Category: Press Releases

Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $700,000 in Funding for Federal and State Drinking Water Partnerships, Salmon Recovery, and Biomass Development

July 16, 2020

Washington, DC – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the Drinking Water Providers Partnership, which supports collaboration between federal and state agencies and nonprofits, is allocating over $370,000 to eight projects in Oregon that will help improve drinking water quality and salmon habitat. In addition, the

Merkley, Colleagues Push Back on Trump Administration’s Anti-Immigrant Agenda in USCIS Funding Debate

July 16, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—along with 14 of his Senate colleagues—is pushing back on the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant agenda in advance of upcoming debate on a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) bailout. Merkley and his colleagues are pushing for any funding package to include guardrails that

As Deadline Approaches for ICE to Release Children From Custody, Merkley Calls on Administration to Keep Children With Families as They Are Released

July 15, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, a leading advocate for child asylum seekers in the U.S., released the following statement in advance of a July 17 court-ordered deadline for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release children from custody at family internment camps in Texas and Pennsylvania. While

Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer and Bonamici Demand Answers from DHS and DOJ after Federal Agent Shoots Peaceful Protester in Head

July 14, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici today demanded answers from the Trump administration after a federal agent shot a peaceful protester in the head with potentially deadly crowd-control munition. The Oregonian suffered a direct hit, resulting in a critical head injury, and is now hospitalized after undergoing surgery.

Merkley, Wyden to President Trump: Remove Policies Discriminating Against LGBTQ Individuals

July 13, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with more than 100 members of Congress, are calling on President Trump to direct the federal government to remove all regulations, executive orders and agency policies that discriminate against LGBTQ individuals. The letter comes after the Supreme Court ruled in Bostock

Merkley, Wyden, Bonamici, Blumenauer Urge ICE and DHS to Immediately Withdraw New Guidance that Threatens International Students with Deportation

July 10, 2020

Washington, DC – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led a group of 96 lawmakers in the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, including Senator Ron Wyden and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer, in pushing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to

Merkley, Romney Introduce Legislation to Protect Long-Term Health of Saline Ecosystems

July 9, 2020

Washington, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) are introducing legislation to facilitate an integrated regional assessment of saline lake ecosystems—bodies of water that line wetlands across the West Coast, serving as habitats for a diverse array of wildlife and providing important economic and

Wyden, Merkley: Warm Springs Housing Authority Will Receive $900,000 COVID-19 Grant

July 8, 2020

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the Warm Springs Housing Authority has secured a $900,000 federal grant to help with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Tribes throughout Oregon are battling hard to weather COVID-19’s economic and public health fallout such as its impact

Merkley, Colleagues Call on Nation’s To Health Agencies to Ensure Expanded Telehealth Services Continue Beyond Pandemic

July 8, 2020

Washington, DC – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with a bipartisan group of 36 senators, is calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Congress with a written plan and timeline about any potential changes to

As Trump Administration Pulls Out of WHO, Merkley Slams Abdication of Global Leadership to China

July 7, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee that oversees multilateral institutions, released the following statement after the Trump administration sent a letter formally withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO) in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the U.S.