Your name as listed on the ballot: Jeff Merkley

Age: 57, October 24, 1956

(If your age will change before Nov. 30, please indicate your birthday. We want to ensure we use
accurate ages in pre- and post-election editorials and news coverage.)
City/town of residence: Portland
Political party(ies), if this is a partisan office: Democratic Party
Position you are seeking (name of position, district number, etc.): United States Senator
Are you currently a full-time resident of the district you seek you represent? Yes
Number of current, consecutive years living in the district you seek to represent: Born and raised
in Oregon. I returned to Oregon in 1991 and became Executive Director of Portland Habitat for
Humanity.
Family (name of spouse/partner, number and ages of children if at home or number of grown
children): wife: Mary Sorteberg. 2 children. Jonathan 18, and Brynne 16. Jonathan just started at
Oregon State. Brynne is entering her senior year at David Douglas High School.
Your education (high school, trade, college, post-baccalaureate; indicate degrees you earned):
David Douglas High School
B.A. Stanford University
M.P.P. Princeton University
If employed, current occupation, employer and job duties:
United States Senator for the State of Oregon
Previous employers and when:
Executive Director of World Affairs Council of Oregon, 1996-2003
Director of Housing Development, Human Solutions Inc., 1995-96
Executive Director of Portland Habitat for Humanity, 1991-94
Military service and when: N/A
Volunteer/civic/religious service and when:
Member of Central Lutheran Church
Co-founder of the Walk for Humanity, Portland YouthBuilders, East Portland Coalition Against
Unfair Storm Water Fees, the Community Development Network, the East Portland Action Plan,
the World Affairs Council's International Speaker Series; and Oregon's first Individual
Development Account program.
Big fan of my childrens school and sporting activities.
Please list all public offices to which youve been elected, and when:
United States Senator 2009 - Present
House Speaker, 2007-2009
House Democratic Leader, 2003-2007
Oregon State Representative, 1999-2009
Please list any unsuccessful candidacies for public office, and when:
None
Other prior political and government experience:
Presidential Management Fellow, Department of Defense
National Security Analyst, Congressional Budget Office
Intern, Senator Mark Hatfield
How the public can reach your campaign (remember that this information will be made public):
Mail address:
PO Box 14172
Portland, OR 97293
E-mail address: campaign@jeffmerkley.com
Web site URL: jeffmerkley.com
Phone: 503-200-5518
Please limit your response to each of the following questions to about 75 words.
1. Why should Oregonians elect you? What specific traits would you bring to the office?
I fight for the success of working families, from affordable housing, to good-paying jobs, to
quality education. As Speaker of the Oregon House, I boosted spending on k-12 schools, put an
end to triple-digit interest payday loans, and led what many called the most successful session in
decades. As Senator, at a time of record obstructionism and partisan paralysis in Washington,
D.C., I am getting things done for Oregonians and taking on big battles. I led the battle to get the
big banks out of the Wall Street casino, to end the predatory teaser-rate sub-prime mortgages,
and to end the war in Afghanistan. I am leading the effort to end the partisan paralysis in the
Senate by reforming the filibuster rules. I will continue to champion investment in education,
including STEM and career and technical education. I will fight to repair our roads and bridges
and to end tax giveaways to oil companies and companies that ship jobs overseas.
2. What separates you from your opponent(s)? Be specific.
I fight for Oregon values, and my opponent fights for the Koch Brothers values. The Koch
brothers have spent millions attacking me in an effort to elect my opponent because she has
signed on to their agenda. Most notably, she put forward a plan in April that provides massive
tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires and shifts us to a tax system that would make it
cheaper and easier to ship jobs overseas. She wants to gut the Clean Air Act to stop any
regulation of pollution from coal-fired power plants. I, on the other hand, will fight for more
investments in education and infrastructure, the two keys to long-term economic growth.
3. Please list five specific accomplishments that you have achieved in politics or civic affairs:
As Speaker of the Oregon House in 2007, I passed a bill that kicked the predatory payday
lenders out of Oregon by implementing a 36% rate cap on short-term loans.
As Oregons Senator, I passed the Volcker Rule, which ends the practice of big banks
gambling with taxpayer-backed deposits.
I also passed major mortgage reforms, banning kickbacks to mortgage brokers for
steering families into subprime loans, as well as pre-payment penalties that were locking
families into those bad loans.
Last year, I also passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the Senate
with a large bipartisan majority. ENDA would end workplace discrimination for LGBT
Americans.
Under my leadership, in 2013 the Senate made its first major rules change in nearly four
decades. Now, a simple majority vote rather than a supermajority is needed to end debate
on most nominations, so special interests can't block agencies that protect consumers
from doing their jobs.
4. How much will your General Election campaign cost (be specific)?
I have raised over $11 million in this campaign, for both the primary and general election, and
have spent $10 million. The majority of individuals contributions were raised in Oregon, and the
average individual donation was roughly $50.
5. Have you ever been convicted of a crime, been disciplined by a professional licensing
board/organization or had an ethics violation filed against you? If so, please give the details.
No
6. Have you ever filed for bankruptcy, been delinquent on your taxes or other major accounts, or
been sued personally or professionally? If so, please give the details.
I have made some late payments on property taxes on rental property due to simple oversight. I
was sued unsuccessfully for paying my 2008 filing fee to run for the U.S. Senate with a check
rather than with gold and silver coins.
7. What are the three most important issues you would address if elected, and how? (75 words
for each issue)
A. Creating good paying jobs By investing in infrastructure, we will create good jobs now and
build the foundation for our future economy. I have sponsored and passed an innovative program
that would allow local municipalities to finance much-needed water and sewer projects. I also
support programs that provide low-cost loans for renovations to homes and businesses to make
them more energy-efficient. None of these jobs can be outsourced and most of the materials are
made in the U.S. I am fighting to pass the Bring Jobs Homes Act, legislation that ends tax breaks
for companies that ship jobs overseas and gives a tax credit to companies that bring jobs back
home. And we must nurture job creation by promoting manufacturing and small business.

B. Lowering the cost of college I was the first in my family to go to college and I know the
value of a good education. Unfortunately the cost of college is spiraling out of control. I support
increasing Pell grants and allowing families to get the same rate on their student loans the big
banks get when borrowing from the Federal Reserve. I am also championing an innovative Pay
it Forward strategy that would assure every student that their college debt payments wont crush
them financially.

C. Protecting Social Security and Medicare Social Security and Medicare are special covenants
with seniors. I will fight to defend and strengthen them. I am against efforts to raise the
eligibility age for both Medicare and Social Security, as well as efforts to cut the cost of living
adjustment (COLA) for seniors on Social Security. In fact, I support increasing the COLA to
reflect the real costs seniors experience, maintaining the real purchasing power of this vital
program.
8. What do you see as other important issues?
Strengthening the economy of Oregons rural timber counties, reforming our campaign finance
system, protecting our environment and stopping climate change, boosting manufacturing,
investing in k-12 education and repairing our crumbling roads and bridges.
9. Any skeletons in your closet or other potentially embarrassing information that you should
disclose before it comes up in the campaign? Anything (including health issues) that would
affect your ability to serve your full term? Any changes in your life situation that are
contemplated or expected before the election or before you would take office?
No