Tag: Natural Resources and Rural Development

Merkley Cosponsors Bill Supporting Wind Power

Washington, DC- Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley this week cosponsored the bipartisan American Energy and Job Promotion Act, a bill that will extend the Wind Production Tax Credit for two years.  Without an extension, the tax credit will expire at the end of this year. “This tax credit has helped companies

Merkley: Secure Rural Schools Amendment a Lifeline For Rural Counties

WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Senate voted 82-16 to pass an amendment that will extend the Secure Rural Schools and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) programs: “Today is a very good day for our timber counties. County payments are a basic

Merkley, DeFazio Introduce Bill to Ensure Americans Get Hired for Forest Work

WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio introduced The American Jobs in American Forests Act to tighten restrictions on a visa program that was used to hire foreign workers at the expense of Oregon forest workers. Last year, a Department of Labor investigation found federal stimulus

Merkley: “Unconscionable” if Americans not Hired for Local Forest Jobs

Washington, DC- Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley sent a letter to Tom Tidwell, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, urging him to take steps to ensure Americans will be hired with the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program projects announced on February 2, 2012.  In particular, Merkley urged the Chief not

Merkley: Post Office Moratorium on Closures Is Good News for Rural Oregon

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Postal Service announced a voluntary moratorium on post office closures in response to concerns raised by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators.  Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of that coalition, released the following statement: “Post offices are essential hubs of life in rural

Merkley Statement on EPA Rule Change for Boilers

Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement after today’s release of the Environmental Protection Agency proposed change to the March 2011 Clean Air Act emissions standards for large and small boilers and incinerators that burn solid waste. “I appreciate that the EPA is listening to the

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

SEN. MERKLEY, REP. MIKE THOMPSON INTRODUCE KLAMATH BASIN ECONOMIC RESTORATION ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) and Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) today jointly introduced the Klamath Basin Economic Restoration Act in the Senate and House. The legislation would implement a comprehensive plan, developed through a multi-year collaborative effort among farmers, ranchers, fishermen, Tribal leaders, and conservationists, to settle one of

MERKLEY, MORAN, TESTER INTRODUCE PROTECTING RURAL POST OFFICES BILL

Washington, DC –A bipartisan coalition of Senators today introduced the Protecting Rural Post Offices Act, which would require that a post office closure cannot result in more than a ten mile distance between post offices, measured on roads with year-round access. The bill is sponsored by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR),

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