Press Releases
Wyden Welcomes Attorney General Lynch to Portland
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) welcomed this week's Portland visit by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch as providing a great opportunity for her to see the city's progress on community policing and to discuss with community leaders what more needs to be done. "The Attorney General deserves credit both for her focus on community policing and for witnessing what cities like Portland are working on to build the trust that's needed between citizens and police officers," Wyden … Continue Reading
March 01, 2016
AUDIO/VIDEO: Wyden Stands Up for Women’s Access to Constitutionally Protected Health Care
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called for an end to continued attacks on the constitutional right of American women to make their own reproductive health choices. Ahead of Supreme Court oral arguments in a case that represents a comprehensive challenge to Roe v. Wade, Wyden warned against the far-reaching impacts of new state laws that undermine a woman's protected right to make her own choices about her body, in a speech on the Senate floor. The Supreme Court is … Continue Reading
March 01, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Push to Extend Overtime Pay to Millions of American Workers
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Al Franken, D-Minn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today led the charge to extend overtime pay to millions of Americans who are working long hours without fair pay. Last year, the Department of Labor proposed an expansion to overtime pay protections that could benefit five million Americans, including 50,000 Oregonians. The proposal would bring overtime pay to salaried workers making up to … Continue Reading
February 25, 2016
Wyden, Crapo, Blumenauer, Jenkins Introduce Bill to Permanently Extend Short Line Railroad Investment
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) today introduced the Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act, which would make permanent the tax credit that's been crucial in helping to rehabilitate short line and regional railroads in Oregon and nationwide. "Making this short line track maintenance tax credit permanent will create much-needed certainty for railroads that often … Continue Reading
February 25, 2016
Wyden, Markey, Franken, Dem Senators: Carefully Evaluate Proposed Charter—Time Warner Cable Deal For Potential Harm to Consumers
WASHINGTON - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined Senators Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Al Franken, D-Minn., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today in sending letters to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging the agencies to consider the potential harmful effects that could result from the proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks by Charter Communications. The proposed "New Charter" deal would effectively … Continue Reading
February 22, 2016
Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer Ask Federal Officials for Immediate Help Responding to Airborne Heavy Metals Concern in Portland
Washington - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer today wrote federal health officials asking for their agencies' immediate assistance responding to the public health risks identified by the discovery of hotspots of dangerously high levels of airborne heavy metals in Portland. The three lawmakers' letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) follows a meeting that Wyden, Merkley … Continue Reading
February 18, 2016
Wyden, Merkley, 31 Senators File Supreme Court Amicus Brief to Support Affordable Access to Birth Control
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Sens. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., today led a group of more than 30 Democratic Senators in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on the need to protect women's access to affordable birth control. The brief was filed ahead of next month's arguments in the consolidated cases of Zubik v. Burwell, yet another attempt by some employers to interfere with women's access to health care by … Continue Reading
February 12, 2016
Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer Ask EPA’s Help in Portland Over Cadmium and Arsenic Hotspots
Washington - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer today wrote federal environmental regulators asking them to act now in response to the public health concerns of Portlanders in neighborhoods with hotspots of airborne heavy metals. In their letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, the Oregon lawmakers pointed out the extreme community concern over hotspots of dangerously high levels of cadmium and arsenic in southeast and north … Continue Reading
February 11, 2016
Statement from Senator Wyden on the end of the Harney County standoff
"Oregonians across our state are grateful to the Harney County Sheriff's Department, federal law enforcement, and local and state officials for ending this standoff without additional loss of life. The steady resolve of the Burns community and Harney County leaders like County Judge Steve Grasty and Sheriff Dave Ward has kept this sad episode from sparking something much worse. Now that the shadow of violence is lifting from Harney County, Oregonians can return to what we do best -- building … Continue Reading
February 09, 2016
Watch: Wyden Questions CIA Director on Searching Senate Files, Director of National Intelligence on Strong Encryption
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore, pressed CIA Director John Brennan on the CIA's improper search of Senate files at a rare open hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today. "When you're talking about spying on the committee responsible for overseeing your agency, in my view that undermines the very checks and balances that protect our democracy and it is unacceptable in a free society," Wyden said. The CIA's own Inspector General concluded the CIA "improperly … Continue Reading
February 09, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Urge Pac-12 to Address Student Transfer Policies to Promote Campus Safety
