Jeff Merkley

Rand Paul's Anti-Iran War Amendment

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 05.13.2012

Read More: Rand Paul War, Video, Rand Paul, Iran Sanctions, Harry Reid, 112th Congress, Iran War, Joe Lieberman, Iran, Jeff Merkley, Rand Paul Iran, Syria War, Syria, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Presidents of both parties, over the past several decades, have shown a willingness to interpret Senate resolutions in the broadest imag...

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The Wild, Off the Mark Arguments Against the Volcker Rule

Sen. Jeff Merkley | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: U.S. Senate, Dodd-Frank, Wall Street, Too Big to Fail, Oregon, Jeff Merkley, Volcker Rule, Big Banks, The Volcker Rule, Paul Volcker Barack Obama, Banks Volcker Rule, Glass-Steagall, Business News

Big banks are formulating a host of arguments -- wild, off the mark arguments -- aimed at dismantling the Volcker Rule firewall between loan-making, customer-serving banks and high-risk hedge funds.

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Dems: Investigate Rove's Secret Money Group

HuffingtonPost.com | Paul Blumenthal | Posted 02.16.2012

WASHINGTON -- Seven Democratic senators sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calling for an investigation into social welfare nonprofit...

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SOPA BLACKOUT

HuffingtonPost.com | Zach Carter | Posted 01.20.2012

Read More: Scott Brown, Wikipedia, Google, Chuck Schumer, Stop Sopa, Ben Cardin, Lobbying, Pipa, Economy, Dianne Feinstein, Jobs, Sopa Blackout, Chris Dodd, Protect IP, Barack Obama, Sopa, Reddit, Politics, Video, Tech, Tom Udall, Mozilla, Chuck Grassley, Harry Reid, Orrin Hatch, Jeff Merkley, Kirsten Gillibrand, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Politics News

Thousands of websites, including some of the most popular, are going dark today to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill which is designed to thw...

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War-Weary Republicans Rebuke Romney On Afghanistan

Robert Naiman | Posted 01.31.2012

Read More: John McCain, Lindsay Graham, Rand Paul, Military Spending, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Iraq, Jeff Merkley, Afghanistan, Newt Gingrich, Senate, Politics News

On Iraq, Afghanistan, and military spending, Romney, Gingrich and most of the other candidates have mostly sung from the old-time Republican hymnal. Meanwhile, the great sea of Republicans has been doing Vatican II.

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Senators Have Ideas for Cutting the Military Budget

Robert Naiman | Posted 01.30.2012

Read More: Pentagon, Congress, Okinawa, Rand Paul, National Defense Authorization Act, Jeff Merkley, Afghanistan, Budget Control Act, Politics News

Here is a partial list of amendments of interest to those who wish to cut the military budget. The first two -- accelerated military withdrawal from Afghanistan and establishing a commission on the closing of foreign military bases -- are my personal favorites.

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Shortening the War Would Pay for Half of the Payroll Tax Holiday

Robert Naiman | Posted 01.29.2012

Read More: Harry Reid, Afl-Cio, Jeff Merkley, Rand Paul, Payroll Tax Holiday, Jobs Bill, Afghanistan War, Taxes, Payroll Tax, Politics News

We're now spending well over $100 billion a year on the war. If we removed all "regular U.S. combat troops by the end of 2012, that could easily save well over $100 billion.

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Sen. Merkley's Harm Reduction Plan for Afghanistan Would Save Lives and Billions

Robert Naiman | Posted 01.21.2012

Read More: Rand Paul, Jeff Merkley, Medicare, Richard Lugar, Afghanistan War, Foreign Policy, Senator Jeff Merkley, Afghanistan, Obama Afghanistan, Afghan Troop Withdrawal, Iraq Troop Withdrawal, US Troops Afghanistan, Politics News

If Senator Jeff Merkley's "expedite the drawdown from Afghanistan" amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act makes a strong showing, that could tip the Obama administration towards a faster drawdown.

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Is the 60-Vote Norm Paralyzing the Senate?

Lyle Denniston | Posted 01.17.2012

Read More: Jeff Merkley, U.S. Senate, Senate, Supermajority, Politics News

The Senate has been checking its tendency to talk at length by some such rule since 1917, but the insistence on 60 votes with great frequency is a thoroughly modern phenomenon and probably reflects, to a significant degree, the partisan polarization of American politics today.

