Press Releases

Ranking Member Merkley: Interior-Environment Funding Bill Boosts Wildfire Resiliency, Water Infrastructure, and Climate Investments in Oregon and Across the Nation

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement after the Senate passed the Interior-Environment Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Appropriations bill in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 82-15: “Oregonians turned out in record numbers during my town halls last year and delivered

Merkley, Sullivan, Curtis, Kaine Push for Bipartisan Crackdown on Chinese Government-Controlled Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in U.S.

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and past Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)—teamed up with current CECC Chair Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Senator John Curtis (R-UT), and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) to introduce bipartisan legislation that

Merkley: We Need A Minimum Wage People Can Live On

WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after a minority of Senators voted to filibuster a bill to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and index it to inflation. Merkley is one of two Senators leading the minimum wage bill. “In America, we need a

Merkley Announces Legislation to Give Seniors a Raise

Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today met with seniors at the Hollywood Senior Center and announced that he will be introducing legislation in the Senate that will increase Social Security benefits for seniors by changing the cost of living adjustment (COLA) formula to keep up with inflation.  Since

On Equal Pay Day, Merkley Calls for Renewed Action

WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement to mark Equal Pay Day – the day each year when women’s earnings catch up to men’s earnings in the previous year. “It is simply outrageous that in the year 2014, every American does not receive equal pay for

Senate Passes Merkley-Backed Extension of Emergency Unemployment Insurance

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate today passed legislation cosponsored by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and a bipartisan group of Senators to extend emergency federal unemployment benefits. The bipartisan legislation covers workers who have been looking for work for more than six months and includes retroactive payments to those who were

Merkley-Backed Bipartisan Unemployment Deal Moves Toward Final Passage in Senate

WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the bipartisan legislation to extend emergency unemployment benefits overcame its final filibuster in the U.S. Senate with 61 votes, allowing a majority-rules vote on final passage on Monday: “In Oregon and across the nation, families looking for work need

Merkley Announces Fourteen Oregonians Accepted to U.S. Military Academies

Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today announced that fourteen of the approximately 35 nominations that he put forward to the four military academies have been accepted as students for the next year. America’s military academies are among the most selective and difficult to earn admission to among higher

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