Press Releases
Wyden Touts River Democracy Act at ENR National Parks Subcommittee Hearing
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today testified and questioned witnesses at the Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee Hearing on his River Democracy Act. "What I have done with [the River Democracy Act] is I've asked Oregonians to give me their ideas and their best suggestions for additional conservation efforts and opportunities to protect our rivers," Wyden said. "The response was overwhelming - in just a few months, my office received over 15,000 … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Urge Congressional Leadership to Include $700 Billion for Child Care in Infrastructure Package
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today with colleagues sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to include at least $700 billion over 10 years in direct spending on child care in the upcoming infrastructure package. "As the pandemic has made clear, child care is essential infrastructure that makes all other work in our country possible. High-quality child care also has long-lasting benefits for young children's development. The next funding … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: $6.3 Million in Federal Funds to Salem Cherriots for Low Emission Vehicles
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Salem Area Mass Transit District Project, also known as Cherriots, will receive a $6.3 million federal grant to buy or lease low- or no-emission buses and other transit vehicles. "Energy-efficient public transit systems that Oregonians need to get easily from Point A to Point B are critical to economic growth and combatting climate change," Wyden said. "These resources for Salem Cherriots to afford … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Wyden, Blumenthal Introduce Expanded Legislation to Protect Domestic Abuse Survivors From Gun Violence
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Lori Jackson - Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act to protect domestic violence survivors from gun violence. "The devastating loss Nicolette's family has suffered is one no family should ever have to face," Wyden said. "Keeping guns out of the hands of domestic violence abusers shouldn't be controversial, it's commonsense. No more lives should be taken because of inexcusable … Continue Reading
June 22, 2021
Wyden Praises Election Security, Access, Vote By Mail Provisions of For the People Act
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today praised key updates to the For the People Act, by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., which incorporates strong new election security and access provisions that Wyden co-authored: "By ensuring every voter would have the choice to vote at home, and adopting other commonsense reforms, the For the People Act would represent the greatest advance in voting rights in a generation and a strike back against the growing tide of voter … Continue Reading
June 21, 2021
Wyden Leads Legislation to Broaden Access to Mammograms for Veterans
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today announced efforts to expand Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mammogram screening eligibility to improve health services for veterans. "It's long past time to expand access to life-saving VA care and services." Wyden said. "Women who have served may be at much higher risk of developing breast cancer and deserve access to early detection and treatment. Updating the VA's guidelines for mammogram procedures will provide our nation's veterans with … Continue Reading
June 18, 2021
Wyden, Merkley Co-Sponsor Legislation to Update Safety Net Program to Ensure Older Adults and Oregonians with Disabilities are not Trapped in Poverty
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today with Senate Democrats re-introduce legislation to bring the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program into the 21st Century and ensure disabled and elderly Americans are able to live with dignity. "Supplemental Security Income was created to provide a lifeline for people in Oregon and across the nation in dire need of making ends meet," Wyden said. "But receiving benefits should not have to be a vow of poverty. It's … Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Wyden and Merkley Release Legislation to End Voter Suppression by Unreasonably Long Lines
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced legislation to end hours-long lines at polling places that suppress hundreds of thousands of American votes, and to restore our Constitutional rights to vote in free and fair elections. Although expanded early voting and voting from home kept lines short in many states, hours-long lines were spotted in in Mississippi, Georgia and a handful of other states last year. Studies estimate that nearly 3 million … Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Wyden, Lieu, Daines and McClintock Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Require Warrants for Government Use of “Stingray” Phone Surveillance
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., introduced legislation today to defend Americans' rights by requiring the government to get a warrant to deploy cell site simulators, also known as "stingray" devices, which are used by law enforcement agencies to track individuals and identify all the phones in an area. The bipartisan Cell Site Simulator Warrant Act puts an end to overlapping, … Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Wyden Sounds Alarm on Wildfire Season at ENR Committee Hearing on Forest Service Budget
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sounded the alarm during today's U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on the U.S. Forest Service annual budget on what every person living in the West knows is coming: another catastrophic wildfire season. "This year in the West we could be looking at the prospect of multiple fires, big ones, at the same time," Wyden said. Wyden asked U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen for the agency's plan for resource … Continue Reading
