Press Releases
Wyden Expresses “Deep Concerns about CIA Activities” in Classified Letter
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, the longest-serving member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today transmitted a classified letter to CIA Director John Ratcliffe regarding CIA activities. “I write to alert you to a classified letter I sent you earlier today, in which I express deep concerns about CIA activities,” Wyden wrote in an unclassified letter to Ratcliffe. Read the unclassified letter … Continue Reading
February 03, 2026
Wyden, Warren, Sanders Launch Investigation into Credit Contractor’s Scheme to Profit from Republican Cuts to Medicaid, SNAP
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today that alongside Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., he is launching an investigation into a credit contractor’s plan to profit off Republican policies designed to make it harder for Americans to get Medicaid coverage and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill now forces states to determine whether low-income adults qualify for Medicaid and SNAP based on their … Continue Reading
February 03, 2026
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Release Report of How Private Student Loan Lenders Expect to Profit from Trump’s Big Ugly Bill
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined a group of Senators in releasing a new report of their investigation into how private student loan lenders will reap the benefits from cuts to federal student loan access enacted in Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The report was led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and is the first congressional analysis of the impacts of … Continue Reading
February 03, 2026
Oregon Lawmakers Demand Homeland Security Withdraw its Federal Agents from Portland After They Tear-Gassed Oregonians
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today led a letter with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Andrea Salinas, Janelle Bynum and Maxine Dexter demanding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) withdraw its federal agents from Portland and stop inflicting violence on the American people in Oregon, Minnesota and nationwide. The letter from the Oregon lawmakers to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem comes after the federal forces deployed by the Trump administration unleashed … Continue Reading
February 02, 2026
Wyden Announces Town Halls in Polk, Yamhill, Linn counties
Portland - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced he will hold open-to-all town halls this weekend in Polk, Yamhill and Linn counties. U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum will co-host the town hall in Linn County. Heading into these three town halls on Friday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 7, Wyden has held 1,146 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 counties. “I’ve kept my promise to hold these town halls throughout Oregon … Continue Reading
February 02, 2026
Bynum, Wyden Lead Charge to Protect Healthcare in Central Oregon
Washington, DC - Today, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, demanding the resolution of an issue facing St. Charles Health System in Bend, OR. When St. Charles merged two hospital campuses in 2022, an administrative mistake by CMS cost the hospital over $6 million in additional expenses. CMS has taken no action to alleviate this severe financial burden, which threatens … Continue Reading
January 30, 2026
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Probe Collapse in IRS Investigations of Wealthy Tax Cheats Under Trump
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined Senate colleagues to demand answers on how Republican funding clawbacks and DOGE staff cuts have gutted the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division’s ability to investigate sophisticated tax schemes used by wealthy tax cheats. “As one former head of the shuttered Justice Department Tax Division put it, ‘There is usual ebb and flow, but you can't ignore this number.’ We write to ask how staffing cuts and … Continue Reading
January 30, 2026
Wyden, Dexter Press Pepsi and Trump Administration Over Price Discrimination Scheme
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Maxine Dexter today said they are pressing PepsiCo about its discriminatory pricing practices that favored Walmart over small retailers and increased costs for consumers nationwide. In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, the Oregon lawmakers also raised concerns about possible political motivations in the FTC’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit regarding Pepsi’s discriminatory pricing, following a significant donation by the company to … Continue Reading
January 28, 2026
On Senate Floor, Wyden Sounds Alarm on ICE Abuses, Renews Calls for Strong Privacy Protections
Watch a video of Wyden deliver his remarks here As prepared for delivery For the Trump administration to stomp to death the first, second, fourth, fifth, and tenth amendments to the Constitution is not immigration enforcement. It’s a lawless abuse of federal power. The First Amendment guarantees Americans the right to make their voices heard, and to document lawlessness or abuse by the federal government. It guarantees the right to peacefully assemble and protest against those abuses. The … Continue Reading
January 22, 2026
Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $2.1 Million Grant for Postsecondary Manufacturing Education at Central Oregon Community College
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that $2,187,923 in federal funding is coming to Central Oregon Community College to boost its manufacturing postsecondary education program, expanding the pipeline of skilled workers to meet the needs of local employers while supporting long-term regional economic growth. “Access to postsecondary education is essential to building the skilled workforce that Central Oregon’s manufacturing and business communities … Continue Reading
January 21, 2026
Wyden, Padilla, Colleagues Press Trump Administration Over Chaotic Decisions on Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., today led 18 Democratic Senate colleagues in pressing the Trump administration for answers over its recent plan to cut nearly $2 billion in federal funding for critical substance abuse and mental health services, only to reverse course on its decision one day later, causing mass chaos and confusion for patients and providers nationwide. “Cancelling these grants would have jeopardized critical work being done on … Continue Reading
January 15, 2026
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
