In May 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared the Klamath Basin a federal disaster area due to drought conditions. The Klamath had struggled with drought in the past – limited water in 2001 led to a shutdown of the Federal irrigation system, harming farming families and tearing the community
During the summer of 2013, Bandon, Oregon was swamped with mosquitos–literally. As part of a large tidal marsh restoration project, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had recently re-engineered channels to make sure that areas inundated by high tides would drain as the tide went out, but these
In July of 2011, Jeff Merkley held a Congressional field hearing to hear directly from local educators, teachers and even students about the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). During that hearing, Jeff talked about his efforts to increase Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in
Harley Fitzhugh from Echo, Oregon lost his hearing in the Pacific Campaign during World War II, but had been denied disability and compensation benefits for years by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans risk their lives for their country, and Jeff Merkley believes that when our veterans stand up for
Billy and Laura Killion owned a Sizzler franchise in Ontario, Oregon. The restaurant employed thirty-two people (sixteen full-time and sixteen part-time), and the Killions had spent most of their lives working there. Billy had started working at the Sizzler in 1986 as a dishwasher, and Laura in 1987 as a
In November 2011, Alta Lynch, a longtime volunteer for veteran causes in Columbia County, chatted with Jeff Merkley’s staff at a Veteran’s Day event at McCormick Park in St. Helens, pointed up to the tattered U.S. Flag flying over the veterans’ memorial and asked if Jeff could provide the park
After touring the wharf in the Port of Garibaldi with Port Manager Kevin Greenwood, it was clear to Jeff that the community needed help to rebuild the wharf and get the economy in Garibaldi running. Aging and damaged wharf infrastructure prevented businesses interested in locating in Garibaldi from bringing jobs
When the U.S. Forest Service considered ending a legacy campground’s private operations permit, Clark Jackson and over thirty members of North Santiam Sportsmans Club contacted the office of Jeff Merkley seeking assistance to keep the campground open. They shared stories of generations of families coming to this camping spot to
In late 2012, Jeff Merkley learned that the Central Oregon Housing Authority (Housing Works) had mistakenly used erroneous data that was provided to them by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to respond to a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the federal Family Self Sufficiency Program.
In 2008, the City of Hood River received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to upgrade the city’s 100 year old water infrastructure, however, after many round of back and forth between the local USDA office and the national USDA office, the USDA informed the city that
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