Washington, D.C. – Recognizing the drain on many rural county budgets, Oregon’s Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley called for reauthorizing the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (SRS) and fully funding the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program, in bipartisan letters to Republican Leader Mitch McConnell,
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee considered their legislation to protect more than 100,000 acres in southwest Oregon from mining, in a hearing today. The Southwest Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act would prohibit new mining leases in
A bill to clean up the Columbia River basin overwhelmingly passed the Senate Thursday and now moves on to the House. The Columbia Basin Restoration Act, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, sets up a grant program to get farmers, tribes and government entities to reduce their
Congress is making headway on establishing a grant program for environmental cleanup projects in the Columbia River Basin. Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley reintroduced the Columbia River Restoration Act last year, along with fellow Oregon Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici and Peter DeFazio, all Democrats. The bill was
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Columbia River Restoration Act is moving forward as part of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which is expected to pass the Senate as soon as this week. The legislation was added to WRDA as part
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03) introduced the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act, bicameral legislation to enable the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to make important safety and sanitation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden introduced legislation that will take on the threats posed by oil trains and help prevent horrific accidents like what happened in Mosier, Oregon last month. The Mandate Oil Spill Inspections and Emergency Rules (MOSIER) Act would require the National
Before fielding questions from an audience of about 50 during his town hall Saturday at Haines Elementary School, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., talked about his efforts to change how the country pays to fight wildfires. Merkley said the U.S. Forest Service has had to halt other projects, including work
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today issued the following joint statement after the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released its preliminary report on the June 3 oil train derailment near Mosier, Oregon: “The preliminary findings released today by the Federal Railroad Administration confirm the deep
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to news that Union Pacific is resuming oil train traffic through the Columbia River Gorge at the site of a fiery oil train derailment that occurred less than three weeks ago, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden expressed their strong objection to the resumption
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