An energy efficiency plan inspired by a Portland lawmaker and the city of Portland’s new Clean Energy Works program could go national in a second-round economic stimulus bill being fashioned in the Senate. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, Oregon’s Democratic junior senator, in a Monday afternoon appearance before the Portland Tribune
WASHINGTON — After a year spent watching Republicans throw everything but the kitchen sink in the path of Democrats’ agenda, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley thinks it’s time to change how the Senate works. The Oregon Democrat’s target is the most potent tool of the minority party: the filibuster, which, when
Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon today became the first Senate Democrat to announce a vote against Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s nomination for a second term. He talked with us about his decision ahead of Thursday’s Senate Banking Committee vote on confirmation: Bernanke is President Obama’s nominee for Fed chairman.
In his much-anticipated jobs speech last week, Obama introduced a program meant to encourage energy efficiency retrofits for residential housing; it has since become known as “cash for caulkers.” On Tuesday, Obama will host a discussion at a Washington-area Home Depot focusing on the economic benefits of retrofits and soliciting
WASHINGTON — Details weren’t available Thursday on the latest Senate health care reform compromise, but that didn’t stop U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., from taking a pre-emptive shot at the deal. Merkley said the proposal to replace a government-run “public option” with the option for people to buy into Medicare
Oregon’s U.S. senators, in the middle of a two-day trip to Iraq, said Monday that they are optimistic that parliamentary elections still can be held in time to allow the scheduled withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by August 2010. Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley met with Iraqi officials,
WASHINGTON — Despite a recent burst of violence and uncertainty about elections scheduled for January, Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said Monday a sense of “promise” is taking root in Iraq. Wyden and Merkley offered the assessment after the first day of a two-day visit to the country.
It doesn’t make sense for some Oregon timber companies to carry out contracts they have to harvest timber on Bureau of Land Management land. Demand has fallen. Timber prices have fallen. Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, both Democrats, are stepping in to help out. Merkley introduced and Wyden
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid met with the chairs of six committees that might have some hand in developing the clean energy bill. The question at issue was whether the bill should be pushed back in favor of a short-term focus on finance reform, jobs, and the deficit.
WASHINGTON — The latest version of the health care reform bill caused a minor role reversal for Oregon’s Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday. Soft-spoken Sen. Jeff Merkley pronounced himself “very pleased” with the bill, unveiled late Wednesday in the Senate, while the normally loquacious Sen. Ron Wyden avoided commenting on
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