Tag: Jobs and the Economy

Merkley Statement on Middle Class Tax Cuts and Unemployment Insurance Compromise

Washington, DC- Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after passage of an extension of the payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance. “I supported this bill today with substantial reservations,” Merkley said. “On the one hand, it preserves the payroll tax cut for Oregon’s hard-working families. Without passage, average

Crowdfunding on Internet Should be Safe, Accessible

Washington, DC- Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced the Capital Raising Online While Deterring Fraud and Unethical Non-Disclosure Act of 2011 (CROWDFUND Act), which would legalize and regulate the raising of start-up capital for small businesses on the internet.  The promise of crowdfunding is that investments

Merkley Demands Changes to Help Oregon Timber Workers Get Jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Though Oregon’s timber counties have among the highest unemployment rates in the Northwest, a recent report from the Department of Labor’s Inspector General revealed that millions of dollars in stimulus funds were used by contractors employing foreign workers to perform forest thinning work. Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff

Merkley: We Need to Focus on Jobs

Washington, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement regarding press reports that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction would be unable to come up with a deficit-reduction agreement, triggering $1.2 trillion in automatic defense and domestic spending cuts:  “The supercommittee failed to reach an agreement for

Merkley Introduces Bill to Help Small Businesses in Hard-Hit Communities Add Jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley introduced a bill to reduce the wait time for counties to benefit from a federal program that aids small businesses in hard-hit areas. There is currently a two-year lag time after the census is completed before metro areas can be designated HUBZones.   “Small

Transportation Bill Passes Out of Committee

Washington, DC- Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today joined his colleagues in the Environment and Public Works Committee in unanimously approving bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the nation’s transportation programs for two years.  “Finally, a major jobs bill with bipartisan support is making forward progress in the U.S. Senate,” Merkley said. “This

Merkley Urges Rehab-to-Rent Strategy to Help Stabilize Housing

WASHINGTON, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley joined 33 of his colleagues in asking the Obama Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to swiftly develop an efficient and effective real estate owned (REO) management strategy. This strategy will convert foreclosed homes into affordable rentals to help address the foreclosure

Merkley Offers Amendment to Expand ‘Buy America’ Program to Freight Rail

WASHINGTON, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today put forward a measure makes sure that federal freight rail projects paid for with taxpayer dollars use components made by American workers. The Department of Transportation operates under Buy America rules for its grant programs administered by the Federal Transit Administration and

Merkley Highlights Unfair Chinese Subsidies and the Effect on American Jobs

Oregon City, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today met with former employees of the Blue Heron Paper Mill and highlighted the unfair subsidies and trade policies of China and the effect that those subsidies have on closing down factories in America and shipping jobs overseas. Merkley was joined at

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