WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Congressman A. Donald McEachin (D-VA-04), along with U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), today introduced the Rural Health Equity Act in both the Senate and House. This legislation would establish a new Office of Rural Health within the Centers for Disease Control
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley today cheered an announcement by the Biden Administration that $25.5 billion from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) would be distributed to health care providers in Oregon and across the nation amidst a surge in COVID-19 cases.
“The delta variant has put Oregon health providers under enormous strain as frontline health care workers approach their breaking point,” said Wyden, who in recent weeks has heard firsthand from nurses, doctors and medical staff at meetings in Bend, Eugene, Medford and Portland about the crushing workload created by the public health crisis. “These dollars will provide critical relief to help keep patients and workers safe while the campaign to vaccinate all Americans continues. I’m also pleased that this distribution will especially help providers that serve seniors and Oregon’s most vulnerable families.”
“As the Delta variant continues to surge, it’s clear that there’s still much more work to be done to keep families across Oregon and around the country safe from this pandemic—and we can’t do that without getting more shots into arms and supporting the health care heroes on the frontlines,” said Merkley. “I applaud the Biden administration for making more resources available to support those efforts, and will continue to do all that I can to help our communities navigate this crisis, by ensuring that all of our health care providers have the tools they need to keep saving lives.”
Last month, Wyden and Merkley called for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to distribute funds remaining in the PRF and other health care programs.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that Lane County will receive $877,731 to train community health workers to support COVID-19 public health response and build community resilience as the COVID pandemic drags on. “It’s clear that we are in this pandemic for longer than we hoped and
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that $2.1 million in federal funding is headed to Medford to protect children from lead-based paint hazards in older homes. “No Oregonian—regardless of where they live or what their job is—should have to worry about whether their
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that La Clinica del Valle Family Health Center in Medford has secured a $123,792 federal grant to help provide telehealth services to its patients in southern Oregon during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I saw and heard firsthand last week
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with American Medical Response, will supplement medical staff at six hospitals throughout Oregon in Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, and Deschutes counties. The counties were identified to have critical staffing
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined colleagues in supporting legislation that would guarantee equal access to abortion everywhere in the United States. “Reproductive rights are human rights,” said Wyden, who recently introduced a bill to ensure access to abortion regardless of
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Pramila Jayapal and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), have introduced the bicameral ifying Opportunities for Variants to Infect and Decimate (NOVID) Act, legislation that would dramatically expand the nation’s international coronavirus prevention and vaccination efforts to
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that $39.3 million in American Rescue Plan funding is headed to Oregon to support substance abuse treatment and prevention programming, and to strengthen mental health services for Oregonians. The coronavirus crisis has presented mental health challenges in
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined colleagues in a letter urging Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra to quickly finalize the proposed rule for the Title X family planning program that would reverse the Trump Administration’s gag rule, commit to health
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