Press Releases
Wyden Votes ‘No’ on Flawed 2027 Intelligence Authorization Act
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., voted against advancing the 2027 Intelligence Authorization Act out of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he announced today. “The bill is a dramatic retreat for congressional oversight, at precisely the moment when scrutiny of Intelligence Community activities is needed most,” Wyden said. “This bill would deny the U.S. Senate any opportunity to scrutinize and vet key Intelligence Community leaders. It also omits critical, bipartisan … Continue Reading
May 22, 2026
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Raise Concerns about Food and Nutrition Service Reorganization
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined Senate colleagues in raising strong concerns about the plan to reorganize the Food and Nutrition Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “We write with strong concern regarding the reorganization of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” the Oregon senators wrote. “After dramatic cuts to nutrition assistance programs and the significant staff losses at FNS in the past year, … Continue Reading
May 21, 2026
Wyden, Lummis, Espaillat, Massie, Kelly, and Burlison Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Rein in Government Abuse of Subpoenas, Protect Americans’ Rights
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Reps. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., Thomas Massie, R-Ken., Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Eric Burlison, R-Mo. released a bill today to reform the government’s use of subpoenas, which are used to collect huge numbers of call records, and other personal information, without a warrant or other court oversight. The Subpoena Abuse Prevention Act would require the government to go before a judge in order to get phone call … Continue Reading
May 21, 2026
Wyden, Merkley Demand Trump Administration Release Funding to Lower Energy Costs for Low-Income Americans
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined a bipartisan group of their Senate colleagues in urging the Trump Administration to release $360 million in funding from the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and $66 million for the State Energy Program (SEP), an effort to help residents save on their utility bills and make more homes energy efficient. The WAP and SEP programs work to reduce household energy costs while improving health and safety for residents. … Continue Reading
May 21, 2026
Wyden, Heinrich, Jacobs: Justice Department Failed to Protect White House, CIA HQ and Other Sensitive U.S. Government Locations From AI-Enabled Foreign Spy Threats
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senator Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., called for the Justice Department and Director of National Intelligence to address a major threat to Americans’ national security and crack down on the sale of phone location data from the most important U.S. government facilities to hostile foreign nations. A 2024 executive order required the Department of Justice (DOJ) to regulate the sale of sensitive data, including cell … Continue Reading
May 20, 2026
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demand White House Fire Election-Denial Czar
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined their Senate colleagues in calling for election-denier Kurt Olsen’s removal as Director of Election Security and Integrity at the White House. The lawmakers emphasized that Olsen has exceeded the legal limit of 130 days as a “special government employee” appointed by Trump to “investigate” the 2020 election, and stressed the danger of Olsen’s ongoing efforts to manufacture baseless claims of voter fraud to support … Continue Reading
May 19, 2026
Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $9.3 Million to Support Working Forestlands in Oregon
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is awarding $3.75 million to Lostine Forest in Wallowa County and $5.56 million to Madrone Ridge Forest in Jackson County. The Senators secured this federal funding in the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior-Environment Appropriations Act through the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the Forest Legacy Program. These Oregon projects will help conserve nearly 12,000 acres of working … Continue Reading
May 19, 2026
Oregon Airports to Receive Nearly $19 Million in Federal Investment
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, as well as U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05), announced that eight Oregon airports will receive a combined federal investment of nearly $19 million to improve their infrastructure, including over $13 million going to Portland International Airport (PDX) for runway and taxiway pavement improvements. “Whether flying for recreation or business, Oregonians’ access to safe, … Continue Reading
May 16, 2026
Wyden Statement on Trump Administration Ignoring Request from Senate Intelligence Committee Leadership to Release Secret Surveillance Court Opinion
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the longest-serving member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called out the Trump Administration for ignoring a request by Senate Intelligence Committee leaders to declassify a surveillance court opinion by May 15. Wyden secured a commitment from Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Vice-Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., to push for release of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court opinion about surveillance … Continue Reading
May 15, 2026
Senate Designates May 16 as “Kids to Parks Day”
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and colleagues today applauded the Senate’s passage of their bipartisan resolution to empower young people and their families to get outdoors and promote healthy outdoor recreation by designating May 16, 2026 National Kids to Parks Day. Started in 2011 with the National Park Trust, the fifteenth annual Kids to Parks Day kicks off a summer-long series of events at local, state and national parks. The Senate … Continue Reading
