Press Releases

Ranking Member Merkley: Interior-Environment Funding Bill Boosts Wildfire Resiliency, Water Infrastructure, and Climate Investments in Oregon and Across the Nation

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement after the Senate passed the Interior-Environment Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Appropriations bill in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 82-15: “Oregonians turned out in record numbers during my town halls last year and delivered

Merkley, Sullivan, Curtis, Kaine Push for Bipartisan Crackdown on Chinese Government-Controlled Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in U.S.

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and past Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)—teamed up with current CECC Chair Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Senator John Curtis (R-UT), and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) to introduce bipartisan legislation that

Merkley Statement on Conclusion of Global Plastics Treaty Talks

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a long-time leader and fierce advocate for tackling the plastic pollution crisis across its entire life cycle—released the following statement after the conclusion of the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) in Geneva, Switzerland: “For plastics, many

Merkley, Bynum, Oregon Delegation Sound the Alarm Over the Trump EPA’s Illegal Termination of Solar for All Funding

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Janelle Bynum (OR-05) led their Oregon delegation colleagues—Senator Ron Wyden and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), and Maxine Dexter (OR-03)—in demanding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) follow the law and immediately reverse its termination of an $86.6 million federal award to Oregon under the Solar

Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Request Report Detailing Looming Health Insurance Impacts Following Unprecedented Republican-Led Cuts to Medicaid, Premium Tax Credits

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today he is leading Senate colleagues, including Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., in requesting a detailed analysis of how Republican-led cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will affect Americans’ health insurance plans.  “We are deeply concerned about the impacts of actions that Trump and Republicans

Merkley Champions Legislation to Increase Charging Stations at Highway Rest Areas

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley reintroduced the Recharge your Electric Car on the Highway to Alleviate Range Gaps Effectively (RECHARGE) Act to allow electric vehicle (EV) charging at rest areas, facilitating the expansion of EV charging infrastructure on federal highways, and lowering range anxiety as the public transitions

Merkley, Dexter: Congress Must Protect Farmworkers from Hazardous Wildfire Smoke, Extreme Heat

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Maxine Dexter (OR-03) today announced they introduced the Farmworker Smoke and Excessive Heat Protection Act. The bicameral bill would put safeguards in place for farmworkers facing the dangers of wildfire smoke and extreme weather. “Climate chaos is creating hotter, longer summers and leading

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