2008 election

On August 1, 2007, Merkley announced he would run for the U.S. Senate in the 2008 election.^[18] On August 13, he was endorsed by Governor Ted Kulongoski and former governor Barbara Roberts.^[19] In December 2007 he was endorsed by the Oregon AFL–CIO, the state's largest labor federation. The union federation's leaders cited Merkley's 97% record of voting in the interests of working families and his electability in a general election against the incumbent, Gordon Smith.^[20] Merkley was the first federal candidate to be cross-nominated by the Independent Party of Oregon.^{[citation needed]}

Merkley won the Democratic nomination to challenge Smith in 2008, narrowly defeating activist Steve Novick and four others in the Democratic primary.^[21] He was initially thought to have only a moderate chance of unseating Smith, but a July 2008 Rasmussen poll showed him in the lead, albeit within the margin of error.^[22] By August, after strongly negative campaigning on both sides, Rasmussen reported that Merkley's support had deteriorated, with Smith taking a strong lead in the polls. Merkley's favorable rating was at 42%, while his unfavorable rating had risen to 45%.^[23]

Polls taken shortly before the election indicated that Merkley's standing had once again improved, with Merkley's 12-point deficit turning into a slight lead.^[24]

On election night the race was too close to call, but media outlets including The Oregonian called it for Merkley on the morning of November 6, and Smith conceded later that morning.^[25] Ultimately, Merkley defeated Smith by three percentage points, 49% to 46%. While he carried only eight counties, one of them was his home county of Multnomah County, which he won by 142,000 votes—a deficit that proved too much for Smith to overcome. Merkley thus became the first person to unseat an incumbent Oregon senator since Bob Packwood defeated Wayne Morse in 1968.^{[citation needed]}

Merkley formally resigned his seat in the Oregon House in a letter to Secretary of State Bill Bradbury on January 2, 2009.^[26] He was sworn in as a senator on January 3, 2009. Upon his swearing in, Oregon was represented in the Senate by two Democrats (Merkley and Ron Wyden) for the first time since Maurine Brown Neuberger served alongside Morse from 1960 to 1967.^{[citation needed]}

Tenure

Merkley has a progressive record as a senator. He became the first Democratic member of the Senate to announce that he would vote against the confirmation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, citing Bernanke's failure to "recognize or remedy the factors that paved the road to this dark and difficult recession". As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Merkley became a leading force in the effort to pass the Wall Street reform bill. Along with Michigan Senator Carl Levin, he successfully added an amendment, usually called the Volcker Rule, to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street reform bill, which banned high-risk trading inside commercial banking and lending institutions. Merkley also championed an amendment that banned liar loans, a predatory mortgage practice that played a role in the housing bubble and subsequent financial collapse.^[27]

He was a founding signatory of a mid-February 2010 petition to use reconciliation to pass legislation providing for a government-run health insurance program.^[28] Merkley also championed legislation to give new mothers private space and flexible break times to pump breast milk once they return to work. His breastfeeding amendment was included in the health care reform law and signed into law by President Obama in 2010.^[29]

In late February 2010, Merkley again made headlines when he unsuccessfully tried to persuade Republican colleague Jim Bunning of Kentucky to drop his objection to passing a 30-day extension of unemployment benefits for jobless Americans. Bunning replied, "Tough shit." A spokesman for Merkley said that Merkley did not hear Bunning's remark at the time.^[30]

In late 2010, Merkley began circulating a proposal about the need to filibuster in order to block legislation.^[31] In 2011, he introduced a bill to reform the filibuster. He was joined by Senators Tom Udall of New Mexico and Tom Harkin of Iowa.

