In The News

Wyden, Merkley join rally as Eugene-area postal workers picket

The Register-Guard Postal workers, letter carriers and Oregon’s U.S. senators spoke outside the Local Processing Center in Springfield on Tuesday as part of a national day of action to protest consolidation in the Postal Service and advocate for the American Postal Workers Union as it negotiates its contract. Delivering for America The

Senator Merkley blasts court ruling lifting pause on election betting markets

KTVZ WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Sen. Jeff Merkley issued the following statement Wednesday after a federal appeals court lifted a temporary freeze on election betting markets, a ruling that he said will immediately allow legal gambling on U.S. elections while the final verdict in the lawsuit is decided. The suit is

Your car knows more than you think: New law seeks to end data grab

KRON 4 The car is a trusty sidekick for many of us—taking us to work, the store, and maybe a weekend escape. But as U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley points out, it’s become much more: a mobile data-harvesting machine. His new legislation, the Car Privacy Rights Act, aims to pump the brakes on this

Senate advances campaign finance amendment

The Senate advanced a bill Monday that would amend the Constitution to allow Congress and states to impose limits on campaign fundraising and spending. Both of Oregon’s senators, Democrats Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, voted in favor of invoking cloture, which forces a vote on the motion to proceed after

How going nuclear unclogged the Senate

The Senate barely does anything these days — except approve judges that could shape the law for a generation. Since Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) changed Senate rules in November to ease President Barack Obama’s approval of most nominees, Democrats have churned through confirmations of dozens of new judges —

In Our View: Restoring the River

At 1,253 miles long, the Columbia River winds its way through the Pacific Northwest. The river and its tributaries touch seven states; people have lived along its banks and drawn their livelihoods from the river since prehistoric times. Seemingly as long and winding these days is getting important bills through

PROFILE-Oregon lawmaker will not let Fed forget to tackle commodities

NEW YORK, Aug 17 – Just over a year ago, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley was looking for a place to make a bold statement about his latest crusade: taking Wall Street’s traders to task for gaming commodity markets. His office telephoned Bruce Kehe, marketing director at Portland’s Hopworks Urban Brewery,

Lawmakers must crack down on toxic chemicals: Guest opinion

As a biomedical researcher, I’m frustrated by lax control of chemicals. Federal law still allows chemicals to be used in products from toys to pizza boxes without sufficient data on their effects on human health. As a result, new chemicals are introduced into use at a pace far beyond the

Senate Dems call for higher quality patents

A group of Democratic senators demanded that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) improve the quality of patents approved in order to avoid costly legal battles later. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a letter Wednesday to

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