41 Most Famous Jeff Merkley Quotes

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Representative United States Senator Jeffrey Alan Merkley is an American politician. He has been serving as the junior United States Senator from Oregon under the Democrats since 2009. He was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1998 to 2009. 

Senator United States Merkley was born in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, on October 24, 1956. But he grew up in Portland and finished high school at the David Douglas High School. In 1979, Merkley, a member of the democratic party, graduated with a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University. After his Bachelor’s degree, Merkley interned with Senator Mark Hatfield. He also interned with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

He furthered and received a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Princeton University in 1992. After his Master’s degree, he was selected as a fellow in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Merkley was a five-term member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly representing House District 47, located in eastern Multnomah County within the Portland city limits.

After his fellowship, he worked as an analyst in the Congressional Budget Office. He returned to Portland in 1991. In Portland, he served as an executive director of the state’s office of Habitat for Humanity till 1994.

Member of the Democratic, Merkley, who won senate election started and founded many humanitarian programs. They include Walk for Humanity, Journey for Mankind, and YouthBuild. He also served as the Director of Housing Development. Finally, he served as the President of the World Affairs Council of Oregon. Member of the Senate United States, Jeff Merkley, is also a member of its Board of Trustees. He was also a member of the House District.

You can find out more about the senator here.

Here’s our collection of the Senator United States Jeff Merkley Famous Quotes:

Jeff Merkley Quotes on America/Budget/Congress/Americans

Credit: Senator Jeff Merkley website

Budgets are nothing if not statements of priorities.

Jeff Merkley

A budget should be judged by whether it creates a foundation for the success of American working families striving to buy a house, or to send their kids to college, or to save a little for retirement and, if they’re lucky, a vacation.

Jeff Merkley

Imagine if Congress always put the interests of polluters ahead of the health of our families. Our rivers and lakes would be choked with sewage. Acid rain would pour down from smog-filled skies. Hundreds of thousands more of our neighbors, friends, and loved ones would be victims of cancer, heart disease, and asthma.

Jeff Merkley

When you use the word ‘filibuster,’ most of us in America – and I count myself among them – envision it as the ability to hold the floor on rare occasions to speak at length and make your point emphatically and even delay progress by taking hours.

Jeff Merkley

Too many Americans who are uninsured or under-insured do not receive regular checkups because they can’t afford coverage or their insurance doesn’t cover enough of the costs. The lack of preventive care results in countless emergency room visits and health care disasters for families.

Jeff Merkley

There are thousands of capable Americans who would pursue a degree in nursing if we had room in our schools for them.

Jeff Merkley

I won’t stop fighting to make life better for working Americans and give those who are just trying to find a decent job the opportunity to do so.

Jeff Merkley

Americans shouldn’t have to choose between insulin and food.

Jeff Merkley

The average American spends $1,200/year on prescription medication. More than any other country in the world. Big Pharma needs to stop ripping off Americans!

Jeff Merkley

Millions of Americans can’t afford their prescription drugs. This is a crisis created by corporate greed. We must pass Build Back Better and lower prescription drug prices!

Jeff Merkley

Jeff Merkley Quotes on Oregonians/Health/Politics/Court

Over and over again, I hear from Oregonians that we need real health care reform that provides every American with access to quality, affordable care.

Jeff Merkley

What matters most to me is doing what I was elected to do: help make life better for Oregonians and making America work for working Americans again.

Jeff Merkley

I grew up in Southern Oregon. My father was a sawmill worker and a logger, and his job put food on the table.

Jeff Merkley

We can have the best health insurance options in the world, and people still won’t get needed care if we don’t increase our supply of primary care physicians and nurses.

Jeff Merkley

We have a duty to ensure that patients don’t have to worry whether they’ll be dropped from their coverage if they get sick. Small business owners shouldn’t have to break the bank to provide coverage to their employees. And families should not be forced into bankruptcy because of a medical crisis.

Jeff Merkley

It’s time to level the playing field for small business owners and give them the same health care choices that large corporations have. Because they don’t have as many employees, they have little ability to negotiate lower rates.

Jeff Merkley

This isn’t about politics. Plenty of talking heads will be on TV tonight talking about the risks this poses to Dems. Doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, we have a constitutional obligation to protect the Republic. You have my support.