Merkley was the only member of the Senate to endorse Bernie Sanders in his 2016 bid for the Democratic nomination for president.^[32]

On April 4, 2017, Merkley held the Senate floor for 15 hours and 28 minutes in protest of the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

In June 2018, Merkley received national attention when he attempted to visit a facility holding the children of jailed adults who had attempted to cross the border to seek asylum. Children were separated from their parents and placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Merkley filmed his attempt to visit a facility in a former Walmart in Brownsville, Texas. He was denied entrance and the police were called and arrived as he continued to try to speak with the facility administrator. He commented in the film: "I think it's unacceptable that a member of Congress is not being admitted to see what is happening to children whose families are applying for asylum. I decided to come out here, go up to the door and ask to be let in." By midday the video had garnered more than one million viewers.^[33]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
• Committee on Foreign Relations
• Committee on Rules and Administration

Asylum and immigration

Merkley has been noted for his opposition to the Trump administration's immigration policies. In June 2018, he attempted to enter the Casa Padre processing facility in Brownsville, Texas, where children separated from their parents were being detained as a result of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy. Merkley was not permitted to enter, and eventually the police were called and he was asked to leave the premises. Video of the event went viral on social media, drawing greater attention to the policy in traditional media and among the public.^[34][35] Speaking about the policy in an interview with Time, Merkley said, "Part of this is the dehumanization of people seeking asylum in the U.S."^[36] By the end of June, Trump signed an executive order modifying the policy to replace family separation with family detention. Merkley continued to oppose the administration's policy, dubbing it "handcuffs for all".^[37] As of July 2018, many children who were separated under the policy still had not been reunited with their parents.

In August 2018, Merkley was one of 17 senators to sign a letter spearheaded by Kamala Harris to United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen demanding that the Trump administration take immediate action to reunite 539 migrant children with their families, citing each passing day of inaction as intensifying "trauma that this administration has needlessly caused for children and their families seeking humanitarian protection".^[38]

In November 2018, Merkley was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis about "the overt politicization of the military" with the Trump administration's deployment of 5,800 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and requesting a briefing and written justification from the U.S. Northern Command for troop deployment, urging Mattis to "curb the unprecedented escalation of DOD involvement in immigration enforcement".^[39]

In January 2019, Merkley was one of 20 senators to sponsor the Dreamer Confidentiality Act, a bill imposing a ban on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from passing information collected on DACA recipients to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Justice, or any other law enforcement agency except in cases of fraudulent claims, national security issues, or non-immigration-related felonies.^[40]

Electronic cigarettes

In April 2019, Merkley was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to Juul CEO Kevin Burns asserting that the company had "lost what little remaining credibility the company had when it claimed to care about the public health" and that they would not rest until Juul's "dangerous products are out of the hands of our nation’s children". The senators requested Juul list each of its advertising buys and detail the steps it has taken to ensure its advertisements are not seen by people under 21 and asked whether Juul had purchased any social media influencers for product promotion.^[41]

Defense and foreign policy

In August 2013, Merkley was one of 23 Democratic senators to sign a letter to the Defense Department warning that some payday lenders were "offering predatory loan products to service members at exorbitant triple digit effective interest rates and loan products that do not include the additional protections envisioned by the law" and asserting that service members, along with their families, "deserve the strongest possible protections and swift action to ensure that all forms of credit offered to members of our armed forces are safe and sound".^[42]

On June 28, 2018, Merkley was the only member of the Senate Appropriations Committee to vote against the $675 billion Pentagon spending bill for fiscal 2019 providing $607.1 billion for its base budget and $67.9 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operation (OCO) war fund. The bill was a $20.4 billion increase over the fiscal 2018 level.^[43]

Banking regulation

Merkley has focused on Wall Street reform in his position on the Senate Banking Committee. He and Carl Levin led an effort to crack down on proprietary trading at depository banks and other critical financial firms.^[63] The Dodd–Frank Act included the Merkley–Levin amendment to implement the Volcker Rule. The rule is premised on the notion that banks should not make risky, speculative bets while enjoying government deposit insurance.^[64][65] It is intended to prevent high-risk trading that jeopardizes the banking system.^[66] A $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in May 2012 prompted Merkley and Levin to push regulators to stiffen their draft language on the Volcker Rule provisions.^[65][67]

Infrastructure

In January 2018, Merkley was one of ten senators to sign a letter to Trump encouraging him "to not only protect existing 'Buy America' laws, but to work with Congress to expand these protections and address coverage gaps" while the administration's infrastructure proposal was being drafted, and asserting that "no infrastructure proposal should allow circumvention of current requirements in federal law that ensure our public infrastructure is built with American-made iron, steel, and manufactured materials by workers who are paid a fair wage."^[68]

