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

Senate 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), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that provisions to help fulfill long-unmet housing obligations to tribes along the Columbia River have passed the full U.S. Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016

Job-Creating Water Infrastructure Bill Passes Senate

Washington, DC – Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the full Senate has passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which includes key job creation and funding opportunities for Oregon communities. The legislation previously passed the Environment and Public Works Committee in April; it must now be

Senators Introduce Resolution Calling for Health Care Public Option

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with 22 of their colleagues, introduced a Senate resolution calling for a public option in the health insurance market. “The Affordable Care Act has already

Merkley, Wyden Move Columbia River Restoration Act Forward

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Columbia River Restoration Act is moving forward as part of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which is expected to pass the Senate as soon as this week. The legislation was added to WRDA as part

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