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, Senators Urge VA to Expand Access to Medical Cannabis for America’s Veterans

Senators’ letter follows DEA’s recommended rescheduling of cannabis from earlier this year Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today led his colleagues—including Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV)—in

Merkley, Markey Urge No Federal Support for Commercial Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plants

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Massachusetts’ U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey, Senate co-chairs of the Congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, expressed their concern about companies seeking to build commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing plants in the United States. The Senators urge U.S. Secretary

Merkley Statement on the Passing of Peter Courtney

Portland, OR – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement on the passing of former Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney: “I join the many Oregonians who are grieving this loss of Peter Courtney—a true force of nature whose larger-than-life personality was only matched by his work ethic. “Throughout his remarkable,

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