Press Releases
Wyden Statement on Gina Haspel Clearing The Senate Intelligence Committee, Despite Blatant CIA Cover-up of Her Record
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement after the Senate Intelligence Committee voted in favor of Gina Haspel's nomination to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. "Gina Haspel and the CIA have committed one of the most blatant abuses of power in recent history, aided and abetted by a total failure of Congressional oversight. I have asked again and again for some justification for Ms. Haspel's self-serving classification decisions and every … Continue Reading
May 15, 2018
Wyden, Merkley Respond to Oregon Proposed Premium Rate Increases
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today issued a statement after Oregon announced insurance companies' proposed premium rates for plan year 2019. These rate proposals will be reviewed by the state and finalized later in the year. "Despite Oregon's efforts to stop the Republican campaign of health care sabotage, families are still facing premium increases," Wyden said. "Oregon banned Trump's proposal for junk plans and adopted a forward-thinking State Innovation … Continue Reading
May 14, 2018
Wyden Statement on Relocation of U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement in response to the United States officially moving its embassy to Jerusalem today. "Israel has the same right as every other country to pick its own capital, something Congress recognized decades ago by passing the Jerusalem Embassy Act with overwhelming bipartisan majorities," Wyden said. "Israelis have made clear that Jerusalem is their capital and that has always been my position." … Continue Reading
May 11, 2018
Wyden Opens Inquiry on Cohen, Novartis Business Arrangement
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today asked the president's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, and global pharmaceutical company Novartis to provide details and supporting documents explaining their business arrangement. Novartis has said it paid Cohen's firm, Essential Consultants, $1.2 million. At the same time, the company was negotiating with Medicare on pricing for a drug that costs nearly half-a-million dollars to treat cancer. "Reports about … Continue Reading
May 11, 2018
Wyden Demands FCC Investigate Unauthorized Location Tracking of Americans’ Cell Phones
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., demanded the Federal Communications Commission and wireless phone companies investigate the unauthorized and likely-illegal tracking of Americans' mobile phones by a company that provides phone services to prisons, jails and other correctional facilities, in a letter this week. Wireless carriers are allowed to provide real-time location data to law-enforcement agencies only after those agencies obtain a court order. The wireless companies are also … Continue Reading
May 10, 2018
Wyden, Gardner Press Forest Service, Interior Department on Air Tanker Readiness to Fight Fires this Summer
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Cory Gardner, R-Colo., today pressed Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Acting Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen to ensure air tankers are available to fight what the agencies are predicting will be another significant fire season facing western communities this year. At a fire briefing this morning at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agency officials said westerners should be prepared for an … Continue Reading
May 09, 2018
Wyden Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Streamline Promotions and Secure Pay for National Guard Members
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined his colleagues in introducing the bipartisan, National Guard Promotion Accountability Act to address delays in federal recognition of promotions for National Guard members. The bill would compensate Guard officers who serve at a higher rank while waiting for federal recognition by backdating their date of rank to the date they were promoted by the state. "Members of the Oregon National Guard put their lives on the line to protect and … Continue Reading
May 08, 2018
Wyden Statement on Trump Decision to Withdraw from Iran Agreement
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement in response to Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran nuclear agreement. "Donald Trump's reckless decision to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action comes after Trump's own advisors say Iran has complied with the agreement, and despite a bipartisan call from Congress, and American allies, to preserve and strengthen the … Continue Reading
May 08, 2018
Wyden, Merkley Announce Secure Rural Schools Payments for Rural Oregon Counties
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that 33 rural counties in Oregon will begin receiving Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payments this week, following the Oregon lawmakers' successful work in Congress to extend the lifeline funding program for schools, roads and law enforcement. "As the author of the law that created the SRS program, I fought to extend SRS payments so rural counties in Oregon can keep their schools and libraries open, make sure law … Continue Reading
May 08, 2018
Wyden-Requested Investigation Shows Ineffective Use of Authority to Combat Wildlife Trafficking, Protect Endangered Species
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced findings from an independent investigation he sought showing that government agencies responsible for protecting endangered species are failing to effectively use authority Congress provided to combat wildlife trafficking in the United States. A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation requested by Wyden found the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) … Continue Reading
May 07, 2018
