Category: Press Releases

Merkley, Whitehouse Introduce Bold New Legislation to Transition the U.S. to 100% Zero-Emission Vehicles

November 28, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)—both senior members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee—today unveiled ambitious new legislation that would put the U.S. on the path to achieving 100% zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the coming decades. The Merkley-Whitehouse legislation, the Zero-Emission Vehicles

Merkley, Wyden Call on Senate Leadership to Protect Small Businesses from Burdensome Sales Tax Collection Requirement

November 28, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden in a letter call on Senate Leadership to take action before the end of the year to protect small businesses from red tape resulting from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. In the wake

Following National Climate Assessment, Merkley and Colleagues Introduce Senate Resolution Endorsing Findings of Recent Climate Change Reports & Urging Immediate Action

November 27, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today introduced a Senate resolution outlining key findings of the recent Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC) report and last week’s National Climate Assessment. The resolution affirms the signing members’ recognition

Murray, Merkley, and Blumenauer Announce New Step Forward for Tribal Housing Plan Along Columbia River

November 27, 2018

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), joined by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) has allocated $1.8 million to complete The Dalles Dam Tribal Housing Village Development Plan, following the lawmakers’ request in October 2018 to

Merkley, Wyden Demand Justification for Deployment of Active Duty Troops at the Border

November 20, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today joined their colleagues in raising concerns with Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis regarding “the overt politicization of the military and the lack of evidence to justify the deployment of active duty troops to confront the migrant caravan before

Wyden, Crapo, Merkley, Risch Urge Re-authorization of Rural Resource Advisory Committees

November 19, 2018

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and James Risch (R-ID) today urged federal officials to reauthorize citizen committees that provide key advice for important natural resources work in national forests. The senators’ bipartisan letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue seeks prompt reauthorization of

Merkley Hosts Science Summit to Identify Solutions for Suckers

November 17, 2018

KLAMATH FALLS, OR – Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley on Friday hosted a science summit, the Sucker Recovery Summit, to share updates on the health of the species and to discuss possible short-term options to help the Lost River (C’waam) and shortnose (Koptu) suckers survive until long-term solutions take effect.

Merkley on Wheeler Nomination: Trump Is Turning the EPA Into the ‘Polluter Protection Agency’

November 16, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement after President Trump formally nominated Andrew Wheeler to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “This is devastating news for clean air and clean water across America. If it wasn’t clear

Wyden, Merkley Press Private Prison Companies on Compliance with Federal Immigration Detention Standards

November 16, 2018

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today asked the country’s two largest private immigration detention contractors for information about their compliance with federal immigration detention standards. The letters from Wyden, Merkley and nine other senators to contractors GEO Group and CoreCivic follows a troubling report by

Following Khashoggi Murder and Trump’s Disturbing Attacks on the Press, Merkley Leads Strongly-Worded Call for Senate to Stand Up for Freedom of the Press

November 15, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the brutal murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and as President Donald Trump continues to employ unprecedented rhetoric and actions to attack the American news media, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today introduced a strongly worded resolution calling for the Senate to stand up for freedom