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

Use of contraception is private — and it should stay that way

It’s been almost 50 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision that ended state bans on contraception and declared that birth control was a private decision between a woman, her doctor, and her family. Nevertheless, a woman’s right to access contraception is back in front of the Supreme Court

Sen. Jeff Merkley helps cut deal in Senate on extending jobless aid

A bipartisan group of 10 senators, including Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, reached a deal Thursday on providing extended unemployment benefits for people who have been out of work for more than six months. The Senate deal would retroactively restore the benefits that lapsed when the aid expired on Dec.

In Landmark Vote, Senate Limits Use of the Filibuster

WASHINGTON — The Senate approved the most fundamental alteration of its rules in more than a generation on Thursday, ending the minority party’s ability to filibuster most presidential nominees in response to the partisan gridlock that has plagued Congress for much of the Obama administration. Furious Republicans accused Democrats of

‘Let the bells of freedom ring’—Senate passes ENDA

Senate lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill banning workplace discrimination against LGBT individuals in a historic victory four decades in the making. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed its final vote in the full Senate 64-32, just three days after its first since 1996, when a similar measure failed but

Jeff Merkley Circulates ‘Talking Filibuster’ Reform Proposal

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Merkley circulated details of his filibuster reform proposal to Senate colleagues on Wednesday, a copy of which was provided to The Huffington Post. In it, Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, lays out his vision for reform, which he calls “the talking filibuster.” Under current Senate rules, senators

A New Chance for the Senate

 In May, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, was furious at yet another obstructionist filibuster by Senate Republicans. He admitted then that he was wrong in 2011 not to change the Senate’s rules when he had a chance. “These two young, fine senators said it was time to change the

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