Bend awarded $5 million federal grant to fuel affordable housing production
Bend Bulletin The city of Bend has received a $5 million grant intended to kickstart affordable housing supply, the federal government announced Wednesday. Awarded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the grant set the course for the city to identify and address policies that slow affordable housing
Wyden, Merkley announce $30.1 million in ‘Payments in Lieu of Taxes’ to Oregon counties; $6 million to C. Oregon
KTVZ WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced Thursday that counties throughout Oregon will receive more than $30.1 million in Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding for 2024, including over $6 million for Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties. Because local governments cannot tax federal lands, annual PILT
Wyden, Merkley, colleagues call on Postal Service to prepare for November election
KTVZ WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Senator Ron Wyden said Thursday he is leading Senate colleagues including fellow Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley in calling on Postmaster General DeJoy and the U.S. Postal Service to share their plans to accommodate high volumes of mail expected in the upcoming 2024 general election in Oregon and nationwide.
Democrats Say Government, Contractors Shouldn’t Be Exempt From Robocall Rule
Ten Senate Democrats want to know how the Federal Communications Commission and the Office of Management and Budget “intend to help protect consumers from receiving intrusive robocalls from the federal government and its contractors” following a recent FCC decision to exempt the government from those rules. “We are concerned that consumers
Cummings y Merkley presentan legislación para proteger a los trabajadores de los cobradores de deudas depredadores
Washington, DC — Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Senator Jeff Merkley recently introduced the Wage and Garnishment Equity Act of 2016 (WAGE Act) to protect workers from losing their entire paychecks to wage and bank garnishments. “Predatory debt collectors use loopholes
This Could Be The Beginning Of The End For Super PACs
The super PAC money swamping the American election system is generally, and rightly, blamed on the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. But a lower court decision that relied on Citizens United ultimately opened the floodgates. Now a team of high-powered lawyers is seeking to overturn that lower court decision and upend the
Can super PACs be put back in the box?
A powerhouse legal team representing a bipartisan group of congressional members and candidates is unleashing a new effort to overturn the case that birthed super PACs, part of a novel strategy to rein in the big money that has poured into campaigns since 2010. Their immediate target is not Citizens United
A mislabeled label bill
An editorial in this space a week ago drew attention to a bill in the U.S. Senate that would require labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The editorial noted that the labeling bill wouldn’t actually require labels — packages could list an 800 number or a code
Wyden, Merkley join effort to reduce food waste
In response to the staggering amount of food wasted in the U.S. every year, Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined colleagues Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Cory Booker, D-N.J., to introduce comprehensive legislation to reduce food waste in stores and restaurants, at schools and institutions, on