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: Global Plastics Crisis Requires Global Action

Senator traveling to Busan, South Korea, to help shape global plastic pollution agreement Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a leading voice in Congress on the urgent need to address the plastic pollution crisis—today issued the following statement before traveling to the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in Busan,

Merkley Statement on Vote to Block Offensive Arms Sales to the Netanyahu Government

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate held votes on Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) to halt U.S. sales of certain offensive weapons used in Gaza by the Netanyahu government: “While Israel

Ahead of Busy Holiday Travel Season, Merkley Urges Oversight of TSA’s Unchecked Use of Facial Recognition Technology at Airports Nationwide

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today joined forces with a bipartisan group of his colleagues to sound the alarm on the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) facial recognition regime in airports across the United States. Merkley co-led the effort with Senators John Kennedy (R-LA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA),

Merkley, Wyden: ODOT Receives $31.9 Million to Slash Pollution from Construction Projects

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is receiving $31,933,577 to use cleaner construction materials on federally-funded projects statewide. The funding comes from the historic Inflation Reduction Act’s Low Carbon Transportation Materials Discretionary Grant Program, which supports

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