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.

New tribal village on Columbia River included in federal appropriations bill

Northwest senators took the first step Thursday to fulfilling the promises made to Columbia River fishing tribes in the 1930s. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, added language into an appropriations bill that allows the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to start planning a new tribal village

Senators call for NBA to move 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte

Six U.S. senators wrote a letter to the head of the NBA this week calling on him to move the league’s 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte to protest a state law banning anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people. In their letter, the senators — five Democrats and one Republican — urged Adam Silver, the

Understanding the SAFE Act

Payday lenders may seem to be everywhere, but they were not always there. The first payday stores opened in the early 1990s – a byproduct of the same anything-goes deregulatory mania that led to a wave of booby-trapped mortgages and the financial and economic meltdown of 2008. Almost as soon

Wyden and Merkley look to loosen marijuana research restrictions

Oregon’s two U.S. senators have joined a drive to reschedule marijuana as cannabis becomes more widely accepted as a medical treatment. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced last week three federal agencies will consider whether to move marijuana from “Schedule 1” of the federal government’s controlled substance list. Schedule 1 is the most

Senator Merkley Asks IRS For Ways To Fix Tax ID Fraud

As the tax filing deadline approaches, Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley is asking the Internal Revenue Service to improve security. When Mark Ertle was doing his taxes a few years ago, he got a rude awakening. Someone had stolen his identity and filed his taxes to get the refund. “It was denied

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