In The News

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, 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.

Sweeping overhaul of nation’s chemical-safety laws clears final legislative hurdle

The Senate passed legislation Tuesday evening that will overhaul the way the federal government regulates every chemical sold on the market in the United States. The bipartisan accord represents the most sweeping environmental measure to pass Congress in a quarter-century. The bill, which drew support from the chemical industry, trial

Senate Democrats Call for Ban on Arctic Offshore Drilling

A group of 10 Senate Democrats and one independent called for the Department of the Interior to block offshore drilling in the Arctic Ocean in its 2017-2022 drilling plan, in a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Friday. The senators acknowledged they had already won a significant victory when the department

Local veteran gets VA to upgrade suicide prevention hotline

Pushed by a local veteran, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., says he has helped convince the Department of Veterans Affairs to create an easier phone system for veterans seeking suicide prevention help. Merkley visited the VA’s Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics in White City today to discuss the high rates

Sen. Jeff Merkley Explains Why U.S. Needs New Regulation of Toxic Substances

Federal regulation is complicated, time-consuming and takes years to pass. Here’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) summarizing on the Senate floor last week why we need new and better laws. Quoted: “Current law has been completely, 100 percent dysfunctional for decades, leading to the exposure of our children, our babies,

Senator Jeff Merkley discusses Supreme Court nominations with UO professors

A team of legal experts, including Oregon Senator Jeff Merkely and several UO faculty members, took on a discussion about the actions–or lack thereof–of the United States Senate at a panel meeting on Tuesday, May 31. Senator Merkely, along with James Mohr, a member of the University of Oregon History department, and

Merkley Lambastes Senate Republicans For Supreme Court Block

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley visited the University of Oregon campus today (Tuesday). He spoke to constitutional law students about the Senate’s refusal to hold hearings on the President’s Supreme Court nominee.  Since the Civil War only once has there been a vacancy on the Supreme Court for more than a

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