Press Releases
Western Oregon Tribal Restoration Bill Passes Senate, Goes to President’s Desk to Become Law
Washington, D.C. - Legislation authored by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Representatives Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., to address western Oregon tribal priorities passed the Senate unanimously last night. The bill now goes to the president to be signed into law. The Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act would place 17,519 acres of federal land currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) into trust for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua … Continue Reading
December 22, 2017
Mt. Hood Land Exchange Legislation Goes to President’s Desk to be Signed into Law
Washington, D.C. - Legislation written by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Representatives Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., to protect and enhance Oregon's land conservation and recreation priorities on Mt. Hood passed the Senate unanimously last night. The bill now goes to the president to be signed into law. Wyden, Merkley, Walden and Blumenauer introduced the Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act in the Senate and House … Continue Reading
December 21, 2017
Wyden Will Vote ‘No’ on Spending Bill Without Solutions on CHIP and DACA, or Reforms to Warrantless Surveillance
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced he will vote no on a spending bill that fails to address health insurance for millions of children, does not address DACA, or includes an extension of warrantless surveillance under FISA Section 702. "The House's flawed, slapdash bill fails to give families and states long-term security and peace of mind when it comes to the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides essential health care to more than 80,000 children across … Continue Reading
December 20, 2017
Wyden Slams Cobbled-Together House Surveillance Bill
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., slammed the latest House bill to extend warrantless surveillance under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, in a statement issued today. "This bill is an eleventh-hour attempt to sneak an unchecked warrantless surveillance program through Congress. This kind of rushed, secretive process is exactly the wrong way to write laws governing important national security programs," Wyden said. "The legislation posted late yesterday is a … Continue Reading
December 18, 2017
Wyden Becomes First Senate Cosponsor of Landmark Bill to End Federal Prohibition of Marijuana
WASHINGTON, D.C - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) today became the first U.S senator to cosponsor Senator Cory Booker's (D-NJ) landmark bill to end the federal prohibition on marijuana. He announced his support in a Facebook live tonight with Booker. The Marijuana Justice Act would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, making it legal at the federal level. "Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration are still trying to fight a 1980s drug war that is socially unjust, … Continue Reading
December 14, 2017
Wyden Blasts FCC’s Repeal of Net Neutrality
Washington - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today sharply criticized the Federal Communications Commission's vote to repeal net neutrality and said he will work to restore key rules that successfully prohibited internet service providers from devising fast and slow lanes they could use to block or stunt internet traffic. "Today's historically awful FCC action undoing net neutrality unwraps an early Christmas present for Big Cable and unravels essential protections for consumers in Oregon and … Continue Reading
December 11, 2017
Wyden Statement on Vera Katz
Washington - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today issued the following statement about the passing of former Portland Mayor Vera Katz: "I am deeply saddened by the loss of my friend Vera Katz. My memories of this indomitable woman stretch back more than 40 years to our work together during the 1975 state Legislature to reduce prescription drug costs," Wyden said. "Vera recognized early on the importance of standing up for senior citizens and I fondly remember how older people gravitated to her house … Continue Reading
December 07, 2017
Wyden, Merkley, 33 Bipartisan Senators Urge Extension of Secure Rural Schools Program
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and a bipartisan group of 33 senators sent a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., this week urging them to include a reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Program in any end-of-year legislation. SRS supports public schools, public roads, forest health projects, emergency services, and many other essential county services for more than 775 counties across the … Continue Reading
December 07, 2017
Wyden, Bipartisan Western Senators Introduce Bill to Protect Public Lands, Promote Economic Growth
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has joined a group of bipartisan western Senators in introducing a bill to reauthorize an expired law that allowed the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service in the western United States to use the proceeds from sales of certain federally designated areas to protect lands of exceptional conservation value. "The success of these programs has shown that economic growth and … Continue Reading
December 06, 2017
Wyden, Murkowski Bill to Grow Small Businesses and Local Economies Moves Forward
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced that their bipartisan legislation to boost local economies, jobs and small businesses passed the Senate Banking Committee. The Credit Union Residential Loan Parity Act (S.836) would spur business and job growth in local communities by giving local credit unions more flexibility to offer loans to small businesses. The legislation would allow credit unions to treat loans for small residential buildings as … Continue Reading
November 30, 2017
Wyden Statement on House Intelligence Committee Bill To Reauthorize 702 Surveillance Program
