NEW: Bipartisan Bill to Enhance Aviation Safety After Slackline-Helicopter Tragedy
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and John Curtis (R-UT), and U.S. Representatives Cliff Bentz (R-OR-02) and Val Hoyle (D-OR-04) introduced the McCarty and Heideman Air Safety Enhancement Act, with support from U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Tim Sheehy (R-MT).
Merkley, Krishnamoorthi Fight Back Against Predatory For-Profit Colleges Scamming Students with Worthless College Degrees
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) reintroduced legislation to protect students from predatory higher-education programs—which are often run by for-profit colleges—that target financially vulnerable students, leave borrowers buried in debt, and force taxpayers to foot the bill for federal aid that
Merkley: Bipartisan Water Infrastructure Bill Advances in the U.S. Senate, Includes Key Priorities for Oregon
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee—announced today the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2026 cleared a key hurdle by passing out of the EPW Committee. WRDA is critical, bipartisan legislation that authorizes U.S. Army Corps of
Wyden, Merkley Statement on Transportation Department Oil Trains Rule
Washington, D.C. – Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today released the following statement after the Department of Transportation issued a final rule to address the safety of shipping oil-by-rail: “After years of our urging, the Department of Transportation’s rule includes meaningful steps on rail safety, but does not
Giving America a Raise: Merkley and Colleagues Introduce Legislation Calling for National Minimum Wage Increase
Washington, DC – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the leading Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senators from the Democratic Caucus to introduce new legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $12.00 by 2020. The Raise the Wage
Wyden, Schumer, Feinstein, Casey, Merkley, Brown, Warner Introduce Bill to Protect Communities from Oil Train Accidents
Washington, D.C. – Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Bob Casey, D-Penn., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Mark Warner, D-Va., today introduced legislation to protect local communities by getting unsafe oil trains off the tracks and giving firefighters and other first responders in local
Merkley Introduces Education-To-Jobs Package
Washington, DC – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced an education-to-jobs package to better connect students to careers. Merkley’s bills, introduced today in the U.S. Senate, would protect students from predatory for-profit colleges peddling degrees that do not actually lead to jobs, and improve access to middle and high school
Merkley Introduces Legislation to Make Hospitals Safer for Nurses and Patients
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley introduced legislation to make hospitals safer for nurses and patients. The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2015 requires hospitals participating in Medicare to implement thorough staffing plans for nursing services and establishes whistleblower protections for patients and employees. “As the husband
Merkley on Supreme Court Marriage Equality Cases: “Discrimination Has No Place in our Nation’s Laws”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in landmark cases that could bring marriage equality for same-sex couples to all 50 states: “There are few concepts as fundamentally American as equality. As the United States Supreme Court hears oral