The carbon pollution in our atmosphere from burning fossil fuels like oil and coal is waging a direct and unchecked assault on our farming, fishing and forests – the cornerstones of Oregon’s rural economy.
When Jeff was young, his dad worked as a millwright. He spent his childhood in Southern Oregon timber communities, where timber jobs were what put food on the table and kept roofs over folks’ head. Fires and insect infestations are already killing trees at alarming rates across the Northwest, and climate change will only make these threats to our forests worse. Other iconic Oregon industries like our coastal oyster hatcheries are threatened by ocean acidification, and fishing and farming alike are facing threats from declining snowpacks and increased drought.
Congress needs to wake up. Climate change is real, and it’s bad for our economy and jobs, especially in rural Oregon and the places that most depend on our abundant natural resources.
Merkley, Daines, Salinas, Guthrie, Hoyle Champion Bipartisan Bill to Train Next Generation of Wildland Firefighters
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Montana’s U.S. Senator Steve Daines, U.S. Representatives Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Brett Guthrie (KY-02), and Val Hoyle (OR-04) today reintroduced the bipartisan Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act of 2025. This legislation directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of
Merkley Remarks at EPA Budget Hearing with Administrator Zeldin
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley – the Ranking Member of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee – delivered the following remarks at the hearing reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the Environmental Protection Agency with Administrator Lee Zeldin: Senator Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for
Merkley, Crapo Lead Bipartisan Effort to Expand Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Idaho’s U.S. Senator Mike Crapo today teamed up to introduce the bipartisan Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program Reauthorization Act of 2025. This legislation would reauthorize and expand the CFLR program, which helps fund collaborative and community-based forest management. The CFLR program has a
Interior Cuts in Trump Administration’s “Skinny” Budget to Leave Lasting Scars on Public Lands, Tribal Nations, and Human Health
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Subcommittee on the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the below statement following the release of President Trump’s ‘skinny’ budget for Fiscal Year 2026. “This budget is exactly what we expected from this administration: abandoning critical programs, slashing essential government services,
Wyden, Merkley Co-Sponsor Bills to Permanently Protect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans from Offshore Drilling
Wyden co-sponsors additional Merkley-led bill to protect the Arctic Ocean Washington, D.C. —U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced they are co-sponsoring two bills that would permanently protect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans from the environmental and economic costs of fossil fuel drilling off our coastal shores. Merkley also
Merkley, Pingree Demand Trump Administration Halt Implementation of Reckless Reorganization at the Department of the Interior
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, issued the following statement on the Trump Administration’s move to significantly reorganize the
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