May 15, 2026
Wyden Presses Trump Administration Over Failure to Respond to Emerging Threat of Synthetic Opioids
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today pressed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over its failure to adequately prepare for emerging drug threats like synthetic opioids known as nitazenes, as well as how its proposed reorganization of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will undermine the agency's work to combat substance abuse. Today’s letter follows a response from HHS to Wyden’s call late last year for the Trump … Continue Reading
May 15, 2026
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Raise Concerns about Trump Administration’s USDA Reorganization
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined Senate colleagues in questioning how Trump’s reorganization of the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area at the U.S. Department of Agriculture will affect farmers and ranchers in Oregon and nationwide. “We write with strong concern regarding the reorganization and restructuring of the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),” the senators wrote to … Continue Reading
May 15, 2026
Wyden Presses Trump Administration Over Failure to Respond to Emerging Threat of Synthetic Opioids
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today pressed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over its failure to adequately prepare for emerging drug threats like synthetic opioids known as nitazenes, as well as how its proposed reorganization of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will undermine the agency's work to combat substance abuse. Today’s letter follows a response from HHS to Wyden’s call late last year for the Trump … Continue Reading
May 14, 2026
Wyden Announces Town Halls in Josephine, Curry, Coos and Douglas Counties
Portland - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced he will hold open-to-all town halls in Josephine and Curry counties on Tuesday, May 26 followed by two more in Coos and Douglas counties on Wednesday, May 27. Wyden will be joined by U.S. Representative Val Hoyle for their Curry, Coos and Douglas county town halls. Heading into these four town halls, Wyden has held 1,164 open-to-all town halls statewide in keeping his promise to hold at least one town hall each year in each of Oregon’s 36 … Continue Reading
May 14, 2026
Wyden, Paul, Lummis Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Abolish the Selective Service
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., today introduced a bipartisan bill to end the Selective Service. The Selective Service runs an annual budget of more than $31 million per year, preparing for a draft that has not occurred since 1973. Beginning in December 2026, the Selective Service System will use federal data sources to automatically register males aged 18 to 25 for the military draft pool, due to a policy change signed into … Continue Reading
May 13, 2026
Wyden Sounds Alarm on Trump Administration’s Hazardous Fuels Backlog
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing sounded the alarm on the Trump administration’s failure to address a massive backlog of hazardous fuels buildup ahead of what could be a historic wildfire season in Oregon and the West. “Between reduced goals for hazardous fuels treatment, layoffs and the budget cuts, I believe Donald Trump has set western states up to fail this season and in the years ahead,” Wyden said to U.S. … Continue Reading
May 11, 2026
Merkley, Wyden Introduce New Bill to Block Sale of Federal Public Lands
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced they introduced the Public Lands Integrity Act, new legislation to ensure that America’s public lands cannot be sold as part of a fast-tracked process in a budget reconciliation bill. During consideration of the Republicans’ “Big, Ugly Betrayal” budget reconciliation bill that passed in July 2025 on a party-line simple majority vote, Senate Republicans nearly passed a provision to sell one to three million … Continue Reading
May 07, 2026
Merkley, Bonamici, Oregon Delegation: FEMA Must Approve Waivers for Two Critical Disaster Mitigation Projects in Oregon
Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) led a letter with their Democratic colleagues in the Oregon congressional delegation—Senator Ron Wyden, Representatives Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05)—urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to approve waivers for and to fully fund two projects in Oregon that were funded … Continue Reading
May 07, 2026
Wyden leads Oregon Democrats to Fight To Protect Mifepristone Access, Women’s Health Care, And FDA Authority
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he is leading Senate and House colleagues, including U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Andrea Salinas, Val Hoyle, Janelle Bynum and Maxine Dexter, in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court urging them to overturn a Fifth Circuit decision that would upend the FDA approval process and restrict access to mifepristone. The lawmakers argued that mifepristone already undergoes a rigorous FDA approval … Continue Reading
May 07, 2026
Wyden, Colleagues Press FTC on Anti-Competitive Business Practices That Raise Grocery Prices and Worsen Food Insecurity
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he has joined Senate colleagues to demand the Trump administration crack down on anti-competitive restrictive covenants that raise grocery prices and worsen food insecurity in Oregon and nationwide. “When grocers leave a community, anti-competitive restrictive covenants further cement the harm caused by the initial loss of the store, leaving consumers without ready access to food or more exposed to high food prices with fewer choices to … Continue Reading