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,

28 U.S. Senators Encourage CFPB to Strengthen Proposed Small-Dollar Lending Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, 28 U.S. Senators—led by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Chris Coons (D-DE)—wrote to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) expressing support for the agency’s small-dollar lending rule and encouraging the consumer agency to strengthen consumer protections in the proposed rule

Sens. Merkley, Wyden, Murray and Cantwell and Rep. Blumenauer Introduce Legislation to Improve Sanitation and Safety Conditions at Columbia River Fishing Sites

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03) introduced the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act, bicameral legislation to enable the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to make important safety and sanitation

Merkley, Burr Introduce Bipartisan Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2016

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) introduced the bipartisan Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2016, legislation to reauthorize, update and improve programs that help to grow and support the nursing workforce in the United States. With many nurses retiring and baby boomers projected

Merkley, Wyden Introduce Legislation to Address Oil Train Derailments

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden introduced legislation that will take on the threats posed by oil trains and help prevent horrific accidents like what happened in Mosier, Oregon last month. The Mandate Oil Spill Inspections and Emergency Rules (MOSIER) Act would require the National

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