Moments after news broke that President-elect Donald Trump would be appointing Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt?—?a close friend of the fossil fuel industry and noted climate denier?—?as EPA administrator, Democratic legislators in Congress began voicing their ardent disapproval. “At a time when climate change is the great environmental threat to the
Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass, wrote to President Obama, urging him to exercise his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently withdraw the West Coast from
ASHLAND, OR – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley hosted a public meeting at Southern Oregon University to gather input from the public on the potential expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. At Senator Merkley’s request, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Mike Connor attended the meeting to hear from local residents as
BEND, OR – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley joined with Central Oregon irrigators and fish and wildlife advocates in Bend to highlight progress that is being made on water conservation in the upper Deschutes Basin. The gathering discussed how federal funding that Merkley is fighting for can further support efforts to
ASHLAND, OR – On Friday, October 14th at 2:00 P.M. PT, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley will hold a public meeting at Southern Oregon University in Ashland to discuss the Senator’s proposal to expand the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael Connor will attend the public meeting along with Mayor John Stromberg of Ashand
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
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