Press Releases
Wyden: Trump Budget Promises to Raise Utility Bills for Pacific Northwesterners, Leaves Seniors, Children and American Families Behind
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on the Trump administration's budget proposal to Congress: "Oregonians raised hell last year when Trump tried to raise power bills for Pacific Northwesterners by selling off Bonneville Power, and yet his administration is back at it again. Our investment shouldn't be put up for sale to free up money for runaway military spending or tax cuts for billionaires. I fought off efforts to privatize Bonneville a … Continue Reading
February 09, 2018
Merkley, Wyden Announce Funds for Chetco Bar Fire Recovery Plan
PORTLAND, OR - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced a $50,000 federal grant to help develop an economic recovery plan for Curry County, which was severely impacted by the massive Chetco Bar wildfire that burned through the summer and fall last year. "This funding will help Brookings and other communities on the road to recovery from an historic wildfire season," Merkley said. "Meanwhile, I will continue to fight to fix broken wildfire policies and invest in fire … Continue Reading
February 09, 2018
Wyden, Merkley Announce $1.1 Million Grant for Bend-LaPine School District
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced today that the Bend-LaPine School District will receive more than $1 million in federal funding to reimburse the district for expenses stemming from the January 2017 storm that dumped snow on schools' roofs. The $1.1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover costs for engineering evaluations and snow removal that the district incurred while protecting its buildings from heavy snow that piled on roofs and … Continue Reading
February 09, 2018
Wyden Votes No On Government Spending Package
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement after voting 'No' on a government spending package. "Leader Schumer deserves tremendous credit for securing a number of key Democratic priorities in this package. I'm particularly proud that this bill contains historic victories for Finance Committee priorities in terms of health care and human services, on everything from health care for children, to the most significant improvement in the child welfare system in … Continue Reading
February 08, 2018
Wyden, Bipartisan Senators Call for Senate Investigation into Larry Nassar Case
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden has joined a bipartisan group of Senators to urge the establishment of a special Senate committee to investigate the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and USA Gymnastics regarding how team doctor Larry Nassar was allowed to sexually abuse female gymnasts over decades. "It's long overdue that those involved in the Larry Nassar case be held accountable for their inaction, and provide answers to the deeply troubling questions that linger for victims and their … Continue Reading
February 07, 2018
Senators Press Interior Department on Zinke’s Efforts to Dismantle Plans to Manage Sage Grouse Habitat, Mitigate Climate Change Impacts
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., today pressed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke about the agency's recent efforts to dismantle land management plans to protect sage grouse habitat and mitigate climate change impacts. In a letter to Zinke, the senators expressed their concerns about guidelines issued at the end of December by the Bureau of Land Management … Continue Reading
February 06, 2018
Wyden Co-sponsors Landslide Safety Bill
Washington, DC- Senator Ron Wyden today announced he is co-sponsoring a bill that would establish a National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program to save lives and property by better identifying and understanding landslide risks. "Communities in Oregon and nationwide threatened by landslides should have access to the latest technology and needed resources that can mean the difference between life and death," Wyden said. "This legislation recognizes that need by improving the responses to … Continue Reading
February 02, 2018
Merkley, Wyden Join Introduction of New Legislation to Protect National Monuments from Trump Administration’s Attempts to Roll Back Protections
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that they have joined a group of 18 senators in introducing legislation to enhance protections for national monuments against the Trump administration's unprecedented attacks on public lands. The America's Natural Treasures of Immeasurable Quality Unite, Inspire, and Together Improve the Economies of States (ANTIQUITIES) Act of 2018 reinforces Congress' intent in the Antiquities Act of 1906: Only Congress has the … Continue Reading
February 01, 2018
Wyden, Merkley Statement on Resignation of Roseburg VA Director Doug Paxton
Portland - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today issued the following statement about the resignation of Roseburg VA Director Doug Paxton: “It’s been clear from the growing number of troubling reports from veterans served in Roseburg’s VA system that change is needed to provide the top-notch care those veterans deserve,” Wyden and Merkley said. “We hope this change marks a needed step forward to achieve the goal of transforming the VA’s Roseburg system into a place worthy of the … Continue Reading
February 01, 2018
Wyden Urges Administration to Make Rural Broadband a Priority
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and 15 of his colleagues are urging the Trump administration to include funding for broadband internet deployment in rural areas nationwide that lack access to high-speed broadband. "In an increasingly interconnected world and global economy, we must include in our discussion of infrastructure not just roads, bridges and waterways, but also high-speed internet access," Wyden and senators wrote in their letter. "While the vast majority of Americans have … Continue Reading
January 30, 2018
Wyden Response to the State of the Union Address
