Press Releases

Van Hollen, Merkley, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Protect Aid Workers in Conflict Zones

WASHINGTON – Today, on Human Rights Day, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation to protect humanitarian aid workers operating in conflict zones. The lawmakers’ legislation, the Commitment to Aid Workers Act, would strengthen U.S. efforts to safeguard those who risk their

Senate Republicans Block Merkley’s Bill to Prevent War with Venezuela

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked consideration of his Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act of 2025, which would block federal funds from being used for military actions in Venezuela: “As the Constitution so clearly says, Congress has the power

Senators Blunt Rochester, Merkley, Warnock Introduce Bill to Repair Infrastructure, Bridge Communities

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) today introduced the Restoring Essential Public Access and Improving Resilient (REPAIR) Infrastructure Program Act. The bill would reauthorize and expand the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Reconnecting Communities Program as the REPAIR Infrastructure Program,

Merkley, Wyden Announce Funding to Help Address Wildfire Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that they have successfully included funding to help cover the cost of fighting the devastating wildfires that are currently burning in Oregon in the disaster and government funding bill expected to pass Congress this week. The legislation passed

Merkley Leads Successful Amendment to Restore UN Climate Change Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has passed his amendment to the 2018 State and Foreign Operations funding bill, restoring full U.S. funding for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The amendment

SENATORS YOUNG AND MERKLEY CALL FOR GAO REVIEW OF UN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS

Today, Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee that oversees the United Nations, sent a letter to the Comptroller General asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations. Young and Merkley issued the following

Merkley, Brown Raise Questions About New Attempt to Weaken Volcker Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, the coauthor of the Volcker Rule, and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, today sharply questioned new efforts to reopen and potentially weaken the Volcker Rule, a landmark 2010 Wall Street reform provision. Their efforts follow a

Merkley Statement on Oregon Wildfires

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley reacted to the fires burning across Oregon, and announced plans to push to include emergency funding for wildfires in the disaster bill that is expected to move through Congress this month: “All across our state we are experiencing devastating wildfires. I’m praying for

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