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, Reed, Grijalva, Huffman, Casten to Energy Secretary Wright: New LNG Exports Hurt American Households and Businesses
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Rhode Island’s U.S. Senator Jack Reed, U.S. Representatives Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), and Sean Casten (D-IL-06) led 40 Members of Congress to demand that recently confirmed U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright deny export authorizations for new liquified natural gas (LNG) exports
Merkley, Wyden Slam Trump’s Layoffs of Vital Agricultural Researchers for Rural and Coastal Communities
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today continue to sound the alarm over staffing shortages at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the impacts of these disruptions on the livelihoods of farmers, fishermen, and ranchers in Oregon and around the
Merkley Denounces Scheme to Cripple the EPA
Democratic Committee members say EPA Administrator Zeldin’s illegal plan to gut the federal agency is poised to torpedo environmental safeguards while undermining the Constitution Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee—joined all his Democratic colleagues on the Committee
Senators Merkley, Heinrich, King Join Illegally Fired Federal Workers to Stress Dangers of Public Lands Staffing Shortages
***VIDEO FROM ROUNDTABLE HERE*** Washington, D.C. – Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Senate Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee Ranking Member Senator Angus King (I-ME) held a virtual roundtable with public lands employees
Wyden, Merkley Reintroduce Legislation to Help Recreation and Wildfire Prevention Work in SW Oregon and Near Molalla River
Washington D.C.— – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today reintroduced their legislation that would boost recreation opportunities in Southwestern Oregon and on the Molalla River in Clackamas County, while ensuring wildfire prevention work in both regions. The senators’ Oregon Recreation Enhancement (ORE) Act would create the Rogue Canyon
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Sound the Alarm Over EPA Clean School Bus Program Funds Freeze
Letter Text (PDF) Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their colleagues in demanding an update from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on the distribution of funding for the Clean School Bus program to recipients with signed agreements and urging the EPA
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