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., tonight issued the following statement after the State of the Union address: "Trump has spent the past two years making grandiose promises to put workers and families first, but he and congressional Republicans are frantically working to reward corporations and the politically powerful," Wyden said. "No amount of rhetoric can mask the reality that Trump's agenda is all about giving more power and influence to special interests by making life … Continue Reading
January 30, 2018
Wyden Pushes Trump Administration to Fund Earthquake Early Warning System
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden today pushed the Trump administration to fully fund essential preparedness functions that could save thousands of lives if a major earthquake or tsunami struck Oregon. In a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Wyden urged U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Deputy Director David Applegate to not repeat the Trump administration’s misguided approach from last year that proposed to eliminate funding for the USGS’s West Coast earthquake … Continue Reading
January 29, 2018
Wyden Announces Oregon DREAMer as State of the Union Guest
Washington - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today announced that Esli Becerra will be his guest at the Jan. 30 State of the Union speech. Becerra, a 26-year-old visual effects artist in Portland, will be accompanied to Washington, D.C. by his 24-year-old brother Kevin Becerra-Segura. The brothers’ parents brought Esli to the United States from Mexico when he was 8 months old. Kevin was born in Springfield, Oregon and the brothers grew up in Eugene. Kevin worked to help his brother graduate from Lane … Continue Reading
January 25, 2018
Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer, DeFazio, Bonamici Urge Action to Protect State Marijuana Laws in Bipartisan Letter to Trump
Washington, DC - Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Suzanne Bonamici and 49 of their Senate and House colleagues sent a bipartisan letter today to Trump requesting he urge Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reinstate the Cole Memorandum. Doing so would create a pathway to a more comprehensive marijuana policy that respects state interests. On January 4, 2018, Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum - putting jobs, small businesses, state … Continue Reading
January 25, 2018
Wyden Statement on Oregon Graduation Rates
Wyden Statement on Oregon Graduation Rates Washington - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today issued the following statement in response to the latest graduation rate numbers for Oregon high school students. "When Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act two years ago to ensure local educators got more of a leadership role in the classroom, I worked to get more students across the stage on graduation day and to track for the first time the graduation rates of students experiencing homelessness or … Continue Reading
January 25, 2018
Wyden to FBI Director Wray: Stop Misleading Americans About Encryption
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked FBI Director Christopher Wray to explain his recent comments calling for government backdoors into Americans' encrypted personal phones, computers and other electronic devices, in a letter sent today. While Wray said he was "not looking for a 'back door'", while speaking at Fordham University earlier this month, he advocated for weakening encryption to allow special government access to personal devices - the definition of a back door. "Your … Continue Reading
January 17, 2018
Wyden Announces ‘No’ Vote on House Spending Bill that Falls Short on Protecting Children at Every Turn, Ignores Bipartisan Solutions
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced he will vote against another short-term spending bill that fails to extend DACA protections for more than 11,000 Oregon Dreamers and hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth across the country. The bill also fails to extend Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for the long-term, which would save taxpayers $6 billion. "In the face of a cruel and arbitrary deadline forced by the Trump administration, Dreamers in … Continue Reading
January 17, 2018
Paul, Wyden, Polis, and Massie defend hemp
Washington: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo.; and Rep. Tom Massie, R-Ky.; defended hemp farmers and businesses, authoring an amicus brief to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the Hemp Industries Assn, et. al. v. D.E.A. case. Hemp farmers and businesses filed the case after the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) instituted a rule that classifies parts of hemp and its extracts as a Schedule I drug. Labeling hemp as a Schedule I drug directly … Continue Reading
January 17, 2018
Wyden, Merkley Press Trump Administration on Forest Restoration Projects
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are urging federal officials to include full funding for proven forest restoration programs in the Department of Agriculture's FY2019 budget. "Without adequate funding for these programs, rural communities will continue to sink into further economic and ecological distress due to the many overstocked and unhealthy tree stands within some of our national forests," the Oregon senators wrote in their Jan. 16 letter to Agriculture Secretary … Continue Reading
January 11, 2018
After Interior Exempts Florida from Controversial Offshore Drilling Plan, Merkley and Wyden Call on Trump Administration to Ban Drilling Off Oregon Coast, Too
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today joined a group of U.S. Senators representing coastal states to tell the Trump administration that they don't want oil and gas drilling off their coasts, and are demanding the same respect for their states that was recently given to Florida, which was granted a special exemption by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. In a letter sent to Secretary Zinke today, Merkley and Wyden, along with 20 of their colleagues, requested that … Continue Reading
