Senator Merkley spoke about the impact of wildfires on communities in Oregon and the growing threat of climate chaos during a Senate Environment and Public Works hearing titled “The Science of Extreme Event Attribution: How Climate Change is Fueling Severe Weather Events” on November 1, 2023.

Watch the full hearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXAstEoU218
 
Read more about Senator Merkley’s efforts to protect communities from hazardous wildfire smoke and extreme heat: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-leads-effort-to-reduce-wildfire-risk-boost-economic-opportunities-in-forest-dependent-communities

 
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As we face another busy travel season, let’s say no to the TSA tracking us through facial recognition.

Read more about the bipartisan Traveler Privacy Protection Act: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/in-midst-of-busy-travel-season-merkley-kennedy-colleagues-sound-alarm-on-tsa-collection-of-facial-biometric-data/

Watch more about Senator Merkley's work and experiences at TSA checkpoints: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUMJKFKxiNtgkNFhiid1DRJZigbjxUJZb

Congress needs to take a stand and make the Arctic Ocean off limits to Big Oil for good.

More about the Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-takes-a-stand-to-end-arctic-drilling/

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Senator Merkley questioned Assistant Secretary of State, European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien about the consequences if Congress fails to approve additional aid to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unprovoked invasion during a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on November 8, 2023. Senator Merkley called bailing on aid to Ukraine “one of the biggest foreign policies mistakes we could make in generations.”

Watch the full hearing: https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/us-national-security-interests-in-ukraine

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Senator Merkley spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate on November 7, 2023 in support of continued aid to Ukraine, highlighting that ripping aid for Ukraine out of the emergency supplemental bill would fracture the NATO alliance and weaken America’s leadership in defending democracy. He urged his colleagues to support a bill with robust aid to Ukraine.

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Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley chaired a Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee hearing titled, “Evaluating Material Alternatives for Single-Use Plastics” on October 26, 2023. This is his opening statement from that hearing; you can find the full hearing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCTp3XURJCU

Witnesses included:
Marcus Eriksen, Ph.D. – Co-Founder, Executive Director – The 5 Gyres Institute, Leap Lab
Eric Simon – Vice President, Plastic Waste + Business – World Wildlife Fund
Humberto Kravetz – Founder and CEO – GSF Upcycling

Senator Merkley is committed to combatting our plastic production and pollution crisis, including with his Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act. Read more about that bill: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-huffman-introduce-bold-legislation-to-take-on-the-growing-plastic-pollution-crisis/

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Senator Merkley spoke with Dr. Mažeika Patricio Sulliván, Director of the Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science at Clemson University, during an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing entitled “Examining the Implications of Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Clean Water Act Protections of Wetlands and Streams.”

Wetlands support critical ecosystems and are of significant cultural importance to Tribes in Oregon, and we must work together to continue to protect our nation’s wetlands and streams.

Full hearing link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqsK8Z_YQVQ

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Powerful exhibit on the oppression of the Uyghur community in China displayed in the U.S. Capitol this week.

I worked to pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which went into effect this year, to address grave concerns about the brutal treatment of Uyghurs in China. Read more about that bill: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkleys-bipartisan-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-has-been-signed-into-law/

I also co-chair the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which maintains a political prisoner database that highlight’s China’s abuses of rule of law and human rights. More: https://www.cecc.gov/resources/political-prisoner-database

On September 28, 2023, Senator Merkley chaired a Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight hearing titled “Examining Solutions to Address Beverage Container Waste,” the latest hearing in his series of hearings investigating plastic production and pollution and its impact on human health, the climate, and the environment.

Senator Merkley’s full statement on the hearing: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-to-chair-hearing-examining-beverage-container-waste/

Watch the full hearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZznLtX1Gfqo

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