Press Releases
Wyden, Murkowski, Bennet, Gardner Fight for Hop Growers in Senate Farm Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Cory Gardner, R-Colo., this week introduced an amendment to the Senate Farm Bill to allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to fight plant diseases that most threaten the livelihoods of hop growers. Their bipartisan amendment would encourage ongoing work at the USDA to address two diseases - powdery mildew and downy mildew - that can wipe out as much as 15 percent of a hop field, … Continue Reading
June 27, 2018
Wyden, Walden Urge Feds to Help Protect Baker City Water Supply
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Greg Walden today urged federal officials to help protect Baker City's water supply from wildfires by putting a priority on hazardous fuel treatments on and near the city's watershed. "We have both heard from community leaders who are concerned about the potential for large scale fire within the watershed and the impacts that would have on the city's drinking water," Wyden and Walden wrote the United States Forest Service. "The community stands … Continue Reading
June 26, 2018
Wyden Secures Key Provisions in 2019 Intelligence Authorization Act
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, secured key amendments to the Intelligence Authorization Act for the 2019 fiscal year. "This bill represents progress when it comes to standing up to the financial and intelligence threat from Russia and securing Intelligence Community communications. And while I wish this went farther, the committee is now on the record as acknowledging that it is unacceptable for intelligence nominees to hold … Continue Reading
June 26, 2018
Wyden, Crapo, Push for Northwest Small Fruits Growers
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, today introduced an amendment to the Senate Farm Bill to allow federal funding to go toward the kind of research that propels the agricultural competitiveness of Oregon, Idaho and the Pacific Northwest forward. The senators' bipartisan amendment would bolster the Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research's ability to receive federal grant funding for research into crop resilience for agricultural products like grapes, … Continue Reading
June 26, 2018
Wyden Presses HHS Secretary to Protect and Reunify Children Separated from Their Parents at the Border
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, today pressed Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar over the urgent need to protect and reunify children and families separated at the border because of the Trump administration's inhumane "zero-tolerance" policy. At a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Wyden pressed Azar to answer two basic questions about asylum-seekers: how many children HHS has reunited with parents or … Continue Reading
June 25, 2018
Wyden Praises Increased Funds for Rural Health Care Program
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said today's announcement of increased federal funding for the Rural Health Care Program will help to meet the growing demand for telehealth services in rural parts of Oregon and nationwide. Wyden said he's heard firsthand in town halls and meetings with medical providers throughout Oregon how badly needed today's FCC action to lift the decades-old $400 million cap is to improving telecommunications and broadband services for rural health care providers. … Continue Reading
June 25, 2018
Wyden Announces “First Amendment” Schedule for Fourth of July Work Period
Portland - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden will highlight the First Amendment's freedoms of speech, religion, press and assembly during the upcoming Fourth of July congressional work period in Oregon from June 29-July 5. "The Founding Fathers knew the First Amendment's freedoms were core to our country and to creating the values that have made America a destination for all who hunger to be free of fear and liberated to pursue their dreams," Wyden said. "As the son of a reporter, I learned early on about … Continue Reading
June 25, 2018
Wyden Hosts 900th Town Hall Next Week
Portland - Senator Ron Wyden will hold his 900th Oregon town hall on Monday, July 2 in Lane County, returning to the city of Eugene where he attended law school and began his public service advocating on behalf of seniors. The noon town hall will be at the Roosevelt Middle School cafeteria (500 E 24th Ave. in Eugene). Wyden wanted to hold his 900th town hall in Eugene because he attended the University of Oregon Law School. "I promised Oregonians when I was elected that I would hold annual … Continue Reading
June 22, 2018
Wyden Cheers Supreme Court Decision on Warrantless Government Searches of Americans’ Location Records
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today applauded the Supreme Court's ruling, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, that requires the government to obtain a warrant before searching Americans' historical location records: "Today's ruling strikes a blow against the creeping expansion of government intrusion into the most personal parts of Americans' lives. The court's recognition that digital devices can generate 'near-perfect surveillance' of a person's private life is a validation … Continue Reading
June 21, 2018
Finance Democrats Demand Plan to Reunite Children Separated from Their Parents at the Border
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, led Finance Committee Democrats today in demanding to know how the Trump administration is ensuring the safety of children separated from their parents under Trump's zero-tolerance policy and how the administration plans to reunify children and families. In a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar, the senators noted that many of the children separated from their families … Continue Reading
