Merkley Monthly: Making major investments in the Port of Coos Bay
The Coos Bay World Transforming the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay into the first fully ship-to-rail port facility on the West Coast is a huge opportunity for Oregon and our coastal communities. This project will create good-paying union jobs and permanent local jobs, increase West Coast port capacity by
Three Americans have been freed from prisons in China
NPR The Biden administration says the prisoners were all wrongfully held and that they are being reunited with their families for the first time in many years. They appear to be part of a prisoner swap. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Three Americans have been freed from prisons in China. The Biden
Wyden, Merkley Announce Nearly $1.2 Million for Ecosystem Restoration in Oregon; National Fish and Wildlife Foundation award will benefit residents and projects along Tillamook River
Tillamook County Pioneer Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced a federal investment of $1.18 million for the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership to help fix the Burton-Fraser Road along the Tillamook River that is limiting fish passage. “Letting our infrastructure crumble over time to a point where it
Merkley Introduces Legislation Calling For Reduced Class Sizes
Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley has introduced legislation aimed at addressing overcrowded classrooms. A release said the Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act, is “bold legislation that invests in small class sizes in public schools”. Along with Merkley, the proposal is being put forward by Congresswoman Lucy McBath
Merkley Leads Push for FDA to Close Synthetic Nicotine Loophole Being Used to Target Teens
Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley is leading a group of nine senators in pushing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to crack down on synthetic nicotine. Vaping manufacturers have reportedly been switching to synthetic nicotine to sidestep the FDA’s regulatory process for tobacco products and to continue to ensnare teens
Facial recognition deployments with lax regulation under scrutiny worldwide
Several facial recognition projects around the world have recently come under scrutiny, spurred by concerns of privacy advocates that the technology is not being properly regulated. In Russia, digital rights group Roskomsvoboda is calling for more transparency in handling citizens’ biometric data collected as part of Face Pay’s Moscow Metro
China’s persecution of Uyghurs is preview of wider surveillance scheme, lawmakers say
Members of a bipartisan congressional commission warned Wednesday that China’s use of technology to repress Muslim Uyghurs in its far-western Xinjiang is widening and could be exported around the world. The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which Congress established in 2000, held a hearing in Washington to draw attention to
Why Democratic Nations Must Boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics
World capitals and Olympic committees will soon need to make a consequential decision. They can either reward and reinforce Chinese President Xi Jinping’s unprecedented power grab – at home and abroad – by participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in the name of “political neutrality,” or they can hold him
COP26: Markey-Merkley bill would block big banks from throwing money at more fossil fuel projects
The Fossil Free Finance Act, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.), would require the Federal Reserve to impose new restrictions on major banks and other systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) to cut off funding for projects that produce planet-heating emissions. “In order to reduce emissions