Jeff Merkley

Electoral integrity

Criminal justice

Fiscal policy

Healthcare

Education

Economy and labor

Environment and energy

Immigration

National security and foreign policy

Civil rights and liberties

Social policy

Technology and data

Civil liberties and government power

Government accountability and transparency

Infrastructure and public investment

Merkley moved to discharge a motion directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress, and spoke in favor of Congress exercising its constitutional responsibility to decide questions of war.

Merkley moved to proceed to S.J. Res. 156, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection's rule relating to the withdrawal of protections for consumer credit offered in advance of expected compensation, and spoke in opposition to what he characterized as predatory payday lending practices.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor regarding the War Powers Resolution, explaining that Congress has a constitutional responsibility to decide whether the United States should go to war, and describing the constitutional framework and the 1973 War Powers Act that established the authorization for use of military force system.

Merkley requested unanimous consent to grant floor privileges to five interns on specified dates in May and June 2026.

Merkley co-sponsored S. Res. 670, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the 2026 Day of Silence in bringing attention to anti-LGBTQI+ bullying and discrimination in schools.

Merkley co-sponsored Senate Resolution 670 supporting the goals and ideals of the 2026 Day of Silence in bringing attention to anti-LGBTQI+ bullying, harassment, and discrimination in K-12 schools.

Merkley requested that the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Alsobrooks) be added as a cosponsor of S. 513, a bill to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a grant program to conserve, restore, and manage kelp forest ecosystems, and requested that the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Blumenthal) be added as a cosponsor of S. 2525, a bill to address transnational repression by foreign governments against private individuals.

Merkley was listed as a cosponsor of S. 4186, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to grow and diversify the perinatal workforce.

Merkley introduced S. 3930, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose an excise tax on the acquisition of single-family residences by hedge fund taxpayers, with Mr. Hawley.

Merkley cosponsored S. 3904, the American Homeownership Act, which would amend the Internal Revenue Code to deny certain tax deductions for taxpayers and limit tax breaks for private equity firms and corporations that acquire housing.

Merkley co-sponsored Senate Resolution 604, which recognizes that it is the duty of the federal government to develop and implement a transgender bill of rights to protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary people.

Merkley was listed as a co-sponsor of S. Res. 604, a resolution recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights, and S. Res. 606, a resolution condemning the Government of Iran for its suppression of the right of Iranians to peacefully assemble.

Merkley co-submitted Senate Resolution 597, which provided authority to initiate litigation regarding actions by the President and Department of Justice officials related to the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Merkley was listed as a cosponsor of S. Res. 597, a resolution providing for the authority to initiate litigation for actions by the President and Department of Justice officials inconsistent with their duties under the laws of the United States.

Paul Amdt. No. 4272

Motion to Table Lee Amdt. No. 4236

Motion to Table Lee Amdt. No. 4234

Motion to Table Lee Amdt. No. 4286

Sanders Amdt. No. 4290

Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Merkley Amdt. No. 4287

H.R. 7148, as Amended

Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Proceed to H.R. 7148

Merkley was listed as a co-sponsor of S. 3717, a bill to amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act.

Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 3627

Motion to Invoke Cloture: H.R. 6938

H.R. 6938

Is the Point of Order Well Taken Re: To the Privilege Status of S.J. Res. 98

Motion to Proceed to S.J. Res. 84

Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Proceed to H.R. 6938

Motion to Discharge S.J.Res. 98

Confirmation: Alexander C. Van Hook, of Louisiana, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana

Merkley introduced S. Res. 580 to direct the Architect of the Capitol to display a plaque honoring law enforcement members who responded on January 6, 2021, in a publicly accessible location in the Senate wing of the Capitol until a permanent location can be arranged.

Motion to Proceed to S.J.Res. 86

Confirmation: Joshua Simmons, of Virginia, to be General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency

Confirmation: Sara Bailey, of Texas, to be Director of National Drug Control Policy

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor about the January 6 attack on the Capitol, describing the events of that evening when rioters stormed the building during the electoral vote count, injured over 170 police officers, and resulted in five police officer deaths.

Confirmation: Keith Bass, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense

Merkley co-sponsored an amendment to prohibit the use of United States Armed Forces to conduct hostilities with respect to Venezuela, except pursuant to specific statutory authorization or congressional authorization consistent with the War Powers Resolution.

Merkley co-sponsored Senate Resolution 552, which recognizes that oceans are warming due to human-caused climate change.

Merkley co-sponsored Senate Resolution 555, which recognizes that climate change poses a threat to the mortgage market and to home values.

Merkley co-sponsored Senate Resolution 554, which recognizes the strong link between climate change and skyrocketing insurance premiums.

Merkley co-sponsored Senate Resolution 553, which recognizes that climate change is real.

Merkley co-sponsored Senate Resolution 560, which recognizes that mercury pollution can cause severe health problems including permanent brain damage, kidney damage, and birth defects, and expresses the sense of the Senate that the Environmental Protection Agency should not loosen controls on mercury pollution from power plants.

Merkley co-sponsored Senate Resolution 551 recognizing that sea levels are rising at accelerated rates due to human-caused climate change.

Merkley co-submitted Senate Resolution 557, which recognizes that unchecked climate change poses severe risks to national and global economies.

Merkley co-submitted Senate Resolution 556 recognizing that Florida's insurance market is gravely stressed by climate risks.

Merkley introduced S. 3344, cosponsored by Senators Kaine, Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, Welch, Markey, and Sanders, which prohibits the unauthorized use of U.S. Armed Forces in hostilities with respect to Venezuela.

