Every year, Jeff hosts a town hall in each of Oregon’s 36 counties -- and he kicked off this year’s swing in January with twelve town halls throughout Southern and Central Oregon. Throughout those meetings, Oregonians talked about a wide variety of topics, but one issue in particular came up again and again -- and that issue was Iran.

While General Qassem Soleimani had a long track record of fueling terrorist attacks and sectarian violence, the Trump administration’s ill-conceived decision to target Iran’s top military official undermined American objectives in the region, and resulted in a retaliatory attack that injured 64 American service members. In addition, the administration made the decision to carry out the strike without getting approval from Congress -- which the Constitution requires.

Jeff has long been an opponent of endless wars in the Middle East. He is committed to continuing to representing Oregonians’ concerns by advocating for diplomacy and fighting to protect Congress’ responsibility to weigh in before our sons and daughters are sent into harm’s way.

Standing Up for New Moms

All too often, new mothers are forced to choose between continuing to nurse their newborns and keeping their jobs, thanks to workplace policies that are hostile to nursing mothers. That’s why last month, Jeff introduced the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act -- legislation to guarantee all new moms the time and clean, private space to pump at work. Jeff successfully fought to pass these protections into law for hourly workers in 2010; the new bill would expand those protection to salaried workers as well.

“Ensuring that new mothers returning to the workplace have the option to continue breastfeeding is good for business and good for families,” Jeff said. “With this bill, businesses can improve retention of valuable employees, and parents will be empowered to make their own choices, rather than being constrained by outdated workplace policies.”

Getting Forever Chemicals Out of Our Air, Food, and Water

“Every American -- regardless of the color of their skin, their zip code, or their income -- has the right to be free from exposure to carcinogens and hazardous chemicals,” Jeff said. That includes man-made chemicals known as ‘PFAS substances,’ which never break down and have been associated with cancer, decreased fertility, liver damage, thyroid disease, and asthma.

Yet alarmingly, because of heavy polluters and gaps in our environmental laws, millions of Americans ingest these dangerous chemicals through the air they breathe, the water they drink, and the food they eat. That’s why Jeff introduced the Preventing Future American Sickness (PFAS) Act, legislation to authorize a comprehensive study of the health and economic impacts of these chemicals on our communities, ban the use of the substances in food packaging, and list them as hazardous pollutants, among other essential steps.

Jeff strongly believes that “Congress needs to come together to put the health of our communities above the wish lists of American’s biggest polluters, and that means establishing and enforcing chemical standards that protect Americans from PFAS substances.”

Thank you!

Thank you for reading -- and don't forget, you can see the latest updates by liking Jeff on Facebook and following Jeff on Twitter. And be sure to check Merkley.senate.gov for more information on upcoming town halls and current events.

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