In June 2019, Merkley was one of eight senators to sponsor the Made in America Act, legislation that would designate federal programs that had funded infrastructure projects not currently subject to Buy America standards and mandate that materials used in these programs be domestically produced. Bill cosponsor Tammy Baldwin said the bill would strengthen Buy America requirements and that she was hopeful both Democrats and Republicans would support "this effort to make sure our government is buying American products and supporting American workers".^[69]

Health care

Merkley voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.^[70] He was a founding signatory of a mid-February 2010 petition to use reconciliation to pass legislation providing for a government-run health insurance program.^[28] Merkley also championed legislation that gives nursing mothers flexible break times and private space to pump breast milk at work. His breastfeeding amendment was included in the health care reform law and signed into law by Obama in 2010.^[71]

In December 2016, Merkley was one of five senators to vote against the Obama administration-supported 21st Century Cures Act, legislation increasing funding for disease research while addressing flaws in the American mental health systems and altering drugs and medical devices' regulatory system."^[72]

In December 2018, Merkley was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar, Seema Verma, and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act to authorize states to "increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with preexisting conditions." The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and "re-engage with stakeholders, states, and Congress."^[73]

In February 2019, Merkley was one of 23 Democratic senators to introduce the State Public Option Act, a bill that would authorize states to form a Medicaid buy-in program for all residents and thereby let all residents of the state buy into a state-driven Medicaid health insurance plan if they wished. Brian Schatz, a bill cosponsor, said the legislation would "unlock each state’s Medicaid program to anyone who wants it, giving people a high-quality, low-cost public health insurance option" and that its goal was "to make sure that every single American has comprehensive health care coverage."^[74]

In June 2019 Merkley and 14 other senators introduced the Affordable Medications Act, legislation intended to promote transparency by mandating that pharmaceutical companies disclose the amount of money going toward research and development in addition to both marketing and executives' salaries. The bill also abolished the restriction preventing the federal Medicare program from using its buying power to negotiate lower drug prices for beneficiaries and hinder drug company monopoly practices used to keep prices high and disable less expensive generics entering the market.^[75]

In August 2019, Merkley was one of 19 senators to sign a letter to United States Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin and United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration in order to help states and Congress understand the potential consequences of the Texas v. United States Affordable Care Act lawsuit, writing that an overhaul of the present health care system would form "an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets".^[76]

Housing

As a member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Merkley has contributed legislation toward fixing the subprime mortgage crisis. The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act contained an amendment by Merkley and Senator Amy Klobuchar protecting consumers from deceptive mortgage lending practices.^[77][78] The amendment prohibits mortgage lenders from receiving hidden payments when they sell high-cost loans and prohibits brokers from receiving higher pay for selling riskier or higher-fee loans. It also bolsters underwriting standards.^[77][79]

To speed the recovery of the housing market, Merkley supports aggressive efforts to create refinancing alternatives to costly and time-consuming foreclosures, including allowing federal bankruptcy judges to modify existing mortgages so they can keep their home under new terms.^[80] In July 2012, Merkley proposed a broad new refinancing plan for homeowners who owe more than their houses are worth and therefore cannot refinance. Under his plan, any homeowner who is current on their mortgage could refinance into a 4% mortgage for 15 years or a 5% mortgage for 30 years.^[81][82]

In April 2019, Merkley was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to the housing subcommittee praising the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 4 Capacity Building program as authorizing "HUD to partner with national nonprofit community development organizations to provide education, training, and financial support to local community development corporations (CDCs) across the country" and expressing disappointment that Trump's budget "has slated this program for elimination after decades of successful economic and community development." The senators wrote that they hoped the subcommittee would support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020.^[83]

In December 2023, Merkley introduced the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act of 2023 to the Senate. This legislation would require hedge funds to sell at least 10% of the single-family homes they own each year over a 10-year period. After this period, hedge funds will be banned from owning any single-family homes.^[84]

