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Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Demand FEMA Responds to Questions about Disaster Victim Data, Mass Firings, and Funding Freezes

March 7, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their colleagues to call on the leadership of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond to unanswered questions about Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) and its reported access to sensitive disaster victim data. The Senators

Senators Merkley, Heinrich, King Join Illegally Fired Federal Workers to Stress Dangers of Public Lands Staffing Shortages

March 6, 2025

***VIDEO FROM ROUNDTABLE HERE*** Washington, D.C. – Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Senate Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee Ranking Member Senator Angus King (I-ME) held a virtual roundtable with public lands employees

Merkley, Kennedy Introduce Bipartisan Bill to End Legacy Admissions at American Colleges and Universities

March 6, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Louisiana’s U.S. Senator John Kennedy introduced bipartisan legislation to end the practice of colleges and universities nationwide giving preferential treatment to children of alumni and donors, helping ensure fairness in the admissions process. The bipartisan Fair College Admissions for Students

Merkley: Families Lose, Billionaires Win with Trump’s Vision for America

March 4, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley tonight issued the following statement after President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress: “We cannot have business as usual while Trump and his unelected billionaire co-president Elon Musk are gutting many parts of the government that help working families thrive. The

Oregon Delegation Demands Reversal of Trump Attacks on Programs Serving Tribal Communities

March 3, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden—along with U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05)—joined over 100 Members of Congress to demand that the Trump Administration stop and reverse its dangerous efforts to fire employees and defund programs that serve Tribes and Tribal members. The lawmakers directed President

Merkley, Bonamici, Jayapal Re-Introduce Legislation to Protect Consumers from Predatory Payday Lending Practices

February 27, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley teamed up with U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) to introduce the Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic (SAFE) Lending Act. The SAFE Lending Act safeguards consumers from deceptive and predatory practices that strip hard-earned wages from working families

Senator Merkley, Representative Smith Launch Renewed Effort to Kick Hedge Funds Out of America’s Housing Market

February 27, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-WA-09) today teamed up to introduce strengthened legislation to put an end to the harmful practice of hedge funds buying up single-family homes. The Humans Over Private Equity (HOPE) for Homeownership Act continues Merkley and Smith’s efforts

Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Question HUD Secretary on Alarming Consequences of New DOGE Task Force on Housing for America’s Families

February 25, 2025

Text of Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined an effort to press U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner about the alarming consequences of a recently announced “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) Task Force that threatens to seriously hinder HUD’s

Merkley, Wyden: Trump Devastates Oregon’s Rural Communities with Federal Funding Cuts and Mass Firings

February 24, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, the former top Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Ron Wyden demanded recently confirmed U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins immediately reverse disastrous actions at the USDA that have harmed Oregon farmers and families. Their

Ranking Members Pingree, Merkley Condemn Indian Affairs Hiring Freeze, Firings as Violation of Tribal Sovereignty

February 20, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the top Democrats on the subcommittees that oversee funding for the Department of the Interior (DOI), demanded the Trump Administration immediately reinstate terminated Indian Affairs employees, lift the hiring freeze, and officially rescind the deferred resignation and early retirement offers. As