url,title,date,year,month,party,chamber,state,member_name,bioguide_id,domain,scraper,source,date_source,text,has_text,collected_at,updated_at https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/-democrats-are-already-building-a-case-against-trumps-pick-to-lead-treasury-department,Democrats are already building a case against Trump’s pick to lead Treasury Department,2016-12-30,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Democrats are already building a case against Trump’s pick to lead Treasury Department Friday, December 30, 2016 By:  Ylan Q. Mui President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department is likely to face a contentious confirmation battle centered on his purchase of a failed subprime mortgage lender that repeatedly has been accused of wrongful foreclosures. The formal vetting process for Steven T. Mnuchin, who served as Trump’s campaign finance chairman and worked at investment bank Goldman Sachs for nearly two decades, has not yet begun. A staffer at the Senate Finance Committee, which is handling the nomination, said it is waiting for his paperwork to be completed before starting the process. In the meantime, Democrats have already begun preparing a line of attack that accuses Mnuchin of preying on the middle-class workers that helped sweep Trump into the White House. Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said political action committee plans to use paid advertisements and local organizing to pressure Republican lawmakers from states that suffered widespread foreclosures to oppose Mnuchin’s confirmation. The AFL-CIO issued a statementthis month slamming Mnuchin for profiting from the worst financial crisis in generations. And Senate Democrats — led by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren — set up a website calling him the “Foreclosure King” and soliciting complaints from his bank’s customers.  “Trump’s cabinet hearings are right around the corner in January and you better believe that by the time they're over, the American people will know that the Trump Administration is all about special interests and the super-rich at the expense of working people,” Merkley posted on Facebook recently. Mnuchin led a consortium of investors that purchased the troubled bank IndyMac from the federal government in 2009, acquiring a $13.9 billion portfolio of some of the nation’s shoddiest loans for about $1.6 billion. Tara Bradshaw, a spokeswoman for Mnuchin, said about 178,000 loans were already in the foreclosure process when he took over the bank and renamed it OneWest. Bradshaw said he oversaw 101,000 mortgage modification offers, some of which forgave part of borrowers' principal balance. Mnuchin sold OneWest to CIT Group in 2015 for more than double what he paid for it. “Steven is proud of his record at OneWest. He was able to save three institutions that were in receivership, did tens of thousands of loan modifications, saving homes and jobs, and developed OneWest Bank into a regional banking franchise that in turn made loans to consumers and businesses that helped create jobs,” Bradshaw said. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, Mnuchin stepped down this month from his position on the board of directors of CIT as well as the board of Sears Holding. According to compensation research firm Equilar, Mnuchin owned about $100 million in CIT stock as of last month. Bradshaw said he is also working with attorneys to resolve other outstanding conflicts. Government ethics experts said Mnuchin will likely have to divest at least some of his financial holdings. After Mnuchin visited Capitol Hill earlier this month, top Republicans on the finance committee praised his selection. “Through his private sector background, Steven will have to untangle the web of red tape found in our mammoth tax code and navigate a minefield of heavy-handed regulations that have stifled opportunity and growth,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the finance committee. The finance committee has received three years of Mnuchin’s tax returns and responses to a questionnaire but are awaiting his final financial disclosures and ethics forms, which must be reviewed by the White House Office of Government Ethics before they are sent to the committee. A Senate aide said that Mnuchin’s vast private holdings could take more than a week to review, pushing back the scheduling of a confirmation hearing. Beyond the purchase of IndyMac, Mnuchin was an active private equity investor with stakes in retail companies and Hollywood film studios. Only 51 votes are required in the Senate to confirm Trump’s Cabinet nominees, after new rules passed by Democrats three years ago eliminated the need for a filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes. But Republicans have little margin for error, holding a narrow edge of 52 seats. A handful of defections could sink Trump’s picks. “This is not a united Republican party,” said Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a liberal watchdog group that scrutinizes executive-branch appointments. Among the lawmakers Democrats hope to sway is Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada, who is facing reelection in 2018 and has been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate. Nevada was one of the hardest-hit states during the housing bust, and it still ranks third in the country in amount of foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac. Heller vocally opposed Trump during the election, even broaching the possibility that he would not vote for either major party candidate. Mnuchin is not the only Cabinet nominee who could be in for a rocky confirmation hearing. Democrats have also sharply criticized Trump’s choice for secretary of state, ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, and his pick to lead the Commerce Department, billionaire industrialist Wilbur Ross, among others. But Green said that Mnuchin’s nomination deserves particular scrutiny because he would lead the agency responsible for carrying out the economic agenda that was central to Trump’s victory. “Mnuchin is the poster child for Trump betraying his own voters by turning our economy over to Wall Street and giant corporations at the expense of American working families,” he said. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/senators-ask-trumps-epa-pick-to-disclose-his-connections-to-energy-industry,Senators Ask Trump's EPA Pick To Disclose His Connections To Energy Industry,2016-12-28,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Senators Ask Trump's EPA Pick To Disclose His Connections To Energy Industry Wednesday, December 28, 2016 By:  Brakkton Booker Democratic senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee say Donald Trump's choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency should reveal his connections with energy insiders before his confirmation hearings get underway. In the letter dated Tuesday, the senators told Scott Pruitt, currently Oklahoma's attorney general, they were concerned about his close ties to energy lobbyists and wanted him to disclose lists of donors who contributed to a nonprofit organization that took funds from a network connected to the Koch brothers. Pruitt is an outspoken critic of climate change and has sued the Obama administration over the EPA's Clean Power Plan. The letter was signed by five Democrats plus independent Bernie Sanders. ""We have been troubled that as Attorney General of Oklahoma you used, nearly verbatim, industry talking points in official correspondence your office sent to EPA concerning EPA's estimation of methane pollution in your state,"" said the letter, signed by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Cory Booker, Ben Cardin and Sanders. ""What that conduct says about your ability to lead EPA in a manner that is not beholden to special or secret interests is a subject we expect will receive a full airing during your confirmation hearing,"" the letter continued. The letter goes on to request details about meetings and emails related to the Rule of Law Defense Fund, which Pruitt help establish to collect large donations from big oil and gas companies including Devon Energy. Specifically the senators are seeking ""a written explanation of the role you or any other person under your supervision has played"" in the fund's founding and operation, a list of all expenditures greater than $1,000 made to the fund, and a list of meeting times, dates, locations, attendees and agenda items of its fundraisers. ""Before the Senate votes to confirm you to run EPA, it is important to provide a full disclosure of your relationship with the energy industry so we can determine how that will influence your ability to run the agency."" As NPR has reported, environmentalists are bracing for Pruitt's confirmation and are worried that he may try to curb much of the agency's power. Earlier this month the Trump transition team sent a 74-point questionnaire to employees at the Department of Energy asking for a list of employees and contractors who attended conferences on climate change. The department later said it was refusing to provide the names to the transition team. Read the full letter below: Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-defazio-praise-12-million-federal-grant-for-douglas-county-and-the-city-of-roseburg-to-assist-with-ucc-recovery,"Wyden, Merkley, DeFazio Praise $1.2 Million Federal Grant for Douglas County and the City of Roseburg to Assist with UCC Recovery",2016-12-28,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wyden, Merkley, DeFazio Praise $1.2 Million Federal Grant for Douglas County and the City of Roseburg to Assist with UCC Recovery Wednesday, December 28, 2016 PORTLAND – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio today welcomed a $1.2 million federal grant to Douglas County and the City of Roseburg that will help the community’s recovery from the Oct. 1, 2015 campus shooting at Umpqua Community College.  These funds will help county and city agencies continue their exemplary work to support victims and all those affected by the 2015 shooting. “Umpqua Community College, Douglas County and Roseburg displayed remarkable resiliency in the face of unspeakable tragedy, and fully deserve this federal support for the ongoing work,” Wyden said. “I am pleased to have worked to secure this essential grant that helps cover the emotional and financial costs of this crisis. And I remain committed to supporting the college and the entire Roseburg community as they continue taking the steps that make all Oregonians proud.” “All of Douglas County, the City of Roseburg and the UCC community experienced an unfathomable trauma last October, and the last thing they should have to worry about is the financial cost of this horrific attack,” said Merkley. “This grant shows that our nation is committed to helping the entire community recover and heal, and I thank the Department of Justice for recognizing and supporting these important needs. Healing from an attack like this one is never a fast or an easy process, and I will continue standing by Douglas County, Roseburg and UCC’s side as they work to move forward in the years ahead.” “I’m proud to have helped Douglas County and the City of Roseburg receive this much-needed grant,” said DeFazio. “In a time of crisis, local support organizations stepped forward to help our community deal with truly terrible events. This grant will provide financial assistance for the incredible services they performed for the victims of last year’s tragedy. I will continue to work to ensure that Roseburg, Douglas County, and UCC both have the resources necessary to move forward and heal.” Merkley, Wyden and DeFazio had urged the Department of Justice to provide this assistance without delay in a letter (attached) sent earlier this month. The $1.2 million antiterrorism and emergency assistance program grant from the federal Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime to the state of Oregon is designed to reimburse organizations for supplemental victim-related costs from the UCC campus shooting. The grant also provides funds to support crisis response and services to help victims, witnesses and first responders. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-defazio-praise-12-million-federal-grant-for-douglas-county-and-the-city-of-roseburg-to-assist-with-ucc-recovery,"Wyden, Merkley, DeFazio Praise $1.2 Million Federal Grant for Douglas County and the City of Roseburg to Assist with UCC Recovery",2016-12-28,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wednesday, December 28, 2016 PORTLAND – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio today welcomed a $1.2 million federal grant to Douglas County and the City of Roseburg that will help the community’s recovery from the Oct. 1, 2015 campus shooting at Umpqua Community College.  These funds will help county and city agencies continue their exemplary work to support victims and all those affected by the 2015 shooting. “Umpqua Community College, Douglas County and Roseburg displayed remarkable resiliency in the face of unspeakable tragedy, and fully deserve this federal support for the ongoing work,” Wyden said. “I am pleased to have worked to secure this essential grant that helps cover the emotional and financial costs of this crisis. And I remain committed to supporting the college and the entire Roseburg community as they continue taking the steps that make all Oregonians proud.” “All of Douglas County, the City of Roseburg and the UCC community experienced an unfathomable trauma last October, and the last thing they should have to worry about is the financial cost of this horrific attack,” said Merkley. “This grant shows that our nation is committed to helping the entire community recover and heal, and I thank the Department of Justice for recognizing and supporting these important needs. Healing from an attack like this one is never a fast or an easy process, and I will continue standing by Douglas County, Roseburg and UCC’s side as they work to move forward in the years ahead.” “I’m proud to have helped Douglas County and the City of Roseburg receive this much-needed grant,” said DeFazio. “In a time of crisis, local support organizations stepped forward to help our community deal with truly terrible events. This grant will provide financial assistance for the incredible services they performed for the victims of last year’s tragedy. I will continue to work to ensure that Roseburg, Douglas County, and UCC both have the resources necessary to move forward and heal.” Merkley, Wyden and DeFazio had urged the Department of Justice to provide this assistance without delay in a letter sent earlier this month. The $1.2 million antiterrorism and emergency assistance program grant from the federal Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime to the state of Oregon is designed to reimburse organizations for supplemental victim-related costs from the UCC campus shooting. The grant also provides funds to support crisis response and services to help victims, witnesses and first responders.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://bonamici.house.gov/press-release/bonamici-statement-un-resolution-regarding-israeli-settlements,Bonamici Statement on U.N. Resolution Regarding Israeli Settlements,2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Suzanne Bonamici,B001278,bonamici.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) issued the following statement: “Earlier this year, more than 390 of my colleagues and I called on President Obama to veto any one-sided United Nations Security Council resolution that could harm the peaceful negotiation of a two-state solution by the Israeli and Palestinian people. With recent reports that a vote on such a resolution is imminent, I am once again urging President Obama to veto any resolution that fails to advance the peace process.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://schrader.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=390699,Schrader Statement on U.N. Security Council Resolution,2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Kurt Schrader,S001180,schrader.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Kurt Schrader released the following statement today on the delayed U.N. Security Council on a resolution regarding the Israeli-Palestinian dispute:   “I urge President Obama to keep with long-standing U.S. policy and veto the UN Security Council resolution that singularly condemns Israel in the dispute with Palestine. Legitimate and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine requires bilateral negotiations, not a one-sided resolution placing blame on a single party. This resolution would further set back the delicate peace process. A veto of this resolution is also in line with this Administration's past positions on the matter. And so I urge the President to continue to reject unilateral resolutions and remain focused on a genuine and lasting peace.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/union-pacific-in-fiery-mosier-derailment-agrees-to-changes,Union Pacific in fiery Mosier derailment agrees to changes,2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Union Pacific in fiery Mosier derailment agrees to changes Friday, December 23, 2016 The nation's largest freight railroad has agreed to more thorough inspections and maintenance improvements after a fiery oil train derailment in Oregon and the discovery of more than 800 potential safety violations across its sprawling network. Details on the agreement between the Federal Railroad Administration and Union Pacific were obtained by The Associated Press. Sixteen tank cars from a Union Pacific train hauling crude through the Columbia River Gorge derailed in early June along a curve in the tracks near Mosier, Oregon. The accident sparked a massive fire that burned for 14 hours and prompted the evacuation of nearby areas. No one was injured. But federal officials said the railroad wasn't following its own maintenance rules to ensure the track was safe. Better inspections would have caught a series of broken bolts that allowed the rails to move too far apart where the accident occurred, officials said. The investigation into the accident is continuing. Representatives of Union Pacific Railroad did not have an immediate comment on the agreement. U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley issued a joint statement Friday morning supporting the agreement. ""While banning oil trains from the Columbia Gorge is the only way to completely eliminate future derailments, this agreement has the potential to significantly improve railroad safety - something we have been calling for since 2014,"" according to the statement. ""We will review the compliance agreement's details to ensure it helps protect communities near train tracks, and will closely monitor its enforcement to ensure the Trump administration upholds the agreement's requirements."" The more than 800 potential violations against Union Pacific were found as part of a two-year examination of tracks across the U.S. used to haul crude, federal officials said. Enforcement actions against the company have not been finalized and further details on the violations were not immediately available. Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg said the agreement raises the bar on safety. ""This compliance agreement requires Union Pacific to go above and beyond existing regulations,"" she said. The oil industry has become heavily reliant on trains in recent years because of limited pipeline capacity in the booming oil patch of the Northern Plains and the oil sands region of western Canada. Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific operates more than 32,000 miles of track across 23 states. The safety measures included in the agreement with the FRA will apply to all track used to haul oil and other hazardous liquids, passengers, explosives, radioactive materials and poisonous gases. They include an inventory of all curves in the track that are three degrees or greater across that network and walking inspections every 120 days on tracks that have the type of bolts involved in the Mosier accident. Those inspections have to occur every 30 days in that part of the network that includes the Mosier area. Previously, Union Pacific said it would voluntarily take some of the same steps within the Columbia River Gorge. At least 27 oil trains have been involved in major derailments, fires or oil spills in the United States and Canada in the past decade, according to an AP analysis of accident records. The trains travel through more than 400 counties across the U.S. to reach refineries on the West, East and Gulf coasts, according to the AP analysis. A 2013 derailment killed 47 people when a runaway oil train from North Dakota jumped the tracks and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. Damage from that accident has been estimated at $1.2 billion or higher.   Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-welcome-federal-railroad-administrations-additional-safety-standards-for-union-pacific-railroad,"Wyden, Merkley Welcome Federal Railroad Administration’s Additional Safety Standards for Union Pacific Railroad",2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wyden, Merkley Welcome Federal Railroad Administration’s Additional Safety Standards for Union Pacific Railroad Friday, December 23, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., today issued the following joint statement following the Federal Railroad Administration’s announcement that it has reached an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad Co. that will require the railroad to meet higher safety standards. The agreement follows an oil train derailment near Mosier, Ore., earlier this year. “We welcome the Federal Railroad Administration’s decision to hold Union Pacific to higher safety standards following the disastrous oil train derailment in Mosier this year. While banning oil trains from the Columbia Gorge is the only way to completely eliminate future derailments, this agreement has the potential to significantly improve railroad safety – something we have been calling for since 2014. “We will review the compliance agreement’s details to ensure it helps protect communities near train tracks, and will closely monitor its enforcement to ensure the Trump administration upholds the agreement’s requirements. We also expect the FRA to complete its investigation of the Mosier accident and to make further changes to strengthen or add safety measures to the agreement if the investigation warrants them.” In June, Wyden and Merkley called on the FRA to halt crude oil traffic through the Columbia Gorge until the cause of the Mosier accident had been fully analyzed.  In July, the senators introduced a bill to require the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate every major oil train derailment and clarify the Federal Rail Administration’s authority to place moratoriums on oil train traffic when derailments occur. The bill, the Mandate Oil Spill Inspections and Emergency Rules (MOSIER) Act, would also require the Department of Transportation to reduce the amount of volatile gases in the crude oil that trains transport. Additionally, Wyden and Merkley introduced the Hazardous Materials Rail Transportation Safety Improvement Act last year to reduce risks to communities near railroad tracks by speeding up the phase-out of older tank cars and encouraging companies to replace them with newer, safer cars. The bill would place a fee on the older tank cars and use the revenue raised by the fee to help communities and first responders be better prepared in the event of a rail accident. It would also establish a dedicated fund for clean-up costs of oil train accidents, advanced training for first responders, and grant money for states and cities to reroute rail tracks carrying large volumes of hazardous materials away from highly populated areas. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-welcome-federal-railroad-administrations-additional-safety-standards-for-union-pacific-railroad,"Wyden, Merkley Welcome Federal Railroad Administration’s Additional Safety Standards for Union Pacific Railroad",2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Friday, December 23, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., today issued the following joint statement following the Federal Railroad Administration’s announcement that it has reached an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad Co. that will require the railroad to meet higher safety standards. The agreement follows an oil train derailment near Mosier, Ore., earlier this year.   “We welcome the Federal Railroad Administration’s decision to hold Union Pacific to higher safety standards following the disastrous oil train derailment in Mosier this year. While banning oil trains from the Columbia Gorge is the only way to completely eliminate future derailments, this agreement has the potential to significantly improve railroad safety – something we have been calling for since 2014. “We will review the compliance agreement’s details to ensure it helps protect communities near train tracks, and will closely monitor its enforcement to ensure the Trump administration upholds the agreement’s requirements. We also expect the FRA to complete its investigation of the Mosier accident and to make further changes to strengthen or add safety measures to the agreement if the investigation warrants them.” In June, Wyden and Merkley called on the FRA to halt crude oil traffic through the Columbia Gorge until the cause of the Mosier accident had been fully analyzed. In July, the senators introduced a bill to require the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate every major oil train derailment and clarify the Federal Rail Administration’s authority to place moratoriums on oil train traffic when derailments occur. The bill, the Mandate Oil Spill Inspections and Emergency Rules (MOSIER) Act, would also require the Department of Transportation to reduce the amount of volatile gases in the crude oil that trains transport. Additionally, Wyden and Merkley introduced the Hazardous Materials Rail Transportation Safety Improvement Act last year to reduce risks to communities near railroad tracks by speeding up the phase-out of older tank cars and encouraging companies to replace them with newer, safer cars. The bill would place a fee on the older tank cars and use the revenue raised by the fee to help communities and first responders be better prepared in the event of a rail accident. It would also establish a dedicated fund for clean-up costs of oil train accidents, advanced training for first responders, and grant money for states and cities to reroute rail tracks carrying large volumes of hazardous materials away from highly populated areas.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-slams-un-resolution-unfairly-targeting-israel,Wyden Slams U.N. Resolution Unfairly Targeting Israel,2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Friday, December 23, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today slammed a United Nations resolution that unjustly targets Israel, and expressed deep disappointment the White House chose not to veto the resolution. ""I am deeply disappointed that the administration set aside longstanding U.S. policy to allow such a one-sided resolution to pass,” Wyden said. ""Actions like this will only take us further from the peace we all want to see.""",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://bonamici.house.gov/press-release/bonamici-congratulates-clatsop-county-350000-federal-grant-high-quality-preschool,"Bonamici Congratulates Clatsop County on $350,000 Federal Grant for High-Quality Preschool",2016-12-22,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Suzanne Bonamici,B001278,bonamici.house.gov,,,legacy,"BEAVERTON, OR [12/22/16] — Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) announced that Clatsop County was awarded a $350,000 two-year grant through the U.S. Department of Education’s Preschool Development Grants Preschool Pay for Success program. This program helps communities develop innovative, cost-effective plans to increase access to high-quality early childhood education. Clatsop County is one of eight grant recipients across the country. “Young children benefit tremendously from high-quality preschool, but too often these programs are out of reach for low-income families, especially in rural areas,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “I’m very proud that Clatsop and Tillamook Counties will have this opportunity to explore ways to improve access to high-quality preschool in Northwest Oregon. Their work will help chart a new course for delivering affordable, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs in towns and cities across America. Students, families, and communities reap profound long-term benefits, including higher high school graduation rates, when children are able to gain the social and educational skills they need to enter kindergarten ready to learn.” “The preschool feasibility grant will allow us to plan for how best to provide free preschool to up to 600 children in Clatsop and Tillamook counties,” said Dan Gaffney of Clatsop Kinder Ready. “We will reach out to parents, current preschool providers, elementary schools, local healthcare providers, and others to determine how best to engage children and their families in high-quality preschool. The program will be for children in low-income families and those who are learning English as a second language. Being rural counties we recognize the need for higher wages for Pre-K teachers, ongoing professional development, and transportation to help make sure children can attend preschool. This funding is a great opportunity to address the needs of our communities and enhance early childhood education on the Oregon coast.” Bonamici served on the select panel of House and Senate members that crafted the final version of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and successfully advocated for the Preschool Development Grant program to be included in the new law. Bonamici also cosponsored the Strong Start for America’s Children Act to expand access to pre-kindergarten programs for low-income families. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/congress-awards-30m-in-grants,Congress awards $30M in grants,2016-12-22,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Congress awards $30M in grants Thursday, December 22, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Lands Access Program has awarded the Oregon Department of Transportation more than $30 million to improve access to federal lands in the Columbia River Gorge. The funding includes $29 million to complete a new portion of the Historic Columbia River Highway Trail and connect it at Mitchell Point Crossing; $2.6 million for the Columbia Gorge Express to improve access to Multnomah Falls; and $300,000 for the Historic Columbia River Highway Congestion Mitigation Plan. “It’s no secret that one of Oregon’s greatest assets is our unique natural beauty and emphasis on quality of life,” said U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). “This funding helps ensure that more and more Oregonians and visitors can continue to enjoy our state’s natural beauty. I’m thrilled that we are one step closer toward interconnectedness in our beautiful gorge region and will keep working to improve our recreational infrastructure to boost our job-creating recreation industry and quality of life.” One hundred years after the Columbia River Highway was dedicated in 1916, the Federal Lands Access Program granted $29 million to continue reconnecting abandoned or disconnected sections of the Historic Columbia River Highway for bicyclists and pedestrians to enjoy. With the funds, ODOT will design and build a safe crossing through the formidable cliffs at Mitchell Point, just west of the city of Hood River. “A lot of great ideas began in Oregon, and the Historic Columbia River Highway, America’s first scenic highway, is one of them,” added U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “The Historic Columbia River Highway connects visitors and locals alike to some of the world’s most beautiful sights – found right here in the Gorge. These resources will help preserve this Oregon treasure, which supports outdoor recreation opportunities, local jobs and rural economies along the way.” The funding also helps complete the design, engineering and construction of the remainder of the trail between Viento State Park and Hood River. ODOT will partner with agencies such as Oregon Parks and Recreation, the U.S. Forest Service, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and the Western Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration. By working toward a complete reconnection of the 73-mile long Historic Columbia River Highway, this project brings the area one step closer to actualizing the vision outlined in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act. The grants include significant funding to expand the Columbia Gorge Express — the new transit service to Multnomah Falls, Oregon’s most visited natural site. As the Historic Highway celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2016, the area saw increased tourism and increased traffic congestion. The traffic growth has compromised safety and degraded the area’s natural and cultural resources, including spectacular scenery and waterfall views, that make the area unique. Following growing concerns about congestion, ODOT initiated a transit project called the Columbia Gorge Express to improve access to Multnomah Falls in time for the summer crowds. During summer 2016, the Columbia Gorge Express surpassed expectations by providing 30,000 trips to and from Multnomah Falls — highlighting the significant demand for transit service in the area. With these new grants, the Columbia Gorge Express will expand to serve Gateway Transit Center, Rooster Rock State Park and Multnomah Falls with larger buses and bus stop amenities. In 2018, the Columbia River Express will run daily and add a stop in Hood River and additional destinations.   Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/democrats-aim-to-launch-comeback-with-cabinet-showdown-,Democrats aim to launch comeback with Cabinet showdown,2016-12-22,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Democrats aim to launch comeback with Cabinet showdown An opposition strategy for January confirmation hearings is emerging: To expose Trump's campaign platform as a 'scam.' Thursday, December 22, 2016 By:  Burgess Everett Senate Democrats are approaching the January confirmation battle over Donald Trump’s Cabinet as a chance to launch their political comeback and expose the president-elect as a fraud. Lawmakers know they’re unlikely, at best, to stop any of Trump’s Cabinet picks from being installed. But they still see major opportunity in the confirmation hearings. The goal, according to lawmakers and aides: to depict Trump’s chosen inner circle of billionaires and conservative hard-liners as directly at odds with the working-class Americans he vowed to help. “His campaign, based on his nominations, was a charade. [H]e sold the American public on a story that is a false story. It is a scam,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who was recently promoted to chief deputy whip. “He said: ‘I’m for working people and for taking on Wall Street, I’m for draining the swamp.’ And his nominees say the exact opposite.” Senate Democrats want to force Trump’s picks to lay down markers on specific policies that can be used to build a case against the incumbent as his administration unfolds and the next election approaches, insiders said. More immediately, they want to begin to make the case to Trump voters that what they voted for is a far cry from what they’ll be getting with the next president. Democrats believe they have a target-rich environment. Trump’s selections to run the Transportation Department and Small Business Administration, Elaine Chao and Linda McMahon, will probably move quickly. But the other selections, they say, have serious vulnerabilities to exploit — whether it’s Rex Tillerson’s ties to big oil and Russia, Steven Mnuchin’s Wall Street career, Betsy DeVos’ antipathy toward public schools or Tom Price’s past support for overhauling Medicare. “You’ve got a woman whose mission in life for the Department of Education is to privatize the public education system. You’ve got this secretary of HHS designee whose mission has been to raise the eligibility age for Medicare,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who will help oversee Ben Carson’s confirmation as housing secretary on the Banking Committee. “You need a scorecard to keep up with the attack on American values.” Republicans predict the Democratic plan will flop. “Senate Democrats spent the last eight years explaining the need for a president to have the team he nominates,” said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “Surely it wasn’t simply partisan posturing.” Democrats need time and ammunition to execute their case. So they’re laying the groundwork to draw out the confirmation process — not for the sake of delay, they say, but to train attention on each of the nominees. They’re planning to press for lengthy — in some cases multiday — committee hearings for most of Trump’s nominees, followed by a floor debate. On Thursday, the top Democrats on 16 committees issued a ""statement of principles"" arguing that nominees should not receive committee votes until they've cleared an FBI background check, completed financial disclosure forms and provided other requested material. “You’re talking at least a month-and-a-half, a couple of months to get [through] all the Cabinet nominees,” Merkley said. Republicans have other ideas. They want to mow through the confirmation process and move on to repealing Obamacare and reforming the tax code. If Democrats delay, a senior GOP aide said, “we will make them vote at 3 in the morning.” As for the ammunition, Democratic committee staffers and outside groups such as the Center for American Progress are digging into the records of Trump’s Cabinet selections in search of embarrassing skeletons. American Bridge is coordinating with Senate leaders and rank-and-file Democrats on opposition research, a task that most Senate staffers were not preparing to do before Trump’s surprise win. The group is digging around on Tillerson, Mnuchin, DeVos, attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Environmental Protection Agency pick Scott Pruitt. “Trump clearly hasn't vetted his nominees, so it's up to us to do the work and expose his Cabinet as a group of billionaires looking out for their own interests,” said Kevin McAlister, a spokesman for American Bridge. “Our goal is to help Senate Democrats keep Trump historically unpopular throughout his administration, starting with these nomination fights.” Democrats are also demanding new disclosures of all Cabinet nominees’ tax records, to bolster their case that they and the president-elect are out to enrich themselves. Just three committees generally receive nominees' tax returns. Trump and Republicans are unlikely to acquiesce. But Democrats believe they already have enough to go after Cabinet selections like Mnuchin, whose record purchasing distressed loans, they say, is one of their strongest rebuttals to Trump’s “drain the swamp” rhetoric. “My view is, based on what I’ve learned this far, is that he was profiting off predatory loans,” said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee. “This is something that we were told wasn’t going to happen in the campaign.” Another established attack line is on DeVos, whom Democrats want to pay a years-old election fine of more than $5 million. DeVos has fought back, employing a spokesman who regularly blasts out refutations of any critical reporting about the prospective education secretary. Democrats privately concede that Sessions is likely to win confirmation. But they want to make the vote as painful as possible for Republicans in states with large Hispanic populations, such as Dean Heller (Nev.