When Jeff first took on the challenge of running for the Oregon State Legislature, one of the reasons was because he wanted to build a better education system for his young children. And as the first in his family to go to college, Jeff knows that affordable access to higher education is critical to the success of the middle class.
Education is a major factor in determining whether our children and our nation succeed in today’s increasingly competitive global economy. As a country, we need to do a better job of supporting teachers, giving them the resources they need to provide the best possible environment for teaching our children, and ensuring that no capable student has to give up his or her dreams of higher education because of a lack of affordability.
Merkley, Bipartisan Group of Senate Appropriators Direct Labor Department to Reverse Closure of Job Corps Centers
Letter was signed by nine members of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley joined a bipartisan group of Senators on the Appropriations Committee—which oversees all government funding—to urge Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to reverse DOL’s decision to begin the closure of Job
Wyden, Merkley, Crapo, Risch Celebrate Senate Passage of Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization
Washington D.C.— U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., along with U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, both R-Idaho, celebrated today’s unanimous Senate passage of their legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Forest Service’s Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Program (SRS) through Fiscal Year 2026. “This is a
Merkley, Wyden, 38 Senators Fight Trump’s Cuts to the Job Corps Program
In Oregon, Tongue Point, PIVOT, and Springdale Centers at Risk Washington, D.C. – As the Trump Administration attempts to shutter the nation’s largest jobs training program for low-income and at-risk young people, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and 38 Senate colleagues demanded U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Merkley SLAMS Trump Ed. Secretary McMahon for Gutting Student Programs: “Profoundly Disturbing”
Senator Merkley questioned Secretary of Education Linda McMahon about gutting critical college-support and financial aid programs for first-generation college students during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on June 3, 2025.
During National Nurses Month, Merkley, Collins, Baldwin, Blackburn Champion Bipartisan Bill to Support America’s Nursing Workforce
Joyce, Bonamici, Underwood, Kiggans lead House version of the bill Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Maine’s U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Wisconsin’s U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, and Tennessee’s U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn—along with U.S. Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH-14), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), and Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02)—marked
Merkley Statement After Republican Reconciliation Bill Passed Out of the House
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following House passage of the Republican reconciliation bill. “House Republicans have just passed Trump’s so called ‘big, beautiful bill.’ There is nothing beautiful about it. It is: families lose, billionaires
English 
Spanish