Tag: wildfire

Merkley: Forest Service Dangerously Unprepared for Wildfire Season

Washington, D.C. – Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) issued the following statement after a hearing with U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz on the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the agency: “Forest Service Chief Schultz’s testimony only underscored the immense, serious challenges facing communities

Merkley Remarks at Forest Service Budget Hearing with Chief Schultz

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—the Ranking Member of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee—delivered the following remarks as prepared for delivery at the hearing reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Forest Service with Chief Tom Schultz: Senator Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for

Oregon Delegation: Over $80 Million to Support ODOT’s Natural Disaster Recovery Efforts

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden—along with U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05)—announced the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is receiving $83,215,245 for work it completed to repair roads and other critical infrastructure that were deeply damaged during natural disasters. The federal funds from the Federal Highway Administration

Merkley to Burgum: Our Public Lands Are Not for Sale

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, released the following statement after a hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Department of the Interior with Secretary Doug Burgum: “Secretary Burgum testified

Heinrich, Murray, Klobuchar, Merkley Slam USDA for Evasive Response on Wildfire Mitigation Projects, Workforce Cuts, and Funding Freezes

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, along with U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley

Merkley Remarks at Department of the Interior Budget Hearing with Secretary Burgum

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) delivered the following remarks at the hearing reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Department of the Interior with Secretary Doug Burgum: Senator Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below: “Thank you,

Merkley, Crapo Lead Bipartisan Effort to Expand Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration 

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Idaho’s U.S. Senator Mike Crapo today teamed up to introduce the bipartisan Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program Reauthorization Act of 2025. This legislation would reauthorize and expand the CFLR program, which helps fund collaborative and community-based forest management. The CFLR program has a

Oregon Delegation Demands Immediate Restoration of Critical FEMA Program

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led his Democratic colleagues in the Oregon delegation—Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05)—in calling for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to immediately restore Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants. These federal grants are critical to ensuring that Oregon’s communities—especially in

en_USEnglish