Press Releases

Forty-One Senators Call on Appropriators to Reject Anti-Environment Poison Pills

The lawmakers warn that policy riders harming environmental and public health would derail the Senate’s ability to pass spending bills Washington, DC – Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior,

Merkley, Levin Call for Curbing Plastic Microfiber Pollution from Laundry

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Mike Levin (CA-49) today introduced the Fighting Fibers Act of 2025 to address one of the most significant sources of microfiber pollution: our laundry. Scientists estimate millions of tons of microfibers enter the ocean every year, which makes textiles the largest

Merkley Announces Key Appropriations Win for Scoggins Dam

Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced today that key legislative language was included in the Energy and Water Appropriations committee bill that would dramatically help Scoggins Dam get the needed safety repairs and increased water storage that stakeholders in Washington County have been working on for years.  “Washington

Merkley, Blumenauer, Wyden, Bonamici, DeFazio Introduce Columbia River Basin Restoration Act to Clean Up Columbia Basin

WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Senator Ron Wyden, Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04) introduced the Columbia River Basin Restoration Act. The legislation would authorize $50 million over five years for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a voluntary, competitive Columbia

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