Press Releases
Merkley, Padilla, Wyden Lead Senate Colleagues to Protect Timely USPS Delivery of Ballots, Mail Across the Nation
Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and California’s U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, raised concerns with recent developments by the United States Postal Service (USPS) affecting postmark practices. Right before the holiday season, USPS clarified its recent practices in a rule stating, “the postmark date does not inherently or necessarily align with the date on which the Postal Service first accepted … Continue Reading
January 14, 2026
Wyden Introduces Legislation to Ensure Aid to Gaza, Accountability for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Government Officials Worldwide Who Enable Human Rights Violations
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced the Accountability for Withholding Aid and Relief Essentials (AWARE) Act today, to hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government - and any other government around the world - accountable for any actions that block humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza and others in need. Despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Israel has blocked at least 37 aid groups - including Doctors Without Borders - from … Continue Reading
January 14, 2026
Wyden Introduces Bill to Ban Presidents From Naming Federal Buildings After Themselves
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he is joining legislation that would ban sitting presidents from putting their names on federal buildings while in office. The bill follows December’s announcement that the State Department is renaming the U.S. Institute of Peace after Donald Trump. Two weeks later, Trump’s appointees to the board of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts voted to add his name to the website and the front of the building. Both decisions … Continue Reading
January 13, 2026
Wyden Applauds House for Passing His Bill on Ending Government Payments to Deceased Americans
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives today unanimously passed a bill by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden. D-Ore., to save hard-earned taxpayer money by curbing incorrect payments to individuals who have died. The Senate passed the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act in October and the legislation now goes to the White House for the president’s signature. “This bipartisan bill fixes our federal government’s payment systems so that millions of taxpayer dollars are saved every … Continue Reading
January 13, 2026
Wyden Presses Nonprofit Over Fundraising Scheme for Trump’s White House Ballroom
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today that he is pressing a nonprofit on its involvement in fundraising for Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom. “The Trust for the National Mall is a 501(c)(3) chartered non-profit tax-exempt charity and, as such, enjoys substantial taxpayer-subsidized benefits — as do its donors. But these benefits come with responsibilities,” Wyden and other senators wrote to Trust President and Chief Executive Officer Catherine Townsend. “You owe … Continue Reading
January 09, 2026
Wyden, Markey and Lujan Urge Apple and Google to Remove X and Grok from App Stores Following Grok Generating Illegal Sexual Images at Scale
Washington, D.C. — In response to X Corp’s Grok AI tool being used to generate nonconsensual sexualized images of women and children at scale in recent days, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., urged Apple and Google to immediately remove the X and Grok apps from their app stores until the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, addresses these disturbing and likely illegal activities. In recent days, X users have used the … Continue Reading
January 09, 2026
Wyden, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Protect Food Assistance for Social Security Recipients
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he has joined Senate colleagues to reintroduce legislation that would ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in Oregon and nationwide who also depend on Social Security income are not cut off due to incremental changes to their income. The COLAs Don’t Count Act would allow SNAP recipients to deduct annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) from their income when calculating eligibility for the … Continue Reading
January 08, 2026
Wyden Announces First Eight Town Halls of 2026
Portland - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced he will hold eight open-to-all town halls starting next week in Jefferson, Deschutes, Clackamas, Marion, Lane, Tillamook, Clatsop and Columbia counties. U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum will co-host the town halls in Deschutes and Clackamas counties. Heading into these eight town halls from Jan. 16-24, Wyden has held 1,138 open-to-all town halls in keeping his promise to hold at least one town hall each year in each of Oregon’s 36 counties. “A new … Continue Reading
January 08, 2026
Wyden and Merkley Introduce Bills to Ban Taxpayer Payouts for January 6 Insurrectionists
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (both D-Ore.) said today they have introduced a pair of bills that would prevent January 6 rioters from receiving taxpayer-funded payouts from the federal government. Leaders of the “Proud Boys” far-right militant organization are suing the federal government for $100 million. Senior Department of Justice (DOJ) official Ed Martin reportedly supports compensating violent January 6 insurrectionists. “Donald Trump is a disgrace for … Continue Reading
January 06, 2026
Wyden, Colleagues Demand Answers on Harms of Diverting Federal Agents for Immigration Enforcement
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he has joined Senate colleagues to demand the Trump administration explain the impact of its decision to pull thousands of federal law enforcement agents away from their work keeping dangerous criminals off the streets and reassign them to arrest, detain and deport primarily non-violent immigrants. “You have pulled agents away from some of the federal government’s most critical criminal investigations, weakening the very work that ensures … Continue Reading
