Press Releases
Wyden Announces Town Hall on Sunday, November 23 in Lincoln County
Portland - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced he will hold an open-to-all town hall Sunday, November 23 in Lincoln County. Heading into this 1:30 pm town hall at the Newport High School gym (322 NE Eads St., Newport), Wyden has held 1,137 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. “The Oregon Way is all about showing up in our state’s communities, listening to everybody’s opinions and answering their questions,” … Continue Reading
November 17, 2025
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Call on Trump Admin to Immediately Halt Plans to Upend Key Homelessness Program
Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their Democratic Senate colleagues to urge Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner to immediately halt reported plans to make drastic changes to the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which could result in nearly 200,000 Americans being forced out of their housing and back into homelessness. The 42 Senate Democrats called on Secretary Turner to instead use the authorities that … Continue Reading
November 17, 2025
Wyden, Merkley Push Trump Administration to Release Funds for Heating Assistance for Low-Income Americans
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today that they are joining a bipartisan group of senators to push the Trump administration to immediately release funds for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a lifeline program that helps low-income Americans afford their energy bills. The letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. comes as the Trump administration sits on $4 billion in … Continue Reading
November 14, 2025
Wyden, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Rein in Abuse of National Guard in Domestic Deployments
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he has joined Senate colleagues to introduce legislation that would limit Donald Trump’s ability to deploy the National Guard into U.S. communities. The No Troops in Our Streets Act gives Congress the ability to stop a military deployment at home with a simple majority of votes, at any time. The legislation would apply to the deployments to Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago. If Trump invokes the Insurrection Act in the future, it would … Continue Reading
November 13, 2025
Wyden, Warner Demand Release of CISA Report on Insecurity of U.S. Phone Networks
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mark Warner, D-Va., vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, demanded the release of a report detailing specific, serious threats to U.S. phone networks, which the Trump administration has refused to release. “The continued suppression of a report identifying serious vulnerabilities of the U.S. telecommunications sector undermines the public’s understanding of these threats and stymies an important public debate on a … Continue Reading
November 13, 2025
Wyden, Schumer, Warren, and Cortez Masto Press Trump to Restore Export Controls After Trading Sensitive U.S. Technology to China in Trade Talks
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., pressed Donald Trump on his decision to trade away U.S. national security in search of quick handshake deals to mitigate his disastrous trade agenda by suspending critical export controls that helped prevent Chinese companies from accessing American-made advanced technology. “Trump’s selling off our tech advantage to China … Continue Reading
November 12, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Bonamici, Hoyle Demand Trump Administration Explain Big Coast Guard Changes in Newport & Reports of New ICE Facility
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley along with U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Val Hoyle said today they are demanding the Trump administration answer questions about reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has relocated an essential Coast Guard helicopter away from Newport, and is planning to build an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in this small Oregon Coast town. “We urge you to immediately provide the Oregon congressional … Continue Reading
November 12, 2025
Wyden, Espaillat and 38 Members of Congress Urge Democratic Governors to Block ICE from Accessing Americans' DMV Data
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Representative Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., and 38 members of Congress urged 19 Democratic governors to block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from accessing driver license and registration information of people living in their states, in response to Donald Trump politicizing and weaponizing the agency. Every state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories provide access to their residents’ data to approximately 18,000 … Continue Reading
November 10, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Bonamici Join Dexter to Introduce Bill to Ensure Department of Homeland Security Detainees Can Speak to a Lawyer and Contact Their Families
Washington D.C.— U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, with U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici, said today they have joined Rep. Maxine Dexter’s bicameral legislation to ensure the Department of Homeland Security allows noncitizens who have been detained to contact their legal counsel and families. The Restoring Access to Detainees Act comes after months of credible reporting that ICE and CBP have deprived detainees - including children and longtime legal residents - of the ability to … Continue Reading
November 10, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demand Answers from Trump On New “Review” of Mifepristone Despite Decades of Evidence Proving its Safety & Efficacy
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined Senate colleagues to express alarm over the Trump administration's plans to conduct “its own review of the evidence” on the safety and effectiveness of the abortion medication mifepristone. “Decades of evidence and hundreds of studies prove the safety and efficacy of mifepristone, which is not only the most common method of abortion in the U.S., but is also frequently prescribed to women to help manage … Continue Reading
November 07, 2025
