Press Releases

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

Wyden, Merkley Join Colleagues to Reintroduce the Marijuana Justice Act

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley last week joined Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and colleagues in reintroducing the Marijuana Justice Act to end the federal prohibition on marijuana. “The War on Drugs destroyed lives, and no one continues to be devastated more than low-income communities

Merkley Pushes USDA to Get Rural Broadband Funding to Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today pushed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to make sure that new rural broadband funding reaches the communities it was intended to help. As the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Appropriations Subcommittee, Merkley successfully fought to

Merkley Decries ICE Detainment of Infants

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the American Immigration Council (AIC) filed a complaint with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), calling on ICE to release infants with their mothers from custody. Currently, at least nine infants under one year of age are being

Merkley Introduces Resolution to Prevent Military Intervention in Venezuela Without Explicit Congressional Authorization

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following repeated hints from the Trump Administration that it is considering a military intervention in Venezuela, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today introduced a Senate resolution that would prohibit military action in Venezuela without explicit congressional approval. Merkley is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and

Merkley and Colleagues Offer $2 Billion Plan to Reduce Class Sizes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, along with U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), today introduced bold new legislation to invest in smaller class sizes for public schools across America. Smaller class sizes increase student achievement and

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