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.). Sessions has one of the most conservative records in the Senate on immigration. “That vote will be brutal,” said a senior Democratic aide. Similarly, Democrats want to make Republicans squirm when it comes time to vote on Tillerson, who has a personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin from his role atop ExxonMobil. “It was more than just a business relationship. There’s a personal relationship there … we need to drill down on whether he will put U.S. interests ahead of personal friendship,” said Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment for this story. And not all Democrats are on board with the tactics. Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has unleashed a blistering attack on Republicans for pushing changes to Medicare. That’s been augmented by the nomination of Price, who has previously pushed for an overhaul to the entitlement program. But Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) doesn't see the connection. “I’ve heard President-elect Trump say he’s not for privatizing Social Security and he’s not for privatizing Medicare,” Manchin said. “I would think Tom Price has mellowed out.” The elimination of the filibuster for Cabinet nominees is forcing Democrats now to adapt their strategy and end game. Before they could have zeroed in on one Cabinet selection to block, and then allowed select Democrats to vote against individual nominees based on their parochial political interests, while still allowing the picks to be confirmed. Lacking that leverage, Democrats will be liberated to launch an all-out rhetorical assault on Trump and congressional Republicans. The result is expected to be a much more partisan and political confirmation process. “We’ve never seen the kind of radical nominees that Trump has put up. And frankly, we’ve never seen nominees with this little experience,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “We need some time to talk to the American public about what the consequences are.” Republicans argue that the GOP swallowed almost all of President Barack Obama’s nominees within the first couple weeks and that Democrats’ plans to mount a sustained attack on Trump’s Cabinet belies Senate tradition. But given the chamber’s rules, Democrats could drag out the process well into February or possibly beyond. “Every one of these nominees has to be scrutinized closely and exactingly,"" said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). ""One by one.""   Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/senate-democrats-press-wells-fargo-board-for-answers-on-sales-practices,Senate Democrats Press Wells Fargo Board For Answers on Sales Practices,2016-12-22,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Senate Democrats Press Wells Fargo Board For Answers on Sales Practices Members of Senate Banking Committee sent letter to bank seeking more information Thursday, December 22, 2016 By:  Emily Glazer Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee demanded Wells Fargo & Co.’s board respond to questions the bank has yet to answer related to its sales practices scandal, according to a letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The senators asked the board for more information about its continuing independent investigation of the alleged fraud that caused the bank to pay a $185 million settlement in September over opening as many as 2.1 million accounts using fictitious or unauthorized customer information. The senators in this latest letter also asked the board for a timeline of when its members learned of the questionable sales tactics, actions the board took to address the problemand reasons why it didn’t investigate sooner, according to the letter. It asked for answers to its 10 questions by Jan. 7. “Continued failure to answer questions—especially basic questions—about the causes and consequences of the fraud that Wells Fargo permitted for many years does nothing to restore the trust of Wells Fargo’s customers and shareholders, many of whom are our constituents,” according to the letter. Wells Fargo’s board in late September announced its independent investigation alongside moves to rescind a collective $61 million in pay from now-former Chief Executive John Stumpf and former retail banking head Carrie Tolstedt. The board’s independent directors “will take such other actions as they collectively deem appropriate,” according to a statement at the time. The bank neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the settlement Sept. 8. The 10 Democratic senators, led by ranking member Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), submitted 58 questions to Wells Fargo management on Sept. 29 that they said weren't answered by Mr. Stumpf in two congressional hearings. The bank responded on Nov. 15, but cited the board’s continuing independent investigation as a reason it couldn’t fully answer some questions. A bank spokeswoman at the time said Wells Fargo appreciates Congress’s role and will continue to be responsive to lawmakers as the bank’s board investigation progresses. A person familiar with the board said Thursday that it previously responded to earlier letters from some of the Democratic senators that included some of the same questions. A spokesman for the board reiterated Thursday that the board would make the findings of the investigation public upon its conclusion. In addition to Sen. Brown, the latest letter was jointly submitted by Sens. Jack Reed (D., R.I.), Bob Menendez (D., N.J.), Jon Tester (D., Mont.), Mark Warner (D., Va.), Jeff Merkley(D., Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), Heidi Heitkamp (D., N.D.) and Joe Donnelly (D., Ind.). They asked the board to identify members of the special committee who are leading the investigation and the criteria to select them, why the board didn’t launch an independent investigation earlier, and the probe’s scope. The senators also sought details on how the board will provide “sufficient transparency into and details of” the investigation to stakeholders and the public, among other questions relating to the sales practices issues. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/trump-alarms-arms-control-community-with-nuke-tweet,Trump alarms arms-control community with nuke tweet,2016-12-22,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Trump alarms arms-control community with nuke tweet Thursday, December 22, 2016 By:  Rebecca Kheel The arms-control community is sounding the alarm on President-elect Donald Trump calling for the United States to “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability.” “This is a how arms races begin,” warned Joe Cirincione, president of nuclear nonproliferation group the Ploughshares Fund. On Thursday afternoon, Trump tweeted that “the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.” A follow-up statement from spokesman Jason Miller said Trump “was referring to the threat of nuclear proliferation and the critical need to prevent it — particularly to and among terrorist organizations and unstable and rogue regimes. “He has also emphasized the need to improve and modernize our deterrent capability as a vital way to pursue peace through strength,” Miller added. The United States currently has about 7,000 nuclear warheads. The country is also in the midst of nuclear modernization efforts to replace the aging nuclear force, estimated to cost $1 trillion over 30 years. The statement did not address what Trump meant by strengthen and expand. The president-elect’s message prompted a flurry of tweets from everyone from arms control advocates to Hollywood. “Trump wants to expand our nuclear arsenal,” tweeted actor George Takei. “I think of my aunt and baby cousin, found burnt in a ditch in Hiroshima. These weapons must go.”  “.@realDonaldTrump you are proposing a new nuclear arms race,” the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation tweeted. “The consequences of ‘expanding nuke capability’ could be global disaster.”  “.@realDonaldTrump, Reagan & even your friend Nixon knew better,“ tweeted Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). “Nuke arms race = dangerous, expensive & bad for America. True then, true now.” Arms-control groups said it was unclear what Trump meant by expanding and strengthening nuclear capability, but listed several possible scenarios: building more nuclear-capable systems than planned under the current modernization efforts, having nuclear-capable systems carry the maximum number of warheads possible, creating bombs with more kilotons of nuclear power and increasing the number of warheads in the nuclear arsenal, among other possibilities. Though it remains unclear what prompted the tweet from Trump, the timing raised eyebrows for two reasons. First, it came a day after Trump met with the chief executives of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, two of the country’s biggest nuclear weapons contractors. They are in competition, along with Northrop Grumman, to build the next generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles for the Air Force, a project expected to cost at least $85 billion. Second, it came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin made his own statement about strengthening his country’s nuclear arsenal. ""We need to strengthen the strategic nuclear forces, for that we should develop missiles capable of penetrating any current and prospective missile defense systems,"" Putin said at a Russian Defense Ministry meeting, according to Russian news agency TASS. Neither Putin nor Trump have indicated the statements were coordinated or in response to one another, but arms control groups were alarmed that they came so close together. “The U.S. and Russia have about 95 percent of all nukes in the world,” Cirincione said. “Everybody else pales in comparison. If two big guys start taking about growing, that’s a signal for every else to start their engines.” Still, the Ploughshares Fund president said he thinks there could be a “flipside” to the leaders making similar comments around the same time. Both Putin and Trump have indicated a desire to improve U.S.-Russia relations, and any agreement between the two countries would “almost certainly” include a reduction in nuclear weapons, he said. “If Trump follows Reagan’s example, this could be the deal of his life,” Cirincione said, referring to President Reagan’s negotiations with Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev that led to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces agreement and laid the groundwork for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. “This could be a statement of intent or it could also be preparing positions in advanced of negotiations,” Cirincione added. “Like everything else with Donald Trump, there are more unknowns than knowns.” Derek Johnson, executive director of Global Zero, was more skeptical of an eventual agreement between the United States and Russia. “It’s easy to imagine it not playing out that way, just based on how we’ve seen Trump conduct himself,” he said. “He’s deeply unpredictable, and this is not a space you want unpredictability. ""The No. 1 message here is this cause for serious alarm,"" he added. Johnson interpreted Trump’s tweet as a “rapid response” to Putin. He added that it validates the concerns people raised during the campaign about giving Trump access to nuclear weapons. “I’m struck by the literally hundreds of national security leaders and experts, most of them Republican, who warned that this guy cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons,” he said. “This tweet suggests they were right.” Kelsey Davenport, director of nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, said the United States’ current modernization efforts are already “unnecessary and unaffordable,” and that expansion would make it worse. “This not a direction the United States needs to be going now,” she said. “These comments coming from Putin are unsurprising based on Putin’s actions over the last couple months. What is unfortunate is Donald Trump entering into this same vein.” John Tierney, executive director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said it’s hard to discern nuclear policy from 140 characters, but called the tweet coupled with Putin’s comments “very, very troubling.” Tierney said his group will be pressing the incoming administration for more clarity, as well as pressuring Congress to ask questions about the administration’s nuclear policies during confirmation hearings. “It’s time for Putin and Trump to come to their senses,” he said. “Between Russia and the United States, that’s 93 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons. That’s more than enough to deter each other and more than enough to destroy all of humanity.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-push-for-oregon-counties-to-receive-federal-timber-payments,"Wyden, Merkley Push for Oregon Counties to Receive Federal Timber Payments",2016-12-22,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wyden, Merkley Push for Oregon Counties to Receive Federal Timber Payments Thursday, December 22, 2016 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged federal officials to make much-needed federal timber sales payments as quickly as possible to Oregon counties in need of funding for schools, roads and law enforcement. In letters (attached) to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the senators noted that congressional failure to reauthorize Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding puts a premium on ensuring the federal timber payments are sent in a timely fashion to Oregon counties. Counties no longer receiving an SRS payment as of Jan. 1 will instead receive payment under a federal act that provides them 25 percent of the federal timber sale revenue from national forestlands generated in each county, the senators wrote Vilsack. In 2015 when SRS was not reauthorized until after the 25-percent payments were made, the 25-percent payment was $50 million nationwide compared to about $300 million from SRS the previous year. “Without the certainty of SRS payments, schools, libraries and jails close, roads go unpaved and become unsafe, mental and physical health services are scaled back or even ended and fewer and fewer law enforcement officers patrol larger and larger areas,’’ Wyden and Merkley wrote. “We have talked to counties in Oregon experiencing these hardships, which will be made even worse if the remaining 25 percent payments are delayed.” In their letter to Jewell, the senators made a similar point urging that the 18 Oregon O & C counties receive their payments in a timely fashion under the 1937 O & C Lands Act and 1939 Coos Bay Wagon Road grant fund providing counties with 50 percent of the revenue from O & C federal timber sales. When SRS was not reauthorized in 2015, those counties received $18 million from those federal timber sales and an additional $19.9 million after SRS was reauthorized. Wyden and Merkley are continuing to work on reauthorizing the SRS program, which has brought almost $4 billion since 2000 to Oregon’s timber counties and schools all across the state. Last year’s SRS funds were paid to the counties in March 2016 and include payments from the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. In Oregon, 33 counties received a total of $95 million in Secure Rural Schools payments earlier this year.  Wyden co-authored the original SRS legislation in 2000 with then-Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-push-for-oregon-counties-to-receive-federal-timber-payments,"Wyden, Merkley Push for Oregon Counties to Receive Federal Timber Payments",2016-12-22,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Thursday, December 22, 2016 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged federal officials to make much-needed federal timber sales payments as quickly as possible to Oregon counties in need of funding for schools, roads and law enforcement. In letters to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the senators noted that congressional failure to reauthorize Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding puts a premium on ensuring the federal timber payments are sent in a timely fashion to Oregon counties. Counties no longer receiving an SRS payment as of Jan. 1 will instead receive payment under a federal act that provides them 25 percent of the federal timber sale revenue from national forestlands generated in each county, the senators wrote Vilsack. In 2015 when SRS was not reauthorized until after the 25-percent payments were made, the 25-percent payment was $50 million nationwide compared to about $300 million from SRS the previous year. “Without the certainty of SRS payments, schools, libraries and jails close, roads go unpaved and become unsafe, mental and physical health services are scaled back or even ended and fewer and fewer law enforcement officers patrol larger and larger areas,’’ Wyden and Merkley wrote. “We have talked to counties in Oregon experiencing these hardships, which will be made even worse if the remaining 25 percent payments are delayed.” In their letter to Jewell, the senators made a similar point urging that the 18 Oregon O & C counties receive their payments in a timely fashion under the 1937 O & C Lands Act and 1939 Coos Bay Wagon Road grant fund providing counties with 50 percent of the revenue from O & C federal timber sales. When SRS was not reauthorized in 2015, those counties received $18 million from those federal timber sales and an additional $19.9 million after SRS was reauthorized. Wyden and Merkley are continuing to work on reauthorizing the SRS program, which has brought almost $4 billion since 2000 to Oregon’s timber counties and schools all across the state. Last year’s SRS funds were paid to the counties in March 2016 and include payments from the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. In Oregon, 33 counties received a total of $95 million in Secure Rural Schools payments earlier this year.  Wyden co-authored the original SRS legislation in 2000 with then-Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://defazio.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-defazio-urges-president-elect-trump-to-endorse-drain-the-swamp-act,Rep. DeFazio Urges President-elect Trump to Endorse DRAIN the SWAMP Act,2016-12-21,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Peter DeFazio,D000191,defazio.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON—Rep. Peter DeFazio today sent a letter to President-elect Trump’s transition team urging the incoming president to endorse the DRAIN the SWAMP Act, legislation that would codify a ban on political appointees from lobbying for five years after they leave his administration. The DRAIN the SWAMP Act (Deter Revolving-Door Appointments in Our Nation; Stop Washington Appointees from becoming Manipulative Petitioners), H.R. 6476, would require a five-year ban, barring anyone who serves as a political appointee from lobbying for five years after they leave the Executive Branch. The bill would also permanently bar any individual appointed to the Trump Administration from lobbying on behalf of a foreign government. “The American people elected Mr. Trump with the expectation that he would bring a new way of doing business to Washington,’” Rep. DeFazio wrote in the letter. “His lobby ban is a good start, and I would like to assist in his efforts.  I am certain that if the president-elect endorsed my bill it would send a strong message to Congress that he takes the ethical standards of his administration seriously.  With the weight of his endorsement, the House and Senate could pass the bill and have it ready for his signature on his first day in office.” Although the President-Elect’s transition team announced an intended ban on appointees becoming lobbyists for five years after they leave the White House, there is no penalty for violating the provision unless it is codified by Congress. By law, current Administration appointees are barred from lobbying for two years after they leave the Executive Branch, with a penalty of up to one year in prison and/or a fine of $50,000. Under Rep. DeFazio’s bill, if either the five-year lobbying ban or lifetime ban on lobbying for foreign nations is violated, offenders face up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $50,000. Rep. DeFazio introduced the DRAIN the SWAMP Act at the end of the 114th Congress, and plans to reintroduce the legislation when Congress reconvenes in January. To read a copy of the letter, click here. To see Rep. DeFazio’s floor speech on the DRAIN the SWAMP Act, click here.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/merkley-and-the-hounds,Merkley and the hounds,2016-12-21,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley and the hounds Wednesday, December 21, 2016 By:  The Editorial Board Jeff Merkley made headlines last April when he became the first U.S. senator to endorse Bernie Sanders for president. As April turned to May, it became apparent that the Oregon Democrat would be the only senator in Sanders’ corner. Hillary Clinton’s victory at the Democratic National Convention, and poll-fed confidence that Clinton would be elected president in November, led to speculation that Merkley might become an exile in his own caucus. But in this year of confounded expectations, Merkley prepares to enter the 115th Congress in a stronger position than ever before. Merkley will become the chief deputy whip for the Democratic caucus in the Senate, succeeding retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer of California. As deputy whip Merkley will be a member of the minority leadership team, with newly chosen Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at its head. Merkley says that whips don’t really do much — it’s the opportunity to participate in the caucus leadership, which sets the agenda and plans strategy for the 48 Democratic senators, that really counts. But party whips can be important figures. The term was first used about 300 years ago in the British Parliament to describe the member responsible for keeping party members in line, from the “whippers-in” who keep the hounds focused on the quarry in a fox hunt. If Schumer needs an enforcer, he’ll call Merkley. Oregon hasn’t had a senator of either party in a caucus leadership position for a century or more, though a number of Merkley’s predecessors — including Sens. Bob Packwood and Mark Hatfield — held powerful committee chairmanships. On the House side, Rep. Greg Walden, who represents Oregon’s 2nd District, is a member of the Republican leadership team, currently serving as head of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Democrats will remain in the minority in both chambers of Congress, but a minority in the Senate can block legislation and some presidential nominations through the exercise of the filibuster. A filibuster depends on maintaining party discipline, and it’s Merkley who will be counting the votes and keeping the members in line. None of this would matter much to Merkley’s constituents or anyone else outside the Capitol if it weren’t for the fact that congressional minorities eventually become majorities. If that should occur, Merkley’s experience in Oregon provides some encouragement. In 2007, Merkley became the first Democratic speaker of the Oregon House in 16 years. He wielded his new powers in a decidedly non-partisan way, ensuring that Republicans were represented on committees and were allowed to introduce legislation. The result was a reduction in partisan rancor and recriminations of a kind that would be welcome at the national level. For now, Merkley sounds more like a whip than a peacemaker. He is preparing for broad resistance to a Trump administration’s agenda. He says that Donald Trump, by virtue of losing the popular vote, lacks a mandate for leadership. He says that Schumer will practice a brand of consultative retail politics — “he works the phone more extensively than anyone I’ve seen in political life” — that will offer a visible contrast to the style of his predecessor, Harry Reid. Merkley sounds set to keep the hounds on the fox’s trail. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/bipartisan-group-of-pacific-northwest-senators-announces-40-million-for-first-us-wave-energy-test-facility,Bipartisan Group of Pacific Northwest Senators Announces $40 Million for First U.S. Wave Energy Test Facility,2016-12-21,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Bipartisan Group of Pacific Northwest Senators Announces $40 Million for First U.S. Wave Energy Test Facility Wednesday, December 21, 2016 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Patty Murray, D-Wash., today announced funding will be awarded to build the United States’ first open-ocean, power grid-connected wave energy test facility at a site off the Oregon coast.  The U.S. Department of Energy will provide up to $40 million to build the wave energy test site about six nautical miles off the coast of Newport, Ore. A partnership made up of Oregon State University, the University of Washington, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and renewable energy innovators applied for the federal funding earlier this year. The senators, along with Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., urged the Energy Department to award the funding to the Newport site in an October letter.  ""This is great news for OSU and its partners and will launch a new level of local job creation and clean energy innovation,” Wyden said. “Oregon will use this opportunity to build on its solid position nationally and internationally as a leader in renewable wave energy."" “This is a huge success story for Oregon State University, and I thank the Department of Energy for helping us harness the enormous potential of wave energy off the Oregon coast,” Merkley said. “This test facility will make Oregon the leader in bringing wave energy to the United States, which will create good-paying local jobs, and strengthen our coastal economies.”  ""Given the important role that current and wave energy innovation can play in Alaska's energy future, it is great news that a consortium of universities, including the University of Alaska Fairbanks, has been awarded with this opportunity to test and develop marine hydrokinetic devices,” Murkowski said. “This should help advance renewable energy technologies that hold great promise for our coastal communities."" “This is an exciting step forward for the Pacific Northwest, which continues to be a leader in developing renewable energy sources,” Murray said. “This investment has the potential to create jobs and move our country away from the devastating effects of fossil fuels, while also ensuring minimal impacts to the environment and existing uses.” The funding award will allow the universities to build infrastructure, such as open-water test berths and undersea cables, which private companies would then use to test their wave and tidal current energy innovations. Companies seeking to test their designs at the site will not have to undergo separate permitting and installation processes – lowering the cost and speeding up the process for developing new wave energy technologies, while bringing business and jobs to the area. The Newport-based site will be the first open-water test facility for wave power connected directly to the power grid in the U.S. The clean, renewable energy found in waves and tidal currents holds the potential to deliver up to one-third of our nation’s electricity needs, according to the DOE. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/bipartisan-group-of-pacific-northwest-senators-announces-40-million-for-first-us-wave-energy-test-facility,Bipartisan Group of Pacific Northwest Senators Announces $40 Million for First U.S. Wave Energy Test Facility,2016-12-21,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wednesday, December 21, 2016 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Patty Murray, D-Wash., today announced funding will be awarded to build the United States’ first open-ocean, power grid-connected wave energy test facility at a site off the Oregon coast. The U.S. Department of Energy will provide up to $40 million to build the wave energy test site about six nautical miles off the coast of Newport, Ore. A partnership made up of Oregon State University, the University of Washington, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and renewable energy innovators applied for the federal funding earlier this year. The senators, along with Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., urged the Energy Department to award the funding to the Newport site in an October letter. ""This is great news for OSU and its partners and will launch a new level of local job creation and clean energy innovation,” Wyden said. “Oregon will use this opportunity to build on its solid position nationally and internationally as a leader in renewable wave energy."" “This is a huge success story for Oregon State University, and I thank the Department of Energy for helping us harness the enormous potential of wave energy off the Oregon coast,” Merkley said. “This test facility will make Oregon the leader in bringing wave energy to the United States, which will create good-paying local jobs, and strengthen our coastal economies.” ""Given the important role that current and wave energy innovation can play in Alaska's energy future, it is great news that a consortium of universities, including the University of Alaska Fairbanks, has been awarded with this opportunity to test and develop marine hydrokinetic devices,” Murkowski said. “This should help advance renewable energy technologies that hold great promise for our coastal communities."" “This is an exciting step forward for the Pacific Northwest, which continues to be a leader in developing renewable energy sources,” Murray said. “This investment has the potential to create jobs and move our country away from the devastating effects of fossil fuels, while also ensuring minimal impacts to the environment and existing uses.” The funding award will allow the universities to build infrastructure, such as open-water test berths and undersea cables, which private companies would then use to test their wave and tidal current energy innovations. Companies seeking to test their designs at the site will not have to undergo separate permitting and installation processes – lowering the cost and speeding up the process for developing new wave energy technologies, while bringing business and jobs to the area. The Newport-based site will be the first open-water test facility for wave power connected directly to the power grid in the U.S. The clean, renewable energy found in waves and tidal currents holds the potential to deliver up to one-third of our nation’s electricity needs, according to the DOE.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-praises-oregons-selection-in-demonstration-program-treating-mental-and-substance-use-disorders,Wyden Praises Oregon’s Selection in Demonstration Program Treating Mental and Substance Use Disorders,2016-12-21,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Clinics to benefit in Baker, Columbia, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Malheur, Multnomah, Wallowa, Wasco, Washington & Yamhill counties Wednesday, December 21, 2016 Washington – U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden praised today’s selection of Oregon for participation in a federal community health clinic demonstration program as a well-deserved boost to high-quality care for people in all parts of the state with mental and substance use disorders.  Oregon is one of eight states chosen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the two-year Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic demonstration program. “This program will help rural and urban Oregonians receive quality treatment that’s proven effective for mental health and substance use disorders,” said Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. “All of Oregon can look forward to seeing real gains from this comprehensive approach that blends behavioral health care with physical health care.” Oregon’s demonstration program has 14 certified clinics in Baker, Columbia, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Malheur, Multnomah, Wallowa, Wasco, Washington and Yamhill counties. Certified clinics will provide core services, use evidence-based practices and health information technology, report on quality measures, and coordinate care with primary care providers and hospitals in the community.  