Wyden, Colleagues Slam Trump Ballroom “Vehicle for Politicized Fundraising, Influence Peddling, and Donor Access”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and four colleagues today pressed National Park Service Comptroller Jessica Bowron, and President and Trust for the National Mall Chief Executive Officer Catherine Townsend on how their organizations have seemingly become a vehicle for politicized fundraising, influence peddling, and donor access to Donald Trump, amid his effort to pay for and build his $300 million ballroom at the White House. The new letter comes shortly after Trump … Continue Reading
November 06, 2025
Wyden Introduces Bill to Support SNAP Recipients During Trump Government Shutdown
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced legislation that would allow grocery stores nationwide to voluntarily offer discounts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients whenever a government shutdown prevents them from getting their full benefits, if they choose to. Introduction of the Emergency Relief for Hungry Families Act follows reporting earlier this week that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is trying to block grocery stores from … Continue Reading
November 05, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Blast Trump for Rising Health Care Costs and Affordability Crisis for American Families
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he is leading a letter with his Senate colleagues, including Oregon U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, slamming Trump for his failure to address rising health care costs for American families. Wyden, Merkley, and the lawmakers highlighted the worsening affordability crisis, especially for health care — the crux of the fight surrounding Donald Trump and Republicans’ ongoing government shutdown. “Over 90 percent of American voters say it is … Continue Reading
November 04, 2025
Wyden, Merkley Blast Trump Administration for Illegally Ending Program to Help Students with Disabilities
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today said they are joining their colleagues in pressing the Trump administration on its illegal efforts to shut down the Department of Education’s administration and enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which guarantees educational opportunities and protections for individuals with disabilities. A recent report from The Washington Post revealed that the Trump administration intends to move … Continue Reading
November 03, 2025
Wyden, Krishnamoorthi Urge FTC to Investigate Surveillance Tech Company on Negligently Handling Americans’ Personal Data
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore. and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., today called for a federal investigation into surveillance technology company Flock Safety, for failing to implement cybersecurity protections and needlessly exposing Americans’ personal data to theft by hackers, foreign spies, and criminals. Flock does not require its law enforcement customers to use multi-factor authentication (MFA), a cybersecurity best practice. The methods of MFA that Flock … Continue Reading
November 03, 2025
Wyden, Colleagues Demand Transparency on Secretive ICE Operations and Abuse of Immigrants
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today said he is pressing the Trump administration for answers in light of troubling reports detailing secretive immigration enforcement actions, including inhumanely treating immigrants in government custody. Wyden and 10 other senators raised concerns with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Air Operations’ (IAO) “near-total secrecy” as part of its mass deportation agenda. IAO has been centrally involved in immigration enforcement actions … Continue Reading
November 03, 2025
Merkley, Wyden, Bonamici, Salinas, Dexter, Bynum Demand Trump Reverse Plan to Open New Offshore Oil and Gas Leases
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden—along with U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.-01), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.-06), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.-03), and Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.-05)—joined over 100 federal lawmakers in demanding President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum immediately cease any plans to open new offshore oil and gas leases in U.S. federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the Arctic Ocean and northern Bering Sea off of … Continue Reading
November 03, 2025
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Bill to Pause Student Loans for Federal Workers, Contractors, and Military During Ongoing Trump Shutdown
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., said today they are introducing legislation that would pause student loan payments for federal workers when a federal government shutdown lasts longer than two weeks. “While Donald Trump and his Republican yes-men aren’t lifting a finger to stop their government shutdown, federal workers continue to experience more financial pain,” Wyden said. “Federal workers in Oregon and nationwide shouldn’t have to suffer because of … Continue Reading
October 31, 2025
Merkley, Wyden, Entire Senate Democratic Caucus: Trump Administration Must Stop Illegally Withholding Funding for Nutrition Assistance Programs That Feed American Families
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined the Senate Democratic Caucus to demand the Trump Administration stop illegally withholding available funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Led by Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Senate Democrats introduced the Keep SNAP and WIC Funded Act of 2025 to direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to … Continue Reading
October 30, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demand Trump Protect U.S. National Security in Trade Negotiations
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined Senate colleagues to urge Donald Trump to protect the national security of the United States and our allies in trade negotiations with China. The letter comes as Trump has already made significant concessions to China - highlighted in the letter - including weakening U.S. export controls on semiconductor chips, barring Taiwan’s president from making a planned layover in the U.S., and offering little detail … Continue Reading
