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

Honoring America’s Veterans

Washington, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement in honor of veterans of the United States armed forces: “Since World War I, when a temporary cessation of hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the

Merkley Statement on the National Unemployment Rate

Washington, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement today on the announcement by the Department of Labor that the national unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent, the highest rate since 1983: “The unemployment rate isn’t just a statistic we use to measure the state of the economy. 

Merkley Joins Victims of Employment Discrimination to Support Legislation Providing Protection for LGBT Employees

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley joined several victims of employment discrimination today in support of bipartisan legislation to provide basic protections against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.  The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), introduced by Senator Merkley and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), would

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