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, Colleagues Raise Concerns about Forest Service Reorganization
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, led over 30 of his colleagues—including Senator Ron Wyden—in raising strong concerns about the reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “We write with
Merkley Remarks at FY27 Interior Department Budget Hearing with Secretary Burgum
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 as prepared for delivery at the hearing reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request for the U.S. Department of the Interior with Secretary Doug Burgum: Senator Merkley’s remarks, as
Merkley, Van Hollen, Gillibrand Press Interior Secretary Burgum on Failure to Comply with Federal Law on Status of Renewable Projects
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees funding for the U.S. Department of Interior—led U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in demanding an urgent update from the Interior Department on the status of renewable energy projects that
Merkley Leads Bipartisan Legislation to Cut Red Tape and Invest in Watershed Projects Due to Extreme Drought
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
Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Merkley: Cuts in Trump’s Budget Request to Leave Lasting Scars on Public Lands, Tribes, 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 following statement after the release of President Trump’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2027: “This budget request from President Trump and his Administration once again fails to meet the
Merkley, Schumer, Warren, Markey, Whitehouse, Welch, Van Hollen Investigate IRS’ Massive Payout to LNG Exporters
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee—teamed up with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to launch a probe into the
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