Press Releases

Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Press Trump Administration on Proposed Forest Research and Development Facility Closures, Demand Transparency

Portland, OR – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their Senate colleagues in urging U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz to provide Congress with a full breakdown of the Service’s decision to potentially close up to 57 U.S. Forest Service Research and Development (R&D) Facilities, including the Portland-based Pacific

Merkley, Schumer, Top Senate Democrats with Jurisdiction Over Trump’s Gilded Ballroom Boondoggle Call on Watchdog to Conduct a Full Audit of the Project

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Martin Heinrich

Merkley to Gavel in First-Ever Senate Environment and Public Works Hearing on Environmental Justice

Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, July 22, 2021, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—the Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight—will gavel in the Subcommittee’s first-ever hearing on disproportionate human health and environmental burdens on communities of color and

Merkley Presses Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to Stop Road Infrastructure from Poisoning Salmon

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today pressed U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to address the impacts of transportation infrastructure—which include dangerous microplastic particles that are generated from tire and road wear—on Pacific Northwest salmon populations. Salmon are ecologically irreplaceable, have long been of major cultural significance

Merkley, DeFazio Lead Oregon Delegation to Push FEMA for Maximum Readiness for 2021 Wildfire Season

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4)—who serves as the Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—are leading U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3), Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5), Suzanne Bonamici

Merkley Announces Arrival of Child Tax Credits in Oregonians’ Bank Accounts

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement today, as Child Tax Credits—resources included in the American Rescue Plan, which Merkley helped pass in March—began hitting Oregonians’ bank accounts: “This is the largest tax cut for low-income and middle class families in the history of our

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