Two weeks removed from a mid-session recess, Sen. Jeff
\nMerkley (D-Ore.) is back in Washington, D.C. He spoke with our newsroom about
\nthe issues he will be focusing on in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Merkley continues to decry a plan proposed by House
\nRepublicans that would eliminate the IRS and replace it with a 23-30 percent
\nsales tax.<\/p>\n
“It’s incredibly regressive, and I just don’t
\nunderstand how anyone can get behind taxing the affluent less, given many of
\nthem dodge [taxes] already and putting the burden on ordinary families,”
\nMerkley said. “So I’m absolutely delighted to carry the battle flag and
\nkill this 30 percent sales tax.”<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Sen. Merkley sent a letter to the Department of
\nEducation asking for more data and analysis of racial and ethnic gaps in higher
\neducation.<\/p>\n
“We really want more understanding of the issue, and we
\nwant the universities to really wrestle with how to increase opportunity for
\nall Americans, and we know that the path from poverty to the middle class is
\npaved by education, and if we don’t have success in making the opportunity for
\nhigher education available to all, it will damage the next generation and
\ngenerations beyond so this is an important piece of equity across
\nAmerica.”<\/p>\n
Merkley echoed fellow Oregon senator Ron Wyden, who called
\nout Walgreens for restricting the sale of abortion drug Mifepristone in 21
\nconservative-leaning states.<\/p>\n
“It’s a cowardly action by Walgreens in states where
\nabortion is legal to say, ‘Well, some state attorney general complained so
\nwe’re going to not provide the drugs that are FDA-approved and legal in that
\nstate.’ It has a huge impact on the reproductive choices of women in many, many
\nstates and Mifepristone is a well-studied, incredibly safe drug, safer, if you
\nwill, than colonoscopies, safer than a whole range of medical actions, and
\nWalgreens needs to reconsider what they’re doing.”<\/p>\n
Sen. Merkley will be back in Oregon this weekend, holding a
\ntown hall in Lakeview on Saturday and Klamath Falls on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two weeks removed from a mid-session recess, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is back in Washington, D.C. He spoke with our newsroom about the issues he will be focusing on in the coming weeks. Merkley continues to decry a plan proposed by House Republicans that would eliminate the IRS and replace it with a 23-30 percent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n