Wyden, Merkley Respond to Announcement of Confirmation Hearing for Ryan Bounds to Serve on 9th Circuit
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, today issued the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee's announcement that the committee will hold confirmation hearing for the nomination of Ryan Bounds to serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: "It's a shame the US Senate Judiciary Committee is further diminishing any sense of respect for comity and fairness in the Senate. For six years while Democrats controlled the Senate and President Obama … Continue Reading
April 30, 2018
Oregon Lawmakers Seek Flood Study for Portland
Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer, DeFazio, Bonamici, Schrader cite Army Corps concerns covering former Vanport area Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Suzanne Bonamici and Kurt Schrader today strongly urged federal officials to support a flood protection feasibility study for Portland. The Oregon lawmakers said their request comes as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has raised concerns about the prospects for a Portland … Continue Reading
April 26, 2018
Wyden, Murphy, Warren Introduce Bill to Ban Unnecessary and Harmful Non-Compete Agreements
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today introduced the Workforce Mobility Act to allow workers the freedom to pursue new jobs and higher wages without fear of legal action from their employers. The new legislation would prohibit the use of non-compete agreements, while still allowing employers to protect their trade secrets. The bill would also require employers to notify employees that these agreements are illegal, and allow the … Continue Reading
April 26, 2018
Wyden, Merkley, DeFazio, Huffman Urge Continued Chetco Protections
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Peter DeFazio and Jared Huffman today strongly urged federal officials to extend interim mineral withdrawal protections for the Chetco River in southwest Oregon. The lawmakers' letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue notes that their request for the iconic river is urgent because the current five-year mineral withdrawal for 17 miles of the Chetco will expire on July 25. If the current … Continue Reading
April 24, 2018
Wyden to Forest Service: Use Wildfire Funding Fix to Get Back to Work in the Woods
Washington, D.C. - In a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pressed the interim chief of the U.S. Forest Service to explain how the agency will use a recently passed wildfire funding solution to restart wildfire prevention projects in Oregon that have been shown to reduce the size and severity of devastating wildfires across the West. Last month, Congress passed the bipartisan Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, legislation … Continue Reading
April 24, 2018
Wyden: FAA Must Address Reported Allegiant Air Passenger Safety Concerns
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today pressed the Federal Aviation Administration to answer questions about Allegiant Air passenger safety after a troubling "60 Minutes" report about the carrier, which has a flight schedule that includes the Eugene and Medford airports. Among the questions Wyden asks in his letter to Acting FAA Administrator Daniel K. Elwell are whether Allegiant's reportedly high number of safety incidents requires any action; and why the FAA never implemented its' … Continue Reading
April 23, 2018
Wyden Pushes for Critical Funding for Women’s Business Centers
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has joined 18 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Senate appropriators demanding $18 million in funding for the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Women's Business Centers (WBC) program. Already greatly underfunded, the WBCs program would receive an even larger funding cut in the president's Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget. The Women's Business Center program was first established in 1988 to provide specialized assistance to women starting a … Continue Reading
April 20, 2018
Wyden Responds to CIA’s Selective Declassification on Haspel’s Record
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued the following statement in response to the selective declassification of documents relating to the background of Gina Haspel, who is nominated to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency: "The Morell report confirms some extremely troubling facts about Deputy Director Haspel and the destruction of interrogation videotapes. She didn't just draft the cable that authorized the … Continue Reading
April 20, 2018
Wyden, Merkley Call on Administration to Maintain Crucial Funding for Oregon’s Sea Grant Programs
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined 24 of their Senate colleagues in urging the administration to reconsider its plan to eliminate funding for the National Sea Grant program in the president's Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget. "As senators from some of the states with Sea Grant programs, we see firsthand how this federal investment is leveraged locally to bring immense returns to coastal communities, fishermen, universities, and students," the senators … Continue Reading
April 20, 2018
Wyden Demands Trump, Officials Reveal Extent of Koch Brothers’ Influence on Administration
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today sent a series of letters to the Trump administration demanding further information about the Koch brothers' increasing influence over the White House and its policymaking. The letters from Wyden and five other senators follow a report sent last December by the Kochs' Seminar Network to wealthy donors detailing policy wins within the Trump Administration directly benefitting Koch businesses. "Americans have a right to know if special interests … Continue Reading
