Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing on June 5, 2026, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) announced a new bipartisan bill to target a loophole that illegal fishers exploit to gain an unfair advantage over
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-06) led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce the Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act. The bipartisan bill would address the child care workforce shortage by investing in career and technical education (CTE) programs and incentivizing
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced a new bill in response to a decision by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that fails to classify post-baccalaureate nursing degrees as “professional degrees,” imposing stricter limits on federal student loans for nurses. The bipartisan
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, North Carolina’s U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, and Massachusetts’ U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren led their Senate colleagues in pressing U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to ensure the timely release of funding for the independent, non-partisan Institute of Education Sciences (IES). IES
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) teamed up with U.S. Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH-14), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), and Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02) to introduce a bipartisan, bicameral resolution honoring National Nurses Week. National Nurses Week 2026 is celebrated from May 6 through 12. The
Washington, D.C. — Rep. Jen Kiggans (VA-02) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) expressed concern following the Department of Education’s release of its final rule defining which healthcare professions qualify as “professional degrees.” The rule, set to take effect on July 1, 2026, excludes post-baccalaureate nursing programs from this designation. As
Washington, D.C. – In response to a request from Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, the nonpartisan, independent Government Accountability Office (GAO) has opened an investigation into the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) practices in redacting information from the public release of the Epstein Files. “By illegally disregarding the law, the Trump
Washington, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—the former Ranking Member on the Appropriations subcommittee that writes our nation’s agriculture funding bill—partnered with U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) to reintroduce the Healthy Watersheds, Healthy Communities Act. This bipartisan bill would increase the resiliency of American agriculture and communities
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and past Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)—partnered with U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and John Curtis (R-UT) to introduce bipartisan legislation that expands cooperation between the United States
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Louisiana’s U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., Minnesota’s U.S. Senator Tina Smith, and Kansas’ U.S. Senator Roger Marshall sent a bipartisan letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, M.D., urging the agency to work with Congress to
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