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the House Intelligence Committee's bill to reauthorize the expansive surveillance authority under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: "The House Intelligence Committee version of the FISA 702 bill does nothing to protect the rights of innocent Americans. The court order described in the bill would, based on information made public by the DNI, apply to the results of exactly one of the thousands of warrantless … Continue Reading
November 30, 2017
Wyden, Merkley VA Construction Bill Moves Forward
Washington, D.C. - Legislation from Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley that would improve the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) ability to serve America's veterans yesterday took a significant step toward becoming law. Their bill would streamline the process for routine construction and maintenance at VA facilities, including clinics, by raising the cap on such projects from $10 million to $20 million. Currently, Congress must individually approve VA construction projects that cost more … Continue Reading
November 30, 2017
Wyden, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Protect Nation’s Wildlife, Natural Resources from Climate Change
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined his colleagues in introducing a bill to protect the country's wildlife and natural resources from climate change. Building on existing federal, state, and local efforts, the Safeguarding America's Future and Environment (SAFE) Act would establish an integrated national approach to ongoing and expected effects of extreme weather and climate change. "Right now in Oregon we're feeling the undeniable impact of climate change -- everything … Continue Reading
November 29, 2017
Wyden, Rubio, Warner Introduce “Student Right to Know Before You Go Act” to Empower Students as Consumers and Showcase New Privacy-Protecting Technology
Washington, D.C. - With the cost of college at an all-time high, Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mark Warner, D-Va., today introduced updated legislation to provide critical information to help students, families, policymakers and taxpayers better understand the costs and outcomes associated with higher education. The bipartisan "Student Right to Know Before You Go Act" makes data available to prospective college students about schools' graduation rates, debt levels, how … Continue Reading
November 29, 2017
Wyden, Merkley: La Pine Receiving Federal Help for City Wastewater System
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today welcomed more than $8 million in new federal rural development funding for La Pine to upgrade its wastewater system. The Oregon senators said the $5 million loan and $3.7 million grant from the Agriculture Department will help La Pine to reduce construction costs as part of a project responding to public health concerns about residential wells in the town's Cagle and Glenwood Acres subdivisions. "These resources are a must for … Continue Reading
November 17, 2017
Senate Passes Wyden, Merkley Provision in Defense Bill to Encourage National Guard to Train Members to Fight Wildfires
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced they successfully included legislation to help train additional members of the National Guard to fight wildfires in a defense bill the Senate passed this week. The senators worked to include their legislation, which facilitates training of more National Guard members for wildfire response, in a bill members from both Houses of Congress negotiated. The provision is especially important in states like Oregon, hard-hit … Continue Reading
November 17, 2017
Wyden: Congress Needs to Step Up if the White House Won’t Work to Protect Communities from Wildfires
Washington, D.C. - On the heels of the most expensive wildfire season on record, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today slammed the Trump administration for failing to provide aid for communities in the West and across the country ravaged by wildfires this year. The administration had committed to releasing a package in the coming weeks to help recovery efforts from 2017's natural disasters, including major hurricanes and record-breaking wildfires. Yet the disaster aid request from the White House to … Continue Reading
November 17, 2017
Wyden, Merkley: Keep Coast Guard Newport Station Open Permanently
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they want the U.S. Coast Guard reauthorization bill to keep open permanently the Newport air station on the Oregon Coast. The Oregon senators made their views known in a bipartisan letter also signed by Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham (both R-S.C.). "We remain extremely concerned about Coast Guard air facilities in the high-use ports of Newport, Oregon and Charleston, South Carolina," the four lawmakers wrote Sen. John … Continue Reading
November 17, 2017
Wyden Urges Support for School and Library Internet Access Program
Washington - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today urged federal officials to protect the E-Rate program, an essential source of federal funding to connect the nation's schools and libraries to the internet. With the growth of smartphones and tablet use, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) modernized the E-Rate program in 2014, making funds available to expand Wi-Fi networks in schools and libraries. The FCC directed the Wireline Competition Bureau to compile a report on the adequacy of the … Continue Reading
November 16, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Urge ICE To Accept DACA Applications Delayed By Postal Service
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to allow people whose DACA renewal applications were rejected because of U.S. Postal Service processing delays to resubmit their applications. The letter signed by the Oregon senators and 22 of their colleagues follows recent reports that DHS has rejected renewal requests for DACA received after the October 5, 2017 deadline application deadline due to Postal Service delays. They called … Continue Reading