Jeff Merkley

The Senate is broken. This coming election, we need to elect more Democrats to the Senate who aren’t afraid to take on the silent, secret filibuster.

Jeff Merkley

Oregon’s Vote by Mail system should go nationwide. It’s safe, secure and makes voting easy!

Jeff Merkley

We’ve seen the pervasive forces of dark money in our elections since the Citizens United ruling came into effect. Corporations are NOT people. We must overturn the disastrous Citizens United ruling and stop the corrupting force of dark money in our elections.

Jeff Merkley

The idea that Democrats didn’t reach out to Republicans on voting rights legislation is just not true. My colleagues and I have tried for years.

Jeff Merkley

We must pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Make no mistake: Our democracy depends on it!

Jeff Merkley

If the Supreme Court refuses to uphold Roe v. Wade, Congress must codify it in federal law. We must protect reproductive rights!

Jeff Merkley

Jeff Merkley Quotes on Senate/Minority/Obama/Biden

When I first started advocating for filibuster reform, there were very few people in the Senate who agreed with me. I’ve spent over a decade pushing for filibuster reform. I’m going to keep fighting until we fix the broken Senate!

Jeff Merkley

As long as senators refuse to address the abuse of the filibuster, we will continue to see a paralyzed Senate and future presidents who take more executive actions. This is not what the Founders intended.

Jeff Merkley

The Senate recently passed my bill the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, banning imports of products that are made with slave labor in Xinjiang, where the Chinese government is committing genocide against the Uyghur people.

Jeff Merkley

Mitch McConnell’s silent, secret filibuster and his abuse of minority power is exactly what the Founders warned us about.

Jeff Merkley

But Minority Mitch squashes those efforts because he concludes that corrupt practices like gerrymandering, dark money, and obstruction of the ballot box help Republicans win. It’s power over principle.

Jeff Merkley

Barack Obama is right. There is no constitutional basis for the filibuster. The Founders argued against supermajority rule! We can’t allow the filibuster to get in the way of protecting Americans’ right to vote.

Jeff Merkley

The Senate is going to vote on filibuster reform to pass voting rights legislation. I just want you to know that I’m fighting with everything I’ve got to get it done.

Jeff Merkley

I’m with Joe Biden. We must change the Senate rules to prevent the minority from vetoing voting rights legislation.

Jeff Merkley

President Biden has the power to cancel student loan debt. Let’s get it done Mr. President!

Jeff Merkley

Republicans will continue to block voting rights legislation, and so the Senate must end the secret, silent filibuster. Enough is enough!

Jeff Merkley

The Senate should stay and pass voting rights and Build Back Better. We can work right up to Christmas Eve and then take a day off and be right back here until we get them both done.

Jeff Merkley

Jeff Merkley Other Quotes

Decades of scientific research has proven that carbon pollution is harmful to human health and causes global warming.

Jeff Merkley

We can no longer continue with a status quo energy policy. We must create sustainable clean energy jobs and leave the planet to our children and grandchildren in better shape than we found it.

Jeff Merkley

Real choice is clear information and the right to walk away from a bad deal without leaving your wallet behind.

Jeff Merkley

For too long, tricks and traps in mortgages, credit cards, and other financial transactions have stripped wealth from working families.

Jeff Merkley

The United States is the leading contributor of plastic pollution in the world. I’ve introduced the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act to reduce plastic pollution and make the plastic polluters pay for the mess they produce.

Jeff Merkley

Peter DeFazio is an incredible leader for Oregon, fighting corporate greed, and never pulling any punches. Infrastructure week wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Peter DeFazio.

Jeff Merkley

We’ve seen a steep decline in the population of the Monarch butterfly. I’m happy to report that the infrastructure bill includes my bill, the Monarch and Pollinator Highway bill, to help protect this critical species. We must protect our precious pollinators!

Jeff Merkley

Summary

I hope you have enjoyed our collection of some of the best Jeff Merkley quotes! 

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As a reminder, you can contact the senator here.

Stay Strong!


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Editor
Sabrina is a former campaign manager who has decided to focus her effort to help people contact senators and get help. She leads our Editorial Team with Ronald and Lawrence to curate content and resources that help us navigate the system.

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