Press Releases
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
March 05, 2019
Wyden Joins Colleagues to Reintroduce Bill to Stop Trump Administration from Detaining and Shackling Pregnant Women
Washington, D.C. -U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today joined 24 cosponsors to reintroduce legislation that would protect the health and safety of pregnant women and youth in immigration custody. The Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act reinstitutes the Obama-era policy that presumed the release of pregnant women and youth from immigration custody and further prohibits the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from shackling pregnant women in its custody. The bill also sets new … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Wyden, Merkley: UO to Get More Than $400,000 for Earthquake Research
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the University of Oregon will receive more than $400,000 in federal funds for research into improving earthquake early warning systems. "A state-of-the-art early warning system for earthquakes and tsunamis Oregon and the entire West Coast is a must to save lives if and when disaster strikes," Wyden said. "I am gratified that the University of Oregon has earned these awards to continue building on its pioneering … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Wyden Renews Call to Reform Tax Code to Kick the Carbon Habit
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., renewed his call for reforming the tax code to better support investment and innovation in clean energy during today's U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on the electricity sector in a changing climate. Wyden highlighted his proposal to replace the current 44 separate energy tax breaks with a simpler set of long-term, performance-based energy tax incentives that are technology-neutral and promote clean energy in the … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Wyden Calls for Permanent End to NSA Phone Records Program
Washington, D.C. - Senior Senate Intelligence Committee member, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement on the National Security Agency (NSA) telephone records program today: "I cannot comment on classified matters referenced in media reports. However, it is increasingly clear to me that the NSA's implementation of reforms to the phone records dragnet has been fundamentally flawed. In my view, the administration must permanently end the phone records program and Congress … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Wyden, Merkley Join Colleagues to Reintroduce the Marijuana Justice Act
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley last week joined Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and colleagues in reintroducing the Marijuana Justice Act to end the federal prohibition on marijuana. "The War on Drugs destroyed lives, and no one continues to be devastated more than low-income communities and communities of color," said Wyden. "There is a desperate need not only to correct course by ending the failed federal prohibition of marijuana, but to right these wrongs and … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Wyden: “Andrew Wheeler Fights for Those Who Endanger Our Health and Pollute Our Air and Water”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to the nomination of Andrew Wheeler as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "The mission of the EPA is to protect human health, and to fight for clean air and water, for everyone. Andrew Wheeler fights for those who endanger our health and pollute our air and water," Wyden said. "This isn't a tough call. I'm a no on this backward and dangerous nomination. And I urge my … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Merkley, Wyden Join Colleagues to Introduce Comprehensive Child Care And Early Learning Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have joined 33 Democratic colleagues to introduce the Child Care for Working Families Act, a comprehensive early learning and child care bill to ensure affordable, high-quality child care for working middle class families and those living paycheck to paycheck. "I know firsthand that finding child care is stressful enough without worrying about how to afford a five-figure price tag for it," Merkley said. "For Oregon families, … Continue Reading
February 26, 2019
Wyden on House Passage of Bipartisan Public Lands Bill: “Another Proud Chapter of Oregon’s Conservation Legacy”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today welcomed House passage of the bipartisan public lands legislation that passed the Senate earlier this month. The bill is the largest public lands package passed by Congress in a decade and includes important conservation and wildfire protections for Oregon secured by Wyden. "At my town halls, and in line at the grocery store, I hear from Oregonian after Oregonian who wants our state's special places protected. Now, even more of Oregon's natural … Continue Reading
