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.
Senate panel approves $500M for international climate fund
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday adopted a $500 million spending package for the Green Climate Fund, an international climate change adaptation program. Members approved the funding, via an amendment from Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Kirk(R-Ill.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and others, on a voice vote, despite strong Republican opposition to the measure. The amendment
Merkley talks fire costs
Before fielding questions from an audience of about 50 during his town hall Saturday at Haines Elementary School, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., talked about his efforts to change how the country pays to fight wildfires. Merkley said the U.S. Forest Service has had to halt other projects, including work
Senators Wyden, Merkley meet with heath officials to discuss Zika virus
Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley met with officials from OHSU and the Oregon Health Authority Friday to discuss how to fight the Zika virus outbreak. Senator Wyden said it is highly unlikely the mosquitoes that carry Zika will make it north to Oregon, but there is still a lot of
Jeff Merkley Is Trying to Save America’s Honeybees
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) speaks for the bees. Merkley on Thursday released a draft of a bill he’s sponsoring that would protect honeybees and other creatures that transfer pollen between flowers. The Pollinator Recovery Act of 2016 seeks to protect birds, bats, Monarch butterflies, and most of all honeybees
Merkley: Rural co-ops gain $52 million for energy efficiency loans
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will make $52 million in loans available to rural electric co-ops through the Rural Energy Savings Program. RESP is a program designed by Merkley to allow rural electric co-ops to offer their customers low-interest loans from USDA to
Merkley, Wyden cheer key Oregon wins in appropriations bill
Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced Thursday the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which Merkley sits, passed an Interior Appropriations bill including key provisions to keep Oregon communities safe with clean drinking water and to prepare for the possibility of a large-scale Cascadia earthquake. “This legislation will help fund