Environment

Campaign finance

Merkley supports increased transparency in campaign financing and limits on independent political spending by corporations.^[97][98] He has been critical of both the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and of the court's decision in 2012 not to revisit this case.^[99][100] Merkley called the 2012 decision "disturbing and damaging."^[100] In response to the decision, in July 2012 Merkley and six other senators sponsored the Disclose Act.^[101] Among other provisions, the legislation would require public disclosure of political donors that give $10,000 or more.^[101][102]

Senate reform

Merkley has been a leader in trying to reform the rules of the Senate, including those about the filibuster. On January 5, 2011, he and Senators Tom Udall and Tom Harkin introduced a resolution intended to increase debate and accountability in the Senate.^[103][104] The resolution proposed to eliminate the filibuster on motions to proceed, eliminate secret holds, guarantee consideration of amendments for both majority and minority, require a "talking filibuster" in which senators opposed to holding a straight up-or-down vote must continuously debate on the Senate floor, and expedite the nominations process.^[105] Upon introducing the resolution, Merkley said: "The Senate is broken. We are failing to fulfill our legislative responsibilities."^[105] On January 27, his "talking filibuster" proposal received 46 Senate votes.^[103][105]

Supreme Court

To protest the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court, in April 2017 Merkley staged an all-night protest on the Senate floor. He ended his filibuster speech after 15 hours.^[106] "This is a stolen seat," he said in a statement,^[107] referring to Senate Republicans' successful attempt to block Obama's appointment of Merrick Garland. "This is the first time in American history that one party has blockaded a nominee for almost a year in order to deliver a seat to a president of their own party."

Postal reform

During the Postal Reform Act debate in the Senate in April 2012, Merkley led the effort to pass an amendment that would impose a one-year moratorium on the closure of most rural post offices. After that, the bill would prohibit the closure of post offices more than 10 miles from another post office and impose conditions limiting the closure of others. Twenty rural post offices in Oregon face closure because of the postal service's financial problems.^[108][109]

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Merkley was among the five Senate Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.^[110]

Social issues

Merkley supports same-sex marriage and introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the Senate during the 111th United States Congress as S. 1584.^[111] BlueOregon, a progressive Oregon blog, commented on Merkley's suitability to be lead sponsor of ENDA, noting that as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives he had successfully guided Oregon's state version of ENDA, the Oregon Equality Act, to become law.^[112]

In 2010, Merkley cosponsored legislation to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) and allow gay Americans to serve openly in the military. In March 2011, he cosponsored the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA)^[113] to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), legislation that bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. With 11 other RFMA cosponsors, including fellow Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, Merkley released a video as part of the It Gets Better Project, the anti-bullying initiative aimed at inspiring at-risk LGBTQIA+ youth.^[114]

In May 2014, days before the FCC was scheduled to rewrite its net neutrality rules, Merkley was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler charging that Wheeler's proposal would destroy net neutrality and urging the FCC to "consider reclassifying Internet providers to make them more like traditional phone companies, over which the agency has clear authority to regulate more broadly."^[115]

In October 2018, Merkley was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to reverse the rolling back of a policy that granted visas to same-sex partners of LGBTQIA+ diplomats who had unions that were not recognized by their home countries, writing that too many places around the world have seen LGBTQIA+ people "subjected to discrimination and unspeakable violence, and receive little or no protection from the law or local authorities" and that refusing to let LGBTQIA+ diplomats bring their partners to the U.S. would be equivalent to upholding "the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world."^[116]

In December 2018, Merkley voted for the First Step Act, legislation aimed at reducing recidivism rates among federal prisoners by expanding job training and other programs in addition to forming an expansion of early-release programs and modifications on sentencing laws such as mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, "to more equitably punish drug offenders."^[117]

In June 2019, Merkley was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Pompeo requesting an explanation of a State Department decision not to issue a statement that year commemorating Pride Month or issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month. They also asked why the LGBTQIA+ special envoy position had remained vacant and asserted that "preventing the official flying of rainbow flags and limiting public messages celebrating Pride Month signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTQIA+ rights as a foreign policy priority."^[118]