Press Releases

Interior Cuts in Trump Administration’s “Skinny” Budget to Leave Lasting Scars on Public Lands, Tribal Nations, and Human Health

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Subcommittee on the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the below statement following the release of President Trump’s ‘skinny’ budget for Fiscal Year 2026. “This budget is exactly what we expected from this administration: abandoning critical programs, slashing essential government services,

Merkley Announces Central Oregon Town Halls 

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced today he will hold three town halls for Oregonians in Jefferson, Crook, and Deschutes counties on Saturday, May 10.  Merkley will be joined by U.S. Representative Janelle Bynum for the Deschutes County town hall in Sisters.  The three rescheduled events in Central

Sens. Wicker, Merkley Introduce Bipartisan Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Co-Chairs of the Senate Nursing Caucus, introduced the Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act. This legislation would ensure that nurses in the federal Nurse Corps do not need to pay income tax on their student loan repayments and scholarships. “Nurses are essential to

Merkley Statement on Senate’s Rejection of Common-Sense Gun Proposals

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted to defeat proposals that would prohibit suspected terrorists from buying guns and that would close loopholes in the background check system: “It’s incomprehensible and shameful that 53 Senators put a higher priority on pleasing

Appropriations Committee Passes Merkley-Murray Amendment to Provide Access to Banking Services for Legal Marijuana Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, which included an amendment from Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and Washington Senator Patty Murray to ensure that legal marijuana businesses can access banking services. Currently, marijuana businesses operating under state laws that have

Merkley and Wyden Announce Key Oregon Wins for Rural Oregon in Senate Appropriations Bill

Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which Merkley sits, has passed an Interior Appropriations bill including key provisions that will help Oregon’s rural communities. These include funding for the Klamath basin, wildfire prevention, sage grouse habitat improvements and the Payments

Merkley and Wyden Announce Key Oregon Wins to Keep Oregon Communities Safe

Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which Merkley sits, has passed an Interior Appropriations bill including key provisions to keep Oregon communities safe with clean drinking water and to prepare for the possibility of a large scale Cascadia earthquake.  

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