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,
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Raise Concerns about Food and Nutrition Service Reorganization
Oregon senators warn that reorganizations would “further weaken the ability of the agency to administer federal nutrition assistance programs.” Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined Senate colleagues in raising strong concerns about the plan to reorganize the Food and Nutrition Service at the U.S.
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
Merkley Leads Senators’ Call for USPTO to Improve Patent Quality, Pave Way for Innovation
WASHINGTON – Today Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce to call for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to take several key steps to improve the quality of patents and make the patent examination process more comprehensive and more efficient. By focusing
Congress Passes Merkley Bill in Veterans Compromise
WASHINGTON – Today the Senate passed compromise legislation to reform the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and improve veterans’ benefits, which includes a provision authored by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley to expand educational benefits to spouses of service members who die in the line of the duty. The bill, which was passed
Merkley Introduces Older Americans CARE Act To Help Seniors Stay in their Homes
WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley introduced new legislation to help older Americans stay in their own homes and communities as they age. The bill, the Older Americans Community Access Revitalization and Education (CARE) Act, would also improve seniors’ access to a range of health and support services. Merkley’s
Merkley: ‘Irresponsible’ to Leave without Wildfire Funding
Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Republicans used a procedural tactic to kill an emergency supplemental spending bill, which included $615 million in emergency funding to fight wildfires in the West. “With thousands of acres engulfed in flames in the Northwest, and lives and property in jeopardy,
Merkley Slams Republican Filibuster of Bring Jobs Home Act
WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement today after a Senate minority voted to filibuster the Bring Jobs Home Act, which would end tax subsidies for companies that ship jobs overseas and reward companies that bring jobs back home. Merkley is an original cosponsor of the bill.
Merkley Testifies at EPA Hearing, Calls for Action on Clean Power Plan
WASHINGTON, DC—Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley testified before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today in support of the most significant action ever taken to combat carbon pollution in the United States, the Clean Power Plan. “Carbon pollution is taking a big toll on our natural resources, and the impacts are growing,”