The carbon pollution in our atmosphere from burning fossil fuels like oil and coal is waging a direct and unchecked assault on our farming, fishing and forests – the cornerstones of Oregon’s rural economy.
When Jeff was young, his dad worked as a millwright. He spent his childhood in Southern Oregon timber communities, where timber jobs were what put food on the table and kept roofs over folks’ head. Fires and insect infestations are already killing trees at alarming rates across the Northwest, and climate change will only make these threats to our forests worse. Other iconic Oregon industries like our coastal oyster hatcheries are threatened by ocean acidification, and fishing and farming alike are facing threats from declining snowpacks and increased drought.
Congress needs to wake up. Climate change is real, and it’s bad for our economy and jobs, especially in rural Oregon and the places that most depend on our abundant natural resources.
Merkley, Klobuchar, Heinrich, Colleagues: Trump Staffing Cuts at Forest Service Threatening Wildfire Prevention Efforts Across the U.S.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) led 9 Senators to demand urgent answers from U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz regarding
Merkley, Wyden Join 88 Lawmakers in Urging Protection of Electric Vehicle Investments in Bipartisan Surface Transportation Negotiations
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today joined 88 lawmakers in pushing leaders on the Senate Environment and Public Works and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committees to protect electric vehicle (EV) investments while reauthorizing bipartisan surface transportation legislation. The lawmakers reaffirmed their commitment to supporting a similar
Merkley, Huffman Announce Legislation to End US International Investment in Fossil Fuels Ahead of COP30
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) today are reintroducing the Sustainable International Financial Institutions Act of 2025, which would tackle the climate crisis by making sure American taxpayer dollars don’t help to finance fossil fuel projects through international financial institutions. The lawmakers reinvigorated
Merkley, Pingree Press EPA & Interior Ahead of Proposed RIFs
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, in their roles as Ranking Members of the Senate and House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittees, called on the Trump Administration to immediately halt impending Reductions in Force (RIFs) at the Department of Interior and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demand Trump Administration Restore $8 Billion in Funding for Energy Projects It Illegally Canceled
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined Senate colleagues to demand the Trump administration restore funding for 223 energy projects in Democratic-led states that were unlawfully canceled even though Congress had approved and appropriated funding for them. “We write in strong opposition
Rep. Andrea Salinas, Oregon Delegation Condemn the Trump Administration for Canceling Nearly $500 Million in Grants for Oregon Energy Projects
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congresswoman Andrea Salinas, alongside U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Val Hoyle, Maxine Dexter, and Janelle Bynum issued the following statement denouncing the Trump Administration’s cancellation of nearly $500 million in Department of Energy (DOE) grants to support energy reliability,
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