Tag: Civil Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced historic, comprehensive federal legislation—the bipartisan Equality Act of 2019—to ban discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. They were joined by 43 of their Senate colleagues. The legislation was filed

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today addressed what he called “stunning reports” of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) watch list targeting 59 reporters, legal aid attorneys, and immigration rights activists for surveillance and harassment at the southern border, calling on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted narrowly to confirm William Barr as Attorney General: “Barr’s ‘job application’ for the position of Attorney General was an unsolicited memo attacking the special counsel and arguing a President cannot commit obstruction of justice.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address on Tuesday night: “Our nation faces three incredibly daunting challenges today: the corruption of our democracy; the undermining of the fundamentals for thriving families; and carbon pollution driving climate

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have joined colleagues in sending a letter to Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan sharply criticizing the Trump administration’s newly-extended deployment of thousands of active duty servicemembers to the southern U.S. border. The senators demanded a rationale for the latest

WASHINGTON, D.C. — When Congress gathers for the State of the Union Address next week, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley will highlight the human suffering caused by President Trump’s child separation policy. Merkley’s guests for the State of the Union will be Albertina Contreras Teletor and Yakelin Garcia Contreras, a mother and daughter

WASHINGTON D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley has joined bipartisan colleagues in introducing Savanna’s Act, legislation to combat the epidemic of murdered and missing Native women and girls by improving the federal government’s response to addressing the crisis. The bill increases coordination among all levels of law enforcement, increases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and U.S. Representative Judy Chu (D-CA-27) today announced the introduction of bicameral legislation, the Shut Down Child Prison Camps Act, to shut down unregulated child prison camps for migrant children. In January, the Trump Administration shut down the unregulated Tornillo tent prison after

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley recently joined 20 of their Democratic colleagues in calling on the federal Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Comptroller General to investigate conditions of children detained by the Customs and Border Patrol Agency (CBP), following the death of two migrant children