Press Releases

Padilla, Merkley, Cortez Masto, Peters Urge Smithsonian Secretary to Stand Strong Against Trump’s Attacks on Museums

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) encouraged Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie G. Bunch

Dexter Leads Oregon Lawmakers in Standing Up for Wildfire Response and Research

Oregon lawmakers warn USDA plan would weaken wildfire response, disrupt critical research, and jeopardize 246 local jobs.   WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (OR-03) today led a letter with Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06) and Janelle Bynum (OR-05) that

Merkley, Wyden, Bonamici: FEMA Must Award Critical Disaster Mitigation Funds to an Oregon Coast Project

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, as well as U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), today demanded the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) immediately award Clatsop County and Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) $20,845,683 in federal funding that was provided under the Building

Merkley Statement on Additional Water for Klamath Users

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, announced that additional water resources would be made available for Klamath irrigators.  Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement on the announcement: “Mother nature has dealt the farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin a harsh blow this year.

Merkley, Bond, Bayh Introduce Bill to Rebuild Local Economies Hit Hardest by Recession

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kit Bond (R-Mo.), and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) today introduced legislation to help local businesses stay afloat during times of recession and high unemployment.  The Rebuilding Local Business Act creates a temporary three-year HUBZone “Rebuilding Status” for counties that have an unemployment rate

Senate Committee Clears Merkley Columbia River Restoration Act

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed a bill authored by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Montana Senator Max Baucus, to support the clean-up and restoration of the Columbia River Basin.  The bill will authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to provide

Merkley Statement on PILT Funding Announcement

WASHINGTON, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement on the Department of Interior’s announcement of Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding being sent to local governments today: “Oregon taxpayers don’t have the luxury of waiting to pay their property taxes, and the federal government shouldn’t either. 

Merkley Statement on Passing of Senator Robert Byrd

WASHINGTON, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement on the passing of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd: “Thirty years ago, I first entered the Capital as an intern for Senator Mark Hatfield.  Even then, Senator Byrd was already a mainstay of the Senate.  In the years since,

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