Press Releases
Wyden on Interior Secretary Nominee: “You sound like just another corrupt official”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced his opposition to the nomination of David Bernhardt as Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Wyden pressed Bernhardt on his questionable ethics and conflicts of interest during his nomination hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Wyden, a senior member of the Committee, raised concerns over evidence recently made public that Bernhardt meddled with science and blocked the release of a … Continue Reading
March 27, 2019
Wyden, Cotton Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect Personal Devices and Accounts of Senators and Staff from Cyber Threats
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. and members of the Senate Intelligence Committee Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., today introduced a bipartisan bill to protect the personal electronic devices and accounts of senators and their staff from cyber threats. The Senate Cybersecurity Protection Act, S. 890, would permit the Senate Sergeant at Arms (SAA) to provide voluntary cybersecurity assistance to senators and certain Senate staff to secure their personal devices and accounts. Russia's … Continue Reading
March 26, 2019
Wyden on Green New Deal Vote: “This is a sham debate.”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today on the Senate floor called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's political stunt on the Green New Deal a "sham debate," and urged Congress to take meaningful, immediate action on climate. "This is a political game, and I don't believe anybody should take part in it. Climate change is the biggest long-term threat this country faces. The longer Congress waits to address climate change, the more damage it's going to do," said Wyden. "Years … Continue Reading
March 25, 2019
Wyden Statement on Attorney General Barr’s Letter to Congress
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued the following statement in response to the letter that Attorney General William Barr released Sunday afternoon: "Attorney General Barr's letter appears to be little more than a public relations strategy to get positive headlines for the president, while concealing from the American people Robert Mueller's actual report. No one should be surprised. Barr told Trump he didn't have to worry … Continue Reading
March 21, 2019
Wyden, Paul, Leahy, Daines Question DOJ Over Government Surveillance of Americans’ Location Information
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mt., today asked the Department of Justice a series of questions about when and how the government can collect information about Americans' location, in a bipartisan letter to Attorney General William Barr. The senators asked Attorney General Barr how the Supreme Court's decision in Carpenter v. United States, that the government must get a warrant to obtain location … Continue Reading
March 19, 2019
Wyden Statement on Calls to Regulate Speech Online and Repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement in reaction to new calls to regulate speech online and repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act: "Tech companies certainly need to continue to be far more vigorous about identifying, fingerprinting and blocking content and individuals who incite hate and violence. If politicians want to restrict the First Amendment or eliminate the tools with which much of the world communicates in real … Continue Reading
March 19, 2019
Wyden Calls on Saudi Arabia to Release Political Prisoners
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden joined with eight other senators today to call on the King of Saudi Arabia to immediately and unconditionally release a number of prisoners held by the Saudi government, many of them on dubious charges related to their activism. "The brutality of the Khashoggi killing and Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, as well as the continued detention of political prisoners threaten not only Saudi Arabia's regional role but also the future of the U.S.-Saudi … Continue Reading
March 18, 2019
Merkley, Wyden Announce $2.5 Million for Offshore Wind Energy Research
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced a major, $2.5 million grant for Oregon State University to develop monitoring systems for offshore wind turbines, advancing the renewable energy technology with cutting-edge research. "If we want to curb climate chaos and remain an economic force in the world, we must invest in research and development for the most cutting-edge energy technology," said Merkley, who uses his seat on the Senate Appropriations … Continue Reading
March 14, 2019
Merkley, Wyden, Walden Introduce Bill to Nullify Fraudulent Tribal Treaty
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR 2), today introduced the 1865 Treaty Nullification Act to formally and finally nullify a fraudulent treaty with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, and clearly validate an 1855 treaty that establishes the tribes' reservation and preserves certain hunting, gathering and fishing rights. The Warm Springs Tribes in 1855 entered into a treaty with the United States, defining the … Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
Wyden, Cotton Urge Senate: Take Cyber Threats Seriously
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., today urged the Senate to take the cyber threats to congressional computers and cell phones seriously by providing an annual report on the number of successful hacks of Senate devices. In a letter addressed to the Senate Sargent of Arms (SAA), Michael Stenger, the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee members wrote: "During the last decade, hackers have successfully infiltrated U.S. government agencies including the … Continue Reading
March 12, 2019
Wyden Joins Colleagues to Introduce Legislation Ensuring Equal Access to Reproductive Health Care
