Press Releases

Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Press Trump Administration on Proposed Forest Research and Development Facility Closures, Demand Transparency

Portland, OR – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their Senate colleagues in urging U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz to provide Congress with a full breakdown of the Service’s decision to potentially close up to 57 U.S. Forest Service Research and Development (R&D) Facilities, including the Portland-based Pacific

Merkley, Schumer, Top Senate Democrats with Jurisdiction Over Trump’s Gilded Ballroom Boondoggle Call on Watchdog to Conduct a Full Audit of the Project

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Martin Heinrich

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

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

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