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 Calls for Congressional Vote on Afghanistan Troop Proposal

WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after President Obama announced a plan to keep nearly 10,000 American troops in Afghanistan after 2014: “After more than a dozen years in Afghanistan, I believe it is time to end the longest war in American history and bring our

Merkley Introduces Legislation to Give Seniors a Raise

WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today introduced the Fair Raises for Seniors Act in the Senate that would increase Social Security benefits for seniors by changing the cost of living adjustment (COLA) formula to keep up with inflation. The current formula fails to account for the fact that seniors spend

Merkley Statement on Barron Nomination

WASHINGTON — Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement on David Barron’s nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit: David Barron is an impressive and accomplished attorney and legal scholar, and he will be a strong addition to the federal bench.  I am confident that

Merkley, Wyden, Feinstein, Boxer Introduce Klamath Basin Legislation

WASHINGTON  – Moving quickly to build on the work done by local ranchers, tribes, and federal and state officials, Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer introduced legislation today that will put into law the Upper Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement that was

Merkley, Wyden Call for Expanded Transparency In Oil Trains Order

WASHINGTON – Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today urged the Department of Transportation to ensure railroads notify states of all oil shipments moving by train, not just oil from one region of the country, as a DOT emergency order issued earlier this week required. The emergency order announced by the DOT

en_USEnglish