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
Wyden, Merkley Call on National Transportation Safety Board to More Closely Examine Future Oil Train Derailments
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today called on the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate future oil train derailments in order to find ways to better prevent such accidents. In their June 9 letter to NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart, the senators expressed their concern
Senate Passes Landmark, Merkley-Backed Bill to Reform Toxic Chemical Safety in the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in a bipartisan vote, the United States Senate passed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, landmark legislation that marks the first major update to toxic chemical safety in the United States in 40 years. Merkley worked with a bipartisan coalition to
Senators Urge Administration to Take New Fossil Fuel Leases Off the Table in Offshore Drilling Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter sent last Thursday, June 2, 2016 to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, eleven United States Senators urged the Obama Administration to take new fossil fuel leases off the table and protect vulnerable Arctic ecosystems in the Administration’s 2017-2022 offshore leasing program. The letter, which was
Oregon Leaders call for Oil Train Moratorium in the Columbia River Gorge
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Governor Kate Brown and Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici released the following statement today calling for a temporary halt to oil train traffic in Columbia River Gorge in light of last Friday’s derailment of a Union Pacific oil train in Mosier, OR:
Merkley Applauds Major New CFPB Rule On Small Dollar Lending
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a long-awaited proposed rule on small dollar lending. The rule will crack down on predatory lending models that are based on trapping consumers in unaffordable and escalating cycles of debt. “I
Merkley Announces New Suicide Hotline for Veterans
Medford, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley visited the Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics in White City, OR today to discuss the high rates of suicide among veterans and his role in helping push for a new direct connection for veterans to access. Senator Merkley was joined at today’s
English 
Spanish