) Act, bipartisan
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