June 20, 2018
Oregon Lawmakers Demand Sessions and Nielsen Reverse Zero Tolerance Policy
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer and Kurt Schrader today demanded Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen immediately reverse the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy that's left asylum seekers dumped in federal prisons. The Oregon lawmakers said their letter follows a troubling meeting Saturday, June 16 with many of the 123 asylum seekers held at the Federal Correctional Institution … Continue Reading
June 19, 2018
Following Wyden’s Investigation, Verizon Pledges to End Contracts With Companies that Sell Americans’ Location
UPDATE - Following news reports that Verizon would end its contracts with major location aggregators, AT&T announced it would follow suit. Please see Sen. Wyden's latest statement on twitter: While @Verizon & @ATT have now pledged to stop selling customer location data to shady middlemen, @TMobile & @sprint seem content to keep selling customers' private information, Americans' privacy be damned. - Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) June 19, 2018 Washington, D.C. - Following an … Continue Reading
June 18, 2018
Wyden Votes No on Defense Authorization Bill
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act: "After Republicans in Congress spent almost $2 trillion in tax breaks that are overwhelmingly skewed to multinational corporations, they're now pushing through legislation that green-lights billions more for open-ended military commitments," Wyden said. "While I applaud the Senate's rejection of Donald Trump's ZTE giveaway and I support pay raises for … Continue Reading
June 18, 2018
Wyden, Merkley Warn Secretary Zinke Not to Skirt Environmental Laws with Plan to Drill in Arctic
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined 28 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary Zinke in response to the Department of the Interior's notice it will begin an Environmental Impact Statement for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The letter, sent in response to Interior's plan to move forward with drilling, demands that any actions taken in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be in full compliance with environmental laws in order to … Continue Reading
June 15, 2018
Merkley, Wyden Join New Legislation To Provide A Better Deal For Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today joined their colleagues in the Senate and House to introduce the Workers' Freedom to Negotiate Act, legislation that would strengthen workers' freedom to join unions and negotiate collectively to win better pay and conditions; stiffen penalties on corporations; protect workers' right to strike; streamline procedures to secure worker freedoms; and protect the integrity of union elections. "When workers get together to … Continue Reading
June 13, 2018
Wyden Applauds Step Forward for His Soil Health Provision in Senate Farm Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today applauded a step forward for a provision he secured in the Senate Farm Bill that would improve soil health and crop resilience and address climate change. Wyden's provision would establish a pilot project for farmers across the country to implement advanced farming practices to capture carbon in soil. These farming practices have been shown to improve soil health and crop resilience while lowering the amount of carbon in the … Continue Reading
June 13, 2018
Wyden, Merkley Legislation to Legalize Hemp Moves Forward in Senate Farm Bill
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced their bipartisan legislation to legalize hemp passed the Senate Agriculture Committee today as part of the Senate Farm Bill. Wyden worked with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to ensure their bipartisan Hemp Farming Act of 2018 was included in legislation released last week. Wyden, Merkley and McConnell introduced the bill in April with Rand Paul, R-Ky. The bill now has the support of another 25 senators. "Lifting … Continue Reading
June 12, 2018
Wyden, Gillibrand, Markey, Merkley, Murray and Warren Introduce Bill to Secure Elections
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today introduced legislation to require state and local governments to take basic steps to secure elections from hackers, and ensure every American's vote counts. The Protecting American Votes and Elections Act of 2018 requires paper ballots and statistically rigorous "risk-limiting" audits for all federal … Continue Reading
June 12, 2018
Oregon Congressional Delegation Presses ICE on Rights of Immigrant Detainees at Federal Prison in Oregon
PORTLAND, OR - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with House members Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader, on Monday demanded that the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately allow individuals being held at a federal prison in Sheridan, Ore., under the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance policy" to access legal services through free phone calls. "We are deeply concerned by reports that [Bureau of … Continue Reading
June 12, 2018
Wyden Presses FERC: Trump Administration’s Coal Bailout Will Raise Americans’ Utility Rates
Washington, D.C. - Following questioning from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a Trump-appointed commissioner from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today testified the Trump administration's scheme to prop up uncompetitive coal plants would raise utility rates for American families. At a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today, FERC commissioner Richard Glick told Wyden the administration's effort would "clearly" raise utility rates for American … Continue Reading