Merkley stated that President Trump's administration is cutting off food to 757,000 people in Oregon including 210,000 children and 130,000 seniors, and argued that the Department of Agriculture has available contingency funds and interchange authority to provide full SNAP benefits in November.

Merkley discussed the book "How Democracies Die" by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt on the Senate floor, explaining its six warning signs of authoritarianism and drawing parallels to the Trump administration's governance.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor stating that President Trump is shredding the Constitution through actions including masked federal agents arresting people based on skin color or accent, canceling research grants to compel universities' teaching, using broadcast license power to compel television networks, and weaponizing the Department of Justice against perceived political opponents.

Merkley submitted amendment SA 3875 to bill S. 2296 that would add a section denying entry into the United States to current or former officials engaged in forced repatriation of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious groups to the People's Republic of China.

Merkley co-sponsored Senate Amendment 3873, which proposed to strike section 706 from bill S. 2296 regarding fiscal year 2026 Defense Department appropriations and military personnel strengths.

Merkley submitted amendment SA 3875 intended to be proposed to bill S. 2296, which was ordered to lie on the table.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor in support of legislation to release the Epstein files, which he drafted as a proposal with Senator Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico.

Merkley asked for the yeas and nays on the Quinones nomination and voted nay.

Merkley called for complete and total disclosure of the Epstein files held by the Department of Justice and Department of the Treasury, stating that the American people have a right to know what information the government is suppressing.

Merkley called for complete disclosure of the Epstein files, stating that all details should be brought to light while protecting victims' names, and referenced Senator Wyden's investigation finding over 4,700 suspicious wire transfers totaling more than $1 billion from one of Epstein's bank accounts.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor on July 1, 2025, stating that H.R. 1 slashes healthcare for 17 million Americans, guts Medicaid, dismantles the Affordable Care Act, shuts down rural hospitals, takes food from 4 million children, makes college more expensive, ends clean energy investments, makes tax cuts permanent for billionaires, and increases the debt by $3.3 trillion over 10 years and $30 trillion over 30 years.

Merkley submitted S. Con. Res. 18, a concurrent resolution recognizing a health and safety emergency affecting children due to the Trump administration's fossil fuel directives and suppression of climate change science, alongside nine co-sponsors.

Merkley co-submitted Senate Resolution 323 urging the United States to lead a global effort to halt and reverse the nuclear arms race.

Merkley co-sponsored an amendment submitted by Mr. Wyden to strike section 60019 relating to rescission of the neighborhood access and equity grant program from H.R. 1.

Merkley co-sponsored an amendment to H.R. 1 that would preserve unobligated funds from the neighborhood access and equity grant program awarded before enactment and require their obligation for the projects for which they were awarded.

Merkley co-sponsored S. 2201, a bill to prohibit panic defenses based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor to discuss debt and argue that a pending bill would create deficits to provide tax breaks to wealthy Americans rather than to address a recession or war, and would cut healthcare and nutrition assistance programs.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor to discuss fiscal responsibility, stating that the majority of debt over the last 20 years came from Republican policies including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq ($8 trillion), the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, and the 2017 Trump tax cut, and argued that a pending Republican bill would create $3 trillion in deficits over 10 years and $30 trillion over 30 years.

Merkley discussed the rising cost of college education and argued that income-driven repayment plans, particularly the SAVE plan, should be preserved rather than eliminated.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor about the history of bipartisan deficit reduction efforts dating back to 1974 and described how Republican tax cuts and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq contributed to deficit spending.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor to discuss how the Republican party has driven massive increases in debt through tax bills and by eroding the 1974 budgeting framework, citing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, and the Trump tax cuts of 2017 as major factors in reducing revenue.

Merkley explained the history and purpose of the 1974 Budget Act, detailing how Section 312 and reconciliation were created as separate tools for budgeting and deficit reduction respectively.

Merkley stated that the bottom 20 percent of families would receive approximately $90 per year in tax benefits while individuals earning a million dollars would receive $90,000 per year in tax benefits under the bill.

Merkley explained that he missed rollcall vote No. 277 on May 22 regarding H.J. Res 88 and stated he would have voted no because overturning California's Clean Air Act waivers would delay climate action and the Congressional Review Act process would undermine state innovation authority.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor opposing the GENIUS Act, stating that it lacks guardrails to prevent government officials from profiting from cryptocurrency sales and arguing that the majority leader broke a promise to allow amendments to be considered.

Merkley rose to discuss the need for regulation of artificial intelligence and opposed a provision in the House reconciliation package that would impose a 10-year ban on state and local governments from regulating artificial intelligence.

Merkley stated that Senate Republicans are using the Congressional Review Act to overturn waivers in ways that Congress never intended, and that the Government Accountability Office and Senate Parliamentarian have said the Congressional Review Act cannot be used to overturn waivers because they are not rules.

Merkley cosponsored S. 1709, a bill to establish direct care registered nurse-to-patient staffing ratio requirements in hospitals.

Merkley coleaded S. 1709, a bill to establish direct care registered nurse-to-patient staffing ratio requirements in hospitals.

Merkley was listed as a cosponsor of S. 1709, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish direct care registered nurse-to-patient staffing ratio requirements in hospitals.

Merkley spoke on the Senate floor opposing the Republican budget resolution, stating that it slashes programs for families while providing tax giveaways to billionaires and runs the country deeper into debt.

Merkley stated that RFK, Jr. failed on experience, ethics, and qualifications to lead Health and Human Services, citing his incorrect answers about Medicare and Medicaid during his confirmation hearings.