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, Wyden, Senate Democrats Press USDA to Justify Critical Honeybee Data Gaps

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined 21 Senate Democrats in writing to Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), expressing concerns over this summer’s move by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to suspend the collection of honeybee data across the nation. While

Merkley Joins Romney to Introduce New, Bipartisan Legislation to Address Vaping Crisis

WASHINGTON—Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today joined Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) to introduce the Ending New Nicotine Dependencies (ENND) Act, bipartisan legislation that would regulate e-cigarette standards and protect public health by prohibiting non-tobacco flavors and ensuring that electronic nicotine delivery systems are tamper-proof. Additionally, the ENND Act would require HHS

Merkley Announces Nearly $1 Billion in New Funding to Combat Homelessness

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has passed the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Committee bill, which includes an additional $938 million over last fiscal year to battle homelessness. “Infrastructure and housing are pressing issues for communities across Oregon—urban and rural,”

Merkley Secures New Funding, Policy Guidance for Broad Range of Oregon Agriculture Priorities

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development, today announced key provisions in the Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill that will help Oregon’s rural communities—from investments in rural housing; to research into the impacts of wildfire smoke on crops;

Senator Merkley, Congresswoman Clark Introduce Legislation to Put Mental Health Care in Reach for Every Student in America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Immediately following National Suicide Prevention Week, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA-5) today introduced the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act, bicameral legislation that would help fill the critical unmet need for school-based mental health services providers in elementary and secondary schools across America.

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