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, Sullivan, Curtis, Kaine Push for Bipartisan Crackdown on Chinese Government-Controlled Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in U.S.

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and past Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)—teamed up with current CECC Chair Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Senator John Curtis (R-UT), and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) to introduce bipartisan legislation that

Merkley, Smith Introduce Bill to Protect Rent-to-Own Tenants

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) today introduced the Residential Rent-to-Own Protection Act, legislation that would create a safe, viable pathway to homeownership by reforming traditionally predatory rent-to-own housing contracts, also called land contracts or contracts-for-deed. “Rent-to-own housing agreements could provide access

Merkley Presses VA Secretary on Privatization

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today pressed Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie on whether new efforts to expand the privatization of VA health care could diminish resources and harm care at the VA facilities many veterans rely on. Merkley’s letter to Secretary Wilkie follows new,

Merkley, Local Stakeholders Announce Major Investments in Klamath Basin

KLAMATH FALLS, OR – Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, joined by representatives from Klamath-area irrigation districts and tribes, today announced significant investments in the Klamath Basin were included in the 2019 spending bills that recently were passed by Congress and signed by the president. “These big national bills often seem

Merkley, Wyden Announce Significant Infrastructure Investments in Spending Package

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that major investments in community infrastructure—ranging from roads and bridges to rural broadband—are included in the 2019 package of spending bills that have been passed by Congress and signed by the president. The infrastructure bill includes significant

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