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 on Fed to Not Delay Volcker Rule

Washington, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement on the comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that regulators will probably delay implementation of the Volcker Rule.  “I am disappointed to hear Chairman Bernanke’s comments that regulators will probably not meet the statutory deadline for implementing the

Merkley Statement on Failure of Anti-Contraception Amendment

WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Senate voted to reject an amendment that would have allowed employers to deny their workers contraception or other vital health care services on the basis of an employer’s “conviction:” “Today, the U.S. Senate drew a line in

Senators Encourage FCC Effort to Make Campaign Advertisements More Transparent

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley led a group of eight Senators in a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski encouraging swift implementation of a proposed rule to make political advertisements more transparent. “With the 2012 election season already underway, citizens have a right to know

MERKLEY DENOUNCES SENATE AMENDMENT THAT ATTACKS WOMEN’S HEALTH CARE

Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley gathered with women’s health advocates today to denounce a Senate amendment that would deny health insurance coverage to women for birth control and any essential, preventive health care service if their employer has a religious or moral objection.  Senator Merkley stressed that this

Merkley: “Unconscionable” if Americans not Hired for Local Forest Jobs

Washington, DC- Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley sent a letter to Tom Tidwell, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, urging him to take steps to ensure Americans will be hired with the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program projects announced on February 2, 2012.  In particular, Merkley urged the Chief not

en_USEnglish