Interior Cuts in Trump Administration’s “Skinny” Budget to Leave Lasting Scars on Public Lands, Tribal Nations, and Human Health
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Subcommittee on the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the below statement following the release of President Trump’s ‘skinny’ budget for Fiscal Year 2026. “This budget is exactly what we expected from this administration: abandoning critical programs, slashing essential government services,
Merkley Announces Central Oregon Town Halls
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced today he will hold three town halls for Oregonians in Jefferson, Crook, and Deschutes counties on Saturday, May 10. Merkley will be joined by U.S. Representative Janelle Bynum for the Deschutes County town hall in Sisters. The three rescheduled events in Central
Sens. Wicker, Merkley Introduce Bipartisan Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Co-Chairs of the Senate Nursing Caucus, introduced the Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act. This legislation would ensure that nurses in the federal Nurse Corps do not need to pay income tax on their student loan repayments and scholarships. “Nurses are essential to
Wyden, Merkley Demand HHS Secretary Kennedy Reverse Drastic Cuts to Critical Health Care Assistance Program
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today demanded U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reverse extreme and harmful funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act Navigator program. In a letter to Secretary Kennedy, Wyden and Merkley joined Senate colleagues to
Wyden, Merkley Join Bill to Codify DOJ’s Office of Environmental Justice
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they are joining legislation that would permanently codify the Office of Environmental Justice within the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, in the wake of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent order eliminating all environmental justice efforts
Merkley, Bonamici, Jayapal Re-Introduce Legislation to Protect Consumers from Predatory Payday Lending Practices
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
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Press Feds on Threat of Rising Housing Costs from Plan to Reprivatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Oregon senators: Privatization a giveaway for hedge funds, wealthy investors; could hurt homebuyers Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined Senate colleagues to press the Department of Housing and Urban Development on whether its plan to reprivatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will make
Senator Merkley, Representative Smith Launch Renewed Effort to Kick Hedge Funds Out of America’s Housing Market
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
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