Integrated services include peer-delivered services, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, recovery supports, and treatment for co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. Participating Oregon clinics will be reimbursed at a fixed daily rate for all services provided to Oregon Health Plan beneficiaries. Populations to be served include adults with serious mental illness, children with serious emotional disturbance, and those with long-term and serious substance use disorders, as well as others with mental illness and substance use disorders. States have until July 1, 2017 to begin their two-year demonstration programs. Other states besides Oregon chosen for participation are Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. For more information, go to https://www.samhsa.gov/section-223",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/the-2016-progressive-honor-roll,The 2016 Progressive Honor Roll,2016-12-20,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"The 2016 Progressive Honor Roll Yes, it’s been an awful year. But the untold story is that grassroots activists have actually frequently prevailed. Tuesday, December 20, 2016 By:  John Nichols Yes, the election results were generally awful. But the untold story of 2016 is that grassroots activists, bold campaigners, and the movements they embraced frequently prevailed—and their successes showed progressives how to press forward even in the most frustrating and difficult of times. Our 2016 honor roll of the most valuable progressives is a chronicle of the fight that has already begun, and a road map for the resistance yet to come. Most Valuable Campaign Bernie Sanders “So, are you guys ready for a radical idea?” the Vermont senator asked as he kicked his 2016 presidential campaign into high gear. Sanders was speaking about creating “an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent.” But he could have been referring to the idea of a presidential bid by a seventysomething democratic socialist from a small state that began, as Sanders likes to point out, at just 3 percent in the polls. “We had no campaign organization and we had no money. And we were taking on the most powerful political organization in the United States of America,” the senator recalled. Yet his rallies would soon fill the largest halls in the country, and he would go on to win more than 13 million votes, 23 primary and caucus contests, and more than 1,800 delegates. That wasn’t enough to clinch the nomination, and Sanders is the first to admit that his campaign made strategic mistakes in its initial outreach to key Democratic constituencies and superdelegates. Yet he won overwhelming support from young people; he forged a coalition that energized Native Americans, Arab Americans, rural voters, and displaced and disappointed workers across the country; he opened up transformational debates about the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and about pipelines and climate change; and his supporters played a crucial role in writing the most progressive platform in the modern history of the Democratic Party. Most important: Sanders encouraged his backers to build an organization, Our Revolution, to extend the energy of his progressive populist campaign beyond 2016. Most Valuable Struggle Stand With Standing Rock By the time most Americans had heard about the Dakota Access Pipeline project, it was close to completion. But the Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota kept raising objections to the project’s plans to tunnel under the Missouri River, which would threaten not just sacred lands but access to safe drinking water for the Sioux and for millions of people living downriver. Tribes from across the country and indigenous peoples from around the world recognized the importance of the struggle to prevent completion of the oil pipeline as planned. They were joined by Bill McKibben, 350.org, and other climate-change activists in standing up to the fossil-fuel industry. Against daunting odds, this intersectional movement delayed the project and, in early December, the US Army Corps of Engineers refused to issue the permits needed to complete it. The feds will now consider “alternative routes.” Despite this major victory, the struggle is far from over, as Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline’s developer, has powerful allies in Congress and the incoming administration. Yet, as Naomi Klein says, the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline has shown “people everywhere that organizing and resistance are not futile.” Most Valuable Strategy A Day Without Latinos and Immigrants As Republican presidential candidates were outdoing one another giving voice to anti-immigrant bigotry last February, Wisconsin Republican legislators suddenly backed off a plan to penalize municipalities that respected the rights of immigrants in their interactions with police. The announcement that the scheme was “not a high priority for any of [the GOP] members” came just hours after the “Day Without Latinos and Immigrants” protest, which saw 20,000 restaurant, grocery-store, warehouse, and dairy-farm workers leave their jobs to surround the Capitol. “The mass general strike was an undeniable statement of the essential and positive contributions that immigrants make to our economy and our society,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of the activist group Voces de la Frontera. That statement was heard, loud and clear, by the state’s Republican legislators, who finished the session without taking up the bill. Most Valuable Senator Jeff Merkley Within hours of Donald Trump’s announcement that he would appoint Steve Bannon as his White House chief strategist, Merkley declared: “There should be no sugarcoating the truth here: Donald Trump just invited a white nationalist into the highest reaches of the government.” Others may have reacted with shock at Trump’s election, but the Democratic senator from Oregon was ready to fight. He ripped the Republican’s cabinet picks and promised scrutiny and opposition. Along with close allies Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders (whose presidential candidacy the Oregonian had backed), Merkley was in the forefront of successful efforts to block the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2016. Now he’s objecting to Trump’s empty sloganeering and cheap gimmickry when it comes to the serious work of renewing American manufacturing and investing in infrastructure. As a veteran legislator who served as speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives before defeating a Republican senator in 2008, Merkley has emerged as an essential opposition leader—someone who knows how the Senate works and pulls no punches when it comes to taking on racism, sexism, economic inequality, climate change, and Trumpism. Most Valuable Senator-Elect Kamala Harris California’s attorney general celebrated her landslide election as the state’s new US senator by visiting the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. Choking back tears as she recounted stories of children who asked after Trump’s election whether they would be deported, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica declared, “You’re not alone. We’ve got your back.” That’s not just rhetoric; it’s who Harris is. “I grew up with a stroller’s-eye view of the civil-rights movement,” says the next senator from America’s most populous state. “Often I joke that as a child, I was surrounded by adults marching and shouting for this thing called justice.” In the Senate, she’ll be the one raising her voice for social and economic justice, and she will be heard. Most Valuable US House Caucus Congressional Progressive Caucus The question of how Democrats in Congress plan to respond to Republican hegemony was answered immediately by the House of Representatives’ most progressive activist group. “With every new staff announcement and cabinet appointment, Donald Trump makes it clear that his government is going to look exactly like his campaign: racist, Islamophobic, and totally unfit,” declared Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairs Raúl Grijalva and Keith Ellison and first vice chair Mark Pocan in a statement after the president-elect tapped Senator Jeff Sessions as his nominee for US attorney general. “As Democrats, we will never bow to intolerance and we will meet these appointments head-on by standing firmly on the side of victims and doing everything in our power to protect them and our democracy.” The CPC is setting the right tone: Ellison and Pocan are leading the drive for a “Right to Vote” constitutional amendment that addresses voter suppression and the decay of the democratic process. And along with California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, they continue to challenge “a disproved consensus that favors recklessly militaristic approaches to handling current international conflicts and has yet to reckon with the grave consequences of its errors.” Most Valuable New Agenda-Setter Jamie Raskin When newly elected House Democrats gathered in Washington, they chose Raskin to serve as their representative on the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, the influential body that sets the party’s agenda. The move recognized Raskin’s remarkable background as a constitutional-law professor with a history of national leadership on voting-rights and civil-rights issues, and as a Maryland state senator who helped lead successful efforts to abolish the death penalty, establish marriage equality, restore voting rights to former prisoners, pass the Dream Act, lower carbon emissions, and hike the minimum wage. Raskin knows the work will be harder in the Republican-controlled Congress, but he says he’s determined to “guarantee that the House Democratic agenda reflects the diverse voices of hard-working Americans who need government to be on the side of the people.” Most Valuable Inside/Outside Strategist Pramila Jayapal When permits for the Dakota Access Pipeline were denied, Washington State Senator Pramila Jayapal tweeted: “YES! The people’s victory! Moral Resistance works!” Though her title as of January will be “US representative,” the Seattle Democrat is a heart-and-soul advocate who knows how to link struggles in the streets to struggles inside the corridors of power. And she’s good at it: As a veteran immigrant-rights and civil-liberties campaigner, Jayapal brings a wealth of grassroots experience to the House. Savvy Democrats will take her counsel as they seek to build a moral resistance to Trumpism. Most Valuable New State Official David Zuckerman While Democrats were struggling to figure out how to reconnect with rural Americans following 2016 election setbacks in most of the country, family farmer David Zuckerman was preparing to take office as Vermont’s second-highest-ranking state official. Elected as lieutenant governor with the support of Democrats and the state’s independent Progressive Party, Zuckerman campaigned on his record as a state legislator who led fights for sustainable development, GMO labeling, cannabis-law reform, and progressive tax policies that benefit working families in rural and urban areas. Elected on the same day that a Republican won Vermont’s governorship, Zuckerman ran 20,000 votes ahead of the top of the Democratic ticket—piling up votes in rural regions that don’t always back the party. Most Valuable New State Legislator Ilhan Omar Donald Trump made one of his last campaign stops in Minnesota, where he tried to win the state by stirring up fears of the large Somali-American community in the Twin Cities. Trump lost—and on the same day, Minneapolis voters elected Ilhan Omar to the state’s House of Representatives. Raising a clenched fist and pledging to struggle for unity and justice, the first Somali-American Muslim woman elected to public office in the United States declared: “It matters that I am a woman. It matters that I am a Somali-American woman. It matters that I am a Muslim and immigrant woman. It matters that our campaign won…by creating a multicultural coalition.” She is so very right. Most Valuable Mayor Dr. Karen Weaver A clinical psychologist who defeated the incumbent mayor of Flint, Michigan, in November 2015, after a campaign in which she vowed to address that city’s water crisis, Weaver declared a state of emergency upon taking office and began demanding accountability and aid. Complaining that “the people weren’t put first; the health of the people was not put before profit and money,” she urged visiting politicians—from President Obama to Hillary Clinton to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and Donald Trump—to recognize the damage done to urban centers by corporations and government agencies that have neglected basic duties owed to humanity. Seeking access to clean water and infrastructure investments to replace the corroded pipes that leached lead into the city’s tap water, this activist mayor declared: “We’ve got to get this fixed.” The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox. Top of Form Bottom of Form Most Valuable Activist Lori Wallach The media outlets that so badly bungled coverage of the 2016 campaign imagined that Donald Trump made the Trans-Pacific Partnership an issue. Wrong. Lori Wallach and the mass movements with which she has long been aligned made the TPP an issue well before Trump began to consider a presidential run. As the director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, Wallach has for decades exposed and challenged race-to-the-bottom trade policies, and she has worked with labor, farm, environmental, and human-rights groups—as well as congressional allies like Bernie Sanders—to establish a fair-trade ethic that respects workers and the planet. “Americans have become aware that our trade agreements have been hijacked by corporate interests that use the free-trade brand to Trojan-horse into place special protections,” the veteran of the 1999 “Battle in Seattle” against the World Trade Organization said during the 2016 campaign. That awareness wasn’t forged by a “billionaire populist”; it was forged by movement builders like Wallach. Most Valuable Activist Campaign #WeveSeenThisBefore The hashtag on the “Jews Reject Trump” signs was stark and haunting, and the Bend the Arc Jewish Action campaign made sure that it was seen outside Trump Tower, at the Republican National Convention, and at events across the country, where activists announced: “We have seen this kind of hate and political violence before. And we won’t let it happen again.” An offshoot of the movement’s broader work on social justice, Bend the Arc Jewish Action developed the “We’ve Seen This Before” campaign in 2015 to sound the alarm “about Donald Trump’s hateful anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-woman, and violent agenda.” The campaign did not end on Election Day: In November, Bend the Arc Jewish Action CEO Stosh Cotler and Muslim Public Affairs Council president Salam al-Marayati circulated a joint letter urging Trump to withdraw his appointment of Steve Bannon, because “Hate has no place in the White House.” Most Valuable Union National Nurses United ? Bold, loud, and fiercely committed to transformational change, National Nurses United has always campaigned for single-payer health care, adequate hospital staffing, and labor rights. But the union extended its reach in 2016, emerging as a key backer of the Sanders campaign and the People’s Summit that sought to build on its momentum, as well as a California initiative to control prescription-drug prices; the national “Robin Hood Tax” campaign to fund social needs; efforts to combat climate change in communities across the United States; and the movement to block the Dakota Access Pipeline. NNU actually seeks out causes to join, urging Americans to “Tell Us Where It Hurts” as part of its Nurses’ Campaign to Heal America. Most Valuable Commentator Van Jones CNN commentator Van Jones came into his own during the 2016 campaign. Unlike the pundits who responded to every unsettling development by resorting to shallow talking points, Jones was informed and insightful in his approach. The veteran environmental and human-rights campaigner, who once served as President Obama’s green-jobs adviser, argued that “a bipartisan political consensus” forged by elites in both parties had sold out working Americans. Yet Jones was never willing to settle for simplistic explanations regarding the response to that sellout. Jones recognized the “rebellion against the elites” that defined much of the 2016 campaign, but he demanded that others recognize the racial component in what he described as the “whitelash against a changing country.” With equal measures of intellect and humanity, Jones wrestled ably and honestly with what he referred to as “the messy truth” of American politics in the 2016 election. Most Valuable Free-Press Campaigner Amy Goodman Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman played a pivotal role in drawing attention to the Dakota Access Pipeline resistance—so much so that, after she chronicled the brutal treatment of activists, she found herself charged by local authorities with participating in a “riot.” Goodman wasn’t the only journalist targeted by North Dakota prosecutors, but she was particularly outspoken and effective when it came to pushing back. The award-winning broadcaster returned to North Dakota to challenge the charge; after she prevailed in court, Goodman used the attention she was accorded to declare: “I wasn’t trespassing, I wasn’t engaging in a riot—I was doing my job as a journalist by covering a violent attack on Native American protesters.” Most Valuable Radio Show Letters & Politics With Mitch Jeserich Veteran broadcaster Mitch Jeserich started a radio program called Letters From Washington to chronicle the first 100 days of the Obama administration. That program evolved into Letters & Politics, which airs daily on Berkeley’s pioneering Pacifica station KPFA. Erudite and adventurous, Jeserich can jump from a discussion about how civilization has changed over a thousand years with historian Ian Mortimer, to an examination of Islamophobia with international human-rights campaigner Arsalan Iftikhar, to a review of Trump’s conflicted cabinet picks with Pratap Chatterjee, the executive director of CorpWatch. This is talk radio that makes you smarter. Most Valuable National Electoral Reform National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Despite assaults on voting rights and the very infrastructure of democracy, Hillary Clinton beat Trump by roughly 3 million votes. But Trump narrowly prevailed in enough swing states to claim an Electoral College win—the second time in less than 20 years that a Democrat has lost to a Republican with fewer votes. California Senator Barbara Boxer is right: The Electoral College should be abolished. But the constitutional amendment Boxer proposes will be a hard sell in a GOP-controlled Congress. Luckily, there’s another way to let the people choose their president: The bipartisan National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, proposed by the National Popular Vote campaign, would require states to “allocate their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the most popular votes in all fifty states and DC.” The compact goes into effect after states with 270 electoral votes have signed on. So far, 10 states (and the District of Columbia) are in, and the movement is growing. Most Valuable State Electoral Reform Ranked-Choice Voting On November 8, Maine voters approved a ranked-choice (or instant-runoff) system to elect US senators, US representatives, the governor, and state legislators. Under the new plan, voters will rank candidates in order of preference, with the votes of losing candidates being reassigned to more viable preferences until a clear winner emerges—no spoilers, no wasted votes. State Representative Diane Russell says this system “allows [Mainers] to vote their hopes.” That freedom and flexibility will advance the promise of democracy, and the group FairVote is working to get other states to embrace that promise. Most Valuable Rappers and Rockers Prophets of Rage Formed by members of Rage Against the Machine (Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk), Public Enemy (Chuck D and DJ Lord), and Cypress Hill (B-Real), this rap-rock supergroup has been described by Morello as “an elite task force of revolutionary musicians determined to confront this mountain of election-year bullshit, and confront it head-on with Marshall stacks blazing.” They did just that in 2016, touring the country to rally opposition to corporate power and political reaction. Outside the Republican National Convention, the group performed a raucous set at an “End Poverty Now” rally and then marched the crowd through downtown Cleveland to a protest in the city’s Public Square. Thundering against Trumpism, the Prophets promise to “Make America Rage Again.” Most Valuable Music Magazine Under the Radar The magazine that dubs itself “the solution to music pollution” has in recent election years also been the solution to political pollution. Instead of interviewing politicians, Under the Radar publishes a fall “Protest Issue” in which prominent musicians are photographed “holding protest signs of their own making.” The point is to highlight issues and ideas that might be neglected during the quadrennial cacophony of presidential politicking. The fall 2016 issue rocked, with Amanda Palmer’s cover-shot poster explaining that “Radical Empathy Is the Only Way to Gender Equality.” Inside, Thurston Moore’s sign demanded “Free Chelsea Manning,” while Kristin Kontrol’s declared “Black Lives Matter” and Billy Bragg’s proclaimed “Death to Cynicism.” “My job is to take people who want to change the world and punch through their cynicism,” Bragg told the magazine. That’s precisely what Under the Radar’s protest issue did. Most Valuable Movie Snowden Oliver Stone’s Snowden isn’t the first great film about the NSA whistle-blower; that would be Laura Poitras’s Oscar-winning documentary Citizenfour, the making of which Stone depicts in the film. But Snowden was a gripping return to form for the director, who, The New York Times noted, used the project to “circle back to the grand questions of power, war and secrecy that have propelled his most ambitious work.” It was also a call to action: Linking art and activism, Stone used his promotional appearances for the film to urge President Obama to pardon Snowden. And as the film hit the theaters, the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and dozens of other groups stepped up their own campaigning on the issue, with ACLU executive director Anthony Romero explaining: “Cases like Edward Snowden’s are precisely the reason the president’s constitutional pardon power exists.” John Nichols is The Nation’s national-affairs correspondent. He is the co-author, with Robert W. McChesney, of People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy, published in March 2016 by Nation Books. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-applauds-offshore-oil-and-gas-drilling-ban-in-atlantic-and-arctic,Merkley Applauds Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling Ban in Atlantic and Arctic,2016-12-20,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Applauds Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling Ban in Atlantic and Arctic Obama Implements Sections of Merkley's Keep It in the Ground Act Tuesday, December 20, 2016 Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, the lead sponsor of both the Keep It in the Ground Act and the Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act, released the following statement after President Obama announced a permanent ban on offshore drilling in citizen-owned waters of the Arctic and Atlantic, including 3.8 million acres in the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast and 115 million acres in the U.S. Arctic Ocean: “Drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic poses a grave threat to our environment. The cold and remote Arctic ecosystems are extremely fragile. Drilling there is the height of irresponsibility and drilling in the Atlantic poses a huge risk of damage to important fisheries, estuaries, beaches and coastal businesses. “To prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change, it is imperative that we continue the momentum to Keep It in the Ground. Today’s announcement sends a powerful message to an incoming Administration bent on outsourcing its energy policy to the oil and gas industry: our public lands and waters should and must be managed for the public good, not for private profit.” Under section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, President Obama has authority to withdraw U.S. waters from future oil and gas leasing; future Presidents do not have the authority to undo the withdrawal. Senator Merkley has been a leading voice in the movement to combat drilling on our public lands and waters, continuously calling for the Arctic to be put off-limits to offshore drilling. Last year, Senator Merkley introduced the Keep It in the Ground Act to end all new leases for coal, oil, gas and tar sands extraction on federal public lands and waters. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/oregon-sen-jeff-merkley-appointed-to-senate-democratic-leadership-going-into-2017,Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley appointed to Senate Democratic leadership going into 2017,2016-12-19,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley appointed to Senate Democratic leadership going into 2017 Monday, December 19, 2016 By:  Hillary Borrud Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley will have a more powerful role in Congress next year, as chief deputy whip for the Senate Democratic caucus. Party whips and their deputies work to line up votes. Although Democrats will be in the minority in 2017, they still have the ability to push back against Republican priorities, for example by filibustering legislation or some of President-elect Donald Trump's nominees. Merkley was also appointed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His office announced the appointments in a press release on Monday. Merkley has focused on issues dear to the left wing of the Democratic Party, and on Monday he highlighted his relationships with ""grassroots progressive groups.""   ""I am honored to join the leadership team and help carry the fight for good living wage jobs, a secure retirement, and opportunity for all Americans,"" Merkley said in a statement, listing issues Senate Democrats might hope will appeal to more voters going forward. Merkley's staff pointed out in the press release that as minority leader in the Oregon House in 2006, he ""engineered a Democratic takeover"" and became the state's first Democratic House speaker in 16 years. Merkley was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008, when he unseated Republican incumbent Gordon Smith. He won re-election in 2014, against Republican Monica Wehby.  Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-tapped-for-leadership-post-will-join-senate-foreign-relations-committee,"Merkley Tapped for Leadership Post, Will Join Senate Foreign Relations Committee",2016-12-19,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Tapped for Leadership Post, Will Join Senate Foreign Relations Committee Monday, December 19, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced today that he has been appointed Chief Deputy Whip of the Senate Democratic Caucus and will also join the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 115th Congress beginning in January. As a member of the newly constituted Democratic leadership team, Merkley will bring strong relationships with grassroots progressive groups and a reputation for digging deep on policy. He also brings experience winning back a majority -- as minority leader in Oregon's House of Representatives, Merkley engineered a Democratic takeover in 2006, becoming Oregon's first Democratic Speaker of the House in 16 years. Merkley will also serve on the prestigious Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which plays a critical role in the development of the United States’ foreign policy and has jurisdiction over diplomatic nominations including the Secretary of State. “I am honored to join the leadership team and help carry the fight for good living wage jobs, a secure retirement, and opportunity for all Americans,” said Merkley.  “Now, more than ever, billionaires and special interests are looking to stack the deck in their favor at the expense of the rest of us.  We have big battles in front of us, and I’m ready to fight for our vision of a ‘We the People’ nation.  “I’m also looking forward to serving on the Foreign Relations Committee at a time of substantial international upheaval and national security concerns,” Merkley continued.  “Some of the biggest challenges we face as Americans are international, like climate change, violent extremism, and globalization, and require global cooperation. We can’t give all Americans the opportunities they deserve without a strong, thoughtful foreign policy.” In joining the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Merkley is returning to his foreign policy roots.  Earlier in his career he worked in the Pentagon and then as an analyst of strategic nuclear arms programs for Congress.  Later he ran the World Affairs Council in Oregon. Merkley has a master’s degree in international economic development from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and has studied and worked abroad in a number of countries including Ghana, Mexico, and India. Merkley will continue to sit on the Senate’s Appropriations, Budget, and Environment and Public Works Committees.  While he will no longer serve on the Senate Banking Committee, Merkley will continue to be an outspoken voice for consumer protections and Wall Street reform. “Too many Americans lost everything due to the unrestrained greed of Wall Street,” said Merkley. “Together, we have worked to close the Wall Street casino, to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and to eliminate predatory mortgages and other tricks and traps designed to exploit consumers.  I remain committed to fighting to prevent Wall Street from taking advantage of American families and small businesses.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/video/merkley-russian-hacking-is-an-attack-on-democracy,Merkley: Russian Hacking is an Attack on Democracy,2016-12-17,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley joins MSNBC’s All in With Chris Hayes to discuss Russian interference in the 2016 election and the need for a full, bipartisan and independent investigation into Russia’s hacking.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/merkley-wyden-hold-town-hall-at-south-medford-high-school,"Merkley, Wyden hold town hall at South Medford High School",2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley, Wyden hold town hall at South Medford High School Friday, December 16, 2016 By:  Ryan Pfeil A few years ago, following the end of a federal government shutdown, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told reporters his next move: go dialogue with high school students about important issues in a town hall setting. ""We were told that we could have a week or so at home,"" Wyden said Friday. ""I came off the Senate floor, and some press folks said, 'What are you going to do?' And I said, 'I have been watching adults bicker and quarrel and behave badly for weeks now. I'm going to go home to Oregon. I'm going to go to the high schools and talk to adults who set a higher standard, who are really interested in solutions, and not bickering."" This decision was the start of a program called Listening to Oregon's Future, a supplement to regular town hall meetings Wyden and colleague Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) hold across the state. They've held dozens of the student sessions so far. On Friday, they took the program to South Medford High School, where students asked prepared questions on a variety of topics. ""I thought it was awesome. I've never been able to see a politician speak live before,"" said South junior Coi Holloway, president of the school's speech and debate team. ""I thought they answered the questions pretty well."" Many of those questions concerned current events on the national stage, including the Dakota Access Pipeline, legislative support for career technical education training, and the Affordable Care Act. Both senators applauded the students' efforts. ""The questions were clear, they were substantive,"" Merkley said. Here are a sampling of issues students brought before Merkley and Wyden: Repeal of the Affordable Care Act Wyden believes there will be an effort to repeal the ACA ""without offering a replacement."" ""Of course, Americans were told the two were intertwined,"" Wyden said. ""We heard there was going to be repeal and replace, and it's starting to feel a little more like repeal and run."" Such an effort, he added, has the potential to result in skyrocketing premiums within the ACA exchanges and outside them. ""I think what we have to ask for, if you're going to get rid of the health care plan, you've got to put your replacement up front,"" Merkley said. ""Let's have the debate over what works and what doesn't."" Obama's response to Standing Rock Earlier this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halted the Dakota Access Pipeline's final leg of construction beneath a reservoir on the Missouri River to address concerns by Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes the pipeline would contaminate their drinking water. The Army Corps has asked for a study of the current crossing and for a consideration of alternate routes. Hundreds of protesters camped out near the site for months to halt the project, sometimes encountering violent actions from police. ""I did lobby the (Obama) administration to take a stand on this,"" Merkley said. ""They took quite a while to get to that point, but they did get there, they made the decision, they made the right decision, and I hope the decision sticks."" How the senators will represent conservative parts of Oregon ""A lot of our counties are conservative,"" Merkley said. ""In fact, more than two-thirds of them are fully in the red zone."" Both Democratic senators said they try to do town hall-style meetings in every part of the state. Merkley said it's a good resource for learning about new issues they can assist with. In the past, those issues have included keeping dozens of rural post offices open and granting farmers the ability to transport their crops across the border to Washington state without having to use interstate commercial trucks. ""There are a lot of opportunities for us to knit the state together,"" Wyden said, using installation of broadband and utilization of telemedicine, or patients receiving diagnosis via video and telecommunications, as examples. Career technical education legislation Merkley said more hands-on career technical education courses such as wood and metal shop can help open doors to a variety of career paths. ""The joy of learning to make things with your hands and see tools as a pathway to a career is something greatly needed in our economy,"" Merkley said. Wyden, a ranking member of U.S. Senate Finance Committee, said the committee will be working toward new ways to promote CTE training courses. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/senate-democrats-seek-complaints-about-mnuchin-the-so-called-foreclosure-king,"Senate Democrats seek complaints about Mnuchin, the so-called ‘foreclosure king’",2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Senate Democrats seek complaints about Mnuchin, the so-called ‘foreclosure king’ Warren, Sanders focus attacks on Trump’s pick for Treasury Friday, December 16, 2016 By:  Robert Schroeder Senate Democrats are asking members of the public for complaints about Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Treasury, in a move that reveals how much they plan to focus on his involvement with a failed subprime mortgage lender. Democrats set up a web site on Friday regarding Steven Mnuchin and California-headquartered OneWest Bank, formerly known as IndyMac. Mnuchin and other investors bought IndyMac in 2009. CIT Group Inc. CIT, +2.05%   bought it in 2015. Mnuchin’s involvement with OneWest has already come under fire. Even before Trump formally tapped Mnuchin for the Treasury job, the California Reinvestment Coalition, an advocacy group, was blasting his expected selection and said the bank has foreclosed on more than 36,000 families in California alone. The group said it expected families “who lost their homes at the hands of OneWest” will want to share their experiences with lawmakers. Now Democrats are asking for just that. The site asks Americans “to share their personal stories of being impacted by the ‘Foreclosure King’ Steve Mnuchin.” It was announced by Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Mnuchin has defended the IndyMac deal, as has Trump himself. Trump nominated Mnuchin on Nov. 30, and his selection won praise from Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican who heads the Senate Finance Committee. The panel will hold a confirmation for Mnuchin, whose nomination would also need to be approved by the full Senate. Next year, Republicans will control the Senate with 52 seats to Democrats’ 48. Mnuchin’s confirmation is assured if all Republicans vote yes. Confirmation requires a simple majority. But the former Goldman Sachs GS, +1.87%   banker and film producer can expect blistering criticism from the minority party. “This man has engaged in the worst kinds of practices on Wall Street and directly hurt thousands of working families,” said Warren. “And now, Donald Trump wants to literally hand him the keys to the Treasury where he can make big banks even richer at the expense of America’s families.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/senate-dems-were-you-hurt-by-foreclosure-king-steve-mnuchin,Senate Dems: Were You Hurt By 'Foreclosure King' Steve Mnuchin?,2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Senate Dems: Were You Hurt By 'Foreclosure King' Steve Mnuchin? Friday, December 16, 2016 By:  Lauren Fox Senate Democrats are dubbing President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin the ""Foreclosure King"" on a new website they've set up to solicit public complaints from people allegedly hurt by Mnuchin's past work in financial services. Mnuchin– the former chief executive officer and chairman of OneWest Bank– was accused of aggressively foreclosing on homes during the financial crisis. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jeff Merkely (D-OR) are leading the charge. “After years peddling the kind of dangerous‎ mortgage-backed securities that eventually blew up the economy, Mnuchin swooped in after the crash to take a second bite out of families by aggressively--and sometimes illegally--foreclosing on their homes,” Warren said in a statement about the website. “This man has engaged in the worst kinds of practices on Wall Street and directly hurt thousands of working families – and now, Donald Trump wants to literally hand him the keys to the Treasury where he can make big banks even richer at the expense of America's families.” Democrats are hoping to collect even more stories about Mnuchin. Already, Democrats are reminding voters of the story of one elderly woman who was forced out of her home after a 27-cent payment error. The strategy is part of Democrats plan to play hardball with Trump's cabinet nominees. After a change in the Senate rules in 2013, Republicans will only need 51 votes to confirm Trump's nominees. That's likely to be an easy lift for the GOP, but Democrats aren't going to make the process comfortable. Democrats have already said they plan to make Trump's pick for HHS Secretary Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) answer tough questions on his past plans to privatize Medicare. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/led-by-merkley-warren-and-sanders-senate-democrats-roll-out-new-website-inviting-personal-stories-from-americans-hurt-by-foreclosure-king-steve-mnuchin,"Led by Merkley, Warren and Sanders, Senate Democrats Roll Out New Website Inviting Personal Stories from Americans Hurt by Foreclosure King Steve Mnuchin",2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Led by Merkley, Warren and Sanders, Senate Democrats Roll Out New Website Inviting Personal Stories from Americans Hurt by Foreclosure King Steve Mnuchin Friday, December 16, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that Senate Democrats have launched a new website inviting Americans to share their personal stories of being impacted by the foreclosure practices of Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee, foreclosure king Steve Mnuchin. “Donald Trump’s choice of Mnuchin is not only a fundamental betrayal of his promise to stand up to Wall Street—it is a punch in the gut to the thousands of American families who were thrown out of their homes by Mnuchin's bank,” said Merkley. “The voices of these Americans should be heard loud and clear as the Senate examines his record and considers his nomination.” “After years peddling the kind of dangerous‎ mortgage-backed securities that eventually blew up the economy, Mnuchin swooped in after the crash to take a second bite out of families by aggressively--and sometimes illegally--foreclosing on their homes,” said Warren. “This man has engaged in the worst kinds of practices on Wall Street and directly hurt thousands of working families – and now, Donald Trump wants to literally hand him the keys to the Treasury where he can make big banks even richer at the expense of America's families.” “During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump told the American people that he was going to change Washington by taking on Wall Street.  But now that the election is over, Donald Trump’s choice for Treasury Secretary is the same old, same old Wall Street insider who made a fortune during the financial crisis as millions lost their homes,” said Sanders.  “If confirmed, Steve Mnuchin would be the third Treasury Secretary to come from Goldman Sachs in the last 17 years.  That is not the type of change that Donald Trump promised to bring to Washington – that is hypocrisy at its worst.  The last thing we need is another Treasury Secretary from Goldman Sachs and another broken promise from Donald Trump.” As the CEO and owner of OneWest Bank, Mnuchin oversaw an operation that was called a “foreclosure machine,” repossessing the homes of tens of thousands of American families between 2009 and 2015 and intensifying the economic pain of the Great Recession. Despite the fact that there were programs available specifically to help banks like OneWest work with families to modify their mortgages and keep them in their homes, OneWest instead pursued an aggressive strategy of foreclosing on families to rack up profits. OneWest executed 39% of all foreclosures on federally-insured reverse mortgages from April 2009 through April 2016, despite servicing approximately 17% of the market. OneWest used illegal tactics like “robo-signing”—falsifying key documents—to create a wave of foreclosures that kicked more than 36,000 families out of their homes. In one case in Florida, OneWest foreclosed on a 90-year-old woman over a 27-cent payment error. In another case in Minnesota, a homeowner in a foreclosure dispute with OneWest came home in the middle of a blizzard to find that the locks on her house had been changed. View the new website here: https://democrats.senate.gov/foreclosureking. