Tag: Protecting our Democracy and Fixing the Senate

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Merkley Secures Display of January 6 Plaque Inside U.S. Capitol Following Passage of His Bipartisan Resolution

March 7, 2026

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced the installation of a commemorative plaque to honor the heroism of the Capitol police and other officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021: “We must be honest with the American people about what happened during the horrific events of January 6th. That demands recognizing those brave officers who protected the U.S. Capitol from violent insurrectionists

Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Reintroduce Updated DISCLOSE Act to End Corrupting Influence of Dark Money in American Elections

March 6, 2026

185 Democrats support effort to empower voters and expose billionaire and special interest control over our government and courts Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined a bicameral group of Democrats in reintroducing the DISCLOSE Act, legislation to shine a bright light of transparency on the scourge of dark money in politics and make government more

Wyden, Merkley Won’t Attend State of The Union, Will Instead Hold Virtual Town Hall for Oregonians on February 24

February 19, 2026

The Fate of The Union: Senators to co-host virtual town hall the same day as the State of the Union to answer Oregonians’ questions about protecting the Constitution and resisting Donald Trump’s assaults on the Bill of Rights. Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced they

Casten, Merkley Question Robinhood Over Election Betting

December 20, 2024

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06), Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-32), and Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) sent a letter to Robinhood questioning their recent decision to allow customers to bet on the results of the presidential election. “It appears that

Senator Merkley speaks out on the need to ban Congressional stock trading

July 12, 2024

Senator Merkley gave remarks at a press conference on the need to pass the ETHICS Act to ban lawmakers from buying and trading stocks. Politicians should work for the public, not for their stock portfolios. Watch the full press conference: https://youtube.com/live/xb6-Fs8xVb4 Read more about the ETHICS Act: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/peters-merkley-hawley-and-ossoff-announce-historic-bipartisan-agreement-to-advance-legislation-to-ban-member-stock-trading/

Merkley, Padilla Lead New Legislation to Protect U.S. Elections from Fraudulent Artificial Intelligence

July 12, 2024

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and California’s U.S. Senator Alex Padilla—along with Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Peter Welch (D-VT)—today announced the introduction of the Fraudulent Artificial Intelligence Regulations (FAIR) Elections Act. The bill aims to ensure the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) does

Senator Merkley Voices Support for the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act

June 12, 2024

Senator Jeff Merkley spoke on the Senate floor in support of strong ethics guardrails for Supreme Court justices and the need to pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act on June 12, 2024.

Merkley Applauds Federal Agency Rejecting Proposal to Bet on US Congressional Elections

September 22, 2023

Senator Led Colleagues in Urging CFTC to Reject KalshiEX LLC’s Congressional Control Contracts Proposal Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley applauded the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for rejecting a proposal by a private prediction market operator that would have allowed for legal gambling on U.S. elections

Merkley, Wyden Join Legislation to Safeguard Elections from Partisan Interference

August 3, 2023

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined colleagues to introduce the Preventing Election Subversion Act, legislation which would institute new safeguards to insulate state election administration from partisan pressure, and empower non-partisan local election officials. In 2022, state legislators across the country introduced over 150 bills

Merkley, Colleagues: No Gambling on Elections

August 2, 2023

Senators: “Mass commodification of our democratic process would raise widespread concerns about the integrity of our electoral process. Such an outcome is in clear conflict with the public interest and would undermine confidence in our political process.” Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led Senators Sheldon Whitehouse