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.
Merkley’s bill passes
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley’s bill to increase penalties for harming protected migratory birds has passed out of committee. Oregon’s junior Democratic senator introduced the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Penalty and Enforcement Act last November. Current law provides a misdemeanor penalty of up to $2,000 and two years in jail for
Senators pledge allegiance to Main Street in battle over financial regulation
WASHINGTON — There was a lot of talk in the Senate Wednesday about roads. But the topic wasn’t transportation. “This is the showdown, Main Street versus Wall Street,” Heather Booth, director of Americans for Financial Reform, shouted during a morning news conference in support of Democratic legislation to reform and
Merkley vows to work on jobs
MAUPIN — Oregon U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said his three proposed energy efficiency programs will help create jobs in Wasco County if he is able to insert them into upcoming federal jobs legislation. “When I took office last year, the unemployment rate was going up by 1 percent a month,”
Sen. Merkley Rafts Molalla River
As Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) urges his fellow U.S. senators to support the Molalla River Wild and Scenic bill, he’ll be able to give first-hand testimony. Merkley and his staff visited the Molalla River Corridor on Tuesday and took a mile-long rafting trip starting above the Glen Avon Bridge. “Senator
Breast-feeding moms to Merkley: You rock
An Oregon law to boost breast-feeding by providing working mothers with unpaid time and a clean space to pump breast milk is going national U .S. politicians are notorious for kissing babies, not legislating in their behalf. Candidate-baby encounters usually peter out in an exchange of gurgles. But this somewhat
Provision in health care bill protects nursing mothers
WASHINGTON — Working mothers who still are breastfeeding will get a break — and a place to take it — thanks to a provision that Sen. Jeff Merkley fought to include in the Senate health care bill. The Oregon Democrat said he would be available to help hammer out the