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

Congress Passes Merkley Bill in Veterans Compromise

WASHINGTON – Today the Senate passed compromise legislation to reform the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and improve veterans’ benefits, which includes a provision authored by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley to expand educational benefits to spouses of service members who die in the line of the duty. The bill, which was passed

Merkley Introduces Older Americans CARE Act To Help Seniors Stay in their Homes

WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley introduced new legislation to help older Americans stay in their own homes and communities as they age. The bill, the Older Americans Community Access Revitalization and Education (CARE) Act, would also improve seniors’ access to a range of health and support services. Merkley’s

Merkley: ‘Irresponsible’ to Leave without Wildfire Funding

Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Republicans used a procedural tactic to kill an emergency supplemental spending bill, which included $615 million in emergency funding to fight wildfires in the West. “With thousands of acres engulfed in flames in the Northwest, and lives and property in jeopardy,

Merkley Slams Republican Filibuster of Bring Jobs Home Act

WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement today after a Senate minority voted to filibuster the Bring Jobs Home Act, which would end tax subsidies for companies that ship jobs overseas and reward companies that bring jobs back home. Merkley is an original cosponsor of the bill.

Merkley Testifies at EPA Hearing, Calls for Action on Clean Power Plan

WASHINGTON, DC—Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley testified before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today in support of the most significant action ever taken to combat carbon pollution in the United States, the Clean Power Plan. “Carbon pollution is taking a big toll on our natural resources, and the impacts are growing,”

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