Washington, D.C. - In response to recent steps taken by colleges and athletic conferences to promote safety on campus, Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the leaders of the Pac-12 Conference to consider adopting a conference-wide student conduct policy for transfer students seeking to enroll at a Pac-12 university. In a letter to Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, the senators urged Pac-12 leaders to use an upcoming conference meeting as an opportunity to discuss the … Continue Reading
February 04, 2016
Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer, Bonamici Introduce Bill Allowing Written Marijuana Ads in States Where Marijuana is Legal
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined with Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici today to introduce a bill that would allow publications in Oregon and other states where marijuana is legal to mail their publications containing written advertising for the product. The Marijuana Advertising in Legal States (MAILS) Act would reverse the outdated declaration by the U.S. Postal Service in December 2015 that prohibited the mailing of newspapers with ads offering to buy or … Continue Reading
February 04, 2016
Wyden, Merkley and Bipartisan Group of Senators Keep Lifesaving Coast Guard Facilities Open in Oregon and South Carolina
Washington - Working together to prevent the closure of lifesaving air facilities in Newport, Oregon and in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tim Scott (R-SC) and Lindsey Graham today applauded inclusion of language in the final Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 that now heads to the President for signature. The bill, which passed the Senate in December and the House earlier this month, ensures neither region loses current search-and-rescue … Continue Reading
February 04, 2016
Wyden, Merkley and Bipartisan Group of Senators Keep Lifesaving Coast Guard Facilities Open in Oregon and South Carolina
Washington - Working together to prevent the closure of lifesaving air facilities in Newport, Oregon and in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tim Scott (R-SC) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today applauded inclusion of language in the final Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 that now heads to the President for signature. The bill, which passed the Senate in December and the House earlier this month, ensures neither region loses current … Continue Reading
February 03, 2016
Wyden, Durbin, Casey, Merkley Introduce Amendment to Increase Transparency for Oil-by-Rail Transportation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Robert P. Casey, Jr., D-Pa., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., today introduced an amendment to a broad energy bill to provide more transparent information about shipments of flammable liquids transported by railroads, including crude oil, ethanol and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The amendment would require the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to collect and publish monthly data about flammable liquids transported by … Continue Reading
February 03, 2016
Wyden, Durbin, Casey, Merkley Introduce Amendment to Increase Transparency for Oil-by-Rail Transportation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Robert P. Casey, Jr., D-Pa., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., today introduced an amendment to a broad energy bill to provide more transparent information about shipments of flammable liquids transported by railroads, including crude oil, ethanol and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The amendment would require the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to collect and publish monthly data about flammable liquids transported by … Continue Reading
February 03, 2016
Wyden, Crapo: Fix Wildfire Funding Before It’s Too Late
View Video of Sen. Wyden's Remarks Here Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, took to the Senate floor last night to renew their bipartisan call for a permanent fix to wildfire funding, and to end the senseless practice of raiding fire prevention and other Forest Service accounts just to fight this year's fires. Wyden and Crapo introduced an amendment to the energy bill currently on the Senate floor that would end fire borrowing for good, stop the … Continue Reading
February 03, 2016
Senators Press FCC on Unauthorized Equipment Fees Charged to Consumers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Al Franken, D-Minn., Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today asked Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler about the unfair payment practice of charging consumers equipment fees they do not owe and what the FCC is doing to protect consumers. Last year, more than 30 percent of consumer complaints to the FCC about Internet service and 38 percent of complaints … Continue Reading
February 03, 2016
Wyden Calls for End to Taxpayer-Funded Partisan Planned Parenthood Investigations
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden joined Democratic colleagues in calling for an end to ongoing, politically-motivated House and Senate investigations into Planned Parenthood, in light of the many independent state investigations across the country that have cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing. Wyden met in Medford last weekend with Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon. He and his fellow Democrats joined their colleagues in both chambers on a letter this week to Republicans calling … Continue Reading
February 02, 2016
Wyden, Blumenauer, Polis, Massie Host Industrial Hemp Expo
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., today hosted an Industrial Hemp expo at the U.S. Capitol bringing together leading policymakers and entrepreneurs in the movement to restore industrial hemp to U.S. agriculture. The expo, which drew more than 100 visitors, featured television personality Montel Williams and former CIA Director James Woolsey as keynote speakers. It showcased more than a dozen small … Continue Reading
