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: USDA Must Give Guidance to Oregon Wheat Growers Within 10 Days

Washington, DC– Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley called on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to give guidance to Oregon wheat growers on how ensure their product is marketable and meets the needs of their customers, following the discovery of genetically modified wheat engineered by Monsanto found in eastern Oregon. Merkley says

GOP Blocks Merkley Amendment to Repeal the Monsanto Protection Act

Greetings- Today, after his unanimous consent request for a vote on his amendment to the farm bill that would repeal the “Monsanto Protection Act” was blocked by a member of the minority party, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley made the following remarks on the floor. “MR. PRESIDENT, I REGRET THAT WE’VE

Merkley: Let’s Repeal the “Monsanto Protection Act”

Washington – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced that he would put forward an amendment to the Senate farm bill that would repeal a controversial provision of the recently-passed continuing resolution known as the “Monsanto Protection Act.” “The Monsanto Protection Act is an outrageous example of a special interest loophole,”

en_USEnglish