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 and Colleagues to EPA Administrator Zeldin: Agency Must Reverse Unlawful Termination of Grants for Clean Air and Water
New documents reveal 400 grantees are being illegally targeted for termination and expose EPA’s willful violation of congressional appropriations law, contractual agreements, and multiple court orders Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee—joined all his Democratic colleagues on
Merkley, Collins, McClain, Mullin Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Wipe Out Non-Flushable Products from Our Wastewater Infrastructure
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Susan Collins (R-ME), U.S. Representatives Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Kevin Mullin (D-CA) today reintroduced the bipartisan Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety (WIPPES) Act, a bill to address health, ecosystem, and wastewater infrastructure concerns caused by the flushing of non-flushable
Merkley, Risch, Wyden, Crapo Team Up for Bipartisan Bill to Boost Mass Timber Industry Nationwide
International Mass Timber Conference Kicks off in Portland, Oregon Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Idaho’s U.S. Senator James Risch today launched a renewed bipartisan effort to promote the use of mass timber in federal building projects and military construction. The bipartisan Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act—which is
Merkley, Reed, Grijalva, Huffman, Casten to Energy Secretary Wright: New LNG Exports Hurt American Households and Businesses
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Rhode Island’s U.S. Senator Jack Reed, U.S. Representatives Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), and Sean Casten (D-IL-06) led 40 Members of Congress to demand that recently confirmed U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright deny export authorizations for new liquified natural gas (LNG) exports
Merkley, Wyden Slam Trump’s Layoffs of Vital Agricultural Researchers for Rural and Coastal Communities
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today continue to sound the alarm over staffing shortages at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the impacts of these disruptions on the livelihoods of farmers, fishermen, and ranchers in Oregon and around the
Merkley Denounces Scheme to Cripple the EPA
Democratic Committee members say EPA Administrator Zeldin’s illegal plan to gut the federal agency is poised to torpedo environmental safeguards while undermining the Constitution Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee—joined all his Democratic colleagues on the Committee
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