Merkley, Panetta Announce Bicameral Resolution Marking National Pollinator Week 2026
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) announced a bicameral resolution to recognize the importance of pollinators to ecosystem health and agriculture in the United States. The resolution designates June 22 through June 28, 2026, as “National Pollinator Week,” to emphasize the vital
At Town Halls Across the State, Oregonians Tell Merkley That the Ultra Wealthy Need to Pay More to Save Social Security
Merkley Polled Attendees at His Recent Town Halls in Each of Oregon’s 36 Counties on Their Views of How to Prevent Social Security from Going Insolvent As of 2025, Nearly 965,000 Oregonians Receive Social Security Benefits WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate
Merkley, Murkowski Secure Commitment to Preserve U.S. Ocean Monitoring Systems
Washington, D.C. – Following public outrage over the dismantling of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced the NSF was pausing its planned removal of the OOI’s sensors. NSF’s decision came after Merkley and Murkowski passed a Senate
VA Applies Bipartisan Provision to Enhance VA Medical Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) today welcomed the news that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will implement one of the key proposals from the bipartisan Veterans Health Care Staffing Improvement Act, sponsored by Merkley and Sen. Mike
Bipartisan Group of Senators Presses Federal Regulator for Clear Guidance on Banking Services for Vendors Working with Legal Marijuana Businesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, a bipartisan group of Senators led by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley pressed a key federal regulator to take further action to ensure that vendors working with legal marijuana businesses in states that have legalized recreational or medicinal marijuana do not have their banking services taken away.
Merkley on Tillerson: “Trump Told Us He Was Going to Drain the Swamp — He Didn’t Tell Us He Would Drain It Directly Into His Own Cabinet”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Rex Tillerson, the CEO of Exxon Mobil, to be Secretary of State: “Donald Trump told us he would drain the swamp — he just didn’t tell us he would drain it
Congress Passes Provisions to Help Rebuild Lost Housing for Columbia River Tribes
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), as well as Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), announced that provisions to help fulfill long-unmet housing obligations to tribes along the Columbia River have passed both the House and Senate as part of the Water
Columbia River Restoration Act Passes in House and Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-4) announced that the Columbia River Restoration Act has passed in the House and the Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The legislation
Merkley Decries Lack of Secure Rural Schools Extension in Continuing Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement regarding his ‘no’ vote on the continuing resolution tonight: “With tonight’s congressional action—or lack thereof—a critical lifeline for rural Oregon will disappear. Since 2000, the Secure Rural Schools program has provided essential resources for rural Oregon counties to maintain