Risch, Merkley Introduce Bill to Remove Roadblocks for Youth Corps Public Lands Projects
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced legislation to reduce federal cost-sharing requirements for public lands projects performed by qualified youth or conservation corps from 25% to 10%. “Current cost-sharing requirements prevent youth conservation corps from carrying out important public lands projects,” said Risch. “My bill reduces this
Merkley, Kaine Launch Effort to Protect and Strengthen Federal Student Loan Repayment Options
Washington, D.C. – With affordable student loan repayment options at risk under the Trump Administration, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Virginia’s U.S. Senator Tim Kaine today led their colleagues to launch a new effort to protect and expand federal student loan repayment programs. The Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment (SOAR)
Bynum and Merkley Introduce Legislation to Protect the Deschutes River
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) and Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the Deschutes River Conservancy Reauthorization Act of 2025. The bill reauthorizes the Deschutes River Conservancy’s (DRC) eligibility to receive federal funding for water quality improvement initiatives and conservation efforts. Since its founding in 1996, the DRC and
Merkley Announces Illegally Fired USFS Worker as his Guest to the 2025 Joint Address to Congress
Army veteran Isabella Isaksen worked for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in Central Oregon until she became one of the thousands of federal public servants unjustly fired by the Trump Administration. Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced that his guest to President Trump’s address to a joint session
Oregon Delegation Demands Reversal of Trump Attacks on Programs Serving Tribal Communities
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden—along with U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05)—joined over 100 Members of Congress to demand that the Trump Administration stop and reverse its dangerous efforts to fire employees and defund programs that serve Tribes and Tribal members. The lawmakers directed President
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Sound the Alarm Over EPA Clean School Bus Program Funds Freeze
Letter Text (PDF) Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their colleagues in demanding an update from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on the distribution of funding for the Clean School Bus program to recipients with signed agreements and urging the EPA
Wyden, Merkley Demand HHS Secretary Kennedy Reverse Drastic Cuts to Critical Health Care Assistance Program
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today demanded U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reverse extreme and harmful funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act Navigator program. In a letter to Secretary Kennedy, Wyden and Merkley joined Senate colleagues to
Wyden, Merkley Join Bill to Codify DOJ’s Office of Environmental Justice
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they are joining legislation that would permanently codify the Office of Environmental Justice within the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, in the wake of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent order eliminating all environmental justice efforts
Merkley, Bonamici, Jayapal Re-Introduce Legislation to Protect Consumers from Predatory Payday Lending Practices
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley teamed up with U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) to introduce the Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic (SAFE) Lending Act. The SAFE Lending Act safeguards consumers from deceptive and predatory practices that strip hard-earned wages from working families