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Bipartisan Group Of Senators Push For Expedited Afghanistan Withdrawal

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 11.18.2011

Read More: Obama Afghanistan, Video, Rand Paul, Tom Udall, Sherrod Brown, Afghanistan, Mike Lee, Senator Jeff Merkley, Afghanistan Withdrawal, Jeff Merkley, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan group of senators is calling on President Obama to accelerate the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan, arguing that ...

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Friday Talking Points -- Class Warfare? Hardly.

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.23.2011

Read More: Elizabeth Warren, Warfare, President Obama, Jobs, Poll, Larry Flynt, Obama, Democratic, Tax the Rich, It Came Out of the Sky, Republican, Pistols at Dawn, Social Contract, Unemployment, Flynt, Booed Soldier, Cpr, Midotw, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Pitchforks and Torches, Paul Krugman, American Jobs Act, Rick Perry, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Million Bucks, Mainstream, House, Cbo, Congress, Ccr, Middle Class Warrior, Democrats, Barack Obama, Rick Horowitz, Campaign Obama, Mddotw, Support the Troops, Airport, Gay Soldier, Deficit Cutting Plan, Harry Reid, Jeff Merkley, Friday Talking Points, Class Warfare, Republican Debate, Phil Roe, Senate, Politics News

As was entirely predictable, once Obama stood up for taxing the rich folk a wee bit more, the Republicans fired back with what they think is the biggest weapon in their arsenal: screaming "Class warfare!"

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Friday Talking Points -- Ads Obama Should Run

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.16.2011

Read More: Special Election, President Obama, Jobs, Supercommittee, Obama, Democratic, We Cant Wait, Campaign, Anniversary, Republican, Deficit, Do Nothing Congress, Political Ad, Midotw, Congressional Budget Office, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, American Jobs Act, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Merkley, Ny-9, Anthony Weiner, Committee, House, Cbo, David Weprin, Two Million Jobs, Democrat, Congress, Ad, Bully Pulpit, Democrats, Barack Obama, New York, Mddotw, Chris Weigant, Score, Phone, Tell the Truth on Jobs, Jobs Plan, Jeff Merkley, Friday Talking Points, Senate, Politics News

Obama should run a few ads right now which do not even mention the election. Instead of saying "vote for me!" these ads should say "pass my jobs bill" in as many creative ways as possible.

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Merkley's Right: CBO Should Score Jobs

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.14.2011

Read More: President Obama, Plum Line, Cbo, Budget, Economy, Jobs, Supercommittee, Obama, Democrats, Barack Obama, Deficit, Unemployment, Chris Weigant, Score, Congressional Budget Office, Budget Cutting, Jeff Merkley, Merkley, Republicans, Politics News

This will force the public debate to cover the entire scope of the proposals being offered up, and it would do so by providing the data the public most cares about right now: how will this create or destroy jobs?

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As Government Nears Accord With Banks, Questions Swirl Over Scope Of Investigation

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 09.09.2011

Read More: Foreclosure Crisis, Sherrod Brown, Robo-Signing, Robert Menendez, Foreclosure Fraud, Mortgage Investigation, Tom Miller, Tom Coburn, State Attorneys General, Eric Schneiderman, State AG Foreclosure, Richard Shelby, Jeff Merkley, Foreclosure Fraud Investigation, Lisa Madigan, Foreclosure Investigation, Business News

WASHINGTON -- State and federal prosecutors are pressing to complete a proposed settlement with the nation's five largest home loan companies over all...

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Three Senators Call For Afghanistan Withdrawal By End Of 2012

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 09.04.2011

Read More: Rand Paul Afghanistan, Tom Udall, Rand Paul, Afghanistan, 112th Congress, Jeff Merkley Afghanistan, Afghanistan Withdrawal, Jeff Merkley, Tom Udall Afghanistan, Afghanistan Withdrawal Timetable, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Two Democratic senators and one Republican senator are calling for the removal of all regular combat troops from Afghanistan by the end ...

