The Public Record
Jeff Alan Merkley is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oregon since January 6, 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley has focused on issues such as healthcare, climate change, and economic inequality throughout his tenure. He has been an advocate for progressive policies and has worked to address the challenges facing working families in Oregon and across the nation. Merkley is known for his commitment to transparency and accountability in government, often speaking out against perceived injustices and advocating for reforms.
I thank my senior Senator for his championing and his leadership and his longtime defense of the Internet as a place of fair transactions for small businesses and large, as a tax-free zone. I hope this Chamber is not engaging in a course…
I think about the small businesses that would be subject to so many jurisdictions that they now have a tax relationship with and the responsibility to collect for and the possibility of having to basically call them and say: Well, you…
I compliment the senior Senator from Oregon who has come to this floor and very clearly laid out what is felt in the heart of Oregonians across our State, and that is this bill tells Oregonians they have to be the collection agents for…
I urge the Senate to pass S. 335, which was also included as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2013.
how much time remains? The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is no time agreement. The Senator from Oregon.
The Senator makes a great point. If States have not voluntarily entered into compacts where they get to collect their own sales tax for other States where it is a mutually beneficial relationship, then it is very strange to have to be…
Well, I appreciate the Senator expanding on that. On page 6 of this bill, there is a line that starts out very promising: ``Relieve remote sellers and certified software providers from liability to the State or locality for incorrect…
this is a provision based on a law that we adopted in Oregon when I was Speaker that worked incredibly well.
With the changing or the more extensive droughts, we're going to see that this problem of accumulated fuels becomes of more and more dreaded effect.
A lot of our private landholders are very concerned about forest fires that are moving from public land onto their private land.
Thank you. And I do appreciate the advocacy for funding. This has been a key, key set of programs.
We're looking at a proposed budget that cuts the hazardous fuels reduction in half.
I first wanted to ask about, we have a mill in John Day that has been at high risk of closing.
This is an effort to address a significant area in southern Oregon, where you have a complicated set of rivers and dams and species.
I just want to note that a 'for example' is that we spend $80 billion-plus in the home mortgage interest deduction to promote homeownership, but almost none of that goes to lower income families buying starter homes.
I believe that the President's request is $350 million, if the numbers I have are right.
I wanted to start by echoing Senator Udall's comments in regard to the proposed reduction in funding for hazardous fuels reduction.
Okay. So we anticipate getting that done, and hopefully, we'll get it arranged through the House.
the fiscal year 2013 enacted amount was $682 million, so roughly a 50-percent decrease in those block grants.
Thank you. And are you satisfied with the stewardship contracting reauthorization as structured in the Senate farm bill?
If we lose the infrastructure that's out there because we don't have predictable supply, then it all falls on the taxpayers, it all falls on your budget.
This is really a strategy that gets people started in homeownership which has a huge impact on the success of families.
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