The carbon pollution in our atmosphere from burning fossil fuels like oil and coal is waging a direct and unchecked assault on our farming, fishing and forests – the cornerstones of Oregon’s rural economy.
When Jeff was young, his dad worked as a millwright. He spent his childhood in Southern Oregon timber communities, where timber jobs were what put food on the table and kept roofs over folks’ head. Fires and insect infestations are already killing trees at alarming rates across the Northwest, and climate change will only make these threats to our forests worse. Other iconic Oregon industries like our coastal oyster hatcheries are threatened by ocean acidification, and fishing and farming alike are facing threats from declining snowpacks and increased drought.
Congress needs to wake up. Climate change is real, and it’s bad for our economy and jobs, especially in rural Oregon and the places that most depend on our abundant natural resources.
Merkley, Whitehouse, Welch, Huffman: at INC-5, U.S. Must Champion Agreement to Address Full Life Cycle of Plastics
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—joined by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Peter Welch (D-VT), and U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02)—today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory calling for the United States to use its influence
Merkley: Global Plastics Crisis Requires Global Action
Senator traveling to Busan, South Korea, to help shape global plastic pollution agreement Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a leading voice in Congress on the urgent need to address the plastic pollution crisis—today issued the following statement before traveling to the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in Busan,
Merkley, Wyden: ODOT Receives $31.9 Million to Slash Pollution from Construction Projects
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is receiving $31,933,577 to use cleaner construction materials on federally-funded projects statewide. The funding comes from the historic Inflation Reduction Act’s Low Carbon Transportation Materials Discretionary Grant Program, which supports
Whitehouse and Transatlantic Climate Leaders Call for Lobbying Disclosure Requirements and Conflict-of-Interest Policies to Prevent Industry Obstruction
Ahead of INC-5, 9 members of Congress and European Parliament urge international leaders to restrict industry influence on negotiations Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Peter Welch (D-VT), along with U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Member of the European Parliament Paul Canfin, led
Merkley, Wyden Announce $5.4 Million for Hazardous Fuels Transportation Projects to Reduce Wildfire Risk in Oregon
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced $5,416,405 is coming to Oregon from the Inflation Reduction Act—the largest investment in clean energy and climate action ever—for hazardous fuels transportation projects across the state. The federal funding awarded by the U.S. Forest Service will reduce the
Merkley, Wyden Announce $10.1 Million Federal Investment for Tualatin Mountain Forest Project
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is awarding $10,180,000 to boost the Tualatin Mountain Forest Project through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Legacy Program. This new federal funding from the historic Inflation Reduction Act—the largest investment ever to
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