June 16, 2021
Wyden, Merkley Press Federal Land Managers for 2021 Wildfire Season Help
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today pressed federal land managers on Oregon's preparedness needs for the 2021 wildfire season as intense drought conditions persist and are expected to worsen in the state. "As you are well aware, the 2020 Oregon wildfire season was one of the most destructive seasons on record; destroying thousands of homes, burning over one million acres, and straining communities already battling a historic pandemic. Though many Oregonians are … Continue Reading
June 15, 2021
Wyden, Merkley Urge SBA to Speed Up Relief to Struggling Live Event Venues
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the Small Business Administration (SBA) to disburse Shuttered Venue Operator Grant funding to struggling live entertainment venues in Oregon and nationwide as soon as possible, noting that the Save Our Stages Act was signed into law more than six months ago and event venues are going out of business while awaiting these grants. "The Save Our Stages Act, now the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, was created to … Continue Reading
June 15, 2021
Merkley, Wyden Announce $28.7 Million in Federal Funding for TriMet’s Red Line Extension, Bus Rapid Transit Projects
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is receiving $28.7 million in combined federal funding for its MAX Red Line extension and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects. The MAX Red Line extension project aims to add an additional 7.8 miles of service connecting the Beaverton Transit Center to Downtown Hillsboro, and the BRT project will create a 15-mile line between Portland's … Continue Reading
June 14, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: Oregon Counties and Cities to Receive More than $19 Million in Emergency Housing Vouchers
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that 28 counties and two cities in Oregon will receive more than $19 million in emergency housing vouchers through the American Rescue Plan Act. "Every single Oregonian deserves an affordable and accessible place to call home," Wyden said. "The economic fallout from the global pandemic has worsened a statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis. These vouchers give local housing authorities critical tools to … Continue Reading
June 11, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: Jefferson County to Receive $140,000 Federal Broadband Investment
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today that Jefferson County will receive $140,000 in federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help boost broadband access and speed in the county. "Improved broadband for rural Oregon is as crucial to good infrastructure now as electrification once was decades back for rural America," said Wyden, who also is urging the FCC to make rural broadband a priority. "This federal investment … Continue Reading
June 11, 2021
Following Extremely Destructive 2020 Wildfire Season: Merkley, Wyden Push Biden Administration for Disaster Supplemental Funding to Help Communities Rebuild
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today pressed President Biden to provide additional relief to states struggling with the impact of extreme drought and wildfires. According to the Drought Monitor, over half of the United States is currently experiencing a historic drought. Over 95 percent of the West is now either abnormally dry or in a drought-making current conditions among the most dry within the past two decades. "When Oregon went up in flames last … Continue Reading
June 10, 2021
Wyden Calls for Investigation, Reforms, Following Revelations of Trump Spying on Members of Congress
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement after reports that Donald Trump spied on Members of Congress: "Donald Trump's efforts to surveil Adam Schiff as part of a political vendetta is both a direct attack on the separation of powers and Congressional independence. "Revelations about the Trump Justice Department's targeting of journalists and political rivals proves again how surveillance powers can be abused and the need to put strict limits on gag orders that … Continue Reading
June 10, 2021
Wyden, Merkley Co-Sponsor Legislation to Guarantee Equal Access to Abortion Everywhere in the U.S.
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined colleagues in supporting legislation that would guarantee equal access to abortion everywhere in the United States. "Reproductive rights are human rights," said Wyden, who recently introduced a bill to ensure access to abortion regardless of insurance coverage. "In the past decade, we've seen concerted efforts at both state and federal levels to restrict access to abortion. Reproductive freedom should not … Continue Reading
June 10, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: More Than $800,000 to go to Oregon Small Businesses Developing Novel Clean Energy and Climate Solutions
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that four Oregon companies will receive critical seed funding totaling more than $800,000 from the Department of Energy to pursue projects in clean energy technologies and climate solutions. "Small businesses are the lifeblood of Oregon's economy, supporting jobs in our communities and tackling the big challenges faced by our nation," Wyden said. "As the climate emergency persists, I'm happy to see the Department of … Continue Reading
June 10, 2021
Wyden, Merkley Join Colleagues in Introducing Resolution Recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride Month
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined all 50 Senate Democrats to introduce a Senate resolution recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride Month. The resolution highlights the contributions LGBTQ individuals have made to American society, notes several major milestones in the fight for equal treatment of LGBTQ Americans, and resolves to continue efforts to achieve full equality for LGBTQ individuals. The resolution also recognizes how the … Continue Reading
