Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today led his Senate colleagues—including Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR)—in urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use its existing authorities to address the
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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