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 to Hold Town Halls in Wasco, Hood River and Multnomah Counties

Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley will hold town halls in Wasco, Hood River and Multnomah counties on Sunday, Jan. 14. He will update constituents on his work in Washington, D.C., and answer their questions and invite their suggestions about how to tackle the challenges facing Oregon and America.

Merkley, Brown, Blumenauer, Bonamici Call on Congress to Reauthorize CHIP

PORTLAND, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, Governor Kate Brown, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici on Friday called on Congress to stop holding hostage the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and to pass the bipartisan bill that would reauthorize the program. “The fact that CHIP is being used

Merkley Decries Sessions Cannabis Decision

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions will rescind key federal policy that has effectively allowed states to determine their own cannabis laws: “This is a destructive decision and a huge step backwards. Whatever happened to Attorney General Sessions’

Mt. Hood Land Exchange Legislation Goes to President’s Desk to be Signed into Law

Washington, D.C. – Legislation written by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Representatives Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., to protect and enhance Oregon’s land conservation and recreation priorities on Mt. Hood passed the Senate unanimously last night. The bill now goes to the president to

Merkley Speaks Out After UN Human Rights Investigator Is Denied Access in Burma

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after the Burmese government denied access to a key UN human rights investigator working to gather information about the persecution of the Burmese Rohingya minority in Rakhine state. Merkley led a

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