Press Releases

Van Hollen, Merkley, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Protect Aid Workers in Conflict Zones

WASHINGTON – Today, on Human Rights Day, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation to protect humanitarian aid workers operating in conflict zones. The lawmakers’ legislation, the Commitment to Aid Workers Act, would strengthen U.S. efforts to safeguard those who risk their

Senate Republicans Block Merkley’s Bill to Prevent War with Venezuela

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked consideration of his Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act of 2025, which would block federal funds from being used for military actions in Venezuela: “As the Constitution so clearly says, Congress has the power

Senators Blunt Rochester, Merkley, Warnock Introduce Bill to Repair Infrastructure, Bridge Communities

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) today introduced the Restoring Essential Public Access and Improving Resilient (REPAIR) Infrastructure Program Act. The bill would reauthorize and expand the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Reconnecting Communities Program as the REPAIR Infrastructure Program,

Oregon and Washington Congressional Delegations Urge Administration to Keep Offshore Drilling from Harming Northwest Coastal Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter sent today, fourteen Members of Congress from Oregon and Washington pressed the administration for continued protection of Oregon’s and Washington’s coasts from offshore drilling. Specifically, the letter urged the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to exclude Oregon and Washington’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)

Merkley, Wyden Press For Additional Firefighting Funds for Oregon

As wildfires spanning nearly 600,000 acres burn across Oregon – with lightning storms predicted for the next 48 hours – Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden led 10 other senators today in sending a letter to Senate leaders calling for swift passage of President Obama’s emergency supplemental funding request,

President Signs Merkley-Backed Executive Order Banning LGBT Job Discrimination

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley – the lead Senate sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and the leading congressional advocate for an executive order to bar federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT Americans in the workplace – released the following statement on President Obama’s signing of

Merkley Celebrates Three Year Anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement celebrating the third anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which was created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that passed four years ago. Predatory, anti-consumer practices and the lack of single agency to act as a consumer watchdog

Following Senate Vote, Merkley Vows to Keep Fighting for Women’s Health Care

WASHINGTON – After a minority of Senators voted to filibuster debate on a bill that would undo the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision threatening women’s access to contraception, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement: “It’s outrageous that a minority of Senators are blocking us from debating a bill

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