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Merkley Investigates Chemical Industry Insiders Taking Over Critical EPA Chemical Safety Office

March 5, 2026

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) subcommittee overseeing environmental justice, chemical safety, and waste management—today sent an oversight letter following reports of former chemical industry lobbyists filling key positions at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical

Merkley Celebrates Senate Passage of His Bipartisan Bill to Enhance Reduce and Reuse Systems Nationwide

November 21, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee—announced that his bipartisan Research for Environmental Uses and Sustainable Economies (REUSE) Act unanimously passed the Senate. Merkley leads the REUSE Act with West Virginia’s U.S. Senator and EPW Committee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito. The REUSE

Merkley Touts Committee Passage of His Bipartisan Bill to Enhance Reduce and Reuse Systems Nationwide

October 29, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee—announced that his bipartisan Research for Environmental Uses and Sustainable Economies (REUSE) Act cleared a key hurdle by passing out of the EPW Committee. Merkley leads the REUSE Act with West Virginia’s U.S.

Merkley Statement on Conclusion of Global Plastics Treaty Talks

August 15, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a long-time leader and fierce advocate for tackling the plastic pollution crisis across its entire life cycle—released the following statement after the conclusion of the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) in Geneva, Switzerland: “For plastics, many

Merkley Pushes to Protect Soil, Water Sources Used in Farming from Microplastics

July 29, 2025

Washington, D.C. – To close out his push throughout July to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today reintroduced his Research for Healthy Soils Act. This legislation would unlock federal funding at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service to conduct research on microplastics in biosolids and help us better understand their potential impacts

Merkley, Levin Call for Curbing Plastic Microfiber Pollution from Laundry

July 24, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Mike Levin (CA-49) today introduced the Fighting Fibers Act of 2025 to address one of the most significant sources of microfiber pollution: our laundry. Scientists estimate millions of tons of microfibers enter the ocean every year, which makes textiles the largest

Merkley, Bynum, Scott, Steube Highlight Dangers of Microplastics with New Bipartisan Bill

July 17, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) partnered with Florida’s U.S. Senator Rick Scott and U.S. Congressman Greg Steube (FL-17) to introduce the bipartisan Microplastics Safety Act. The new legislation is a critical step forward in better understanding the threat of microplastics

Merkley, Whitehouse, Doggett Join Forces to Call for Plastic Pollution Action in July

July 10, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Rhode Island’s U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37) today reintroduced their resolution designating July as Plastic Pollution Action Month. The bicameral resolution spotlights the dangers plastic pollution poses to both human health and the environment, and calls on

Merkley, Capito Push to Improve Recycling Nationwide with New Bipartisan Bill

June 18, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley partnered with West Virginia’s U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, to introduce the bipartisan Research for Environmental Uses and Sustainable Economies (REUSE) Act. The REUSE Act is a significant step forward in

Merkley Pushes Back Against Trump Administration Order to Pollute Our Parks with Plastic Waste

June 3, 2025

Washington, D.C. – As the Trump Administration moves to recklessly reverse a federal policy protecting America’s national parks and public lands from single-use plastics, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today reintroduced his Reducing Waste in National Parks Act. This legislation would restore a previous federal directive, which Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently revoked, to keep plastic waste