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-calls-for-immediate-declassification-and-public-release-of-intelligence-related-to-russian-interference-in-us-election,Wyden Calls for Immediate Declassification and Public Release of Intelligence Related to Russian Interference in U.S. Election,2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Friday, December 16, 2016 Washington, D.C. – In response to statements by the executive branch that it may be weeks before new information is released to the public about Russian interference in the U.S. election, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the American people cannot wait that long to get the facts. “This is a national crisis that must be fully explained to the American people right now,” Wyden said.  “When a foreign nation interferes in our election, delays and closed-door investigations are not good enough. We cannot continue to sweep this under the rug or to wait until just before inauguration day before leveling with the public.”  The Intelligence Community last declassified information about the Russian Government and the U.S. election on October 7, 2016.  On November 30, 2016, Senator Wyden and other members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence urged the President to declassify and release to the public specific information concerning the Russian Government and the U.S. election. “American democracy, and its independence from foreign interference, is at stake,” Wyden said.  “History will not forgive those who kept the facts from the American people.”  Immediate declassification and public release is necessary for the following reasons: Given intense and ongoing public interest in Russian Government interference in the U.S. election, it is critical that the public discussion be informed by facts and the best analysis of the Intelligence Community and the FBI.  The longer reliable information is withheld from the American people, the more opportunity there is for misinformation to be disseminated without correction. Transparency demonstrates to our friends and allies, as well as to our adversaries, how a democracy deals with a threat like this and sends a message of strength and resilience. Declassification and public release will allow for open congressional hearings in the weeks ahead.  These hearings will allow for a full airing of the threat and its implications. Transparency about the threat from Russia is required if the public and its representatives in Congress are to assess the incoming administration, its policies and personnel, and consider the nominations of its top officials. Transparency about the threat posed by Russia is necessary if there is to be public support for a response.  Even if that response is secret, policymakers need to know that it is consistent with and proportional to the public’s understanding of the threat. Declassification facilitates U.S. cooperation with allies who are rightly concerned about similar attacks on their democratic institutions. Transparency allows Americans – from political officials to everyday citizens – to protect themselves from these kinds of cyber intrusions. The country cannot accept a one-time only public release just before inauguration day.  Given the president-elect’s dismissal of the Intelligence Community’s assessments, and his transition team’s attempts to discredit the IC, there is a real concern that the incoming administration will either withhold information from the public or release information that differs from IC assessments.  These statements also raise concerns about the politicization of IC assessments and political pressure or retribution against analysts.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/senate-dems-seek-divestment-blind-trust-for-trumps-assets,Senate Dems seek divestment blind trust for Trump's assets,2016-12-15,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Senate Dems seek divestment blind trust for Trump's assets Thursday, December 15, 2016 By:  ELANA SCHOR Five Democratic senators on Thursday unveiled a bill they plan to release next month that would require Donald Trump to divest assets that risk a conflict of interest and place the proceeds in a blind trust as well as require his appointees to step aside from official decisions that could benefit him. The legislation previewed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) also would symbolically deem any Trump violation of federal conflict-of-interest rules ""a high crime or misdemeanor under the impeachment clause of the U.S. Constitution,"" according to a summary released by its sponsors. Although its chances of advancing in the GOP-controlled Congress are close to zero, the bill represents the latest step by Democrats to escalate their ethics war with the president-elect. More than 20 Senate Democrats on Tuesday released a letter urging Trump to heed the counsel of the nonpartisan Office of Government Ethics, which has warned the president-elect that his plans to transfer control of his vast holdings to his sons would not be enough to eliminate conflicts of interest. Senate Democrats also have called on top Trump nominees to release their tax returns as part of the vetting process before their confirmation votes. The five Democrats' planned bill could become a vehicle for the minority to put political pressure on Republicans by forcing Trump's party to support his still-incomplete plan for separating his official duties in the White House from his sprawling business. ""The American people deserve to know that the president of the United States is working to do what's best for the country — not using his office to do what's best for himself and his businesses,"" Warren said in a statement on the measure. The proposal's reference to impeachment could divide Democrats, however, with some moderates interested in exploring ways to work with Trump when possible. House Democrats expanded their own ethics case against Trump on Wednesday at a mock hearing that — like Thursday's bill — cites the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bars officials from receiving payments from foreign governments or businesses they control. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-wyden-announce-over-30-million-to-improve-access-to-federal-lands-in-the-gorge,"Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $30 Million to Improve Access to Federal Lands in the Gorge",2016-12-15,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $30 Million to Improve Access to Federal Lands in the Gorge Funding includes major investment in completion of Historic Columbia River Highway Trail Thursday, December 15, 2016 Washington, DC - Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the Federal Lands Access Program awarded the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) over $30 million to improve access to federal lands in the Gorge. This funding included $29 million to complete a new portion of the Historic Columbia River Highway Trail and connect it at Mitchell Point Crossing, $2.6 million for the Columbia Gorge Express to improve access to Multnomah Falls, and $300,000 for the Historic Columbia River Highway Congestion Mitigation Plan. “It’s no secret that one of Oregon’s greatest assets is our unique natural beauty and emphasis on quality of life,” said Merkley. “This funding helps ensure that more and more Oregonians and visitors can continue to enjoy our state’s natural beauty. I’m thrilled that we are one step closer towards interconnectedness in our beautiful Gorge region and will keep working to improve our recreational infrastructure to boost our job-creating recreation industry and quality of life.” “A lot of great ideas began in Oregon and the Historic Columbia River Highway, America’s first scenic highway, is one of them,” Wyden said. “The Historic Columbia River Highway connects visitors and locals alike to some of the world’s most beautiful sights – found right here in the Gorge. These resources will help preserve this Oregon treasure, which supports outdoor recreation opportunities, local jobs and rural economies along the way.” One hundred years after the Columbia River Highway was dedicated in 1916, the Federal Lands Access Program granted $29 million to continue reconnecting the abandoned or disconnected sections of the Historic Columbia River Highway for bicyclists and pedestrians to enjoy. Thanks to these grants, ODOT will design and build a safe crossing through the formidable cliffs at Mitchell Point, just west of the City of Hood River. The funding also helps complete the design, engineering and construction of the remainder of the trail between Viento State Park and the City of Hood River. In this work, ODOT will partner with agencies such as Oregon Parks and Recreation, the U.S. Forest Service, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and the Western Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration. By working towards a complete reconnection of the 73-mile long Historic Columbia River Highway, this project brings the area one step closer to actualizing the vision outlined in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act. Today’s grants also include significant funding to expand the Columbia Gorge Express—the new and already highly successful transit service to Multnomah Falls, Oregon’s most visited natural site. As the Historic Highway celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2016, the area saw increased tourism and increased traffic congestion. While the Historic Highway is a quick 30-minute drive from downtown Portland, the increased traffic congestion has compromised safety and degraded the natural and cultural resources, including spectacular scenery and waterfall views, that make the area unique. Following growing concerns about congestion, ODOT initiated a transit project called the Columbia Gorge express to improve access to Multnomah Falls just in time for the summer crowds. During summer 2016, the Columbia Gorge Express surpassed expectations by providing 30,000 trips to and from Multnomah Falls—highlighting the significant demand for transit service in the area. Thanks to today’s grants from the Federal Lands Access Program, the Columbia Gorge Express will expand to serve Gateway Transit Center, Rooster Rock State Park and Multnomah Falls with larger buses and bus stop amenities. In 2018, the Columbia River Express will run daily and add a stop in Hood River and additional destinations. Additionally, the Federal Lands Access Program awarded ODOT $300,000 to work with stakeholders to develop additional strategies to address growing congestion within the area as part of the Historic Columbia River Highway Congestion Mitigation Plan. This funding will combine with Multnomah County’s recent award of $75,000 through ODOT’s Transportation Growth Management program. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-statement-on-president-elects-nominee-for-interior-secretary,Wyden Statement on President-elect’s Nominee for Interior Secretary,2016-12-15,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Thursday, December 15, 2016 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior: “The Secretary of the Interior is charged with protecting and properly managing our public lands, which belong to every American. I am encouraged by indications that Rep. Ryan Zinke recognizes the importance of keeping our public lands in public ownership, as well as his apparent support of making the Land and Water Conservation Fund permanent. “I will be asking him about how he will ensure our public lands can continue to be a source of local job creation through outdoor recreation opportunities and clean, sustainable development of renewable energy sources. Any energy resources produced on federal lands must deliver a fair return to American taxpayers, and clearly just turning public lands over to fossil fuel industries is a nonstarter. “The Interior secretary also plays a role in responsibly managing forests in Oregon, which includes prioritizing wildfire prevention work, while safeguarding clean air and clean water and preserving habitats to allow all species to thrive. As a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I will also be asking Rep. Zinke about how he plans to improve sustainable management of Oregon's forests and how he plans to put into action his support for ending fire borrowing.” Wyden is the former chair of and a senior Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where the Interior Secretary nomination hearing will be held.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/media-center/photos/good-morning-oregon-november-december-2016,Good Morning Oregon November December 2016,2016-12-14,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Skip to primary navigation Skip to content About Meet Jeff Issues Oregon Stories News Press Releases In the News Video & Audio Photos Helping You Help with Federal Agencies For Veterans For Students Flag Requests Visit Washington DC Connect Email Jeff Get Jeff's Updates Join Jeff for Coffee Town Halls Follow Jeff Office Locations Good Morning Oregon November December 2016 Print Email Tweet About News Helping You Connect Office Locations",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/democratic-senators-press-trumps-education-pick-betsy-devos-to-pay-years-old-53-million-fine,Democratic senators press Trump’s education pick Betsy DeVos to pay years-old $5.3 million fine,2016-12-14,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Democratic senators press Trump’s education pick Betsy DeVos to pay years-old $5.3 million fine Wednesday, December 14, 2016 By:  Danielle Douglas-Gabriel A group of Senate Democrats is urging President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, to pay $5.3 million in fines imposed on her political action committee for campaign finance violations in Ohio eight years ago.  “As secretary of education, Betsy DeVos would be responsible for overseeing the nation’s student loan program, including ensuring that students repay their loans, so it’s troubling that she has blatantly ignored her own PAC’s debt to the people of Ohio,” said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.). “When a student borrower defaults, it has serious ramifications that haunt that student for years — yet when DeVos’s PAC defaulted on its fine for violating the law, they just walked away.” Udall, along with Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), sent DeVos a letter this week requesting she pay the millions of dollars in fines and late fees ahead of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Ed Patru, a spokesman for DeVos, said she was never a party to the lawsuit at the center of the fine. Furthermore, he said a trial court judge ruled that none of the officers or board members at All Children Matter could be held liable for the fine. “This suit was a politically driven effort to derail education reform in Ohio,” Patru said in a statement. “Anyone looking at today’s developments understands it’s a transparently political maneuver that doesn’t in any way change the underlying facts of this case.” The debt stems from a 2008 case the Ohio Elections Commission brought against All Children Matter, an organization DeVos headed that lobbied for school-choice legislation. Two years earlier, the PAC asked the commission whether it was allowed to contribute more than the $10,000 limit to an affiliate in Ohio. Even though the commission advised that such a move would be in violation of state law, All Children Matter proceeded to provide $870,000 to the Ohio outfit. The “blatant disregard for the law,” as Democratic lawmakers call it, led the state election commission to impose $2.6 million in fines, its largest penalty to date. The PAC fought the decision, but an Ohio court upheld the fine and imposed additional late fees. All Children Matter’s PAC, however, ceased operations and walked away from the debt. “That’s not acceptable behavior from anyone, much less a Cabinet secretary for a President-elect who promised to ‘drain the swamp’ of insiders who game the system for special treatment,” Udall said. “I hope Ms. DeVos will have the good judgment to ensure her own PAC’s fine is paid.” All Children Matter still exists, even though the PAC closed up shop. Yet according to 2015 tax filings, it has less than $300, not nearly enough to cover the millions of dollars owed. DeVos’s supporters argue that the contribution at the center of the commission lawsuit is no longer illegal in a post-Citizens United world, making the case irrelevant. Yet the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling allowing corporations to spend unlimited money on advocacy for or against candidates had no bearing on a lawsuit that predates the decision by two years. “The United States Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case renders this case against a now defunct PAC moot,” said Matt Frendewey of the American Federation for Children, a school-choice advocacy group DeVos once chaired. “Choosing to ignore these facts demonstrates this is nothing more than an attempt to impugn Ms. DeVos’ reputation as a nationally recognized education reformer.” The nomination of DeVos, a conservative who has pushed to expand taxpayer-funded vouchers for private and religious schools, has rankled liberal lawmakers and teachers unions. The nominee has no experience as an educator or education leader, but has spent millions of dollars lobbying for school choice proposals. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/lawmakers-welcome-va-clearing-red-tape-for-advanced-rns,Lawmakers welcome VA clearing red tape for advanced RNs,2016-12-14,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Lawmakers welcome VA clearing red tape for advanced RNs Wednesday, December 14, 2016 WASHINGTON - Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) welcomed news Wednesday that the Department of Veterans Affairs will implement one of the key proposals from the bipartisan Veterans Health Care Staffing Improvement Act, sponsored by Merkley and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), helping to ensure veterans can get the care they need from Advanced Practice Registered Nurses. The VA will now allow APRNs to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and certification. This will help enable the VA to find enough medical professionals to fill the need for health care services for veterans. This is particularly important for primary care services in rural areas, where veterans struggle to find access to medical care.  “After a lifetime of service to our nation, veterans deserve nothing but the best medical support. But unfortunately, all too many of our wounded warriors face significant hurdles to accessing the health care they need to thrive upon their return to civilian life,” Merkley said. “In order to support our veterans to the best of their ability, our medical professionals must be able to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and certification. “When it comes to our veterans, there should be no holding back,” he continued. “I’m thrilled that the VA heeded our call to improve VA health care staffing today and will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fight for our veterans who have fought for us.” “Allowing these highly-qualified registered nurses to put their training to practice will help address delays at VA hospitals and clinics across the country,” said Durbin. “I commend Secretary McDonald and Under Secretary Shulkin for taking steps to remove barriers to health care access by increasing the number of qualified medical professionals providing primary care to our nation’s veterans, and hope the VA can extend full practice authority to CRNAs in the future as well.” “It’s maddening that our nation’s veterans are forced to wait for care due to a shortage of medical personnel when trained APRNs are standing by, ready to help but blocked by needless bureaucracy,” said DeFazio. “Thankfully, the VA has recognized the exceptional training and ability APRNs possess, and I urge them to quickly approve the ability of Nurse Anesthesiologists to practice at the same level as other APRNs. “I’m proud to have sponsored the House version of the Veterans Health Care Staffing Improvement Act and look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate next Congress to continue to push the VA to address unnecessary personnel shortages that are hurting our veterans.” While the members of Congress praised the step forward, they expressed disappointment that the VA had excluded Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) from their final rule. “While this is a major step forward in supporting our veterans, I would have liked to see the VA grant nurse anesthetists full authority to practice as well,” Merkley said. “I’ll keep working with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to ensure that CRNAs gain full practice authority so that they can provide our wounded warriors with care to the full extent of their abilities.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/bipartisan-group-of-senators-presses-federal-regulator-for-clear-guidance-on-banking-services-for-vendors-working-with-legal-marijuana-businesses,Bipartisan Group of Senators Presses Federal Regulator for Clear Guidance on Banking Services for Vendors Working with Legal Marijuana Businesses,2016-12-14,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Bipartisan Group of Senators Presses Federal Regulator for Clear Guidance on Banking Services for Vendors Working with Legal Marijuana Businesses Landlords, chemists, security companies and more have had their bank accounts frozen for doing business with legal marijuana businesses Wednesday, December 14, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, a bipartisan group of Senators led by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley pressed a key federal regulator to take further action to ensure that vendors working with legal marijuana businesses in states that have legalized recreational or medicinal marijuana do not have their banking services taken away. In states that have legalized recreational or medicinal marijuana, conflicting federal policies have led most financial institutions to deny banking services to legal marijuana businesses, creating huge logistical and safety problems for communities across the country. In some cases, banks have even revoked services to businesses—for example, landlords and security companies—that contract to offer their services to legal marijuana businesses. With eight states having voted to allow or expand some form of legal marijuana usage this November, the problem is only set to grow. In a letter to the head of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), U.S. Senators Merkley, Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Al Franken (D-MN), Angus King (I-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) wrote: “Most banks and credit unions have either closed accounts or simply refused to offer services to indirect and ancillary businesses that service the marijuana industry. A large number of professionals have been unable to access the financial system because they are doing business with marijuana growers and dispensaries. This long list of professionals includes chemists who have had their checking accounts closed due to their role in testing marijuana for the presence of harmful materials like arsenic; the security industry, which marijuana businesses heavily rely on due to the massive amounts of cash they handle; and lawyers offering legal services to marijuana businesses, who have reported banks denying applications for bank accounts and credit cards. “To be clear, these legitimate, indirect businesses have been unable to open checking accounts and accept credit cards or checks. In some cases they have also lost access to existing accounts, such as retirement accounts, and have been forced to pay their employees, taxes, and bills in cash. Locking lawyers, landlords, plumbers, electricians, security companies, and the like out of the nation’s banking and finance systems serves no one’s interest.  “Forcing all these direct and indirect businesses to operate in cash not only creates a huge target for criminals, but also complicates the collection of state and federal taxes. … This business environment is an invitation to tax fraud, robberies, money laundering, and organized crime.” The Senators pressed FinCEN to issue updated guidance on this issue without delay. The full text of the letter follows below. December 14, 2016 Jamal El-Hindi Acting Director Financial Crimes Enforcement Network P.O. Box 39 Vienna, Virginia 22183 Dear Acting Director El-Hindi, As you know, this past election saw eight states vote to allow or expand some form of legal marijuana use, bringing the grand total to 29 states and jurisdictions in the United States. Yet, in these states, the majority of legal marijuana businesses, and businesses that provide services to them, are all but barred from participating in the financial system. As a result, many legal businesses are forced to operate in cash, which jeopardizes community safety, limits economic growth, and greatly expands the opportunity for tax fraud. We urge you to issue further guidance to financial institutions on their ability to provide services, specifically to indirect businesses that do nothing more than provide services to the state-sanctioned marijuana industry. We want to thank FinCEN and the Department of Justice for issuing guidance clarifying reporting requirements, enforcement priorities and providing clarity to state-legalized marijuana businesses and the financial services industry. However, the 2014 FinCEN guidance did not distinguish between state-sanctioned marijuana businesses and the indirect businesses that service the marijuana industry, leaving it up to individual financial institutions to determine how to classify and treat indirect businesses. Limitations on access to financial services have become increasingly problematic for legal businesses and will only present a larger problem as more states legalize marijuana, either for recreational or medical uses. Indeed, since FinCEN’s 2014 guidance was released, less than 3% of the nation’s 11,954 federally regulated banks and credit unions have chosen to serve the cannabis industry. Most banks and credit unions have either closed accounts or simply refused to offer services to indirect and ancillary businesses that service the marijuana industry. A large number of professionals have been unable to access the financial system because they are doing business with marijuana growers and dispensaries. This long list of professionals includes chemists who have had their checking accounts closed due to their role in testing marijuana for the presence of harmful materials like arsenic; the security industry, which marijuana businesses heavily rely on due to the massive amounts of cash they handle; and lawyers offering legal services to marijuana businesses, who have reported banks denying applications for bank accounts and credit cards.  To be clear, these legitimate, indirect businesses have been unable to open checking accounts and accept credit cards or checks. In some cases they have also lost access to existing accounts, such as retirement accounts, and have been forced to pay their employees, taxes, and bills in cash. Locking lawyers, landlords, plumbers, electricians, security companies, and the like out of the nation’s banking and finance systems serves no one’s interest. Forcing all these direct and indirect businesses to operate in cash not only creates a huge target for criminals, but also complicates the collection of state and federal taxes. The fledgling legal market for marijuana is around $7 billion, a figure that’s dwarfed by the overall $50 billion US market, most of which remains illegal.[2] This business environment is an invitation to tax fraud, robberies, money laundering, and organized crime. With tens of millions of Americans soon gaining legal access to marijuana under state laws, new guidance is necessary in order to allow banks to enhance the availability of financial services for indirect businesses that service the marijuana industry. This will not only bolster the safety of our communities, but it will also help to spur economic growth across the country. We urge FinCEN to issue such guidance without delay.  Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/va-applies-bipartisan-provision-to-enhance-va-medical-care,VA Applies Bipartisan Provision to Enhance VA Medical Care,2016-12-14,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"VA Applies Bipartisan Provision to Enhance VA Medical Care New policy will improve staffing at Veterans Administration health clinics Wednesday, December 14, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) today welcomed the news that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will implement one of the key proposals from the bipartisan Veterans Health Care Staffing Improvement Act, sponsored by Merkley and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), helping to ensure veterans can get the care they need from Advance Practice Registered Nurses. The VA will now allow Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and certification. This will help enable the VA to find enough medical professionals to fill the need for health care services for veterans. This is particularly important for primary care services in rural areas, where veterans struggle to find access to medical care. “After a lifetime of service to our nation, veterans deserve nothing but the best medical support. But unfortunately, all too many of our wounded warriors face significant hurdles to accessing the health care they need to thrive upon their return to civilian life,” said Senator Merkley. “In order to support our veterans to the best of their ability, our medical professionals must be able to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and certification. “When it comes to our veterans, there should be no holding back,” he continued. “I’m thrilled that the VA heeded our call to improve VA health care staffing today and will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fight for our veterans who have fought for us.” “Allowing these highly-qualified registered nurses to put their training to practice will help address delays at VA hospitals and clinics across the country,” said Durbin. “I commend Secretary McDonald and Under Secretary Shulkin for taking steps to remove barriers to health care access by increasing the number of qualified medical professionals providing primary care to our nation’s veterans, and hope the VA can extend full practice authority to CRNAs in the future as well.” “It’s maddening that our nation’s veterans are forced to wait for care due to a shortage of medical personnel when trained APRNs are standing by, ready to help but blocked by needless bureaucracy,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio. “Thankfully, the VA has recognized the exceptional training and ability APRNs possess, and I urge them to quickly approve the ability of Nurse Anesthesiologists to practice at the same level as other APRNs. I’m proud to have sponsored the House version of the Veterans Health Care Staffing Improvement Act and look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate next Congress to continue to push the VA to address unnecessary personnel shortages that are hurting our veterans.” The Members of Congress praised the step forward, but expressed disappointment that the VA had excluded Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) from their final rule. “While this is a major step forward in supporting our veterans, I would have liked to see the VA grant nurse anesthetists full authority to practice as well. I’ll keep working with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to ensure that CRNAs gain full practice authority so that they can provide our wounded warriors with care to the full extent of their abilities,” said Merkley. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/bipartisan-group-of-senators-presses-federal-regulator-for-clear-guidance-on-banking-services-for-vendors-working-with-legal-marijuana-businesses,Bipartisan Group of Senators Presses Federal Regulator for Clear Guidance on Banking Services for Vendors Working with Legal Marijuana Businesses,2016-12-14,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Landlords, chemists, security companies and more have had their bank accounts frozen for doing business with legal marijuana businesses Wednesday, December 14, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, a bipartisan group of Senators led by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley pressed a key federal regulator to take further action to ensure that vendors working with legal marijuana businesses in states that have legalized recreational or medicinal marijuana do not have their banking services taken away. In states that have legalized recreational or medicinal marijuana, conflicting federal policies have led most financial institutions to deny banking services to legal marijuana businesses, creating huge logistical and safety problems for communities across the country. In some cases, banks have even revoked services to businesses—for example, landlords and security companies—that contract to offer their services to legal marijuana businesses. With eight states having voted to allow or expand some form of legal marijuana usage this November, the problem is only set to grow. In a letter to the head of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), U.S. Senators Merkley, Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Al Franken (D-MN), Angus King (I-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) wrote: “Most banks and credit unions have either closed accounts or simply refused to offer services to indirect and ancillary businesses that service the marijuana industry. A large number of professionals have been unable to access the financial system because they are doing business with marijuana growers and dispensaries. This long list of professionals includes chemists who have had their checking accounts closed due to their role in testing marijuana for the presence of harmful materials like arsenic; the security industry, which marijuana businesses heavily rely on due to the massive amounts of cash they handle; and lawyers offering legal services to marijuana businesses, who have reported banks denying applications for bank accounts and credit cards. “To be clear, these legitimate, indirect businesses have been unable to open checking accounts and accept credit cards or checks. In some cases they have also lost access to existing accounts, such as retirement accounts, and have been forced to pay their employees, taxes, and bills in cash. Locking lawyers, landlords, plumbers, electricians, security companies, and the like out of the nation’s banking and finance systems serves no one’s interest. “Forcing all these direct and indirect businesses to operate in cash not only creates a huge target for criminals, but also complicates the collection of state and federal taxes. … This business environment is an invitation to tax fraud, robberies, money laundering, and organized crime.” The Senators pressed FinCEN to issue updated guidance on this issue without delay. The full text of the letter follows below.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-statement-on-president-elects-nominee-for-secretary-of-energy,Wyden Statement on President-elect’s Nominee for Secretary of Energy,2016-12-14,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wednesday, December 14, 2016 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Texas Gov. Rick Perry to lead the U.S. Department of Energy: “Gov. Rick Perry campaigned on a promise to eliminate the department he is now being nominated to run. I will be asking Gov. Perry how he plans to continue fulfilling the Energy Department’s crucial role in creating good-paying energy jobs – which include clean, renewable energy jobs – and how he will continue to pursue all types of energy production and development. “The person at the helm of the U.S. Department of Energy cannot simply shill for Big Oil and ignore the fact that part of protecting our country means facing head-on the very real challenge of climate change by working toward a low-carbon economy. “I will also be asking him about how he plans to address the dangerous and decades-long challenge of cleaning up toxic nuclear waste at the Hanford Reservation Site in Washington State, while meeting the department’s obligations to protect its workers and the citizens of the Pacific Northwest. Given that more than half of the Energy Department’s budget is devoted to our nuclear arsenal and cleanup, it’s important that the Secretary of Energy understands this highly technical area that is so vital to Americans’ security.” Wyden is the former chair of and a senior Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where the Energy Secretary nomination hearing will be held. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/blumenauer-statement-nominations-rex-tillerson-secretary-state-rick,"Blumenauer Statement on Nominations of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy",2016-12-13,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Earl Blumenauer,B000574,blumenauer.house.gov,,,legacy,"Portland, OR – Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) today condemned the nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State and expected nomination of former Governor of Texas Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy.  Blumenauer released the following statement on the nomination of Tillerson as Secretary of State: “Donald Trump continues to stack his Cabinet with people out of touch with the American people. Rex Tillerson has a history of putting business interests above those of American families, and he has very questionable ‘friends.’ As Secretary of State, he would have huge conflicts of interest with his stakes in ExxonMobil. It’s also not entirely clear where he stands on many key U.S. foreign policy issues. It’s an outrageous choice, and we deserve better. “In light of the CIA assessment on Russian interference in our election in favor of Donald Trump, perhaps most concerning about this selection is Tillerson’s ties to Vladimir Putin. The Senate should not confirm him until we have a full accounting of Russian interference in the election.” Blumenauer released the following statement on the announcement that Perry will be nominated for Secretary of Energy: “This nomination is a farce – unless you consider a failed stint on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ a qualifier for being our nation’s lead nuclear scientist. Rick Perry in the past has promised to dismantle the Department of Energy – though, he couldn’t remember the agency’s name. He favors big oil over renewable energy and is a Board Member for the company pushing for the Dakota Access Pipeline. There are several more reasons for concern. The Senate has a responsibility to the American people to vote no on this confirmation. “ ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/columbia-river-cleanup-bill-passes-congress,Columbia River Cleanup Bill Passes Congress,2016-12-13,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Columbia River Cleanup Bill Passes Congress Tuesday, December 13, 2016 By:  Courtney Flatt Cleaning up and monitoring toxics in the Columbia River Basin could now be a little easier. Congress recently passed a bill that would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to start a voluntary grant program for environmental cleanup in the Columbia River system. The Columbia River Basin, which was named as a “large aquatic ecosystem” in 2006, was the only system of that sort that didn’t receive dedicated funding to reduce toxins. Others included Puget Sound, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley praised the Columbia River Restoration Act in an emailed statement. “Nobody wants to worry that the water they are drinking or fishing in or swimming in is tainted, but 8 million inhabitants of the Columbia River Basin have had their health, safety and environment endangered by toxins in the river. Now Congress is finally doing something about it,” Merkley. said. “This bill will provide a much needed boost to the health and economy of our beloved Columbia River.” Toxics in the river — like PCBs, mercury and pesticides — can build up in fish. That accumulation can then cause birth defects and other health issues for people who eat a lot of fish. A number of programs could benefit from grant funding, including hazardous and pharmaceutical collections and better toxics monitoring. “There is not any long-term monitoring done on most of the mainstem Columbia,” said Debrah Marriott, executive director of the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, which worked to get the bill passed. She said a lot of the pollution in the Columbia River Basin stems from undefined sources, like stormwater and agricultural runoff, known as nonpoint source pollution. Marriott said a lot of smaller projects are underway in the basin — this grant will help expand them. “It’s like most things — one or two is good, but when we start accumulating the impact of those, we’ll really start to see some improvements,” Marriott said. The act had broad support from tribal, environmental and industry groups. Kristin Meira is the executive director of Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, an industry group that supports navigation, energy and trade. She said the act benefits people, the environment, fish and the economy. “When you have contaminated materials in the river, it makes it very difficult to maintain berth areas and have cost-effective plans for dredging and other activities in the river,” Meira said. The act all a part of larger water infrastructure legislation, which also includes a provision to return Kennewick Man to Northwest tribes for a proper burial. The president is expected to sign the act into law. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/merkley-denounces-nomination-of-putins-buddy-rex-tillerson-for-secretary-of-state,Merkley denounces nomination of 'Putin's buddy' Rex Tillerson for secretary of state,2016-12-13,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley denounces nomination of 'Putin's buddy' Rex Tillerson for secretary of state Tuesday, December 13, 2016 By:  FOX 12 Staff SALEM, OR (KPTV) - Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon on Tuesday harshly criticized President-elect Donald Trump's selection of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as nominee for secretary of state. If approved, Tillerson would be the first secretary of state in modern history without previous government experience, The Washington Post reported.  “Donald Trump told us he would drain the swamp -- he just didn't tell us he would drain it directly into his own cabinet,"" Merkley said in a statement. Trump made his pick official on Tuesday, calling Tillerson ""one of the truly great business leaders of the world."" Merkley said Tillerson's role as chief executive of one of the biggest energy companies in the world makes him ill-suited for a seat at the table in international climate talks. “Exxon Mobil is not just any oil company. It is the largest fossil fuel company in the world, one that is under investigation in multiple states for misleading investors and waging a public misinformation campaign to cast doubt on climate change while Exxon's own scientists knew for decades the stark reality of the climate threat. As Secretary of State, Tillerson would be able to approve the Keystone pipeline and would be responsible for helping lead the global response to the urgent threat of climate change. An oilman has no business running international climate policy."" Merkley went on to criticize Tillerson for his close ties to Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, who gave the ExxonMobil CEO a government award after the company struck a major deal with a Russian company. “Additionally, Tillerson's close ties to Putin and the fact that he personally received Russia's ‘Order of Friendship’ for the oil deals he cut in the country are deeply worrisome. Every American should be able to agree that America should forcefully respond to any foreign power’s efforts to influence our elections.  So it is deeply disturbing that Donald Trump would respond to Russia’s covert campaign to help elect Trump by appointing Vladimir Putin’s buddy to direct American foreign policy. With Russia invading its neighbors, threatening our allies, fueling the crisis in Syria, and hacking our own institutions, we need a diplomat ready to stand up to Russia."" The Trump team has publicly ridiculed the CIA for its assessment that Russia hacked the email accounts of top Democrats in order to swing the election in Trump's favor. Trump dismissed the idea as ""ridiculous."" Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-on-tillerson-trump-told-us-he-was-going-to-drain-the-swamp_--he-didnt-tell-us-he-would-drain-it-directly-into-his-own-cabinet,Merkley on Tillerson: “Trump Told Us He Was Going to Drain the Swamp -- He Didn't Tell Us He Would Drain It Directly Into His Own Cabinet”,2016-12-13,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley on Tillerson: “Trump Told Us He Was Going to Drain the Swamp -- He Didn't Tell Us He Would Drain It Directly Into His Own Cabinet” Tuesday, December 13, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Rex Tillerson, the CEO of Exxon Mobil, to be Secretary of State: “Donald Trump told us he would drain the swamp -- he just didn't tell us he would drain it directly into his own cabinet. “Exxon Mobil is not just any oil company. It is the largest fossil fuel company in the world, one that is under investigation in multiple states for misleading investors and waging a public misinformation campaign to cast doubt on climate change while Exxon's own scientists knew for decades the stark reality of the climate threat. As Secretary of State, Tillerson would be able to approve the Keystone pipeline and would be responsible for helping lead the global response to the urgent threat of climate change. An oilman has no business running international climate policy.  “Additionally, Tillerson's close ties to Putin and the fact that he personally received Russia's ‘Order of Friendship’ for the oil deals he cut in the country are deeply worrisome. Every American should be able to agree that America should forcefully respond to any foreign power’s efforts to influence our elections.  So it is deeply disturbing that Donald Trump would respond to Russia’s covert campaign to help elect Trump by appointing Vladimir Putin’s buddy to direct American foreign policy. With Russia invading its neighbors, threatening our allies, fueling the crisis in Syria, and hacking our own institutions, we need a diplomat ready to stand up to Russia.  “Given that we now have a serial labor law violator nominated to run the Department of Labor and someone who has sued the EPA tapped for that agency, maybe the Exxon CEO running international climate negotiations makes some perverse sense in Trumpworld. But it doesn’t in reality.”     Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://bonamici.house.gov/press-release/bonamici-statement-russian-interference-election,Bonamici Statement on Russian Interference in Election,2016-12-12,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Suzanne Bonamici,B001278,bonamici.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, DC [12/12/16] — Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) released the following statement after the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) concluded that Russia interfered in the U.S. election:“The clear consensus among U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered with our election is deeply troubling. I support the President’s demand for a full review of Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, and I join leaders from both parties who are calling for a bipartisan investigation into Russia’s efforts to influence our presidential election. America’s democracy is built upon free and fair elections. Any effort by a foreign nation to undermine our government is unacceptable and must be made known to the public.“The President-elect’s dismissive response to the findings of the intelligence community is also very alarming. Labeling the CIA’s assessment ‘ridiculous’ calls into question the future administration’s willingness and capacity to protect our government from foreign interference. A full, transparent investigation will help the American people understand the extent of foreign intrusion and allow us to take measures to prevent interference in the future.” ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/columbia-river-restoration-act-passes-house-and-senate,Columbia River Restoration Act Passes in House and Senate,2016-12-12,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Earl Blumenauer,B000574,blumenauer.house.gov,,,legacy,"Legislation was included in water infrastructure package Washington, DC – Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-4) announced that the Columbia River Restoration Act has passed in the House and the Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The legislation will now be sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law. “Nobody wants to worry that the water they are drinking or fishing in or swimming in is tainted, but 8 million inhabitants of the Columbia River Basin have had their health, safety and environment endangered by toxins in the river. Now Congress is finally doing something about it,” said Merkley. “This bill will provide a much needed boost to the health and economy of our beloved Columbia River.  “Pacific Northwesterners count on the Columbia River as a vital economic resource and environmental treasure,” Wyden said. “Preserving and protecting the river is a must to ensure the river remains the clean and healthy lifeblood of our region.” “This is a significant win for our efforts to reduce pollution and improve the water quality of the Columbia River,” said Blumenauer. “We have a responsibility to protect this critical resource, and we’ll keep pushing to help restore this iconic river system. “The Columbia River is a powerful economic force in Oregon,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “The river carries goods to market, serves as a valuable source of energy, and provides salmon to tribal populations and others. We must reduce pollution and contamination of this critical resource. I am pleased the Columbia River Basin Restoration Act has passed Congress and is on its way to the President's desk. “The Columbia River is one of the most bountiful natural resources in Oregon, providing cultural, economic, and ecological benefits to many states,” said Representative DeFazio, Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a lead negotiator on the bill. “Rising levels of toxins in the Columbia River Basin threaten Oregon’s salmon and the livelihood of tribal communities and other Oregonians. I was proud to play a major role in securing this new program that will fund Columbia River restoration projects to improve water quality and reduce pollution.” The legislation would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a voluntary, competitive Columbia Basin grants program for projects that assist in eliminating or reducing pollution, cleaning up contaminated sites, improving water quality, monitoring the basin, and promoting citizen engagement. Toxins are present throughout the Columbia Basin, and are harmful to humans, fish, and wildlife. These contaminants make their way into fish tissue and can be dangerous to humans if consumed. Some of these toxins are known to cause cancer and have been linked with neurological, developmental, and reproductive problems, including birth defects and learning disabilities. The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest, and the only large aquatic ecosystem in the United States that currently receives no dedicated funding to clean up and monitor toxic chemicals. It is 1,243 miles long and its drainage basin extends into seven states. Approximately eight million people inhabit the Basin, including members of several Tribal nations and angling groups who frequently fish in its waters. Historically, the Columbia and its tributaries have constituted the largest salmon-producing river system in the world, with annual returns peaking at 16 million fish. The Columbia River Restoration Act is supported by a diverse group of stakeholders including the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, and Salmon-Safe. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congress-passes-provisions-help-rebuild-lost-housing-columbia-river,Congress Passes Provisions to Help Rebuild Lost Housing for Columbia River Tribe,2016-12-12,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Earl Blumenauer,B000574,blumenauer.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), as well as Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), announced that provisions to help fulfill long-unmet housing obligations to tribes along the Columbia River have passed both the House and Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA), now the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. The bill will now be sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law.  Beginning in the 1930s, the construction of the three lower Columbia River dams displaced members of the four Columbia River Treaty tribes: Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Nez Perce Tribe, and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Nation of the Yakama Reservation. These Tribes have a treaty-protected right to fish along the Columbia River in their usual and accustomed places. The Senators and Congressman have been fighting to address the urgent need for adequate housing and infrastructure at tribal fishing access sites constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) following construction of The Dalles, Bonneville, and John Day dams. The Army Corps designed the sites to be used primarily for daily, in-season fishing access and temporary camping; however, in many cases tribal members now use the areas as longer-term or even permanent residences. A Fact-Finding Review on Tribal Housing prepared by the Army Corps found that as many as 85 tribal families who lived on the banks of the Columbia River prior to construction of the Bonneville and The Dalles dams did not receive relocation assistance, despite the fact that several non-tribal communities inundated by dam construction did receive such assistance.  “Leaving our tribes displaced without safe, reliable housing is simply wrong,” said Merkley. “Ever since the construction of the Columbia River unjustly displaced these tribes starting over 75 years ago, the federal government has owed it to them to provide the housing and infrastructure that was promised. These provisions bring us one step closer to making good on our commitments.”  “This is an incredibly important step toward repairing decades of injustice in the Pacific Northwest, but our work does not end here,” said Murray. “In the coming months and years, we must continue the fight to ensure our country honors its promise to respect tribal treaty rights and uphold this region’s rich legacy of salmon fishing.”  “Today, the Congress has made real progress toward starting to repair a long and painful history of injustice against Native American communities and their families,” Wyden said. “It is only right to protect children and families from serious health and safety hazards along the Columbia River by providing safe and permanent housing for tribal communities that have been displaced.”  “I’m proud we’re on our way to righting this wrong,” said Blumenauer. “We will not stop fighting until the federal government meets its basic responsibilities to improve the conditions of these sites and deal with unmet tribal housing needs.”   Specifically, the provisions that passed the Congress as part of WRDA today will help fulfill unmet housing obligations by: Authorizing the Army Corps to provide relocation assistance to Native families displaced by the construction of Bonneville Dam; and Authorizing the Army Corps to conduct a study of Native families displaced by the construction of John Day Dam and make recommendations to Congress with a plan to address unmet obligations for relocation assistance. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/congress-passes-columbia-river-restoration-act,Congress passes Columbia River Restoration Act,2016-12-12,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Congress passes Columbia River Restoration Act Monday, December 12, 2016 By:  George Plaven Congress has passed a bill authorizing the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a competitive, voluntary grant program for environmental cleanup work in the Columbia River. The Columbia River Restoration Act was included as part of the federal Water Resources Development Act of 2016, which lawmakers approved Dec. 9. Grants could help pay for projects that improve water quality in the basin, reduce pollution or clean up contaminated sites. Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, cheered the legislation, which was supported by a diverse group of environmental, tribal and industry groups. “Nobody wants to worry that the water they are drinking or fishing in or swimming in is tainted, but 8 million inhabitants of the Columbia River Basin have had their health, safety and environment endangered by toxins in the river,” Merkley said. “Now, Congress is finally doing something about it.” The Columbia River is the largest river in the Northwest, with a drainage basin roughly the size of France. It is historically the largest salmon-producing river system in the world, with annual returns peaking at around 16 million fish. However, the basin is the only large aquatic ecosystem in the U.S. that receives no dedicated funding to clean up and monitor toxic chemicals. The EPA has identified numerous toxins in the basin, including arsenic, lead, pesticides and flame retardants. High levels of pollutants can build up in the fatty tissue of fish and lamprey, which are consumed by people and can cause significant health problems and birth defects. “Preserving and protecting the river is a must to ensure the river remains the clean and healthy lifeblood of our region,” Wyden said. The program does not add any new EPA regulations. The bill was supported by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission — representing the Umatilla, Yakama, Warm Springs and Nez Perce tribes — as well as the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership and Salmon-Safe. Local tribes also praised another bill contained within the Water Resources Development that will ensure the return of the Kennewick Man, or Ancient One, for a proper burial. “Thanks to the support of almost the entire Pacific Northwest delegation, it now looks like the Ancient One will soon return home,” said Aaron Ashley, member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees and chairman of the CTUIR Cultural Resources Committee. “When he does, we will both mourn and rejoice as he is finally laid to rest with our ancestors. After a very long time, this is a hopeful moment for our people.” Remains of the Kennewick Man were discovered in 1996 on federal land near the Columbia River. In 2015, new genetic evidence determined the remains were closer to modern American Indians than any other population, according to a report by the Associated Press. The Umatilla, Yakama, Nez Perce and Colville tribes, along with the Wanapum Band, will lay the Ancient One to rest at an undisclosed location. The remains must first be transferred from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, which is handling repatriation. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-calls-for-preservation-distribution-and-declassification-of-torture-report,"Wyden Calls for Preservation, Distribution and Declassification of Torture Report",2016-12-12,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Naming the Report a Presidential Record Falls Far Short of What’s Needed; Keeps Report Off-Limits from Policymakers and the Public for More Than a Decade Monday, December 12, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today renewed his call for the president to preserve, distribute and declassify the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s Study of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program. He said the president’s decision to establish the study as a presidential record falls far short of what’s necessary. “We’re going to start on the very first day of the new session building a bipartisan coalition to get the study declassified.  The American people deserve the opportunity to read this history rather than see it locked away in a safe for twelve years.  When the president-elect has promised to bring back torture, it is also more critical than ever that the study be made available to cleared personnel throughout the federal government who are responsible for authorizing and implementing our country’s detention and interrogation policies,” Wyden said. Wyden called on the president to establish the study as a federal record under the Federal Records Act and an agency record under the Freedom of Information Act, and to distribute the study among cleared personnel in the federal government. He also called on the president to direct that the study be declassified, with minimal redactions necessary to protect national security, so that it can be released to the public. “President Obama has made his opposition to torture a central part of his legacy, from the Executive Order he signed shortly after he took office, to the speech he gave last Tuesday in which he spoke passionately about how our strength as a nation lies in upholding our values and adhering to the rule of law.  But this legacy – and our legacy as a nation - rests in the balance,” Wyden said. Senator Wyden also criticized the administration’s efforts to prevent the study from being subject to the Freedom of Information Act. “This history belongs to the American people,” said Wyden.  “It’s also urgent.  As we’ve already seen, burying the Study achieves nothing but to create an information vacuum that gets filled with uninformed and highly dangerous propaganda.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/blumenauer-statement-cia-assessment-russian-interference-2016-election,Blumenauer Statement on CIA Assessment of Russian Interference in 2016 Election,2016-12-10,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Earl Blumenauer,B000574,blumenauer.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) released the following statement: “Foreign intervention in the U.S. election is something that all Americans — Republican, Democrat or non-affiliated voters — should be deeply concerned about. “I echo Representatives Swalwell and Cumming's call for a bipartisan and independent commission to investigate foreign interference in the election. I’m also calling on House and Senate leadership to hold investigative hearings on this issue. We need to figure out how this happened so that we can protect our democracy. “Democrats may be in the minority in Congress, but we represent the majority of Americans. The more noise we make, the better chance there is that this happens.” ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/columbia-river-tribes-one-step-away-from-housing-at-bonneville-dam-after-us-senate-approves-bill,Columbia River tribes one step away from housing at Bonneville Dam after U.S. Senate approves bill,2016-12-10,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Columbia River tribes one step away from housing at Bonneville Dam after U.S. Senate approves bill Saturday, December 10, 2016 By:  Molly Harbarger Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/senators-wyden-and-merkley-urging-leadership-to-renew-srs-payments-to-counties,Senators Wyden and Merkley Urging Leadership to Renew SRS Payments to Counties,2016-12-10,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Senators Wyden and Merkley Urging Leadership to Renew SRS Payments to Counties Saturday, December 10, 2016 By:  Chuck Benson US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have urged their colleagues to keep the government's promise to rural communities in Oregon, 40 other states and Puerto Rico by passing legislation that would provide vital funding for schools, law enforcement and essential road repairs.Since payments through the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act expired last year, Wyden and Merkley have been working to reauthorize the program to ensure that counties like Josephine will receive a payment next spring that gives them certainty for funding critical county services.But congressional leaders blocked their efforts, citing the contention that increased timber management could somehow replace the SRS payments. In doing so, they ignored estimates from the Forest Service concluding that logging on public lands would have to increase by 400% in order for timber revenues to match what counties have received in SRS investments.Wyden and Merkley recently sought to extend this vital program by including it in the end-of-the-year must-pass bill to fund the US government. But because of congressional leadership's inaction, the payments counties received last spring will be their last until leadership agrees to extend these crucial programs.Last year's SRS funds were paid to counties in March 2016 and included payments from the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. In Oregon, 33 counties received a total of $95 million in SRS payments this year. Over its lifetime, the program has brought almost $4 billion to Oregon's timber counties. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/columbia-river-restoration-act-passes-in-house-and-senate,Columbia River Restoration Act Passes in House and Senate,2016-12-10,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Columbia River Restoration Act Passes in House and Senate Legislation was included in water infrastructure package Saturday, December 10, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-4) announced that the Columbia River Restoration Act has passed in the House and the Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The legislation will now be sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law. “Nobody wants to worry that the water they are drinking or fishing in or swimming in is tainted, but 8 million inhabitants of the Columbia River Basin have had their health, safety and environment endangered by toxins in the river. Now Congress is finally doing something about it,” said Merkley. “This bill will provide a much needed boost to the health and economy of our beloved Columbia River.” “Pacific Northwesterners count on the Columbia River as a vital economic resource and environmental treasure,” Wyden said. “Preserving and protecting the river is a must to ensure the river remains the clean and healthy lifeblood of our region.” “This is a significant win for our efforts to reduce pollution and improve the water quality of the Columbia River,” said Blumenauer. “We have a responsibility to protect this critical resource, and we’ll keep pushing to help restore this iconic river system.” “The Columbia River is a powerful economic force in Oregon,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “The river carries goods to market, serves as a valuable source of energy, and provides salmon to tribal populations and others. We must reduce pollution and contamination of this critical resource. I am pleased the Columbia River Basin Restoration Act has passed Congress and is on its way to the President's desk.” “The Columbia River is one of the most bountiful natural resources in Oregon, providing cultural, economic, and ecological benefits to many states,” said Representative DeFazio, Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a lead negotiator on the bill. “Rising levels of toxins in the Columbia River Basin threaten Oregon’s salmon and the livelihood of tribal communities and other Oregonians. I was proud to play a major role in securing this new program that will fund Columbia River restoration projects to improve water quality and reduce pollution.” The legislation would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a voluntary, competitive Columbia Basin grants program for projects that assist in eliminating or reducing pollution, cleaning up contaminated sites, improving water quality, monitoring the basin, and promoting citizen engagement. Toxins are present throughout the Columbia Basin, and are harmful to humans, fish, and wildlife. These contaminants make their way into fish tissue and can be dangerous to humans if consumed. Some of these toxins are known to cause cancer and have been linked with neurological, developmental, and reproductive problems, including birth defects and learning disabilities. The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest, and the only large aquatic ecosystem in the United States that currently receives no dedicated funding to clean up and monitor toxic chemicals. It is 1,243 miles long and its drainage basin extends into seven states. Approximately eight million people inhabit the Basin, including members of several Tribal nations and angling groups who frequently fish in its waters. Historically, the Columbia and its tributaries have constituted the largest salmon-producing river system in the world, with annual returns peaking at 16 million fish. The Columbia River Restoration Act is supported by a diverse group of stakeholders including the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, and Salmon-Safe. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/congress-passes-provisions-to-help-rebuild-lost-housing-for-columbia-river-tribes,Congress Passes Provisions to Help Rebuild Lost Housing for Columbia River Tribes,2016-12-10,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Congress Passes Provisions to Help Rebuild Lost Housing for Columbia River Tribes Saturday, December 10, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), as well as Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), announced that provisions to help fulfill long-unmet housing obligations to tribes along the Columbia River have passed both the House and Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA), now the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. The bill will now be sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law. Beginning in the 1930s, the construction of the three lower Columbia River dams displaced members of the four Columbia River Treaty tribes: Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Nez Perce Tribe, and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Nation of the Yakama Reservation. These Tribes have a treaty-protected right to fish along the Columbia River in their usual and accustomed places. The Senators and Congressman have been fighting to address the urgent need for adequate housing and infrastructure at tribal fishing access sites constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) following construction of The Dalles, Bonneville, and John Day dams. The Army Corps designed the sites to be used primarily for daily, in-season fishing access and temporary camping; however, in many cases tribal members now use the areas as longer-term or even permanent residences. A Fact-Finding Review on Tribal Housing prepared by the Army Corps found that as many as 85 tribal families who lived on the banks of the Columbia River prior to construction of the Bonneville and The Dalles dams did not receive relocation assistance, despite the fact that several non-tribal communities inundated by dam construction did receive such assistance. “Leaving our tribes displaced without safe, reliable housing is simply wrong,” said Merkley. “Ever since the construction of the Columbia River unjustly displaced these tribes starting over 75 years ago, the federal government has owed it to them to provide the housing and infrastructure that was promised. These provisions bring us one step closer to making good on our commitments.” “This is an incredibly important step toward repairing decades of injustice in the Pacific Northwest, but our work does not end here,” said Murray. “In the coming months and years, we must continue the fight to ensure our country honors its promise to respect tribal treaty rights and uphold this region’s rich legacy of salmon fishing.” “Today, the Congress has made real progress toward starting to repair a long and painful history of injustice against Native American communities and their families,” Wyden said. “It is only right to protect children and families from serious health and safety hazards along the Columbia River by providing safe and permanent housing for tribal communities that have been displaced.” “I’m proud we’re on our way to righting this wrong,” said Blumenauer. “We will not stop fighting until the federal government meets its basic responsibilities to improve the conditions of these sites and deal with unmet tribal housing needs.” Specifically, the provisions that passed the Congress as part of WRDA today will help fulfill unmet housing obligations by: · Authorizing the Army Corps to provide relocation assistance to Native families displaced by the construction of Bonneville Dam; and · Authorizing the Army Corps to conduct a study of Native families displaced by the construction of John Day Dam and make recommendations to Congress with a plan to address unmet obligations for relocation assistance. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/job-creating-water-infrastructure-bill-passes-congress,Job-Creating Water Infrastructure Bill Passes Congress,2016-12-10,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Job-Creating Water Infrastructure Bill Passes Congress Merkley, Wyden Championed Key Provisions for Oregon Saturday, December 10, 2016 Washington, DC - Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the House and Senate have passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which includes key job creation and funding opportunities for Oregon communities. The legislation previously passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in April and the Senate in September; it will now be signed into law by the President. In particular, the Senators highlighted that the bill would make permanent a provision ensuring that small ports in Oregon and elsewhere receive funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF). The bill also helps channel $20 million in funding for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), which Senator Merkley developed to help local communities finance safe drinking and wastewater infrastructure projects. The $20 million in initial funding could leverage over $200 million in low-interest loans for communities to finance safe drinking and wastewater infrastructure projects. “Water infrastructure is absolutely essential to our health and economy alike. Senator Wyden and I have been fighting for these Oregon water infrastructure wins, and I’m thrilled to see them included in the bill passed today,” said Merkley. “From keeping communities safe with modernized drinking water systems, to expanding economic opportunities and putting folks back to work with good-paying jobs, these projects will have a real impact across Oregon.” “Small ports serve as economic linchpins up and down the Oregon Coast, providing a terrific trifecta of benefits – crucial access for commercial and recreational fishing, safe harbor for ocean science and research vessels, and the nation’s gateway to the global economy,” Wyden said. “That’s why I am so glad this water bill includes stable, permanent funding for these ports that generate good-paying jobs and revenues for coastal communities.” Senators Merkley and Wyden have consistently fought in the Senate to make sure that the HMTF is used for its intended purpose of maintaining ports rather than being raided to pay for other priorities, and that small ports in America receive a share of this funding. For small coastal communities in Oregon, access to funding for dredging is crucial to the economy. As a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Merkley was able to pass a 10% set-aside for small ports in 2014; however, the set-aside was scheduled to expire in 2022. The legislation makes the 10% set-aside permanent. In almost every town hall meeting that Senators Merkley and Wyden hold, in every corner of Oregon, they hear about the challenges that local communities are having finding funding to replace or upgrade aging water infrastructure. Clean drinking water and modern wastewater treatment systems are critical for public health and safety, strong local businesses, population growth, and clean rivers and aquifers. Incidents like the recent crisis in Flint, Michigan underscore the dangers that can result when the safety of our drinking water and state of our water infrastructure are not made a priority. Additional provisions included in today’s legislation that will deliver benefits to Oregon communities include: ·         Authorizing the Columbia River Restoration Act so that the EPA can set up a voluntary grant program to incentivize cleanup along the Columbia River. ·         Expanding water infrastructure financing options to local water irrigation districts, which will help Central Oregon irrigation districts implement water conservation projects to address the spotted frog challenge and assist local farmers and ranchers. ·         Working to provide adequate housing and resources for Tribes along the Columbia River by authorizing relocation assistance to Native families displaced by the construction of Bonneville Dam, and by authorizing a study of Native families displaced by the John Day Dam to determine if there is an unmet obligation for relocation assistance. ·         Providing Oregonians better access to the Giles French Park in Rufus, Oregon, by allowing the Army Corps of Engineers to let a non-Federal government entity collect users fees for recreation sites and facilities.  ·         Giving the Port of Cascade Locks greater economic development opportunities along its waterfront by clarifying an out-of-date easement. ·         Expanding water craft inspection stations to cover the entire Columbia River Basin to protect our lakes and waterways from invasive species, such as the zebra mussel. Despite fighting hard for Oregon priorities in the bill, Merkley and Wyden voted against it due to the last-minute addition of California drought provisions that threaten thousands of jobs at Oregon and West Coast fisheries. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/blumenauer-efforts-trump-undermine-obama-climate-change-policy-will-not,Blumenauer: Efforts by Trump to Undermine Obama Climate Change Policy Will Not be Tolerated,2016-12-09,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Earl Blumenauer,B000574,blumenauer.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) released the following statement on a questionnaire sent by the Donald Trump Transition Team to Department of Energy employees on their climate change work: “This questionnaire is deeply troubling and begs the question of whether or not it’s intended to instill fear of retribution for those public servants who have done their duty in implementing the Obama Administration’s policies to address climate change. “If Donald Trump engages in an anti-science, highly partisan witch hunt to drive out hard working analysts and scientists who understand the risks of climate change, I will fight and do everything I can to protect their rights and voices.  “From this questionnaire, to the nomination of climate-denier Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA, and to the various statements made by Trump and his advisors, all signs indicate that the Trump Administration plans to undermine President Obama’s critical work to combat climate change. This will not be tolerated. Climate change is the greatest challenge of our generation, and none of Trump’s delusions will stop the seas from rising, and the earth from warming.” ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-decries-lack-of-secure-rural-schools-extension-in-continuing-resolution,Merkley Decries Lack of Secure Rural Schools Extension in Continuing Resolution,2016-12-09,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Decries Lack of Secure Rural Schools Extension in Continuing Resolution Friday, December 9, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement regarding his ‘no’ vote on the continuing resolution tonight: “With tonight’s congressional action—or lack thereof—a critical lifeline for rural Oregon will disappear. Since 2000, the Secure Rural Schools program has provided essential resources for rural Oregon counties to maintain schools, transportation and public safety. Without it, children’s education will suffer, roads will crumble, and lives will be put in danger as patrols are cut back drastically. “We need a long-term solution for Oregon’s timber counties, but we also need a bridge to get there. Congress’s failure to extend the Secure Rural Schools program before the end of this year fails our rural communities. That’s 100% unacceptable. “Unfortunately, this is not the only area in which Congress abdicated its responsibilities with this bill. Instead of investing in a year-long funding bill, Congress punted and is instead running our government on autopilot until the end of April. A full year-long bill would have averted the threat of a shutdown in early 2017 and would have made critical investments for both urban and rural Oregon. “Congress also failed to keep our promise to miners who are depending on the government to uphold the long-standing bargain on health insurance. With this bill, the miners will have no idea if they will be insured after April.  “Finally, the Senate leadership has pre-emptively abandoned the Senate’s responsibility to thoroughly debate the highly extraordinary request by President-elect Trump that Congress change long-standing laws that maintain civilian control of our military. This issue deserves a full and extensive debate in broad daylight. The bill to change those laws won’t even be introduced until next year and yet Senate leadership slipped a provision into this legislation in the dead of night that stifles Senate debate on that future bill. “For all these reasons, I could not vote for the continuing resolution tonight.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-statement-on-end-of-year-government-funding-bill,Wyden Statement on End-of-Year Government Funding Bill,2016-12-09,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Announces ‘No’ Vote After Congressional Leaders Fail to Include Protections for Vulnerable Americans and Families of Mine Workers Friday, December 9, 2016 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today voted against the end-of-year, must-pass bill to fund the government because the bill leaves out essential reforms for vulnerable children in foster care and protections for the families of mine workers. “Republican leaders touted this as a clean extension of noncontroversial, already agreed-upon policies. Instead, Republicans are skipping town without extending tax policies that protect middle class homeowners and jobs and without reauthorizing aid for rural timber counties. They also leave behind some of the most vulnerable among us – children in foster care and certainty for the widows of miners and their families who would have been helped by widely supported bipartisan bills. “Furthermore, I strongly oppose the exemption to allow recently retired military officers to serve as Secretary of Defense. Congress has only exempted one Secretary of Defense from the legal requirement for military officers to spend time out of uniform.  That one exemption happened in 1950, and it was controversial then too. That exemption explicitly recommended that no further exemptions should be given.  The fact is, a Congress full of World War II veterans recognized the importance of having a civilian lead the Pentagon, and I urge my colleagues to heed their example.” ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://defazio.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/defazio-blasts-republican-leadership-for-jeopardizing-oregon-s-fishing,DeFazio Blasts Republican Leadership for Jeopardizing Oregons Fishing Industry and Coastal Economy,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Peter DeFazio,D000191,defazio.house.gov,,,legacy,"Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) blasted Republican leadership for sabotaging bipartisan legislation that would have created and sustained needed jobs and boosted economic growth in Oregon’s coastal communities. For months, DeFazio worked with a group of bipartisan negotiators to finalize the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA), now called the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN), which authorizes funding for the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) navigation, flood control, and environmental restoration projects. This legislation would have directly benefitted Oregon’s ports. However, at the last minute, Republican leadership added a controversial California drought plan that will jeopardize Oregon’s fishing industry. The House passed the WIIN Act 360-61—DeFazio voted against the legislation. “For months, I worked with my Republican counterparts on a WRDA bill that would have strengthened coastal communities and our environment, and created and sustained thousands of jobs. Instead of passing that bipartisan bill, Republican leadership added a last-minute, 90-page poison pill that will allow California to divert scarce water from the Sacramento River Bay-Delta. Diverting water from this critical watershed risks a shutdown of the West Coast fishery, and thousands of good-paying jobs that depend on healthy fisheries. Despite the many victories that I was able to secure, including dedicated funding for small port dredging, I could not support this bill,” said DeFazio. This is the second time the Republican leadership have interfered with what had been a bipartisan agreement on this legislation.  In September, Republican leaders stripped from the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 DeFazio’s provision to ensure that funds collected in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund are only used for harbor maintenance—not for unrelated government spending. The additional investment from this provision would have created and sustained needed jobs in Oregon’s coastal communities, would have made conditions safer for our fishing and recreation industries, and would have provided a tremendous boost to our economic competiveness. PERMANENT FUNDING FOR SMALL PORTS “I was able to secure a number of priorities that are victories for Oregon’s coastal communities. I am happy that the legislation includes my provision to guarantee that small ports receive a minimum of $90 million annually and no less than 10 percent of the Corps’ overall Operations and Maintenance funding each year for infrastructure needs. This measure will ensure that some of our most critical needs will be met in our ports and harbors—no matter what size,” said DeFazio. For years, the Federal Government has neglected to invest in our nation’s small ports and harbors. DeFazio has fought repeatedly during his time in Congress to secure federal funds to dredge small ports along Oregon’s south coast.  In 2014, he secured a provision that temporarily guaranteed funding for small, emerging ports.  The legislation passed today makes that provision permanent. ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS DeFazio advocated for a number of additional provisions that are part of the final legislation, including: Funding to help the city of Flint, Michigan protect its citizens and children from the ongoing health risks resulting from lead contamination of its water system. A provision that directs the federal government to fund a study of the conditions of federal breakwaters and jetties that protect the nation’s coastal ports. Like levees and dams before, the condition of the nation’s water-related infrastructure is deteriorating. This federal study will provide necessary information detailing the true state of our jetties so Congress can take future steps to address the backlog of critical projects. A provision that increases federal transparency by requiring the Corps to make publicly available all data related to federal dredging contracts, including volumes, federal cost estimates, winning bid price, and other submitted bid offers. A provision to boost youth service and conservation corps programs, which give American youth the opportunity to volunteer or work at maintenance projects at Corps recreational facilities. The authorization of federal funding for the Lower Willamette River Environmental Dredging and Ecosystem Restoration Project, which will restore ecosystem functions by reconnecting floodplain habitat to the river and improving fish and wildlife habitats. Authorization of a new Columbia River Basin Program to help reduce toxic contamination and clean-up contaminated sites in the Columbia River Basin. Authorization of a program to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in Oregon’s waterways. Preventing the infestation of aquatic invasive species in new regions ultimately saves us higher costs down the road, since the Fish and Wildlife Service projects an infestation of zebra and quagga mussels in the Columbia River would cost hydro-electric facilities hundreds of millions of dollars (between $300-$500 million) annually. Language that guarantees rural Oregon irrigation districts are not penalized for taking federal loans that allow them to improve water quality. Recently, EPA informed Oregon DEQ that Irrigation Districts no longer qualify for a federal subsidy for projects that address nonpoint source pollution, like pollution from agriculture, irrigation, and natural runoff. This provision reinstates the subsidization in the form of principal forgiveness and will ensure these long-term efforts to improve water quality continue.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://defazio.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-defazio-introduces-bill-to-enforce-president-elect-trump-s-promise,Rep. DeFazio Introduces Bill to Enforce President-Elect Trumps Promise to Drain the Swamp",2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Peter DeFazio,D000191,defazio.house.gov,,,legacy,"Rep. Peter DeFazio today introduced legislation that would codify a campaign promise made by President-Elect Trump to ban political appointees from profiting from their time in the Administration after they leave. The DRAIN the SWAMP Act (Deter Revolving-Door Appointments in Our Nation; Stop Washington Appointees from becoming Manipulative Petitioners), H.R. 6476, would require a five-year ban, barring anyone who serves as a political appointee from lobbying for five years after they leave the Executive Branch. The bill would also permanently bar any individual appointed to the Trump Administration from lobbying on behalf of a foreign government. “President-Elect Trump ran on the promise of ‘Draining the Swamp,’” said Rep. Peter DeFazio. “The American people elected him with the expectation that he would bring a new way of doing business to Washington. I am introducing legislation to hold him and the thousands of political appointees accountable to those high standards.” Although the President-Elect’s transition team announced an intended ban on appointees becoming lobbyists for five years after they leave the White House, there is no penalty for violating the provision unless it is codified by Congress. By law, current Administration appointees are barred from lobbying for two years after they leave the Executive Branch, with a penalty of up to one year in prison and/or a fine of $50,000. Under Rep. DeFazio’s bill, if either the five-year lobbying ban or lifetime ban on lobbying for foreign nations is violated, offenders face up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $50,000. Rep. DeFazio will send the legislation to President-Elect Trump so he has an opportunity to endorse the bill ahead of its re-introduction in the 115th Congress. To watch Rep. DeFazio’s floor speech on the DRAIN the SWAMP Act, click here.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/senate-democrats-gear-up-to-fight-trumps-dangerous-epa-nominee,Senate Democrats gear up to fight Trump’s ‘dangerous’ EPA nominee,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Senate Democrats gear up to fight Trump’s ‘dangerous’ EPA nominee Thursday, December 8, 2016 By:  Natasha Geiling Moments after news broke that President-elect Donald Trump would be appointing Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt?—?a close friend of the fossil fuel industry and noted climate denier?—?as EPA administrator, Democratic legislators in Congress began voicing their ardent disapproval. “At a time when climate change is the great environmental threat to the entire planet, it is sad and dangerous that Mr. Trump has nominated Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-VT), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee that will hold hearings on Pruitt’s confirmation, said in a statement. “Mr. Pruitt’s record is not only that of being a climate change denier, but also someone who has worked closely with the fossil fuel industry to make this country more dependent, not less, on fossil fuels. The American people must demand leaders who are willing to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels. I will vigorously oppose this nomination.” Other staunch supporters of climate action on the Environment and Public Works committee issued similarly strongly-worded statements in opposition to Pruitt’s nomination. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), said that “denying the science of climate change and carrying water for Big Oil and the fossil fuel industry make [Pruitt] unsuitable to lead the EPA,” adding that, like Sanders, he would “vigorously oppose Scott Pruitt’s nomination.” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) called Pruitt “a dangerous and unacceptable choice to lead the agency tasked with leading our climate efforts and protecting clean air and clean water for all Americans,” noting Pruitt’s history of climate denial and his penchant for suing the federal government to block environmental regulations like limits on mercury, arsenic, and carbon pollution. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) also hit Pruitt for his climate denial, and added that “Scott Pruitt has chosen his fossil fuel donors over the health and well-being of the people he serves” at every turn. “I expect the American people will be shocked that President-elect Trump has chosen someone with such disdain for their health as they learn more about Pruitt during his confirmation hearings,” Whitehouse said, previewing what is likely to be a rancorous confirmation process split cleanly among party lines. Other Senate Democrats took less outwardly combative positions, pledging to press Pruitt hard during confirmation hearings on his climate denial and deep ties to the fossil fuel industry. “I believe strongly in the cabinet confirmation process?—?including giving every nominee a fair and timely hearing. To that end, as a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I will listen to what Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has to say about his vision for the EPA,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), said in a statement. “However I am concerned about this nomination. Mr. Pruitt has made a name for himself out of denying the very existence of climate change. Now President-elect Trump has selected him to lead the agency charged with addressing it. Mr. Pruitt has made a career out of suing the EPA. Now he wants to run the agency.” On the other side of the aisle, Republicans cheered Pruitt’s nomination, casting him as a fresh leader who would work to reign in EPA overreach?—?including rules like the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which seeks to limit carbon pollution from power plants in an effort to curb manmade climate change. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) tweeted his support for Pruitt on Wednesday evening. And Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) cheered Pruitt’s nomination in a statement, calling him “exactly the type of person we need to lead the EPA during this critical time.” “He has been a driving force behind the legal battle against President Obama’s environmental policies and far-reaching regulations,” Capito added. “I look forward to working with him to reverse policies that threaten affordable, reliable energy and jobs.” Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee and perhaps the most famous climate denier in the U.S. Senate, also praised Pruitt’s nomination. “Pruitt has fought back against unconstitutional and overzealous environmental regulations like Waters of the U.S. and the Clean Power Plan; he has proven that being a good steward of the environment does not mean burdening tax payers and businesses with red tape,” Inhofe said. “I am pleased with President-elect Trump’s selection and I look forward to working with my fellow Oklahoman in his new capacity.” Given Pruitt’s record of working hand-in-hand with the fossil fuel industry to fight environmental regulations?—?a 2014 New York Times investigation revealed that he once sent a letter to the EPA challenging federal regulations that had been written by one of Oklahoma’s biggest oil and gas companies?—?his confirmation process seems sure to draw stiff opposition from Democratic legislators. It’s likely to be a partisan mirror of current EPA administrator Gina McCarthy’s confirmation process, which took a record 136 days and included more than 1,100 questions from the Environment and Public Works Committee (1,075 of which came from Republicans). In the end, six Republican Senators voted to confirm McCarthy?—?and Democrats aiming to stop Pruitt’s nomination will again look to these more moderate legislators to help derail Pruitt’s chances of leading the EPA. Speaking on a press call convened by the League of Conservation voters, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) called Pruitt’s nomination a “litmus test” for every Senator that has claimed to believe in climate science. “This is a four alarm fire. We are going to do everything we can to stop his nomination and we are going to need broad-based bipartisan support for that,” Schatz said. Whitehouse?—?who has given more than 150 speeches on the floor of the Senate about climate change?—?agreed with Schatz, and seemed optimistic that a handful of Republican Senators could be convinced to stand in opposition to a climate denier as head of the EPA. “We have a lot of Republican Senators who have supported climate change bills in the past, who have voted on Brian [Schatz’s] and my climate amendments, and who need to be put on the spot about this one,” Whitehouse said. “It’s a true opportunity to move this issue forward and we should take full advantage.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/wyden-merkley-fight-to-save-lifeline-for-rural-communities,"Wyden, Merkley fight to save 'lifeline' for rural communities",2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wyden, Merkley fight to save 'lifeline' for rural communities Thursday, December 8, 2016 By:  KTVZ.COM news sources WASHINGTON - Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., urged the Senate Thursday to keep the government’s promise to rural communities in Oregon, 40 other states and Puerto Rico by passing legislation that would provide vital funding for schools, law enforcement and essential road repairs. Since payments through the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act expired last year, Wyden and Merkley have been working to reauthorize the program to ensure counties will receive a payment next spring that gives them certainty for funding critical county services in rural areas. But congressional leaders blocked their efforts, citing the contention that increased timber management could somehow replace the SRS payments. In doing so, the senators said, they ignored estimates from the Forest Service concluding that logging on public lands would have to increase by 400 percent in order for timber revenues to match what counties have received in SRS investments. “The notion that these investments in rural communities could be killed and replaced with logging alone is disconnected from reality,” Wyden said. “I will continue to pursue a comprehensive, reality-based approach to get these counties the funding they have long relied on. “That comprehensive approach includes creating jobs in the woods through responsible forest management, including hazardous fuels reduction and sustainable biomass production, increasing outdoor recreation opportunities, boosting renewable energy jobs, and promoting our state’s growing agricultural diversity, from raspberries to industrial hemp, all while protecting clean air and clean water for all Oregonians.” “We need to honor the promise to these counties. We need to address the Secure Rural Schools program that provides a strong foundation and a strong commitment to the promise made to rural forested counties,” said Merkley. “We need to act, and we need to act now.” Over the last two years, the senators said Republican leaders have blocked numerous bipartisan bills and amendments to extend SRS, including their Secure Rural Schools and Payments in Lieu of Taxes Repair Act of 2015, as well as amendments to the 2015 national transportation bill, the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2016, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. More recently, Wyden and Merkley sought to extend this vital program by including it in the end-of-year, must-pass bill to fund the government, as well as on an energy conference bill that stalled in Congress this week. But because of congressional leadership’s inaction, the payments counties received in the spring of 2016 will be their last until congressional leadership agrees to extend these crucial programs. Last year’s SRS funds were paid to the counties in March 2016 and include payments from the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. In Oregon, 33 counties received a total of $95 million in Secure Rural Schools payments this year. Over its lifetime, the program has brought almost $4 billion to Oregon’s timber counties and schools all across the state. Wyden co-authored the original SRS legislation in 2000 with then-Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-urge-senate-to-extend-critical-lifeline-for-rural-communities,"Wyden, Merkley Urge Senate to Extend Critical Lifeline for Rural Communities",2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wyden, Merkley Urge Senate to Extend Critical Lifeline for Rural Communities Thursday, December 8, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley urged the Senate to keep the government’s promise to rural communities in Oregon, 40 other states and Puerto Rico by passing legislation that would provide vital funding for schools, law enforcement and essential road repairs. Since payments through the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act expired last year, Wyden and Merkley have been working to reauthorize the program to ensure counties will receive a payment next spring that gives them certainty for funding critical county services in rural areas.  But congressional leaders blocked their efforts, citing the contention that increased timber management could somehow replace the SRS payments.  In doing so they ignored estimates from the Forest Service concluding that logging on public lands would have to increase by 400 percent in order for timber revenues to match what counties have received in SRS investments. “The notion that these investments in rural communities could be killed and replaced with logging alone is disconnected from reality,” Wyden said. “I will continue to pursue a comprehensive, reality-based approach to get these counties the funding they have long relied on. That comprehensive approach includes creating jobs in the woods through responsible forest management, including hazardous fuels reduction and sustainable biomass production, increasing outdoor recreation opportunities, boosting renewable energy jobs, and promoting our state’s growing agricultural diversity, from raspberries to industrial hemp, all while protecting clean air and clean water for all Oregonians.” “We need to honor the promise to these counties. We need to address the Secure Rural Schools program that provides a strong foundation and a strong commitment to the promise made to rural forested counties,” said Merkley. “We need to act, and we need to act now.” Over the last two years, Republican leaders have blocked the senators’ numerous bipartisan bills and amendments to extend SRS, including their Secure Rural Schools and Payments in Lieu of Taxes Repair Act of 2015, as well as amendments to the 2015 national transportation bill, the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2016, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.   More recently, Wyden and Merkley sought to extend this vital program by including it in the end-of-year, must-pass bill to fund the government, as well as on an energy conference bill that stalled in Congress this week. But because of congressional leadership’s inaction, the payments counties received in the spring of 2016 will be their last until congressional leadership agrees to extend these crucial programs. Last year’s SRS funds were paid to the counties in March 2016 and include payments from the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. In Oregon, 33 counties received a total of $95 million in Secure Rural Schools payments this year. Over its lifetime the program has brought almost $4 billion to Oregon’s timber counties and schools all across the state. Wyden co-authored the original SRS legislation in 2000 with then-Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/video/keeping-our-promise-to-rural-america,Keeping Our Promise to Rural America,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley spoke on the Senate floor today to discuss the need to honor the contract the federal government made with Oregon’s rural communities by extending the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) and Community Self-Determination Act.,1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-urge-president-elect-trump-to-live-up-to-campaign-promises-and-clarify-whether-he-opposes-cuts-to-medicare-and-medicaid,Senators Urge President-Elect Trump to Live Up to Campaign Promises and Clarify Whether He Opposes Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Thursday, December 8, 2016 Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) andalong with 19 fellow senators, today sent a letter calling on President-Elect Donald Trump to remind him of his campaign promises to reject cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and to ask that he clarify whether he still intends to do so. The letter was signed by Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Robert P. Casey (D-Pa.), Al Franken (D-Minn.),  Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).  ""During your campaign for President of the United States, you differentiated yourself from your 16 primary opponents by noting that you were the only Republican who would protect Medicare and Medicaid,"" the senators wrote. ""After winning the election, you suddenly appear to be using language supporting policies that would gut the Medicare and Medicaid programs."" The letter continues, ""Over one hundred million Americans rely on these programs for health care. Low-income children and families and people with disabilities are the primary beneficiaries of Medicaid.  Millions of seniors and individuals with disabilities have earned and rely on their Medicare benefits.  Medicaid is the only assistance available to millions of low and middle-income families who have a loved one requiring nursing home care.  As you noted when you extolled their benefits on your campaign website, cutting these programs would be devastating."" The senators' letter draws attention to differences between the President-Elect's statements during the campaign, which were highlighted on his campaign website, and statements that are now posted on his transition website. These new policy positions contradict President-Elect Trump's promises as a candidate to protect Medicare and Medicaid, instead echoing Congressional Republicans' plans to cut these programs. The letter also notes that the President-Elect's nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Tom Price, has been a ""leading architect"" of such plans. The senators pressed President-Elect Trump to live up to his campaign promises and reject any cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. They wrote, ""We ask that you rapidly and publicly clarify in plain language for the American public that you continue to stand behind your campaign promises; that you will not raise the Medicare eligibility age; that you will not privatize, voucherize, or otherwise cut Medicare benefits; and that you will not put in place changes to Medicaid that force enrollees' coverage to be dropped and benefits to be cut or limited.  You promised Americans you would not cut Medicare or Medicaid-please tell Americans you will stand by your promise to them.""  Read a PDF copy of the letter here.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-urge-senate-to-extend-critical-lifeline-for-rural-communities,"Wyden, Merkley Urge Senate to Extend Critical Lifeline for Rural Communities",2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Thursday, December 8, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley urged the Senate to keep the government’s promise to rural communities in Oregon, 40 other states and Puerto Rico by passing legislation that would provide vital funding for schools, law enforcement and essential road repairs. Since payments through the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act expired last year, Wyden and Merkley have been working to reauthorize the program to ensure counties will receive a payment next spring that gives them certainty for funding critical county services in rural areas.  But congressional leaders blocked their efforts, citing the contention that increased timber management could somehow replace the SRS payments.  In doing so they ignored estimates from the Forest Service concluding that logging on public lands would have to increase by 400 percent in order for timber revenues to match what counties have received in SRS investments. “The notion that these investments in rural communities could be killed and replaced with logging alone is disconnected from reality,” Wyden said. “I will continue to pursue a comprehensive, reality-based approach to get these counties the funding they have long relied on. That comprehensive approach includes creating jobs in the woods through responsible forest management, including hazardous fuels reduction and sustainable biomass production, increasing outdoor recreation opportunities, boosting renewable energy jobs, and promoting our state’s growing agricultural diversity, from raspberries to industrial hemp, all while protecting clean air and clean water for all Oregonians.” “We need to honor the promise to these counties. We need to address the Secure Rural Schools program that provides a strong foundation and a strong commitment to the promise made to rural forested counties,” said Merkley. “We need to act, and we need to act now.” Over the last two years, Republican leaders have blocked the senators’ numerous bipartisan bills and amendments to extend SRS, including their Secure Rural Schools and Payments in Lieu of Taxes Repair Act of 2015, as well as amendments to the 2015 national transportation bill, the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2016, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.   More recently, Wyden and Merkley sought to extend this vital program by including it in the end-of-year, must-pass bill to fund the government, as well as on an energy conference bill that stalled in Congress this week. But because of congressional leadership’s inaction, the payments counties received in the spring of 2016 will be their last until congressional leadership agrees to extend these crucial programs. Last year’s SRS funds were paid to the counties in March 2016 and include payments from the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. In Oregon, 33 counties received a total of $95 million in Secure Rural Schools payments this year. Over its lifetime the program has brought almost $4 billion to Oregon’s timber counties and schools all across the state. Wyden co-authored the original SRS legislation in 2000 with then-Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://bonamici.house.gov/press-release/bonamici-statement-nomination-scott-pruitt-epa-administrator,Bonamici Statement on Nomination of Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator,2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Suzanne Bonamici,B001278,bonamici.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, DC [12/07/16] — Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), the top Democrat on the House Science Committee’s Environment Subcommittee, released the following statement after President-elect Donald Trump selected Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as his nominee for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency:“Scott Pruitt’s close ties with fossil fuel companies are deeply concerning for a nominee who will direct the agency tasked with protecting the environment and combatting climate change. As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Mr. Pruitt led a legal battle against President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, a plan that builds on the efforts of states like Oregon to create a unified, national approach to our biggest environmental challenge—climate change. The Clean Power Plan represents an opportunity for American ingenuity that will allow us to benefit from the needed transition to a low-carbon economy. Many businesses in Oregon have stepped up and demonstrated their support to address climate change. Nike, Genentech, Intel, Lam Research, and Portland General Electric are among the more than 150 companies nationwide that have signed the American Business Act on Climate Pledge. Environmental protection, economic development, and job creation can go hand in hand, but instead of finding ways to invest in the development of renewable and sustainable resources, Mr. Pruitt continues to support fossil fuel industries.“As the top Democrat on the Science Committee’s Environment Subcommittee, I take my responsibility seriously to protect the environment and address the effects of climate change. The EPA Administrator should be working to implement the historic Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions worldwide. Additionally, the EPA stands as a strong defense for the clean air, water, and planet we all need to live healthy, productive lives.” ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/wyden-merkley-urge-trump-dont-cut-medicare-medicaid,"Wyden, Merkley urge Trump: Don't cut Medicare, Medicaid",2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wyden, Merkley urge Trump: Don't cut Medicare, Medicaid Wednesday, December 7, 2016 By:  Barney Lerten A total of 21 Democrat U.S. senators, including Oregon’s Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, sent a letter Wednesday to President-elect Donald Trump to remind him of his campaign promises to reject cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and to ask that he clarify whether he still intends to do so. The letter was signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.,) Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Robert P. Casey (D-Pa.