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: Reducing Nuclear Stockpiles for Global Stability and Security

Washington, DC – Today, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev launched negotiations for a new nuclear arms treaty.  The current treaty governing nuclear arms – known as the START Treaty – expires in December of 2009. Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, who worked on nuclear arms issues as a

Merkley: “Making Work Pay” Tax Credit to Benefit 1.4 Million Families

Washington, DC –Today, the Making Work Pay tax credit will go into effect, giving a tax cut to over 110 million American families, including 1.4 million families in Oregon who will save a combined $700 million in federal taxes. The tax credit is part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery

Merkley Joins Bipartisan Effort to Assist Farmers

Washington, DC- Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley joined Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to introduce bipartisan legislation that will help reduce unnecessary regulations for farmers and ranchers in Oregon and across the nation. Specifically, the legislation would provide exemptions so that interstate trucking regulations would not apply to

Merkley Statement on President Obama Signing Public Lands Bill Into Law

Washington, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement on President Obama signing the public lands bill into law: “I’m proud that President Obama and Congress have taken action and ensured the preservation of wilderness areas in Oregon and across the country,” said Merkley.  “After years of this

Merkley Praises Passage of National Service Bill

WASHINGTON, DC –The U.S. Senate last night passed legislation to strengthen programs that encourage community service, a major priority of President Barack Obama.  Senator Jeff Merkley worked to ensure the funding can be used for programs that task volunteers with restoring forest health and reducing wildfire risk on Oregon’s public

Merkley: Green Collar Jobs Boost Economy and Preserve Environment

Portland – Window by window, door by door, bathtub by bathtub, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley learned how DeConstruction Services is assembling the green collar economy. Merkley toured the ReBuilding Center’s DeConstruction Services project at NE 120th Ave. and Burnside in Portland today to learn more about how their hand-dismantling of

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