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,
Senate Approves Wyden, Merkley Bill to Rename Clinic for War Hero Loren Kaufman
Washington, D.C. – A bill co-sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to designate the veterans community-based outpatient clinic in The Dalles the Loren R. Kaufman Memorial Veterans’ Clinic passed the Senate today. The Oregon senators said their bill provides long-overdue recognition to a local Army soldier who served with
Senate Recognizes Hemp History Week
Washington, D.C. – During “Hemp History Week,” the Senate today passed a bipartisan resolution recognizing the important role industrial hemp could play in boosting the agricultural industry and economy of the United States. The Hemp History Week resolution passed the Senate by a unanimous voice vote today. Sens. Ron Wyden,
Wyden, Merkley Call on National Transportation Safety Board to More Closely Examine Future Oil Train Derailments
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today called on the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate future oil train derailments in order to find ways to better prevent such accidents. In their June 9 letter to NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart, the senators expressed their concern
Senate Passes Landmark, Merkley-Backed Bill to Reform Toxic Chemical Safety in the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in a bipartisan vote, the United States Senate passed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, landmark legislation that marks the first major update to toxic chemical safety in the United States in 40 years. Merkley worked with a bipartisan coalition to
Senators Urge Administration to Take New Fossil Fuel Leases Off the Table in Offshore Drilling Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter sent last Thursday, June 2, 2016 to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, eleven United States Senators urged the Obama Administration to take new fossil fuel leases off the table and protect vulnerable Arctic ecosystems in the Administration’s 2017-2022 offshore leasing program. The letter, which was
Oregon Leaders call for Oil Train Moratorium in the Columbia River Gorge
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Governor Kate Brown and Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici released the following statement today calling for a temporary halt to oil train traffic in Columbia River Gorge in light of last Friday’s derailment of a Union Pacific oil train in Mosier, OR:
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