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

Wyden, Merkley Join Effort to Reduce Food Waste

Washington, D.C. – In response to the staggering amount of food wasted in the United States every year, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Cory Booker, D-N.J., to introduce comprehensive legislation to reduce food waste in stores and restaurants,

Merkley Statement on Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after voting against S.2328, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA): “Puerto Rico faces a crisis, and needs support from Congress to get on its feet.  But the 3.5 million Americans living there shouldn’t have to

Bipartisan Merkley-Kirk Climate Amendment Passes Senate Committee

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) announced today that the Senate Appropriations Committee passed an amendment to the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that would fund the Green Climate Fund, an essential part of the international climate agreement reached in Paris last fall. The

Members of Congress Urge Court to Recognize Protections for LGBT Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – 128 Members of Congress, led by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), have filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc., arguing that workplace discrimination on the basis

Merkley Statement Calling for Serious Effort to Combat Zika Virus

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement regarding partisan legislation that that would prohibit Planned Parenthood from aiding in the fight against the Zika virus. “Last week I met with doctors and medical professionals in Oregon who underscored the serious nature of the Zika virus and its

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