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,

Merkley Calls for Independent Investigation of Foreclosure Practices

Washington, D.C. – Following the news that Ally Financial improperly handled foreclosure documents and decisions by several of the largest mortgage servicers to freeze foreclosures, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan urging them

Merkley Announces an Additional $82 Million for Oregon Foreclosure Assistance

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced today that the U.S. Department of Treasury has awarded an additional $82 million to the Oregon Housing Finance Agency for the Hardest Hit Fund program. This brings a total of $220 million in federal assistance to Oregon for foreclosure-prevention assistance. “The only

Merkley’s Bill to Ban Animal Torture Videos Passes Senate

Washington, D.C. – The Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010, a bill introduced this week by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, passed the Senate unanimously Tuesday evening.  The bipartisan bill, cosponsored by Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Richard Burr (R-NC), criminalizes the creation, sale, distribution, advertising, marketing, and exchange of

Senators Introduce Animal Crush Video Prohibition

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) today introduced the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010.  The bipartisan bill would criminalize the creation, sale, distribution, advertising, marketing, and exchange of animal crush videos. The penalty for violations of the measure would

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