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WATCH: Democratic Senator Targets Tax Breaks For The Horse Racing Industry

HuffingtonPost.com | Paige Lavender | Posted 08.30.2011

Read More: Chuck Schumer, Video, Mitch McConnell, Debt Deal, Dick Durbin, Senator Jeff Merkley, Jeff Merkley, Tax Breaks, Horse Racing, Barbara Mikulski, Charles Schumer, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is turning up the heat on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the deficit debate, highlighting the Kent...

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Democrats Disappointed With Obama's Afghanistan Speech

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 08.22.2011

WASHINGTON -- Democratic lawmakers who have been pressing for a sizable and significant withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan almost universally ...

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Bipartisan Group Of Senators Targets Mortgage Servicers

HuffingtonPost.com | Arthur Delaney | Posted 07.13.2011

Read More: Mortgages, Hamp, Mortgage Modifications, Home Affordable Modification Program, Regulation of Mortgage Servicing Act, Olympia Snowe, Fraudclosure, Jeff Merkley, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Fraud, Business News

WASHINGTON -- Unimpressed by the recent efforts of state and federal regulators to rein in the mortgage servicing industry, a bipartisan group of sena...

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Senate Panel Probes Massive Growth At Tiny College

HuffingtonPost.com | Chris Kirkham | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Higher-Learning-Commission, Education, Senate, College, Sylvia Manning, Tom Harkin, Ashford-University, Bridgepoint-Education-Inc, Jeff Merkley, Higher Education, Education Reform, For-Profit-College-Accreditation, For-Profit Colleges, Business News

WASHINGTON - In a wide-ranging hearing on Thursday, a Senate panel set its sights on the tremendous growth of a tiny Iowa college that has become one ...

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Lawmakers Pushing Back Against Banks' Foreclosure-Settlement Complaints

HuffingtonPost.com | Zach Carter | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON -- As bank executives push back against the terms of a foreclosure settlement with fees that may be as high as $20 billion, progressive leg...

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Our Achilles Heel, Once Again Exposed

Sen. Tom Udall | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Libya, Yemen, Energy Independence, Tom Udall, National Security, Egypt, Middle East, Oil, Renewable Energy, Jeff Merkley, Clean Energy, Libya Protests, Green News

Despite our distance, we can clearly feel the vibrations from uprisings on the other side of the world. They have once again exposed our country's Achilles heel -- an addiction to foreign oil.

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Friday Talking Points [153] -- SOTU-palooza

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Mark Udall, White House, Tea Party, Competitiveness, President Obama, Speech, Mccaskill, Udall, Narrative, Storytelling, Democratic, Obama, Charles Schumer, Republican, Dennis Kucinich, Midotw, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Ryan, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Merkley, Race Card, Bachmann, Story, Steve Cohen, Tea Party Republicans, House, Senate Rules, Rules, George Lakoff, Post-Partisan, Democrat, Congress, Democrats, Cohen, Barack Obama, Moran, Schumer, Lakoff, Michele Bachmann, Response, Mddotw, Rahm Emanuel, Chris Weigant, Sotu, State of the Union, Jeff Merkley, Paul Ryan, Messaging, Friday Talking Points, Claire McCaskill, Chuck Schumer, Senate, Jim Moran, Communication, Politics News

The past week in politics was, quite obviously, dominated by President Obama's "State Of The Union" speech to Congress. For those of you who may have...

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Key Senator Urges Obama To Push Foreclosure Relief

HuffingtonPost.com | Zach Carter | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is urging President Barack Obama to pledge a new round of foreclosure relief during his State of the Union ad...

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It's Simple: Reform The Filibuster, Shame the Hypocrites

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid, Jeff Merkley, Tom Udall, Filibuster Reform, Politics News

Imagine how much more honest the Senate will be if the Udall/Merkley proposal passes. You want to filibuster something, you're gonna have to get up on your feet and rock it Jimmy Stewart (or Bernie Sanders) style.

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Leading GOP Senator Calls Filibuster Reform A Democratic 'Power Grab'

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: U.S. Senate, Lamar Alexander, Senator Harry Reid, Harry Reid, Jeff Merkley, Tom Harkin, Sen. Lamar Alexander, Filibuster Reform, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Filibuster, Mitch McConnell, Tom Udall, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Politics News

***UPDATED BELOW*** WASHINGTON -- Republican leaders launched a coordinated attack against Democratic proposals to reform Senate rules Tuesday, makin...

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