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. today joined colleagues to introduce legislation protecting every woman's constitutionally-guaranteed right to reproductive health care and helping ensure access to care for each woman, regardless of income, race or where in the country they may live. The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Woman Act would lift the federal prohibition in current law preventing women who receive their health coverage through … Continue Reading
March 12, 2019
Wyden Welcomes Public Lands Bill Becoming Law
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said today's signing into law of bipartisan public lands legislation takes several major and permanent steps forward to protect Oregon's natural treasures for future generations to enjoy. "Conserving our state's iconic Devil's Staircase, adding hundreds of miles of wild-and-scenic rivers, increasing wildfire protections and more totals up to a big win for Oregon's recreation economy," Wyden said after the White House signing ceremony. "This is the … Continue Reading
March 11, 2019
Wyden: Trump’s ‘MAGAnomics’ Budget Promises to Leave Seniors and American Families Behind
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on the Trump administration's budget proposal to Congress: "Trump's 'MAGAnomics' budget means deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other essential resources for seniors and American families-all to free up money for his wall, windfalls for defense contractors, and tax cuts for huge corporations and billionaires. "Not only that, the Trump administration is again pushing its misguided scheme to drive up the … Continue Reading
March 08, 2019
Wyden Urges State Department to Tell Turkey its Retribution Against Enes Kanter is Unacceptable
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to tell his Turkish counterparts that their retribution against Enes Kanter for his criticism of their autocratic rule is unacceptable for a U.S. ally. Kanter, a Turkish national recently acquired by the Portland Trail Blazers from the New York Knicks, has “eloquently and powerfully exercised his freedom of conscience to criticize Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyipp Erdogan,” Wyden wrote in his letter to Pompeo. … Continue Reading
March 08, 2019
Wyden, Merkley, DeFazio & Blumenauer File Court Brief Supporting Youth Climate Lawsuit
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer have filed a brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the Juliana v. United States youth plaintiffs in their landmark climate lawsuit and urging the Court to allow the pending case to proceed to trial. "From the present flooding and arctic temperatures in the East to the wildfires and droughts in the West, climate change is not just an impending threat that risks the … Continue Reading
March 07, 2019
Wyden, Merkley Call for Hearings on Gun Violence Prevention
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week wrote the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to call for hearings on universal background checks legislation. "Statistics demonstrate that universal background checks save lives, and polls show that 97% of Americans support the implementation of these checks," the Oregon senators wrote Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in a letter signed by 36 other senators. "We noted with interest your statements that … Continue Reading
March 07, 2019
Wyden Calls for Investigation into Non-compete Agreements
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today joined colleagues from both parties to request a federal investigation into the use and abuse of non-compete agreements, saying their widening use in recent years raises serious concerns about their increasing toll on workers and the economy. "We are concerned that the use of non-compete agreements on a large scale could slow economic and wage growth, reduce productivity and competition in labor markets, and create significant barriers to … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Wyden, Heinrich, Harris Request Declassification of Response to Questions About Chinese Interference in U.S. Elections
Washington, D.C. - Senate Intelligence Committee members Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., today called on the Director of National Intelligence to declassify a letter sent October 31, 2018, that responded to questions about whether China interfered in the 2016 and 2018 U.S. elections. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats provided an unclassified response to those questions on February 8, which is available here. That unclassified … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Wyden, Rubio, Warner Reintroduce “Student Right to Know Before You Go Act” to Empower Students as Consumers
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mark Warner, D-Va., today reintroduced legislation to provide critical information to help students, families, policymakers and taxpayers better understand the costs and outcomes associated with higher education, while protecting individual privacy. The bipartisan Student Right to Know Before You Go Act makes data available to prospective college students about schools' graduation rates, debt levels, how much graduates can … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Wyden, Merkley Co-sponsor Veterans Agent Orange Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced they are co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill that would provide health care benefits to additional veterans who served decades ago in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Their bill would move the start date for the presumption of service connection to all veterans exposed to Agent Orange in the Korean Demilitarized Zone from April 1968 to September 1967. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) presumes that veterans … Continue Reading
