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 Introduces Education-To-Jobs Package
Washington, DC – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced an education-to-jobs package to better connect students to careers. Merkley’s bills, introduced today in the U.S. Senate, would protect students from predatory for-profit colleges peddling degrees that do not actually lead to jobs, and improve access to middle and high school
Merkley Introduces Legislation to Make Hospitals Safer for Nurses and Patients
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley introduced legislation to make hospitals safer for nurses and patients. The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2015 requires hospitals participating in Medicare to implement thorough staffing plans for nursing services and establishes whistleblower protections for patients and employees. “As the husband
Merkley on Supreme Court Marriage Equality Cases: “Discrimination Has No Place in our Nation’s Laws”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in landmark cases that could bring marriage equality for same-sex couples to all 50 states: “There are few concepts as fundamentally American as equality. As the United States Supreme Court hears oral
Udall, Whitehouse, Merkley, Booker Announce Breakthrough Improvements to Landmark Chemical Safety Bill
WASHINGTON — Today, Democratic U.S. Sens. Tom Udall (N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Cory Booker (N.J.) announced a major breakthrough agreement in historic legislation to reform the nation’s broken chemical safety law, a day before a “markup” hearing to finalize the legislation in the Senate Environment and
Merkley, Baldwin Introduce Bill to Require Federal Transportation Projects to Use Made-in-America Materials
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Invest in American Jobs Act, legislation to create good-paying American jobs and strengthen U.S. manufacturing by requiring federally-funded transportation projects to use American steel, iron and manufactured products whenever possible. Currently, similar requirements – known
Merkley Renews Calls for FDA Action as New Study Shows E-Cigarette Use Tripling Among Middle and High School Students
WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after a new study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed e-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripling in one year, from 2013 to 2014: “This alarming new study should be a wake-up call for the FDA.
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