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.
Trump urged to shrink Cascade-Siskiyou after Utah monument reductions
PORTLAND, Ore. – Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended that President Donald Trump reduce the size of Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and three other monuments. The recommendation came the day after President Donald Trump proclaimed two Utah national monuments will shrink significantly. Zinke had previously recommended the changes but issued a final report on Tuesday.
Senate nixes provision boosting conservative college after uproar
Senators agreed to nix a provision in the Senate tax bill early Saturday morning that would exempt Hillsdale College, a leading conservative college in Michigan, from an excise tax on schools with more than 500 students or large endowments. Senators voted 52-48 to strike the provision with GOP Sens. Susan Collins(Maine), Lisa
Jeff Merkley is only Democrat to get amendment in GOP tax reform bill
As Senate Republicans geared up to pass sweeping changing to the tax code early Saturday, senators offered a number of amendments aimed at making the bill better. Oregon’s Jeff Merkley is the only Democrat to get one included in the final bill. His amendment cut out a provision of the hastily-written bill
Harrowing Wildfire Season Ends, But Political Debate Burns On
Autumn rains have washed away the smoke of the summer wildfires. But Congress remains embroiled in a high-stakes environmental debate over how to reduce the growing threat of catastrophic blazes in Western forests and rangelands. Lawmakers are under more pressure to act after a wildfire season that was particularly harrowing. Nearly
Sen. Merkley: Oregonians, watch your wallets (Guest opinion)
Oregonians, you better watch your wallets: The biggest bank heist in American history is underway, and you may be among the victims. House Republicans just passed a tax bill that they are marketing as a tax cut for the middle class. But in reality, it raises taxes on many middle-income
“Horrific case of ethnic cleansing”: Sen. Merkley travels to meet Myanmar refugees
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, is on the ground in Bangladesh this weekend to meet with some of the more than 500,000 refugees who have fled what the United Nations described as a “textbook ethnic cleansing” in their home country of Myanmar. “You have an assault by