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, Pingree: EPA’s Reckless Gutting of Environmental Justice Programs Harms Communities
Washington, D.C. – Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Chellie Pingree (ME-01) denounced plans by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin to eliminate all of the agency’s offices and positions related to environmental justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Merkley, Daines Champion Bipartisan Effort to Designate National Asbestos Awareness Week
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Montana’s U.S. Senator Steve Daines teamed up for a bipartisan effort to designate April 1-7 as National Asbestos Awareness Week and urge the U.S. Surgeon General to teach Americans about the dangers of asbestos exposure. “All Americans deserve a future
Merkley and Colleagues to EPA Administrator Zeldin: Agency Must Reverse Unlawful Termination of Grants for Clean Air and Water
New documents reveal 400 grantees are being illegally targeted for termination and expose EPA’s willful violation of congressional appropriations law, contractual agreements, and multiple court orders Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee—joined all his Democratic colleagues on
Cassidy, Merkley Introduce Bill to Stop Overpayments in the Medicare Advantage Program
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the No Unreasonable Payments, Coding, or Diagnoses for the Elderly (No UPCODE) Act to improve the way Medicare Advantage plans assess patients’ health risks and reduce overpayments for care. The No UPCODE Act will save taxpayers billions by eliminating incentives to overcharge
Merkley, Collins, McClain, Mullin Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Wipe Out Non-Flushable Products from Our Wastewater Infrastructure
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Susan Collins (R-ME), U.S. Representatives Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Kevin Mullin (D-CA) today reintroduced the bipartisan Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety (WIPPES) Act, a bill to address health, ecosystem, and wastewater infrastructure concerns caused by the flushing of non-flushable
Merkley, Risch, Wyden, Crapo Team Up for Bipartisan Bill to Boost Mass Timber Industry Nationwide
International Mass Timber Conference Kicks off in Portland, Oregon Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Idaho’s U.S. Senator James Risch today launched a renewed bipartisan effort to promote the use of mass timber in federal building projects and military construction. The bipartisan Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act—which is