Press Releases

Van Hollen, Merkley, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Protect Aid Workers in Conflict Zones

WASHINGTON – Today, on Human Rights Day, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation to protect humanitarian aid workers operating in conflict zones. The lawmakers’ legislation, the Commitment to Aid Workers Act, would strengthen U.S. efforts to safeguard those who risk their

Senate Republicans Block Merkley’s Bill to Prevent War with Venezuela

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked consideration of his Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act of 2025, which would block federal funds from being used for military actions in Venezuela: “As the Constitution so clearly says, Congress has the power

Senators Blunt Rochester, Merkley, Warnock Introduce Bill to Repair Infrastructure, Bridge Communities

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) today introduced the Restoring Essential Public Access and Improving Resilient (REPAIR) Infrastructure Program Act. The bill would reauthorize and expand the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Reconnecting Communities Program as the REPAIR Infrastructure Program,

Merkley and Romney Push FDA Official to Revise, Strengthen Vaping Guidance

WASHINGTON, DC—Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing the FDA, and Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), today met with Mitch Zeller, the FDA’s director of the Center for Tobacco Products to discuss the youth

Wyden, Merkley Push Trump Administration to Withdraw Rules Allowing for Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley urged the Trump administration to withdraw proposed rules that would expand federally funded discrimination against members of the LGBTQIA+ community, women, non-religious people and religious minorities. Wyden, Merkley and other Senate Democrats sent three separate letters to the Departments of Education,

Merkley, Congressmen Introduce Bicameral, Bipartisan Bill To Prevent the Extinction of Western Monarch Butterflies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20), Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), Rodney Davis (R-IL-12), and Rob Woodall (R-GA-7) today led the introduction of the Monarch Action, Recovery, and Conservation of Habitat (MONARCH) Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would provide urgent protections for the struggling western monarch

Merkley, Wyden Urge FDA to Protect Kids, Hold the Vaping Industry Accountable

WASHINGTON, DC – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that they and a bipartisan group of 17 Senators are urging the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dr. Stephen Hahn to comply with the agency’s requirements to reject e-cigarette applications that do not protect

Merkley, Graham, Mast, Bonamici Lead Introduction of Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Tackle Microplastic Pollution

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joined Representatives Brian Mast (R-FL-18) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1) today to announce the introduction of bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would establish a research pilot program within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test the effectiveness of tools

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