Press Releases

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

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 Helps Pass Job-Creating Transportation Bill Out of Committee

WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley helped to pass a bipartisan, job-creating transportation bill out of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. The bill will ensure that construction work across the country does not come to an abrupt halt later this year and will make job-creating investments in

Merkley Leads Senators in Pushing CFPB to Crack Down on Predatory Payday Loans

WASHINGTON – In a letter sent to the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today, six Senators – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) – pushed the

Merkley Teams Up With Warren on Bill to Reduce Debt Burden for Student Borrowers

WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley teamed up with Senator Elizabeth Warren to introduce the Bank on Students Emergency Loans Refinancing Act, which will allow students paying high interest rates on student loans to refinance both public and private federal loans at a fixed, lower interest rate. “In this

Merkley to Chair Hearing on Job Creation

Washington, DC – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy, announced his subcommittee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, May 7 at 2:30 pm EST in Room 538 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.,

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