WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: Today, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) testified before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Health Subcommittee to advocate for her new proposal that seeks to improve long-term health care for aging veterans. Specifically, the VA Geriatrics and Gerontology Advisory Committee Expansion Act would add a representative of the National Association of State Veterans Homes (NASVH) to the Department of   more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act (H.R. 9456), led by Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04). Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05), who has raised concerns regarding foreign-owned timberland in Oregon, voted for the proposal. It would strengthen the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' (CFIUS) capacity to inspect sales of U  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, issued the following news release on Sept. 10, 2024: Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held a legislative hearing on five bills that support wildlife conservation, provide local control to certain federal recreational concession areas and promote coastal restoration. Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) issued the following state  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11616) on Sept. 11, 2024, by natural resources policy specialists Charles V. Stern and Pervaze A. Sheikh. Here are excerpts: * * * Klamath River Dam Removal and Restoration The Klamath River Basin (Figure 1) - a 12,000 square mile area on the California-Oregon border - is a focal point for discussions on water allocation and species protection. These issues have generated conflict amon  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 -- Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, issued the following news release on Sept. 9, 2024: Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a field hearing in Santa Nella, Calif., to hear from local witnesses about the water management challenges facing California's Central Valley. "California's Central Valley is one of the largest agriculture producing regions in the country, producing one  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that $9.4 million is coming to Oregon to reduce wildfire threats in high-risk areas across the state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is directly investing $9,422,722 in three of Oregon's national forests to treat areas of high wildfire risk where forests and grasslands meet homes and communities. This funding is part of the USDA Fo  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced federal funding is heading to the cities of Tangent, Milwaukie, and Ashland to develop and update comprehensive road and street safety plans, while investments for Klamath Falls will fund the construction of safety improvements at intersections in the city. "Whether walking, driving, or biking, Oregonians in every corner of the state deserve   more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding Portland International Airport (PDX) $8,724,651 to boost its project to upgrade the airport's HVAC electrical systems to reduce emissions. "PDX is a vital hub for Oregonians, connecting communities, businesses, and travelers to the rest of the world. As the airport continues to grow, it's cr  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today issued the following statement after a federal judge refused to pause a decision overturning the Commodity Future Trading Commission's (CFTC) rejection of a proposal by a private prediction market operator to allow legal gambling on U.S. elections: "When big bets are cast on elections and dark money can smear candidates, you have the perfect combination of factors th  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on Sept. 9, 2024: * * * Today, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, released the following statement on President Trump's recent comments in support of rescheduling cannabis and Florida's legalization ballot measure. "Vice President Kamala Harris has long been on the right side of ending the failed war on drugs. I was pleased to work with her on the o  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 9, 2024: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, alongside U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, today announced new federal funding to improve one of Portland's most important, high-crash corridors. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is awarding the City of Portland $9.6 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make essential safety improvements  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 13, 2024: Today, Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released the following statement on the executive action announced to address the flood of packages entering the U.S. under the de minimis threshold. "While we welcome today's announcement from President Biden on the dangers of the de minimis loophole, this is only the first step and does not negate the need for Congr  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Dr. Gulshan Abbas, the sister of staunch international Uyghur advocate, Rushan Abbas, remains detained in a Chinese prison. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and colleagues released a joint statement ahead of the six-year anniversary of Dr. Gulshan Abbas' unjust imprisonment. "Dr. Gulshan Abbas has suffered more than six years of cruel and unjust imprisonment at the hands of the Chines  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. government agencies have different criteria for sanctioning adversaries and preventing them from engaging in the U.S. economy. Our biggest foreign adversaries, like China, benefit from this lack of interagency coordination, which must come to an immediate end. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Sanctions List Harmonization Act. This bill would require the U.S. Depa  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: "Artificial intelligence has the potential to drive economic growth and transform our society. We have to harness these tools for good and ensure the American people can benefit from them," said Rep. Salinas. "I am proud to see my bipartisan bill pass out of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and move one step closer to becoming law. This legislation will help more college graduates learn a  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 -- Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: "Many Americans aren't getting treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, simply because they can't find a provider who looks like them, understands their culture, or speaks their language. Unfortunately, the high cost of a behavioral health degree often prevents students from diverse backgrounds from pursuing these professions in the first place," said Rep. Salinas. "Our bipartisan bill woul  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: "Bipartisanship has been, and will continue to be, the foundation of a successful Farm Bill reauthorization. To achieve this success, a proposal must be crafted without needlessly controversial poison pills," write the members. The members emphasized that the current Farm Bill draft, which passed out of the House Agriculture Committee in May, does not have a realistic chance of becoming law. They stressed  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Representatives Lucy McBath (D-GA-07), and Shontel Brown (D-OH-11) aim to address overcrowded classrooms by reintroducing the Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act, bold legislation that makes investments to address overcrowded classrooms and set students up for success. Research shows students achieve better academic results with more individualized att  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced bipartisan legislation on Tuesday to modernize and expand the tax credit used to maintain short line railroads in Oregon, Idaho, and nationwide. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, cosponsored the legislation. "Short line and regional railroads are an essential part of our infrastruct  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on the ultra-wealthy Tax Dodging and the 2025 tax debate, on Sept. 12, 2024: * * * In a matter of months, the Congress will begin a tax debate unlike any in recent memory. This will be a make-or-break moment for the federal budget and America's middle class, and the two sides have very different ideas of how to move forward. Donald Trump is effectively waging class warfa  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on Sept. 13, 2024: * * * Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announcement that it will take action to inspect more low-value packages and support legislation similar to Wyden's bipartisan FIGHTING for America Act, which would crack down on fentanyl and other illicit   more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on Sept. 13, 2024: * * * Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on Trump's latest attempt to appear interested in the needs of working people with a tax proposal on overtime pay: "Donald Trump is losing, and these tax proposals he's floating out of desperation are as fake as his tan. Trump knows Republicans in Congress have   more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: New rule will disproportionately help low and middle-income borrowers, seniors, women, and Black borrowers. Text of Report (PDF) Today, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) released a new 29-page report, Who Really Benefits from Student Debt Cancellation?, examining the impact of the Biden-Harris administration's new Higher Education Act rule, proposed in April 2024, to cancel  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Don Beyer (D-VA) led a letter from 66 members of Congress calling on the Biden Administration to finalize strict rules for the Section 45V Tax Credit for Production of Clean Hydrogen that was passed as part of Democrats' historic Inflation Reduction Act. In a letter sent yesterday to Treasury Secretary Jan  more