In The News

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

This Could Be The Beginning Of The End For Super PACs

The super PAC money swamping the American election system is generally, and rightly, blamed on the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. But a lower court decision that relied on Citizens United ultimately opened the floodgates. Now a team of high-powered lawyers is seeking to overturn that lower court decision and upend the

Can super PACs be put back in the box?

A powerhouse legal team representing a bipartisan group of congressional members and candidates is unleashing a new effort to overturn the case that birthed super PACs, part of a novel strategy to rein in the big money that has poured into campaigns since 2010. Their immediate target is not Citizens United

A mislabeled label bill

An editorial in this space a week ago drew attention to a bill in the U.S. Senate that would require labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The editorial noted that the labeling bill wouldn’t actually require labels — packages could list an 800 number or a code

Wyden, Merkley join effort to reduce food waste

In response to the staggering amount of food wasted in the U.S. every year, Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined colleagues Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Cory Booker, D-N.J., to introduce comprehensive legislation to reduce food waste in stores and restaurants, at schools and institutions, on

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

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