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

RUBIO, MERKLEY INTRODUCE BILL TO REAUTHORIZE UYGHUR HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY ACT 

The People’s Republic of China continues to brutally suppress Uyghurs and other ethnic groups. The United States must continue to hold officials accountable for these abuses.  The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) led, was signed into law in 2020 and its sanctions are set

Wyden, Merkley Announce National Trail Designation for Banks-Vernonia State Trail 

WASHINGTON D.C.—Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the designation of the Banks-Vernonia State Trail to the National Trails System. The newly designated trail joins a network of more than 1,300 existing national recreation trails, which can be found in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  

Cardin, Rubio, Merkley Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Commemorating 35th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), introduced a bipartisan resolution commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The resolution also condemns the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) widespread use of repression and transnational repression against

Merkley Announces June Town Halls

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced today he will be holding six in-person town halls for Oregon communities in June: Coos and Curry counties on Friday, June 7; Klamath and Lake counties on Saturday, June 8; and Crook and Wheeler counties on Sunday, June 9. The events continue

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