Jeff is fighting to fix our broken financial system and make it work for middle-class families and small businesses again. Jeff is passionate about consumer protection and making sure that ordinary families are protected against scams and predatory schemes that threaten their pocketbooks. He led the fight in Oregon to take on the predatory payday lenders. In the U.S. Senate, he’s fought to create and strengthen the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the first-ever federal agency with the sole mission of looking out for consumers in their everyday financial transactions.
Ranking Member Merkley Presses Secretary Burgum on Misusing National Park Service Funding for America 250
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—the lead Democrat overseeing funding for the U.S. Department of the Interior—demanded Interior Secretary Doug Burgum provide urgent answers about the use of National Park Service (NPS) federal funds during America’s 250th celebration. Merkley’s inquiry follows the Trump
New Merkley Bill Tackles Dual Crises of Wildfire Risk and Insurance Affordability
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today unveiled the Wildfire Insurance Affordability Act, new legislation that would help homeowners reduce wildfire risk, give insurers confidence in lowering home insurance rates in communities at risk of fires, and keep insurers in the market. “The threat of wildfires is sending
Merkley, Krishnamoorthi Fight Back Against Predatory For-Profit Colleges Scamming Students with Worthless College Degrees
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) reintroduced legislation to protect students from predatory higher-education programs—which are often run by for-profit colleges—that target financially vulnerable students, leave borrowers buried in debt, and force taxpayers to foot the bill for federal aid that
Merkley, Wyden Demand Answers on Misuse of Federal Resources After Rushed, Costly Retrofit Job of Trump’s Luxury Jet
Last week, Secret Service questioned the security of the gifted aircraft’s retrofit WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined a dozen of their Senate colleagues in demanding transparency into the taxpayer-funded modification of the $400-million luxury jet gifted to President Trump by the government of Qatar. Since
Merkley, Bipartisan Senators Reintroduce Cannabis Banking Reform
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led a bipartisan group of Senators to reintroduce his legislation that would ensure state-legal cannabis businesses can access traditional and secure banking systems and financial services. Even with the recent federal reclassification of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III at
As Trump Requests $1.5 Trillion for Pentagon, Sens. Markey and Merkley Press for Details on “Golden Dome” $1.2 Trillion Price Tag, Mission
Letter Text (PDF) Washington (June 17, 2026) – As Congress considers President Trump’s $1.5 trillion request for Pentagon spending and SpaceX wins billions in Golden Dome contracts, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Representatives John Garamendi (CA-08) and Don Beyer (VA-08), co-chairs of the bicameral Nuclear