January 03, 2026
Wyden Statement on Trump’s Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement in response to Donald Trump’s illegal military action in Venezuela: “President Trump’s attack on Venezuela, without congressional authorization or imminent threat to the United States, is exactly the same global interventionism that Americans soundly rejected after decades of failed wars and disastrous meddling in other nations’ affairs. No matter what you think of Maduro, Trump’s threat to ‘run’ the … Continue Reading
December 24, 2025
Wyden, Colleagues Demand Trump Administration Pause Discriminatory National Park Entry Fees
Washington, DC — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said today he has joined colleagues in calling on the Trump administration to pause its expensive new national park entry fees and annual passes for non-residents scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026. Wyden and the other senators emphasized these new passes and fees were not properly noticed in accordance with the law, will slow park entry, and will further limit international visitation. In late November, the federal Department of … Continue Reading
December 24, 2025
Wyden, Merkley Raise Alarm Over Loss of Mental Health Access in Eastern Oregon
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today wrote health care providers serving Malheur County to ask how they’ll ensure nearly 800 residents keep access to the mental health services they need in the wake of new coordinated care organization (CCO) coverage changes brought on by the devastating cuts by Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to Medicaid. “We understand your organization faces unprecedented financial strain as Oregon braces for nearly $4 billion in … Continue Reading
December 23, 2025
Merkley, Wyden Announce $960,881 Coming to Wasco County for Distance Learning
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced a federal investment of $960,881 for the Dufur School District 29 to support distance learning in Wasco County. With this funding, instructors at Portland Community College in Multnomah County, Baker Technical Institute in Baker County, Columbia Gorge Community College in Wasco County, and the Oregon Veterans Home in Wasco County will deliver technical training, STEM coursework, and certified nurse assistant … Continue Reading
December 22, 2025
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to End Staffing Crisis at Fish and Wildlife Service, Warn of Devastating Impacts to Ecosystems and Public Lands
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—the top Democrat overseeing funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)—and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)—former chairman and current senior member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources—joined their colleagues in urging the administration to immediately address and reverse the staffing crisis at the FWS, which has lost the capacity to properly manage most of America’s wildlife refuges, putting in jeopardy the … Continue Reading
December 19, 2025
Wyden, Warren Press Trump Administration Over Compass-Anywhere Real Estate Merger, Sound Alarm on Impact to Housing Costs
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today sent a series of letters to the Trump administration, pressing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to closely scrutinize the proposed $1.6 billion merger between real estate brokerage giants Compass, Inc. (“Compass”) and Anywhere Real Estate, Inc. (“Anywhere”), over concerns the merger could drive up housing costs. "The Compass-Anywhere merger threatens to stifle consumer choice and … Continue Reading
December 19, 2025
Merkley, Wyden Announce $2.2 Million in Federal Support for Coastal Erosion Work in Lincoln County
Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is awarding $2,210,835 to the MidCoast Watersheds Council to restore 125 acres of tidal wetlands and 6.2 miles of stream channels across Oregon's Siletz and Yaquina estuaries in Lincoln County to enhance habitat for salmonids and buffer communities from storm surge. Tidal wetlands on Oregon's central coast are increasingly threatened by coastal erosion, … Continue Reading
December 19, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Celebrate SRS Reauthorization for Rural Oregon Counties
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today celebrated the signing of their bipartisan Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act into law, reauthorizing funding for the U.S. Forest Service’s Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Program (SRS) through FY 2026 and providing lapsed payments to counties in Oregon and nationwide for FY 2024 and 2025. “The Secure Rural Schools program has been a lifeline for rural communities across Oregon and nationwide since I … Continue Reading
December 18, 2025
Wyden Statement on Cannabis Rescheduling
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on Donald Trump’s executive order to reschedule cannabis from a schedule I drug to a schedule III: “This is just a half step that doesn't include legalization, doesn't put the nascent industry on stronger footing, and doesn't do anything for the many Black and Latino Americans who are behind bars for the kind of cannabis use that millions of Americans engage in freely every day,” Wyden said. “I'll continue … Continue Reading
December 18, 2025
Wyden, Colleagues Blast Trump FCC for Weakening Consumer Broadband Protections, Raising Costs
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reverse its decision to weaken broadband pricing labeling rules that inform consumers about the types of internet services they are buying before committing to a provider. “The broadband label framework was designed to work like nutrition labels, giving consumers a clear, consistent way to understand what services they are buying before they commit,” the senators wrote to FCC Chairman Brendan … Continue Reading
