Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a long-time leader and fierce advocate for tackling the plastic pollution crisis across its entire life cycle—released the following statement after the conclusion of the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) in Geneva, Switzerland: “For plastics, many
Washington, D.C. – To close out his push throughout July to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today reintroduced his Research for Healthy Soils Act. This legislation would unlock federal funding at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service to conduct research on microplastics in biosolids and help us better understand their potential impacts
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Mike Levin (CA-49) today introduced the Fighting Fibers Act of 2025 to address one of the most significant sources of microfiber pollution: our laundry. Scientists estimate millions of tons of microfibers enter the ocean every year, which makes textiles the largest
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) partnered with Florida’s U.S. Senator Rick Scott and U.S. Congressman Greg Steube (FL-17) to introduce the bipartisan Microplastics Safety Act. The new legislation is a critical step forward in better understanding the threat of microplastics
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Rhode Island’s U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37) today reintroduced their resolution designating July as Plastic Pollution Action Month. The bicameral resolution spotlights the dangers plastic pollution poses to both human health and the environment, and calls on
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley partnered with West Virginia’s U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, to introduce the bipartisan Research for Environmental Uses and Sustainable Economies (REUSE) Act. The REUSE Act is a significant step forward in
Washington, D.C. – As the Trump Administration moves to recklessly reverse a federal policy protecting America’s national parks and public lands from single-use plastics, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today reintroduced his Reducing Waste in National Parks Act. This legislation would restore a previous federal directive, which Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently revoked, to keep plastic waste
Washington, DC – El senador estadounidense de Oregon Jeff Merkley, acompañado por los senadores estadounidenses Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Peter Welch (D-VT) y el representante estadounidense Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), envió hoy una carta al Secretario de Estado de los EE. UU., Antony Blinken, y a la presidenta del Consejo de Calidad Ambiental, Brenda Mallory, pidiendo que Estados Unidos use su influencia
Senator traveling to Busan, South Korea, to help shape global plastic pollution agreement Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a leading voice in Congress on the urgent need to address the plastic pollution crisis—today issued the following statement before traveling to the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in Busan,
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today introduced the Fighting Fibers Act of 2024 to address microfiber pollution from clothing. Scientists estimate millions of tons of microfibers enter the ocean every year—making textiles the largest known source of marine microplastic pollution. The Fighting Fibers Act focuses on one
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