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
Wyden, Merkley Seek Improved Federal Air Quality Programs
Washington, DC — U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are urging their colleagues to improve federal air quality programs in the wake of several Portland neighborhoods learning last month that there are high levels of heavy metals in the air. “The EPA aims to protect air quality but, as
Senators Push for Funding to Repair Crumbling Water Infrastructure, Avoid Future Flint-Style Disasters
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As families in Flint, Michigan continue to struggle with lead-contaminated water, eighteen Senators are pushing to boost investment in water infrastructure repairs to avert future crises of contaminated drinking water supplies. In a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Senators
U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin And Jeff Merkley Introduce Legislation To Strengthen Oversight Of Activist Hedge Funds
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced legislation to increase transparency and strengthen oversight of activist hedge funds. The Brokaw Act is named for a small Wisconsin town that went bankrupt after an out-of-state hedge fund closed a paper mill that had provided good jobs to
Merkley and Wyden Bipartisan Legislation to Bring Air Service Back to Klamath Falls Gets One Step Closer
Washington DC – Today, Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden’s bipartisan Treating Small Airports with Fairness Act, or ‘TSA Fairness Act,’ took one step closer to passage when the Senate Commerce Committee voted to attach it to the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill. This legislation would restore TSA screening to
Merkley Statement on Senate Defeat of “DARK Act”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted down a test vote on anti-GMO food labeling legislation commonly known as the “Denying Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act:” “Today is a victory for American consumers. Ordinary Americans stood up and fought
Merkley Statement on Supreme Court Nomination
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after President Obama announced that he would nominate Merrick Garland to serve on the United States Supreme Court: “I thank President Obama for fulfilling his constitutional obligation to put forward a nominee to fill this critical vacancy. I look