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, Wyden Introduce Bill to Fund Agriculture Research in Oregon, Support its Industry
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced the introduction of the Oregon Research Bounty Act, legislation to authorize funding for 11 research projects that benefit Oregon’s agriculture and forest product sectors. As the former top Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee that writes our nation’s
Merkley, Whitehouse, Welch, Gillibrand, Huffman Call for Ambitious International Plastics Agreement Ahead of INC-4
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) today called for development of an ambitious international treaty to clean up plastic pollution ahead of the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4). Government
Merkley Introduces Bill to Increase U.S. Contribution to Green Climate Fund, Strengthening International Partnership
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today announced the introduction of the Green Climate Fund Authorization Act of 2024 to authorize $4 billion annually to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for each of the next two fiscal years (FY25 and FY26). The GCF was established in 2010 as
Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $11 Million for Oregon Projects to Strengthen Transportation and Infrastructure Resilience to Climate Chaos
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announce today the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is sending a total of $11,434,048 to the state through the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) grant program. The investments will support two projects led by
Merkley, Risch Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Boost Mass Timber Industry Across America
Will create good-paying jobs through federal building construction and renovation Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Idaho’s U.S. Senator James Risch today announced the introduction of the bipartisan Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act to promote the utilization of mass timber in federal building projects and military construction.
Merkley, Wyden Announce $500,000 for CRITFC to Advance Salmon-Friendly Clean Energy Efforts in the Columbia River Basin
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) is receiving $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Future Grants (EFG) Program to advance river and energy system models adapted to the Columbia River Basin that
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