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 Slams Illegitimate Trump Supreme Court Appointment, Calls Out Threat to Millions of Americans’ Health Care and Reproductive Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after President Donald Trump appointed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court approximately five weeks before the presidential election—defying the will of the American people, historical precedent, and Republicans’ own election-year

Bennet, Merkley Introduce Legislation to Halt Transfer of ICE Detainees, Slow Spread of COVID-19 in ICE Facilities

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the End Transfers of Detained Immigrants Act, legislation to immediately prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from transferring immigrant detainees between ICE facilities or to federal, state, and local prisons during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The legislation also requires that if physical

Oregon Members Demand Answers on Reports of DHS Spying on Portland Protesters’ Phones

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, with Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, today demanded answers from the Department of Homeland Security, following new reports that the department spied on Portland protesters’ phones. “These recent reports, which allege that DHS has deployed high-tech surveillance technologies against protesters in Portland,

Wyden, Merkley Lead Western Democrats, Committee Leaders in Asking Donald Trump to Further Mobilize the Federal Response to Unprecedented Wildfires Ravaging the West

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D- Ore., today led Western Democrats and Ranking Members of key Senate Committees on wildfire relief and prevention in asking Donald Trump to provide additional federal assistance to improve the response to the wildfires and assist the states, Tribes and communities grappling

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