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 Statement on Richard Cordray

Washington, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the nomination by President Obama of Richard Cordray to be the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “I first want to thank Elizabeth Warren for her hard work getting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau up and

Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $4 Million for Oregon School-based Health Centers

Washington, DC – Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded over $4 million to twelve school-based health centers across Oregon to expand access to quality health care to children while at school. Funding for these awards comes from

Merkley and Wyden Announce Approval of the West Butte Wind Energy Project

Washington, DC – Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the U.S. Department of Interior has given a green light for the West Butte Wind Project in Central Oregon.  The wind farm will produce up to 104 megawatts of electricity for homes and businesses and create jobs

Merkley-Levin: GAO Study on Proprietary Trading Is a Major Disappointment

Washington, DC – Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Carl Levin (D-MI), the primary authors of the Merkley-Levin provisions limiting proprietary trading, issued the following statement on the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study today:  “The GAO study is a major disappointment.  At best it is incomplete.  At worst

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