Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is intended to provide basic necessities to disabled, sick, and aged low-income Americans. Jeff recognizes the program’s ability to enable those with difficult life battles to continue living their life to its fullest. In December, Senator Merkley’s staff took action to assist Kaytlin Lucas and her
Jeff knows that native tribes in Oregon have faced challenges in getting the resources their communities need to thrive. That’s why he fought to ensure programs critical to Oregon’s tribes were funded, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, and the HRSA Health Center Program.
The safety and security of Oregonians is one of Jeff’s top concerns. Proper equipment, staffing, and funding for local fire departments can make all the difference in ensuring Oregonians’ protection from fire and other natural dangers. Recently, Jeff took initiative to help the Clackamas Fire Department receive essential funding from
Each time a constituent reaches out with a personal concern, Jeff takes the opportunity to see how he can help. When Audrey Keller and Bruce Shelquist of Milwaukie contacted Jeff’s office in August and explained that they had still not received their 2017 tax return, Jeff’s team took initiative to
The United States has one of the most convoluted visa application processes in the world. Petitioning for a visa and entrance into the country can take months, and sometimes the application isn’t even approved. Portland resident and Oregon constituent Erika Kushtan recognizes firsthand the difficulty
With too many hoops and unnecessary obstacles in the way for veterans in crisis to receive help, Mr. Dan Davis called the Veterans Administration (VA) and the FCC with a recommendation to simplify the suicide hotline telephone number. Under the former system, military veterans seeking help and suicide prevention assistance
Despite working in the cybersecurity industry and having knowledge about identity theft, Mark Ertle wasn’t able to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft himself. When Ertle filed his taxes a few years ago, he found out that his refund had already been given out to a criminal who filed
In the summer of 2015, Allison Johnson was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic melanoma with metastases to the liver, gallbladder, and lymph nodes – she was advised that she had about six months to live. Despite living with a terminal illness, she was denied Social Security Disability, without which she
For over 20 years Oregonian Troy Bachmann has been running businesses in Mexico exporting produce, and one day he discovered that employees had been stealing from him. He reported it to officials and in turn, Bachmann was arrested. He was accused of not paying his employees and faced an eight
Due to a massive rainstorm in December 2015, the Wheeler Post Office was forced to shut down, leaving the community unable to send or receive mail. The only option for residents was to go to the post office in Nehalem, but it proved too inefficient as the community could only
English 
Spanish