As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and the only Oregon member of Congress currently serving on the powerful Appropriations Committee, Jeff is focused on making sure that important projects in Oregon have the funding needed to move forward. Jeff is a long-time member of the subcommittee and has used his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee to advocate for and secure critical resources for top Oregon priorities, like wildfire mitigation and support of strategies to restore fish habitat and scale up ongoing efforts to restore healthy populations of shortnose and Lost River sucker in the Klamath Basin.
Last year’s unprecedented wildfire season serves as another haunting reminder that the health and safety of our communities depend on our ability to maintain healthy forests and aggressively tackle the climate crisis. Jeff is proud to lead the Appropriations subcommittee at the heart of those fights, and will keep working to secure the resources Oregon needs to take on these and other challenges. He also takes seriously the critical role this subcommittee plays in delivering resources for tribal nations and native communities in Oregon and across our country. So often, the United states has not fulfilled its promises to Indian Country, and Jeff is working hard to make sure their needs are heard and reflected in our nation’s spending plans, while honoring tribes’ self-determination and sovereignty.
As a member of the full committee, Jeff will also be working to make sure Oregon’s needs are met to help fund critical community-driven projects in transportation, health care, education, and more. In 2021, the Senate Appropriations Committee restored community-driven project funding opportunities with robust transparency requirements to ensure the integrity of the process. As required by the Committee rules, Senator Merkley discloses all community-driven projects that he submits to the subcommittee for consideration through a competitive process.
FY2025 Disclosures:
FY2025 – Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
FY2025 – Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
FY2025 – Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
FY2025 – Financial Services and General Government
FY2025 – Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
FY2025 – Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
FY2025 – Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
FY2025 – Energy and Water Development
Past Disclosures:
FY2024 – Energy and Water Development Community Initiated Projects
FY2024 – Financial Services and General Government Community Initiated Projects
FY2024 – Agriculture Community Initiated Projects
FY2024 – Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Community Initiated Projects
FY2024 – Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Community Initiated Projects
FY2024 – Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Community Initiated Projects
FY2024 – Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Community Initiated Projects
FY2024 -Homeland Security Community Initiated Projects
FY2024 – Labor, Health, Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Community Initiated Projects
FY2023 Energy and Water Community Initiated Projects
FY2023 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Community Initiated Projects
FY2023 Agriculture Community Initiated Projects
FY2023 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Community Initiated Projects
FY2023 Financial Services and General Government Community Initiated Projects
FY2023 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Community Initiated Projects
FY2023 Homeland Security Community Initiated Projects
FY2023 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Community Initiated Projects
Wyden, Merkley Demand Answers and Actions from Feds as Many Head Start Programs in Oregon and Nationwide Still Face Funding Disruptions
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they are joining colleagues to demand answers and action from the Trump administration about the acute financial impacts and lingering uncertainty faced by Head Start programs in Oregon and nationwide following the Office of Management and Budget’s memo
Merkley and Colleagues to EPA Administrator Zeldin: Provide Valid Legal Basis for EPA Funding Freeze that is Threatening Jobs and Jeopardizing Infrastructure Projects
During his first days on the job, EPA Administrator Zeldin rubber stamps Trump’s disastrous funding freeze and violates federal law 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 of the Committee in demanding answers from
Merkley, Wyden Blast President Trump’s Illegal Federal Funding Cuts That Harm American Families
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today issued the following statements in response to a federal judge blocking the Trump Administration’s executive order immediately stopping all federal loans and grants: “The attack on these programs that allow families to get on their feet and thrive
Merkley, Baldwin, Booker, 40+ Senators: No New Anti-LGBTQ+, Anti-Abortion Provisions in Must-Pass Government Funding Bills
45 Senators: “Partisan, discriminatory, and harmful policy riders have no place in must-pass legislation such as appropriations bills” Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Wisconsin’s U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, and New Jersey’s U.S. Senator Cory Booker led a group of over 40 Senators to urge Senate Appropriations Committee
Senator Merkley Highlights the Need for Climate Action in Hearing – Opening Statement
Senator Merkley highlights the critical importance of investing in climate action and tackling our plastic pollution crisis during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies hearing titled, “A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Environmental Protection Agency” on May 1, 2024. Watch
Merkley, Wyden Introduce Bill to Fund Agriculture Research in Oregon, Support its Industry
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced the introduction of the Oregon Research Bounty Act, legislation to authorize funding for 11 research projects that benefit Oregon’s agriculture and forest product sectors. As the former top Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee that writes our nation’s