WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 9, 2021: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (MA-05) today announced the introduction of the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act, legislation that would greatly boost the availability of mental health resources in America's public schools. Mental illness affects one in five--20 percent--of American youth, and just this week, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Grace F. Napolitano, D-California, chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, issued the following opening statements at a Dec. 8, 2021, hearing entitled, "Promoting Economic and Community Redevelopment and Environmental Justice in the Revitalization and Reuse of Contaminated Properties": * * * Chair DeFazio: Thank you, Madam Chair, for calling  more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr., D-New Jersey, chair of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, issued the following opening statements at a Dec. 10, 2021, hearing entitled "Leveraging IIJA: Plans for Expanding Intercity Passenger Rail": * * * Chair DeFazio: Thank you, Subcommittee Chair Payne and Ranking Member Crawford, for holding this hearing.  more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) successfully included a provision in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to require the Department of Defense to take more responsibility for its role in contributing to, as well as cleaning up, Superfund sites, including the Portland Harbor site. The Department of Defense used what is now the Portland Harbor Superfund site for ship building an more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following statement on Dec. 8, 2021: * * * Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) released the following statement after receiving a response to the letter he sent along with Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) on December 1st to Airlines for America requesting clarity on how airlines are managing payroll support progr more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 9, 2021: Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-04) today voted in support of the Protecting Our Democracy Act, legislation that would rein in presidential abuses of power and strengthen the pillars of our representative democracy. Congressman DeFazio spoke on the House floor in support of the legislation, click here to watch his remarks. "The rampant spread of misinformation and the ascent of demagogues, lik more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2021: Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-04) today issued a statement welcoming the end of attempts to move forward with the proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal in Coos Bay and accompanying natural gas pipeline, known collectively as the Jordan Cove project. "I'm glad to hear Pembina Pipeline Corp., the foreign corporation that's been pushing this ill-fated project, will no longer seek approva more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 8, 2021: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Salud Carbajal (D-CA), and Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) applauded the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 4996, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021. This bi more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05) is pleased to announce the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $1,725,000 to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde through an Indian Community Block Grant-American Rescue Plan (ICDBG-ARP) grant. Congressman Schrader helped secure the grant's funding through the ARP to support Tribal communities' continued efforts to prevent, prepare for and re more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Congressman Kurt Schrader joined Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04), the Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, along with Senator Ron Wyden and Representatives Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Cliff Bentz (OR-02) to push for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to include funding for Oregon's port infrastructure as th more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04), the Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, along with Senator Ron Wyden and Representatives Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Kurt Schrader (OR-05), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Cliff Bentz (OR-02), are pushing for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to include funding for Oregon's port infrastructure as the agency im more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04), the Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, along with Senator Ron Wyden and Representatives Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Kurt Schrader (OR-05), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Cliff Bentz (OR-02), are pushing for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to include funding for Oregon's port infrastructure as the agenc more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate recent consolidations in Oregon's retail pharmacy market to assess whether large national pharmacy chains and health plans have acted to make this market less competitive. Wyden's letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan follows the recent announcement by Bi-Mart, a regional chain of pharmacies serving largely non-urban areas, that it's cl more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 8, 2021: Oregon's U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to prevent credit agencies from selling Americans' private, personal data unrelated to their credit or finances via data brokers. "These data brokers are serving as shady middlemen to sell this personal information without any legal protections, Wyden wrote CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. "CFPB must rein in th more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 8, 2021: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today helped advance the nominations of two key Biden administration nominees, who will serve at the U.S. Department of Commerce. The nominations will head to the floor for final confirmation. "These are roles with a clear focus on creating good jobs and opportunities for American workers by getting trade  more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 9, 2021: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced that his bipartisan legislation to reform the federal government's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by voice vote. The PACER system, a database of federal judicial filings, is outdated and charges exorbitant fees to users. This bill will reform PACER to ensure easy and free public access to feder more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18), senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04), chair of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, today reintroduced the Protecting Community Television Act, legislati more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: As states across the country are passing voter laws limiting access to the ballot box, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are joining a bicameral effort calling on the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) to ensure institutions of higher education are creating opportunities for students to register to vote on campuses. In a letter written to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, the lawmakers hig more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: As states across the country are passing voter laws limiting access to the ballot box, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are joining a bicameral effort calling on the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) to ensure institutions of higher education are creating opportunities for students to register to vote on campuses. In a letter written to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, the lawmakers highli more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to quickly review Oregon's rules and regulations for a state meat inspection program that meets USDA standards, and, if approved, to expedite the needed training for Oregon staff to carry out the required work. In their letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Wyden and Merkley noted tha more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to quickly review Oregon's rules and regulations for a state meat inspection program that meets USDA standards, and, if approved, to expedite the needed training for Oregon staff to carry out the required work. In their letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Wyden and Merkley noted that l more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are joining colleagues in writing to Walter J. Scheller, Chief Executive Officer Warrior Met Coal, Inc. (Warrior Met), urging him to oversee good-faith negotiations for a fair contract with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). In 2016, when Walter Energy filed for bankruptcy, the UMWA agreed to save the company by sacrificing their wages and benefits packages. The n more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are joining colleagues in writing to Walter J. Scheller, Chief Executive Officer Warrior Met Coal, Inc. (Warrior Met), urging him to oversee good-faith negotiations for a fair contract with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). In 2016, when Walter Energy filed for bankruptcy, the UMWA agreed to save the company by sacrificing their wages and benefits packages. Th more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 6, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will receive a combined more than $2.7 million in resources from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to help them deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. "This public health crisis has landed hard on tribes in Oregon and nationwide putting in more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 6, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will receive a combined more than $2.7 million in resources from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to help them deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. * "This public health crisis has landed hard on tribes in Oregon and nationwide putti more PR