Opening the Doors of Opportunity Through Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley is pressing the Department of Education to review a substantial backlog of federal student loan discharge requests, after the abrupt announcement that Concordia University will close in May 2020. Over 6,000 students are currently enrolled at Concordia University. “I write with ongoing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8) today introduced the Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act of 2019 in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would close a loophole that allows for-profit colleges to take federal

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced new bipartisan legislation that would address an injustice for some students wanting to use the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) for higher education. The AOTC is the primary tax credit available to students seeking a higher education;

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Immediately following National Suicide Prevention Week, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA-5) today introduced the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act, bicameral legislation that would help fill the critical unmet need for school-based mental health services providers in elementary and secondary schools across America.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Congressmen Joseph Morelle (D-NY-25) and John Katko (R-NY-24), today introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Summer Meals and Learning Act of 2019—legislation to address summer learning inequality by keeping school libraries open at schools that already serve free summer meals. “Every student—no matter