Press Releases

Forty-One Senators Push to Keep Harmful Environmental Riders Out of Appropriations Bills

Senators warn that inclusion of poison pills harming the environment would undermine Senate’s ability to pass bipartisan spending bills Washington, D.C. – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works; Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior,

Merkley, Salinas, Pacific Northwest Democrats to Secretary Rollins: Act Quickly to Hire Agricultural Research Staff Across the Region

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06) led a group of their Pacific Northwest colleagues in pressing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins over her commitment to promptly fill critical staff positions that remain vacant at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service

Merkley, Wyden Announce Senate Passage of Critical Community-Initiated Projects

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced essential investments for Oregon families and rural and underserved communities passed the Senate, including five community-initiated projects for communities across the state championed by the Senators. These investments were included in the first package of Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) funding bills that cleared the chamber

Dexter, Wyden, Merkley Announce Nearly $1 Million for Clean Water Infrastructure in Gresham 

GRESHAM, OR — Today, Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03) and U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced that the City of Gresham received $959,752 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for essential upgrades to Gresham’s Wastewater Treatment Plant to remove ammonia in the waste streams created by growth in the semiconductor industry.    The funding was secured by members of

Merkley Blasts Senate Republicans for Blocking His Bill to Release the Epstein Files

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Republicans again blocked consideration of his Epstein Files Transparency Act: “The American people want and deserve transparency—but Senate Republicans are once again blocking justice. The rich and powerful must be held accountable for using their influence, money, and

Merkley Acts to Preserve Bipartisan Funding Agreements in Congress

Washington, D.C. – As the Senate considers bipartisan legislation to set funding for a portion of the federal government, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley offered an amendment to reaffirm that bipartisan funding agreements made by Congress cannot be undone by the Administration or partisan maneuvers in Congress. Merkley offered an amendment

Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Urge Administration to Reinstate EPA Employees Retaliated Against for Exercising Free Speech Rights

Washington, DC– U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (both D-Ore.) said today they have joined 15 Senate colleagues in pressing the federal Environmental Protection Agency to reinstate employees placed on administrative leave after signing a “Declaration of Dissent” expressing concern with the agency’s direction under the Trump administration. “We

en_USEnglish