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
Democratic Senators Push for Proposal, Including Merkley Bills, to Establish National Response to COVID-19 and Invest in Frontline Health Care Workers
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, together with a working group of Senate Democrats, today is pushing Senate and House leadership to include the Force to Fight COVID-19 joint proposal in the upcoming COVID-19 relief package. The proposal includes a variety of health and social service workforce bills, including two bills
As Congress Negotiates COVID-19 Relief, Wyden and Merkley Call for Federal Support for Rural Economies
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today introduced legislation to create thousands of living wage jobs in rural America as these communities continue to grapple with unique and devastating economic challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 21st Century Conservation Corps Act builds on a recent Wyden bill and a
VIDEO RELEASE: Merkley Highlights Abuses of Peaceful Protesters by Federal Forces in Portland at Senate Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today testified before a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, emphasizing Oregonians’ cry for justice and an end to systemic racism, and providing firsthand accounts of demonstrators’ experiences in Portland after the Trump administration escalated tensions by sending unmarked federal forces into the city. Nkenge
Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $750,000 Water Infrastructure Grant for City of Echo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the City of Echo, Oregon will receive $769,875 in federal grant funding to upgrade and improve the efficiency of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The funding is being allocated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)
Merkley, Sanders Introduce Legislation to Put Strict Limits on Corporate Use of Facial Recognition
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today continued his leadership at the intersection of privacy rights, racial justice, and emerging technologies by introducing the National Biometric Information Privacy Act of 2020, groundbreaking legislation that would prohibit private companies from collecting biometric data—including eye scans, voiceprints, faceprints, and fingerprints—without
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Urge Senate to Reject Trump Administration Plan to Cut Funding to Schools that Follow Public Health Guidance
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with 28 of their Senate colleagues, are urging Senate leadership to reject the Trump administration push to condition education funds in the next coronavirus relief package on the reopening of elementary and secondary schools for in-person instruction. In