Merkley Denounces Unjust Sentencing of Hong Kong Democracy Advocate Jimmy Lai
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and past Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)—issued this statement following the sentencing of Jimmy Lai, an entrepreneur and democracy advocate in Hong Kong who has been imprisoned since 2020 under
Merkley, Wyden Lead the Charge to Limit DHS’ Use of Facial Recognition Technology Amid Trump’s Rapidly Growing Surveillance State
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced they introduced the ICE Out of Our Faces Act. The bicameral legislation would rein in the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), banning agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs
Merkley, Senate and House Lawmakers: Trump Administration Risking a New Arms Race with Failure to Renew Nuclear Treaty with Russia
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—co-chair of the Congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group and a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—led his Senate and House colleagues in raising urgent concerns about the expiration this week of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
Merkley, Whitehouse Introduce Legislation to Monitor and Track Methane Emissions
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), today introduced the Methane Emissions Research Act of 2022, a bill intended to empower the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to measure and quantify methane emissions from domestic oil and gas operations. “In the short term, methane
Wyden, Merkley, Senators Emphasize Western Drought and Conservation in Bipartisan Letter
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to give parity to the priorities of growers and communities in Oregon and the West through existing authorities, new funding, and collaboration across government. “The American West is in crisis. Across the major basins of the American West – including the Colorado
Merkley, Colleagues Push to Keep Fossil Fuel Permitting Changes Off of Key End-of-Year Legislation
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi urging them to not include
Wyden, Merkley Announce New River Democracy Act
Updated maps can be found here. Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced a new River Democracy Act that reflects input from communities across Oregon over the past year to update the total mileage of rivers and streams in Oregon that would be added to the national Wild and Scenic Rivers
Merkley Announces Nearly $560,000 for West Coast Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Conservation
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced $557,600 in federal funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)’s Monarch and Pollinator Fund to increase and improve western monarch butterfly and pollinator habitats in Oregon and California. Today’s grants will come from a new pool of funding that
Merkley Statement on Need for Sick Leave for Railroad Workers
Washington D.C. – After the Senate voted on a forced labor agreement between railroad corporations and workers that excluded reasonable sick leave, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement: “I voted no. It is completely messed up that our rail workers are on continuous call, have no sick