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 NDAA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after voting no on the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA): “As someone who worked inside the Pentagon, I know how important it is to give the strongest backing to our men and women in uniform and to plan
Senate Approves Wyden, Merkley Bill to Rename Clinic for War Hero Loren Kaufman
Washington, D.C. – A bill co-sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to designate the veterans community-based outpatient clinic in The Dalles the Loren R. Kaufman Memorial Veterans’ Clinic passed the Senate today. The Oregon senators said their bill provides long-overdue recognition to a local Army soldier who served with
Senate Recognizes Hemp History Week
Washington, D.C. – During “Hemp History Week,” the Senate today passed a bipartisan resolution recognizing the important role industrial hemp could play in boosting the agricultural industry and economy of the United States. The Hemp History Week resolution passed the Senate by a unanimous voice vote today. Sens. Ron Wyden,
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