As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and the only Oregon member of Congress currently serving on the powerful Appropriations Committee, Jeff is focused on making sure that important projects in Oregon have the funding needed to move forward. Jeff is a long-time member of the subcommittee and has used his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee to advocate for and secure critical resources for top Oregon priorities, like wildfire mitigation and support of strategies to restore fish habitat and scale up ongoing efforts to restore healthy populations of shortnose and Lost River sucker in the Klamath Basin.

Last year’s unprecedented wildfire season serves as another haunting reminder that the health and safety of our communities depend on our ability to maintain healthy forests and aggressively tackle the climate crisis. Jeff is proud to lead the Appropriations subcommittee at the heart of those fights, and will keep working to secure the resources Oregon needs to take on these and other challenges. He also takes seriously the critical role this subcommittee plays in delivering resources for tribal nations and native communities in Oregon and across our country. So often, the United states has not fulfilled its promises to Indian Country, and Jeff is working hard to make sure their needs are heard and reflected in our nation’s spending plans, while honoring tribes’ self-determination and sovereignty.

As a member of the full committee, Jeff will also be working to make sure Oregon’s needs are met to help fund critical community-driven projects in transportation, health care, education, and more. In 2021, the Senate Appropriations Committee restored community-driven project funding opportunities with robust transparency requirements to ensure the integrity of the process. As required by the Committee rules, Senator Merkley discloses all community-driven projects that he submits to the subcommittee for consideration through a competitive process.