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). ""During your campaign for President of the United States, you differentiated yourself from your 16 primary opponents by noting that you were the only Republican who would protect Medicare and Medicaid,"" the senators wrote. ""After winning the election, you suddenly appear to be using language supporting policies that would gut the Medicare and Medicaid programs."" The letter continues, ""Over one hundred million Americans rely on these programs for health care. Low-income children and families and people with disabilities are the primary beneficiaries of Medicaid. Millions of seniors and individuals with disabilities have earned and rely on their Medicare benefits. Medicaid is the only assistance available to millions of low and middle-income families who have a loved one requiring nursing home care. As you noted when you extolled their benefits on your campaign website, cutting these programs would be devastating."" The senators' letter draws attention to differences between the President-Elect's statements during the campaign, which were highlighted on his campaign website, and statements that are now posted on his transition website. These new policy positions contradict President-Elect Trump's promises as a candidate to protect Medicare and Medicaid, instead echoing Congressional Republicans' plans to cut these programs. The letter also notes that the President-Elect's nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Tom Price, has been a ""leading architect"" of such plans. The senators pressed President-Elect Trump to live up to his campaign promises and reject any cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. They wrote, ""We ask that you rapidly and publicly clarify in plain language for the American public that you continue to stand behind your campaign promises; that you will not raise the Medicare eligibility age; that you will not privatize, voucherize, or otherwise cut Medicare benefits; and that you will not put in place changes to Medicaid that force enrollees' coverage to be dropped and benefits to be cut or limited. You promised Americans you would not cut Medicare or Medicaid -- please tell Americans you will stand by your promise to them."" Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-statement-on-trumps-nomination-of-scott-pruitt-to-head-the-epa,Merkley Statement on Trump’s Nomination of Scott Pruitt to Head the EPA,2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Statement on Trump’s Nomination of Scott Pruitt to Head the EPA “Under Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency would become the ‘Polluter Protection Agency’” Wednesday, December 7, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement regarding Donald Trump’s nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “Once again, Donald Trump has picked a special-interest advocate to run an executive agency. Scott Pruitt has spent his career fighting to protect fossil fuel polluters rather than the public interest. As Oklahoma Attorney General, Pruitt was caught red-handed taking arguments virtually word-for-word from fossil fuel lobbyists and putting them on his official letterhead as the position of the State of Oklahoma. Under Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency would become the ‘Polluter Protection Agency.’                                 “Pruitt has questioned the reality of climate change and sued the federal government to block action on the mercury, arsenic, and carbon pollution that poisons our communities and children. Instead of protecting our families’ right to clean air and water, Pruitt has demonstrated time and again that his main interest is protecting polluters. He is a dangerous and unacceptable choice to lead the agency tasked with leading our climate efforts and protecting clean air and clean water for all Americans.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-merkley-lead-effort-calling-for-100-clean-and-renewable-energy-by-2050,Senators Markey and Merkley Lead Effort Calling for 100% Clean and Renewable Energy by 2050,2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Senators Markey and Merkley Lead Effort Calling for 100% Clean and Renewable Energy by 2050 Transition to clean and renewable energy will help combat climate change, support continued job creation gains Wednesday, December 7, 2016 Washington (December 7, 2016) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Oreg.) today introduced a Senate resolution calling for generating 100 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States from clean and renewable energy resources by 2050. The resolution points to the enormous job creation potential of transitioning to renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal, particularly in communities with high rates of unemployment or underemployment. There are currently 310,000 individuals in the United States employed in the solar industry and 88,000 in the wind industry. The United States is projected to add more electric generating capacity from solar and wind than from any other source in 2016. More than half of all new electricity capacity added in the world in 2015 was renewable “As a technological giant, the United States must continue to lead the clean energy revolution,” said Senator Markey. “The question is no longer if we can power our country with 100 percent renewable energy, it’s when and how we will make the transition. Moving to 100 percent clean energy will power job creation that is good for all creation. We can and will meet this goal and now, more than ever, it is critical that we stand up and fight for our clean energy future. I thank Senator Merkley for his partnership introducing this resolution that sets out the bold goal of generating 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2050.” “Today’s resolution sends a message loud and clear to our Senate colleagues: It’s time to get serious about our climate efforts with big, bold and rapid moves to accelerate the clean energy economy,” said Senator Merkley. “Transitioning to clean and renewable energy is not only the right thing to do for clean air and a strong economy, it is what we must do to save our beautiful blue-green planet.” A copy of the resolution can be found HERE. Full text can be found below. Other Senators supporting the resolution include Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). RESOLUTION  Supporting a transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy to help consumers, support the economy and national security of the United States, and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Whereas, in December 2016, nearly 200 nations that are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted an historic international agreement to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change; Whereas transitioning to clean energy will help reduce carbon pollution in the United States, and combat climate change; Whereas transitioning to clean energy will help the United States meet its international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; Whereas transitioning to a clean energy economy will create millions of well-paying jobs in the United States, save consumers in the United States money, and boost economic growth; Whereas low-income communities, communities of color, and indigenous people in the United States are inordinately exposed to pollution from fossil fuels; Whereas distributed renewable energy and energy efficiency can provide access to local jobs in cities in the United States while cleaning up neighborhoods; Whereas, in 2005, the United States had fewer than 10,000 megawatts of installed wind and solar electric generating capacity; Whereas, in 2016, the United States has more than 100,000 megawatts of installed wind and solar electric generating capacity; Whereas, in 2016, the United States is projected to add more electric generating capacity from solar and wind than from any other source; Whereas, by the end of 2016, there are projected to be— (1) 310,000 individuals in the United States employed in the solar industry; and (2) 88,000 individuals in the United States employed in the wind industry; Whereas, by 2020, there are projected to be nearly 600,000 individuals in the United States employed in the wind and solar industries; Whereas more than 1⁄2 of all new electricity capacity added in the world in 2015 was renewable; and Whereas according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the United States has the technical potential to generate more than 100 times the quantity of electricity it consumes each year as of 2016 solely from wind, solar, and other renewable resources: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— (1) supports a national goal of phasing out fossil fuel emissions and, by 2050, generating 100 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States from clean energy resources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and other renewable resources; and (2) supports policies to achieve that goal that will—    (A) create jobs for all individuals, especially in communities with high rates of unemployment or underemployment, and build a sustainable economy; and   (B) ensure universal access to clean energy for all homes and businesses in the United States, including for moderate- and low-income families. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-praise-passage-of-their-siletz-and-grand-ronde-land-bills,"Wyden, Merkley Praise Passage of Their Siletz and Grand Ronde Land Bills",2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wyden, Merkley Praise Passage of Their Siletz and Grand Ronde Land Bills Wednesday, December 7, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today praised the passage of their two bills that would streamline the Bureau of Indian Affairs process for putting land into trust for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.  This week’s House approval of the two bills written by Wyden and Merkley follows Senate approval on July 14 and sends the legislation to the desk of President Obama. “These bills mark a significant step forward for tribal sovereignty and the right of the Siletz and Grand Ronde tribes to grow their own economies and build up their own communities,” Wyden said. “I’m gratified to have worked with Senator Merkley to pass these two pieces of legislation that begin to honor long-ago promises made to the tribes.”  “Too often in our history, we have not kept our promises to tribes in Oregon and across the nation,” Merkley said. “The passage of these bills is another milestone in the journey of righting these wrongs, and more fully empowering their sovereignty and self-determination.” “I'd like to thank Senators Wyden and Merkley, and Congressman Schrader, for their tireless work passing this legislation. The new law helps provide the Siletz Tribe a fair process to recover a small portion of our historic reservation,” said Dolores Pigsley, Siletz Tribal Chairman. ""This legislation will enable the Tribe to more efficiently move the land it owns into reservation status, which is historically a very complex and time-consuming process,"" said Chairman Reyn Leno of The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. ""The Tribe would like to thank Senators Merkley and Wyden and the Oregon delegation for their support in advancing this important piece of legislation."" Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-asks-congress-to-pass-historic-bipartisan-bicameral-child-welfare-reform-bill,"Wyden Asks Congress to Pass Historic Bipartisan, Bicameral Child Welfare Reform Bill",2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wyden Votes Against 21st Century Cures Act After Republican Leaders Ripped the Provision out of Final Package Wednesday, December 7, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today voted against the 21st Century Cures Act because Republican leaders stripped bipartisan, bicameral child welfare legislation out of the final bill. Wyden then asked for unanimous consent that the Senate pass the Family First Prevention Services Act, which has the support of almost 500 child welfare organizations across the country, including the Children’s Defense Fund, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Catholic Bishops. The Family First Prevention Services Act would help combat the opioid addiction crisis, keep more children safely in their homes and reduce overreliance on foster care group homes. Wyden and Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, along with Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., and House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin, D-Mich., introduced the Family First Prevention Services Act in June. The bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously on June 21. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., objected to Wyden’s request to pass the bill on the Senate floor. “Today the Senate squandered an opportunity to pass legislation that would have offered new hope for hundreds of thousands of America’s most vulnerable children and families. For close to three years, senators and Congress members have worked on bipartisan efforts to produce the Family First Prevention Services Act, so more kids can stay safely at home with their families and relatives. Nearly 500 health and public interest groups support this legislation. The House passed the Family First Prevention Services Act unanimously in June. “The Family First Prevention Services Act would implement the most significant improvements to the child welfare system in decades and provide real funding to fight the opioid and other drug epidemics. I am infuriated and heartbroken that Republican leaders struck this bipartisan provision to help the most vulnerable among us from the 21st Century Cures Act that passed today.” The bill’s progress stalled last week after a small group of Republican senators voiced concern and Republican leaders struck the bill out of the final version of the 21st Century Cures Act before it was sent to the House floor for a vote. On Monday, a group of former foster youth from across the country called on Congress to pass the bill at a press conference on Capitol Hill. The group was organized by FosterClub, the Children’s Defense Fund, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Generations United, Voice for Adoption and the National Alliance of Children’s Trust & Prevention Funds.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-praise-passage-of-their-siletz-and-grand-ronde-land-bills,"Wyden, Merkley Praise Passage of Their Siletz and Grand Ronde Land Bills",2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wednesday, December 7, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today praised the passage of their two bills that would streamline the Bureau of Indian Affairs process for putting land into trust for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.  This week’s House approval of the two bills written by Wyden and Merkley follows Senate approval on July 14 and sends the legislation to the desk of President Obama. “These bills mark a significant step forward for tribal sovereignty and the right of the Siletz and Grand Ronde tribes to grow their own economies and build up their own communities,” Wyden said. “I’m gratified to have worked with Senator Merkley to pass these two pieces of legislation that begin to honor long-ago promises made to the tribes.” “Too often in our history, we have not kept our promises to tribes in Oregon and across the nation,” Merkley said. “The passage of these bills is another milestone in the journey of righting these wrongs, and more fully empowering their sovereignty and self-determination.” “I'd like to thank Senators Wyden and Merkley, and Congressman Schrader, for their tireless work passing this legislation. The new law helps provide the Siletz Tribe a fair process to recover a small portion of our historic reservation,” said Dolores Pigsley, Siletz Tribal Chairman. ""This legislation will enable the Tribe to more efficiently move the land it owns into reservation status, which is historically a very complex and time-consuming process,"" said Chairman Reyn Leno of The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. ""The Tribe would like to thank Senators Merkley and Wyden and the Oregon delegation for their support in advancing this important piece of legislation."" ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-statement-on-defense-authorization-bill,Wyden Statement on Defense Authorization Bill,2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wednesday, December 7, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on his vote against the National Defense Authorization Act. “This bloated defense bill is exactly what Americans hate about politics as usual. It increases defense spending by billions at the same time Republicans insist we can’t afford to pay to repair our roads and bridges, support Oregon’s timber counties or fix wildfire funding. It breaks last year’s bipartisan budget deal. And once again, this bill does far too little to restore fiscal accountability at the Pentagon and ensure the Defense Department is audit-ready by next year, or ever,” Wyden said. I support fully funding the troops who keep our country safe, and ensuring that scandals like the one affecting National Guard bonuses don’t happen again.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://schrader.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=390696,"Schrader Legislation to Benefit Siletz, Grand Ronde Tribes Passes the House",2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Kurt Schrader,S001180,schrader.house.gov,,,legacy,"Today, the House of Representatives unanimously passed two bills introduced by Congressman Kurt Schrader and Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley that will streamline the fee-to-trust process for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. The bills will provide considerable help to the two tribes in their continued efforts to restore land that was lost during federal policies of allotment and termination of tribal recognition in 1954.“For the past six years we’ve been working tirelessly to get these bills passed which will provide considerable help to the Siletz and Grand Ronde tribes as they work to restore their historic lands,” said Congressman Schrader. “The ability of the Tribes to reacquire the land they lost is critical to their self-determination efforts, which in turn will foster more immediate job creation for both Tribal members and the community at large. Streamlining this process will save the Tribes’ time and money which can be better utilized serving its membership and the community. I congratulate both the Siletz and Grand Ronde on this hard fought victory.”Currently, the process for previously terminated tribes to take land into trust is lengthy, expensive and cumbersome. The legislation passed today will deem any property located within the Siletz or Grand Ronde’s original reservation boundaries as “on-reservation” for the purpose of processing acquisitions of property into trust through the Bureau of Indian Affairs process. Once taken into trust, the land can then be deemed part of the Tribe’s reservation.Both the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz and Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde are represented by Congressman Kurt Schrader in Congress.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/a-democratic-senator-weighs-in-on-trumps-emerging-cabinet,A Democratic Senator Weighs In On Trump's Emerging Cabinet,2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"A Democratic Senator Weighs In On Trump's Emerging Cabinet Tuesday, December 6, 2016 By:  RACHEL MARTIN As Donald Trump's cabinet takes shape, Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, weighs in. He says he's ""deeply concerned"" about the choice of Ben Carson to leading Housing and Urban Development. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Now that President-elect Donald Trump has nominated some of his choices for cabinet positions, the Senate is going to start vetting them. And there are growing signs Senate Democrats are not planning to make that process an easy one for a number of Trump's picks. That includes yesterday's announcement of Dr. Ben Carson to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Among those speaking out is Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon. He serves on the Senate Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. And he joins us in the studio now. Senator, thanks for coming in. JEFF MERKLEY: You're welcome. It's great to be with you. MARTIN: You say Dr. Ben Carson is not a good pick to lead HUD. Why not? MERKLEY: Well, it's very disappointing because the challenge we have in affordable housing is central to the quality of life of millions of Americans. And so you want someone to lead a very complex set of housing programs, who has a history in those programs, who understands them, who might be able to improve how they're administered. But in this case, Ben Carson is somebody who has absolutely no background in this area, who has cast doubt on the need to address discrimination in housing, who didn't particularly address this during his presidential campaign and said, when it came to Health and Human Services, he didn't have the experience to run a large organization. And certainly this is a large organization in the housing world. MARTIN: We spoke with one of his close advisers and friends yesterday who said he wanted to clarify, saying, you know, Dr. Carson was - was reticent at first, but he said after being urged by Donald Trump to take the job, he decided that he would serve. And he has pointed directly to his experience growing up in inner city Detroit and later working as a doctor with patients from the inner city. He considers that preparation for the role. Can you see a scenario in which an outsider like Dr. Ben Carson can come into this big bureaucracy and make positive changes? MERKLEY: Well, certainly that's what we're going to have a hearing. And he'll have a chance to present his case, and I'll be very interested in what he has to say. But there is a lot that goes on in the housing world. Often, the housing programs get - become basically dedicated to for-profit developers. And we're going to have a for-profit developer who is our president. What about really dedicating the effort to low-income families who are not low income, as Ben Carson has indicated, because they don't work hard. They're often working two or three jobs, trying to combine low-wage jobs that have conflicting schedules. They're working day and night. And the vacancy rates make it so rents are very, very high. I'm not sure that he really brings any insight to this challenge. From everything he has said so far, he thinks people are poor because it's their own - own fault, not the lack of living-wage jobs and - and affordable apartments or the ability to buy a home. MARTIN: He has suggested that he wants to see more of an effort by private citizens and charities, churches in particular, to play a larger role in meeting some of these needs. What are your thoughts on that? MERKLEY: Right now, we have an incredible crisis in housing across our country. In my home state of Oregon, you can go to a major city, and you can see tent cities springing up on highway cloverleafs and underpasses and parks. You can see that here in the nation's capital, here in Washington, D.C. You can see it across the country that - as we've lost living-wage jobs and as rents have gone up. This makes this a critical, critical area. It's not an area to say simply the market will take care of this. If the market would take care of it, we wouldn't have this problem of people being forced to live in tents on cloverleafs. MARTIN: There have been reports that Senate Democrats are considering giving Trump's cabinet appointments the, quote, ""Garland treatment,"" right, referring to how Senate Republicans have delayed President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. Might you slow-roll these nominations for - for political purposes? MERKLEY: Well, it certainly won't be the Merrick Garland treatment. He didn't get any hearing in committees, and we - everyone will get hearings. The Senate is controlled by the Republican majority. They have the ability to put these nominations on the floor quickly. They have the ability by simple majority to approve them. That is a change that we made in 2013 to stop the stonewalling, kind of the partisan attacks on - on the executive branch and the judiciary. And so we won't see that. But I think, in terms of a thorough vetting of, is a person qualified, that is our assignment under advice and consent in the Constitution - to determine, as Hamilton said, is an individual of fit quality or unfit quality. And that's - that's the question we should address. MARTIN: Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon. Senator, thanks so much for coming in. MERKLEY: You're welcome. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/video/the-keys-of-our-government-cannot-be-returned-to-wall-street-profiteers,The Keys of our Government Cannot Be Returned to Wall Street Profiteers,2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley spoke on the Senate Floor today to highlight serious concerns with Trump’s appointment for Treasury Secretary: former Goldman Sachs Executive and “Foreclosure Machine” CEO Steve Mnuchin, who has said that one of his top priorities will be rolling back Wall Street reform.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-call-on-government-accountability-office-to-study-impacts-of-genetically-modified-foods-on-hunger-pesticide-use-,"Wyden, Merkley Call on Government Accountability Office to Study Impacts of Genetically Modified Foods on Hunger, Pesticide Use",2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Following New York Times Investigation into GMO Foods, Senators Ask if They are Adequately Addressing Food Needs Tuesday, December 6, 2016 Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley in a letter today called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study whether genetically modified foods are reducing hunger and the use of pesticides in the United States and worldwide. The senators asked the GAO to study the use of genetically modified (GMO) crops in the United States after a New York Times investigation raised questions about whether the use of GMO crops increased overall crop yields and decreased the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, as advocates claimed they would.  “We are concerned about the findings of the NYT analysis, and ask that the GAO conduct its own study into the use of genetically modified crops in the United States, specifically whether the use of genetically modified crops has increased overall crop yields and whether the use of genetically modified crops has impacted the overall use of chemical pesticides and herbicides,” the senators wrote in the letter. The article references reports that found little evidence that GMO crops have increased yields any more than non-GMO crops. It also states that while the use of pesticides – the chemicals used to get rid of insects – in the U.S. has fallen, the use of herbicides – the chemicals used to get rid of weeds - has gone up. The senators also wrote, “The goal to feed more of the world’s hungry is a necessary and laudable goal.  One that we have actively supported for our entire careers.  But if that goal is not actually being met, and if we are putting ourselves and the environment at greater risk by using GMOs, then we should take a closer look at the appropriate use of GMO technology.” A signed copy of today's letter is attached and available here. Read the New York Times story here. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/sen-jeff-merkley-on-republicans-efforts-to-repeal-and-delay,Sen. Jeff Merkley on Republicans' efforts to repeal and delay,2016-12-05,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Sen. Jeff Merkley on Republicans' efforts to repeal and delay Monday, December 5, 2016 By:  Elizabeth Hayes Sen. Jeff Merkley, the junior Democrat from Oregon, takes a dim view of his Republican colleagues' strategy to immediately repeal the Affordable Care Act — but delay the effective date. Republicans don't want the ""the millions hurt by repeal to be hurt before the next election, so they push it beyond that,"" Merkley said in a sit-down interview with the Business Journal at his Washington, D.C. Senate office. ""That way, they can fulfill their promise to their base, but not actually do it for several years, so they don’t suffer a big backlash in the next election. When people are afraid of how citizens will react, it tells you millions of people will be hurt."" President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly promised to repeal Obamacare, something Republicans in Congress tried dozens of times to no avail with President Obama in office. Now Republicans plan to proceed shortly after inauguration day, using budget reconciliation. That way, they could revoke parts of the health law with a simple majority, thus avoiding a Senate filibuster. More than 20 million Americans have gained coverage under the ACA, mostly through the Medicaid expansion and the rest through the health exchanges. In Oregon, more than 400,000 people were added to the Medicaid roles, while another 135,000 signed up for commercial plans via the exchange. The uninsured rate dropped to about 5 percent from 14 percent before the ACA, making Oregon “one of the most successful states in the country,” Merkley noted. Still, the law has experienced major bumps, as private insurers have exited the health exchanges, in Oregon and around the country, and rates have increased by double digits. Premium tax credits, however, have insulated most consumers who buy their own insurance, including 95,000 Oregonians. Merkley worries that if Congress passes a repeal early next year but it doesn’t take effect for three years, the uncertainty could lead to more insurers bailing out of the exchange. He also expressed concern about the future of Medicare. Rep. Tom Price, a Georgia Republican who is Trump’s pick for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, supports privatizing Medicare by converting it into a voucher program. “Seniors of modest means soon wouldn’t be able to afford what Medicare current provides. It would be breaking a promise. It’s been a central promise of the working social contract in America, which is under assault,” Merkley said. During his town hall meetings all over Oregon, constituents decried the ACA as a “government takeover” of health care. But once he broke it down, they would voice support for various aspects of the law, including the exchange marketplace, consumer protection rules on pre-existing conditions and premium support, he said. “The families it helped tremendously are rural families that didn’t have access to health care before,” Merkley said. “This is traditional red territory, so it’s not a program that benefited blue families but not red. It’s been tremendously powerful in rural areas, including the funding for rural health clinics.” Merkley, the only senator who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid, co-sponsored a resolution with the Vermont Independent and several Democratic senators that would have created a public option, or Medicare-like insurance plan. That effort, which began in September, now looks to be dead in the water. ""A public option would be very helpful for driving down the cost of health care, but at this point, that's not shared by the majority of the House and Senate,"" Merkley said. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-joins-senators-in-introducing-bill-to-give-wells-fargo-victims-their-day-in-court,Merkley Joins Senators in Introducing Bill to Give Wells Fargo Victims Their Day in Court,2016-12-05,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Joins Senators in Introducing Bill to Give Wells Fargo Victims Their Day in Court Bill Would Prevent Wells Fargo from Using Forced Arbitration Clauses in Real Accounts to Block Customers from Suing over Fraudulent Ones Monday, December 5, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced that he has joined 14 of his colleagues to introduce legislation, the Justice for Victims of Fraud Act of 2016, to give Wells Fargo customers who were victims of a fraudulent account scheme their day in court. Wells Fargo is using the forced arbitration clauses it tucked away in the fine print of contracts customers signed when they opened legitimate accounts to prevent the Wells Fargo customers with fraudulently-opened accounts who were harmed from joining together and taking Wells Fargo to court. “What Wells Fargo did was outrageous,” said Merkley. “Opening millions of fraudulent accounts was a jaw-dropping betrayal of their customers’ trust, and one that had a real cost for many consumers. Whether it’s fraudulent fees or a falsely-damaged credit score, consumers should have every recourse when it comes to these violations—especially since customers never actually agreed to these contracts for accounts that were created without their knowledge. Wells Fargo should not be able to hide behind fine print and technicalities to escape their day in court.” Forced arbitration clauses can prevent everyday consumers from taking companies to court for legal relief, and instead put victims of wrongdoing at a disadvantage by forcing their claims to go through an arbitration process. This arbitration process is often stacked against them, since the arbitration is typically provided by private firms who are paid by the companies accused of wrongdoing. The Justice for Victims of Fraud Act of 2016 would work hand-in-hand with a new oversight rule that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) put out in May to strengthen protections for consumers. Whereas the CFPB proposal would apply to new contracts going forward, this bill would allow victims of Wells Fargo’s fraud to seek their day in court even if they signed contracts that included arbitration for their legitimate accounts in the past. The bill is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Robert Casey (D-PA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Al Franken (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), in addition to Merkley. The bill has been endorsed by The American Association for Justice, Consumers Union, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients), Americans for Financial Reform, the Center for Responsible Lending, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Media Voices for Children, Allied Progress, the Woodstock Institute, the Franciscan Action Network, the Economic Policy Institute Center, California Reinvestment Coalition, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, National Consumers League, and Public Justice. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-statement-on-carson-hud-nomination,Merkley Statement on Carson HUD Nomination,2016-12-05,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Statement on Carson HUD Nomination Monday, December 5, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after President-Elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Dr. Ben Carson to be the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): “Ben Carson has given me plenty of reasons to question his judgment, and I’m curious to hear why he and the new Administration think he is qualified to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. “Carson has previously taken himself out of the running for a cabinet position due to his lack of political experience. He has no professional experience in either government or housing policy. And his campaign website when he ran for President didn’t even mention HUD. “I am also deeply concerned that the incoming Administration has proposed someone who believes ‘poverty is really more of a choice than anything else’ to lead American urban development. We need policies coming out of HUD that reflect the needs of people struggling to find affordable housing in supercharged housing markets like Portland’s. Telling people that their lack of means is their own problem is not a solution. “It looks like we will have plenty to discuss at Dr. Carson’s hearing.” Merkley sits on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which will consider Carson’s nomination. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/blumenauer-welcomes-decision-army-corps-deny-easements-dakota-access,Blumenauer Welcomes Decision by Army Corps to Deny Easements for Dakota Access Pipeline,2016-12-04,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Earl Blumenauer,B000574,blumenauer.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) released the following statement: “I'm encouraged by the Administration's decision today to not grant the easements needed for the Dakota Access Pipeline and to explore different routes. “Given the scale of the project and its environmental and other risks, this should have happened sooner. I was disappointed with the failure of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to properly engage and consult with tribal governments, and to fully examine the potential environmental impacts of the routing of the pipeline. I was also distressed at the actions by law enforcement and what appeared to me and many others as excessive and unnecessary force used against the protestors. “For many people, this protest has come to represent more than a decision over constructing a pipeline. It is a flashpoint after decades of mistreatment and misunderstanding. Re-routing the pipeline is a necessary first step in the right direction. Now we owe the parties here, and the generations to come, greater efforts to build relationships and more action toward righting the mistreatment and misunderstanding of the past.” As a member of the Congressional Native American Caucus, Blumenauer stood with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and called upon President Obama to engage in real, meaningful, government-to-government consultation and collaboration with tribal officials. He also joined with his colleagues in the House to urge the president to withdraw the permits for the pipeline, halt construction of the project in areas of federal jurisdiction, and conduct a comprehensive environmental review and transparent permitting process that includes public notice and participation. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://bonamici.house.gov/press-release/bonamici-warns-policymakers-not-overstate-student-loan-costs-and-dismantle-protections,Bonamici Warns Policymakers Not to Overstate Student Loan Costs and Dismantle Protections for Struggling Student Loan Borrowers,2016-12-02,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Suzanne Bonamici,B001278,bonamici.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congresswoman Responds to Government Report, Calls for Improved Cost Estimates for Income-Driven Repayment Plans WASHINGTON, DC [12/02/16] — Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), a member of the House Education Committee, released the following statement about the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finding that the U.S. Department of Education’s cost projections for income-driven repayment plans are unreliable.“The Government Accountability Office’s recent report on the federal government’s student loan program reveals that the Department of Education’s cost estimates are based on shaky methodologies,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “More accurate projections would contemplate borrowers’ income trajectories, consider the barriers to participating in income-driven repayment plans, and factor in the variation among the terms of repayment plans, all of which could shift estimates by billions of dollars.”The GAO’s report notes that the Department’s current cost estimates have doubled from previous projections, likely because of the increased participation in income-driven repayment plans. These plans permit student loan borrowers to make loan payments that are based on a percentage of their discretionary income. If borrowers have debt remaining after 20 or 25 years, it is forgiven. A separate program, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, forgives federal student loan debt after ten years of qualifying public service. The GAO’s examination concluded that the Department’s estimates may significantly exaggerate or undervalue actual costs.“I am concerned that many of the news stories and responses from members of Congress have narrowly focused on the cost of the estimated loan principal that may be forgiven in income-driven repayment plans,” Bonamici continued. “This limited focus overlooks the lower net costs of income-driven repayment plans, and it ignores the safety net these plans provide to people who, after decades, remain weighed down by student debt. Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office projections show that the federal student loan program overall will bring in roughly $80 billion over the next ten years. A sole focus on income-driven repayment ignores the fact that, overall, the program generates revenue.“The real story is that policymakers don’t yet have the accurate information they need to make policy changes to income-driven repayment plans. I commend the Department of Education for accepting the GAO’s recommendations, and I encourage the Department to work with the next administration to produce more dependable cost projections without delay.“Far too many students across the country are struggling with student loan debt, and Congress needs to pursue reasonable reforms to student loan repayment. If policymakers are serious about addressing this issue, we must also take into consideration soaring college costs and institutions that offer degrees and credentials of dubious value in the marketplace. This debate should include potential changes to income-driven repayment plans that are necessary to shield vulnerable student loan borrowers from default while making income-driven repayment a sustainable option in the long run.“But acting without improved cost estimates is premature. It would be detrimental to students across the country – and could leave millions of indebted Americans out in the cold – if policymakers impose drastic reforms on repayment programs based on insufficient or inaccurate information."" ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/blumenauer-calls-protection-dreame,Blumenauer Calls for Protection of DREAMers,2016-12-02,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Earl Blumenauer,B000574,blumenauer.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Yesterday evening on the House floor, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) called on Congress to do everything it can to protect DREAMers, those brought to the United States as children and registered in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. “… The notion of sending these young people back who … came here as children – they didn’t have any choice. What four-year-old, three-year-old, two-year-old, or infant is making this perilous journey on their own? They were brought here. They were raised here. Many of these young people … have had amazing records of success. And, they took the United States government and its president at his word, and came forward and took a little bit of a risk because they wanted to be part of the fabric of this country,” Blumenauer said. “… I think it would be a tragedy if we were to punish people who took the president at his word, who put confidence in this Congress to unwind this unfortunate situation. I think it’s important that all of us add our voices, that we connect with the people at home who are desperate and apprehensive and vulnerable, and make sure the American public knows what’s at stake. Because if we add our voices, our examples, and engage, there’s no doubt in my mind that there will be enough public pressure to prevent a tragedy of immense proportions.” Blumenauer is also part of a group of House members calling on President Obama to provide retroactive and prospective pardon of categorical civil immigration violations for these young people granted DACA status.  For many DREAMers, this could clear a path to legal status. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/sizing-up-the-governments-new-fintech-plan,Sizing Up the Government’s New Fintech Plan,2016-12-02,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Sizing Up the Government’s New Fintech Plan Friday, December 2, 2016 By:  PETER RUDEGEAIR AND TELIS DEMOS A proposal from a top U.S. banking regulator to allow financial-technology companies to apply for bank charters drew a range of reactions on Friday from industry executives, policy makers, attorneys and advocacy groups. Here are a few of the early takes on the proposal: Favorable/Positive · Ken Rees, chief executive of online lender Elevate Credit Inc., said that the new charter could enable innovation, but partnerships between a bank and a fintech company would still offer big opportunities to provide better financial services to consumers. “I don’t think fintech companies have to go it alone to get the advantages we want because banks do a lot of things really well and fintech companies do a lot of things really well [and] those things don’t necessarily overlap.” · Marla Blow, chief executive of FS Card Inc., a startup that offers subprime credit cards via a partnership a bank, said that she would “absolutely be taking a long hard look” at the new charters. Currently, only banks can issue debit cards that work with networks like Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. and pull money from checking accounts. Expanding that to fintech firms, she said, “would cause a lot of creative juices to start flowing. There are lots of possibilities for financial inclusion.” · Colin Walsh, CEO and co-founder of online banking startup Varo Money Inc., has said in the past that the firm would consider pursuing a bank charter. Of today’s announcement, he said it was “very good news,”and that “a national bank charter is a major stamp of approval and consumer trust. It ushers in a whole new opportunity.” Varo, which is building a mobile-banking app that uses artificial intelligence to offer financial advice, presently partners with a bank to provide deposit accounts. Varo is also seeking state lending licenses. · Brian Peters, head of the Financial Innovation Now, an industry group representing big technology companies that offer some banking services. “A surprisingly large number of players are very closely watching…. A lot of people are calling this a historic announcement. It will all depend on the details.” Cautious/Negative · Maria Vullo, the superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, said that her agency would defend states’ ability to enforce consumer-protection laws, adding that it “opposes any effort to federalize what states have been doing – and doing well – for over a century.” Ms. Vullo added that the OCC’s proposal “would be irresponsible if it were to ignore the states’ historical role and longstanding expertise in this arena.” · Michelle Sternthal, deputy director of policy and government affairs for small-business advocacy group Main Street Alliance, said preemption of state law by a new federal OCC charter could be harmful for small businesses. “While the fintech industry has the potential to expand lending for small business owners, it is also a breeding ground for costly, and often predatory, lending practices,” Ms. Sternthal said in a statement. · Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said permitting fintech companies to preempt state regulations the way that the OCC proposes could harm consumers. “I am deeply concerned that the OCC’s plan to offer a national charter will weaken consumer protection standards in online lending and allow FinTech firms to sink to the lowest common denominator rather than abiding by stronger state laws, such as Oregon’s payday lending law,” Sen. Merkley said in a statement. · Camden Fine, president and chief executive of trade group Independent Community Bankers of America, said that the OCC’s proposal would codify an uneven playing field where fintech companies faced less scrutiny than traditional banks. “ICBA has been deeply concerned that nonbank online lenders’ lack of oversight has provided them with regulatory advantages… while putting consumers and the financial system at risk.” Other · Brian Korn, an attorney at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, said that online lenders that obtain one of these charters from the OCC would make contracts many have entered into with outside banks unnecessary. In so-called rent-a-charter deals, online lenders including LendingClub Corp and Prosper Marketplace Inc have outsourced the technical parts of making a loan to regulated banks, a setup that has been called into question by recent court decisions. Under the OCC proposal, though, an online lender “doesn’t have to construct a mechanic to run a loan through a bank,” Mr. Korn said. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-expresses-concern-that-occ-fintech-charter-plan-will-allow-lenders-to-sink-to-the-lowest-common-denominator,Merkley Expresses Concern that OCC FinTech Charter Plan Will Allow Lenders to “Sink to the Lowest Common Denominator”,2016-12-02,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Expresses Concern that OCC FinTech Charter Plan Will Allow Lenders to “Sink to the Lowest Common Denominator” Friday, December 2, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) laid out plans to create a new national charter for financial technology, or “FinTech,” firms: ""The emerging FinTech market has the potential for great innovation and expansion of opportunity. However, without proper safeguards, it will become a breeding ground for predatory practices that gouge consumers and small business owners and undermine the vast majority of entrepreneurs trying to operate responsibly. I am deeply concerned that the OCC’s plan to offer a national charter will weaken consumer protection standards in online lending and allow FinTech firms to sink to the lowest common denominator rather than abiding by stronger state laws, such as Oregon’s payday lending law. Innovation and consumer protection need not be mutually exclusive, and I will continue working with the OCC to make sure that they pursue both with equal vigor."" Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/democrats-say-theyll-take-aim-at-trumps-treasury-pick,Democrats say they’ll take aim at Trump’s Treasury pick,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Democrats say they’ll take aim at Trump’s Treasury pick Thursday, December 1, 2016 By:  Victoria McGrane WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump selected a former Goldman Sachs trader and Hollywood financier as secretary of the Treasury on Wednesday, handing Democrats a high-profile target to make the case that Trump is abandoning his populist campaign promises to clear out monied elites and make Washington work for the average Joe. Trump named Steven Mnuchin , 53, who reportedly made much of his $40 million net worth in his 17 years at Goldman, as his pick for the top economic policy post in his incoming administration. If confirmed, Mnuchin would be placed at the forefront of major Trump plans such as an ambitious overhaul of the tax code and a $1 trillion infrastructure spending blitz. As with his other Cabinet choices, the selection elevates one of Trump’s early supporters to a plum government role. Mnuchin served as the national finance chairman for Trump’s campaign, joining shortly after the president-elect clinched the Republican nomination in May. “Steve Mnuchin is a world-class financier, banker, and businessman, and has played a key role in developing our plan to build a dynamic, booming economy that will create millions of jobs,” Trump said. Bottom of Form Also Wednesday, Trump named billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, 79, an early financial backer of Trump’s campaign, to be his secretary of commerce. The choices further boost the rich, white, and largely male makeup of Trump’s emerging Cabinet. Democrats and their allies signaled they will make Mnuchin’s confirmation as turbulent as possible. Readying their line of attack, they seized on his role in the resurrection of a Southern California mortgage lending institution that failed during the 2008 financial crisis. As Mnuchin led the bank’s revival, it was the focus of complaints by consumer watchdogs that it engaged in unfair foreclosures and discriminatory lending practices. “Given Mr. Mnuchin’s history of profiting off the victims of predatory lending, I look forward to asking him how his Treasury Department would work for Americans who are still waiting for the economic recovery to show up in their communities,” said Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which will vet Mnuchin’s nomination. “We need a Treasury secretary who will stand up to predatory lending, not one who practiced it,” tweeted Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, a staunch Wall Street critic. Senator Elizabeth Warren was, not surprisingly, critical as well. “His bank was infamous for its aggressive tactics in dealing with families that had been tricked on mortgages,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in an interview with the Globe, referring to OneWest Bank, which Mnuchin ran for six years. “People like Steve Mnuchin turned millions of lives upside down, and now Donald Trump wants him to run the United States Treasury. That is outrageous.” The business community is also anticipating a fierce fight. “We expect this nomination to be one of the more difficult lifts in the Cabinet,” predicted Isaac Boltansky, a Washington analyst with Compass Point Research & Trading, in a note to clients. Mnuchin, responding to criticism that he doesn’t have the right experience, said Wednesday, “What I’ve really been focused on is being a regional banker for the last eight years,” an apparent reference to his time at the helm of OneWest and on the board of CIT Group, which bought OneWest last year. “I know what it takes to make sure that we can make loans to small- and mid-market companies, and that’s going to be our big focus, making sure we scale back regulation so we make sure the banks are lending,” he said. In 2009, Mnuchin and a team of fellow investors bought from the federal government the remains of IndyMac, a California-based lender that collapsed under the weight of shoddy home loans made during the housing bubble frenzy. The group renamed it OneWest, and Mnuchin became its chairman and chief executive. Under his watch, OneWest gained a reputation for moving quickly to foreclose on delinquent borrowers — carrying out foreclosures on 36,000 households in California alone, plus an unknown number around the country, according to the California Reinvestment Coalition, a housing advocacy group that has dubbed OneWest a “foreclosure machine.” Last year, Mnuchin and his fellow investors sold OneWest to CIT for $3.4 billion, more than double what they paid for IndyMac’s assets in 2009. Trump cited that financial success in his statement announcing his Treasury pick. Mnuchin ran OneWest “very professionally. . . . That’s the kind of people I want in my administration representing our country,” Trump said. Mnuchin is now a member of CIT’s board of directors. High-level Republicans showered Mnuchin with praise Wednesday. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the Republican chairman of the Senate Finance panel who will run the confirmation hearing, lauded the “depth and breadth of Steven’s private sector experience.” He predicted the former investment banker would help lead the Republican-controlled Congress to “revamp the nation’s outdated tax code to create a healthier economic environment for American businesses and families here at home.” Mnuchin said Wednesday that Trump’s proposed sweeping tax rewrite would be his top priority. He made waves by saying that while the plan is to cut the overall tax rate for the richest Americans, it would be coupled with scaled back deductions so the highest earners would overall not get a tax break. “There will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class,” Mnuchin said during an interview on CNBC. “There will be a big tax cut for the middle class.” Thanks to Senate rule changes ushered in by Democrats several years ago, Democrats aren’t able to filibuster Trump’s Cabinet picks, meaning a nominee can be approved with a simple majority vote. The Democrats would need a number of Republicans to turn against the nomination as well, a highly unlikely prospect. Still, Democrats see an opportunity to make a lot of noise in an effort to hurt Trump’s standing with the voters who backed him and his populist message. “Donald Trump is defining his own presidency with these appointments,” Warren said, acknowledging Democrats have little hope of derailing the nomination. “He’s making it clear what he ran on and what he plans to do are very different.’’ Critics charge that OneWest reaped its profits at the expense of the type of working-class and middle-income Americans Trump said he would fight for in Washington. Housing advocates say the lender employed questionable foreclosure practices — for instance, not trying to help borrowers take advantage of government loan modification programs designed to help people keep their homes — and in at least some cases improperly kicked people out of their houses. The backlash even got personal when in 2011 more than 100 protesters marched on Mnuchin’s multimillion-dollar Bel Air mansion in the wake of a controversial Los Angeles-area foreclosure. A request for comment from Mnuchin directed to Trump’s transition team was not returned. A spokesman for CIT did not respond to a request for comment. In her interview with the Globe, Warren said OneWest was known for engaging in what is known as “dual tracking,” where the lender would pretend to negotiate with delinquent borrowers while quietly pursuing foreclosure proceedings at the same time, causing unwitting homeowners to lose their houses right when they thought things were getting better. “This is someone who has shown himself not to understand the plight of everyday Americans and has profited immensely on the backs of the suffering of working-class families,” said Kevin Stein, deputy director of the California Reinvestment Coalition. His group recently filed a complaint, along with another consumer watchdog group, against CIT with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, accusing OneWest of discriminating against blacks and other minority groups, in some instances while it was still under Mnuchin’s direction. CIT has denied the accusations. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/merkley-fights-to-keep-consumer-bureau-independent,Merkley fights to keep consumer bureau independent,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley fights to keep consumer bureau independent Thursday, December 1, 2016 By:  KTVZ.COM news sources WASHINGTON - Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., has joined an amicus brief of 20 current and former members of Congress supporting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s appeal of a judicial decision that threatens its independent structure. The brief was filed this week in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief was led by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the top Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, respectively. In addition to Merkley, they were joined by Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-MA), Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), Rep. Al Green (D-TX), Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), former Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Merkley worked closely with his colleagues to craft the CFPB’s structure as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Merkley and his colleagues deliberately structured the CFPB as an independent agency headed by a Director, so that the agency would have the power, independence and efficiency to combat Wall Street abuses and not succumb to political sway of the day. Furthermore, under its current structure, the CFPB has returned more than $12 billion to consumers in just five years of existence. In an earlier decision by a three-member panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court struck down the Bureau’s independent structure by throwing out the provision that allows Presidents to only fire the Bureau’s Director for cause. This decision directly threatens the ability of the Bureau to stand up for consumers’ rights independent of the political goals of the President of the United States. The amicus brief supports the CFPB’s request for a new hearing en banc, or before the full D.C. Circuit Court. “By severing the for-cause removal provision, the panel decision fundamentally altered the CFPB’s structure in a way that is at odds with Congress’s design and will undermine the CFPB’s ability to fulfill its important role under Dodd-Frank,” the Members wrote in the brief The brief also details the reasons that the October decision by a conservative panel of three judges is at odds with the text of the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent. “The panel’s conclusion that the CFPB’s structure is unconstitutional flatly contradicts all of these decisions, and it does so principally because it views multi-member commissions as superior to agencies led by a single director. The panel improperly elevated that policy judgment—one properly made by Congress—into a holding of constitutional law. That was plainly wrong, and consideration by the en banc court is thus warranted.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-joins-amicus-brief-in-fight-to-protect-consumer-bureaus-independence,Merkley Joins Amicus Brief in Fight to Protect Consumer Bureau’s Independence,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Joins Amicus Brief in Fight to Protect Consumer Bureau’s Independence Thursday, December 1, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley joined an amicus brief of 20 current and former Members of Congress supporting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) appeal of a judicial decision that threatens its independent structure. The brief was filed this week in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief was led by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the top Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, respectively. In addition to Merkley, they were joined by Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-MA), Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), Rep. Al Green (D-TX), Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), former Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Merkley worked closely with his colleagues to craft the CFPB’s structure as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Merkley and his colleagues deliberately structured the CFPB as an independent agency headed by a Director, so that the agency would have the power, independence and efficiency to combat Wall Street abuses and not succumb to political sway of the day. Furthermore, under its current structure, the CFPB has returned more than $12 billion to consumers in just five years of existence. In an earlier decision by a three-member panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court struck down the Bureau’s independent structure by throwing out the provision that allows Presidents to only fire the Bureau’s Director for cause. This decision directly threatens the ability of the Bureau to stand up for consumers’ rights independent of the political goals of the President of the United States. The amicus brief supports the CFPB’s request for a new hearing en banc, or before the full D.C. Circuit Court.  “By severing the for-cause removal provision, the panel decision fundamentally altered the CFPB’s structure in a way that is at odds with Congress’s design and will undermine the CFPB’s ability to fulfill its important role under Dodd-Frank,” the Members wrote in the brief. The brief also details the reasons that the October decision by a conservative panel of three judges is at odds with the text of the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent.  “The panel’s conclusion that the CFPB’s structure is unconstitutional flatly contradicts all of these decisions, and it does so principally because it views multi-member commissions as superior to agencies led by a single director. The panel improperly elevated that policy judgment—one properly made by Congress—into a holding of constitutional law. That was plainly wrong, and consideration by the en banc court is thus warranted.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/video/millions-of-americans-scrooged-this-holiday-season-without-overtime-pay,Millions of Americans Scrooged This Holiday Season Without Overtime Pay,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley spoke on the Senate Floor today about the millions of Americans who should have gotten a raise today through the new overtime rule, which has been held up by Republican legal efforts.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/video/restoring-the-voting-rights-act-to-save-our-democracy,Restoring the Voting Rights Act to Save Our Democracy,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley spoke on the Senate Floor today about the massive voter suppression efforts that made a real impact in cities and communities across our country during this election and the need to fully restore the Voting Rights Act to block these insidious efforts in future elections.,1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/-wyden-merkley-call-on-justice-department-to-continue-rigorous-investigations-into-all-reported-hate-crimes-,"Wyden, Merkley Call on Justice Department to Continue Rigorous Investigations into All Reported Hate Crimes",2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Thursday, December 1, 2016 Washington, D.C. – In a letter to the Department of Justice, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley called on the department to continue investigating all instances of reported hate crimes in the United States and to prosecute perpetrators of such crimes. Wyden and Merkley specifically noted that reports of hate crimes against Muslims, Jews, African-Americans and LBGTQ individuals have risen nationwide over the last year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The senators also mentioned a “disturbing level of animosity” against minority groups throughout the recent election cycle. “We write to express our deep concern about the harassment and intimidation of people in Oregon and across this country based on their race, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and other personal characteristics. We urge you to continue to investigate all instances of such behavior and to hold perpetrators accountable for any illegal actions,” Wyden and Merkley wrote. The senators also wrote, “We will continue to fight for the rule of law in the U.S. Senate, regardless of who serves as Attorney General. We urge you to do all that you can to embolden the entire DOJ, particularly the FBI, to protect the public and ensure the fair administration of justice for all Americans.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/blumenauer-statement-afghan-siv-program-provisions-2017-ndaa-conferenced,Blumenauer Statement on Afghan SIV Program Provisions in 2017 NDAA Conferenced Bill,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,OR,Earl Blumenauer,B000574,blumenauer.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) released the following statement on the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) provisions in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference report: “We’ve come a long way since we began this process earlier this year. Working with a bipartisan coalition in the House and Senate, we’ve fought to keep intact a program critical to those brave Afghan men and women who risked their lives, and those of their families, by helping the US mission on the ground. I am encouraged that this program will be extended through 2020, and that additional visas will be authorized. “Our work, however, is far from done to meet our obligations to these faithful allies. With an estimated backlog of nearly 10,000 applicants, and almost no visas left, we need more visas. We also need to ease these new eligibility requirements, so that all of those at risk because of their help can make it out of harm’s way. We will continue to pursue any and every opportunity we have to fight for this program.” ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/mnuchin-will-make-america-work-for-wall-street-sen-jeff-merkley-says,"Mnuchin will make America work for Wall Street, Sen. Jeff Merkley says",2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Mnuchin will make America work for Wall Street, Sen. Jeff Merkley says Wednesday, November 30, 2016 By:  Christine Wang Sen. Jeff Merkley slammed Donald Trump 's selection of Steve Mnuchin for Treasury secretary on Wednesday. ""This man is an expert on how to make money in predatory lending and putting him in charge — it is absolutely the opposite of draining the swamp. It is filling the swamp with a swamp monster No. 1 who is an expert on how to take it to low-income families,"" Merkley said Wednesday on CNBC's "" Squawk Alley ."" ""It really is the opposite of what Trump said he was going to do."" The Trump transition team and Mnuchin did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Merkley's remarks. Mnuchin, who was finance chairman for Trump's presidential campaign, is a Wall Street veteran , having spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs . His impending nomination seems at odds with Trump's populist campaign rhetoric for downtrodden blue-collar workers. Some are concerned that Mnuchin would roll back regulations that were drafted in the wake of the Great Recession, such as the Dodd-Frank Act. The former banking executive told CNBC on Wednesday morning that stripping parts of Dodd-Frank "" will be the No. 1 priority on the regulatory side ."" Such legislation was passed with the goal of protecting consumers and preventing another collapse of a major financial institution like Lehman Brothers. ""If you want somebody to dismantle the protections for consumers, he's just the guy to do it,"" said Merkley, D-Ore., who serves on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Earlier Wednesday, Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller said that the president-elect has assembled a ""Cabinet of winners"" and that Wilbur Ross and Mnuchin can fix the system because they understand it so well. ""There's nobody better to understand how the tax code works, to understand how our trade policies work, to understand just how American workers have been treated unfairly in recent years, and what's needed to go on that people who have actually helped to save companies and create jobs, like Wilbur Ross and Mnuchin,"" Miller said on a call with reporters. Miller also touted Mnuchin as a ""world-class financier,"" noting the former banker played a key role in developing Trump's tax reform plan. Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/sen-jeff-merkley-says-donald-trump-will-fill-the-swamp-with-swamp-monsters,"Sen. Jeff Merkley Says Donald Trump Will ""Fill the Swamp With Swamp Monsters""",2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Sen. Jeff Merkley Says Donald Trump Will ""Fill the Swamp With Swamp Monsters"" Merkley's plan for Democrats taking back the White House? Fight for working-class Americans again. Wednesday, November 30, 2016 By:  Nigel Jaquiss U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) wasted no time in pushing back against President-elect Donald Trump. On Nov. 17, Merkley took to the Senate floor to implore Trump to dump Stephen Bannon, the former Breitbart News chairman whom Trump named his chief strategist. ""Don't bring white supremacists or deeply prejudiced individuals into your administration,"" Merkley said to Trump in his floor speech. Unlike cabinet posts and the vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, however, Bannon's appointment does not require Senate confirmation, so he's in. But Merkley says there's other things Democrats can do to protect Americans from Trump's plans. Merkley says Dems must regain the trust and confidence of working-class Americans. ""The Trump administration claims it will fight for working Americans. I don't believe them for a moment. They will make the rich richer and those with power more powerful."" Dems can do that by fighting predatory financial practices, because Trump won't really ""drain the swamp"" in D.C. ""I think he's going to fill the swamp with swamp monsters from Wall Street. I think he's going to want to bring back teaser-rate mortgages and no-documentation loans."" Democrats have to distinguish themselves from Republicans on trade.""Every trade agreement works against the U.S., and there's no mechanism for balancing after they're in effect. The agreements have no minimum-wage requirements for other countries and nothing to stop currency manipulation. We need to level the playing field."" Merkley also thinks Democrats have to energize the party's base outside the Beltway. ""Whether it's offshore drilling or renewing the issuance of coal leases on federal lands, we have to fight on issues where we can draw vivid examples of the potential damage. There has to be strong coordination with civil rights, labor and environmental groups."" He says Trump's win highlights the importance of communicating with voters. ""I'm angry that we messed up this election. That's our fault. But I think there's already a fair amount of buyers' remorse out there. Voters are seeing a childish, immature person becoming president. It's scary as hell."" Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/wyden-and-merkley-ask-attorney-general-loretta-lynch-to-crack-down-on-hate-crimes,Wyden and Merkley Ask Attorney General Loretta Lynch to Crack Down on Hate Crimes,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Wyden and Merkley Ask Attorney General Loretta Lynch to Crack Down on Hate Crimes Wednesday, November 30, 2016 Oregon's two U.S. Senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, today wrote to Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking that her agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, address the reported increase in hate crimes and hate incidents. Here's an excerpt from their letter: Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-applauds-epas-commitment-to-fuel-standards-that-save-money-and-cut-pollution,Merkley Applauds EPA’s Commitment to Fuel Standards that Save Money and Cut Pollution,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Applauds EPA’s Commitment to Fuel Standards that Save Money and Cut Pollution Wednesday, November 30, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to continue the carbon pollution standards for cars and light trucks through 2025: “The EPA’s re-affirmation of the broadly supported fuel efficiency standards through 2025 is a common-sense win-win-win; these fuel economy standards are good for our consumers, economy and environment alike. These fuel economy standards, which first took effect in 2012, were supported by a broad coalition of auto manufacturers as well as labor and environmental organizations. The standards will make cars more fuel efficient over time, while providing auto manufacturers with much needed policy certainty. Today’s announcement re-affirms our commitment to make our auto sector more competitive, nearly double our fuel economy, dramatically cut carbon pollution, and save American drivers billions at the pump. For the sake of our health, economy and planet, these standards are something everyone can and should get behind.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-slams-trumps-pick-of-mnuchin-for-treasury,Merkley Slams Trump’s Pick of Mnuchin for Treasury,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Merkley Slams Trump’s Pick of Mnuchin for Treasury Wednesday, November 30, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Donald Trump picked Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker, as his nominee for Treasury Secretary: “When Donald Trump promised change, I don’t think voters thought he meant putting Wall Street back in charge of the economy. He talked a big talk about draining the swamp, but he’s putting the ultimate insider in a key position to ensure that Wall Street can go back to ripping off working Americans. “Mnuchin is a former Goldman Sachs banker who led a financial institution that was called a ‘foreclosure machine’ and that is currently under investigation for racially discriminatory practices in California.  “If Donald Trump is looking for somebody to dismantle protections for consumers and small businesses, he’s found a guy with the perfect resume. That might be great for Wall Street, but it’s a disaster for the rest of us. We need a Treasury Secretary who will stand up to predatory lending, not one who profits off it.” Print Email Tweet",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z