Press Releases
In response to Wyden, Murphy letter, U.S. Army Updates Regulations for Soldiers Discharged for Misconduct While Suffering From PTSD & TBI
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on Thursday applauded the U.S. Army's decision to reform its policies, regulations and documentation practices in the wake of a multidisciplinary review of misconduct separations of soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). In a written response to a request from Wyden, Murphy and 10 other senators, the Secretary of the Army Eric K. Fanning conceded the Army did not have … Continue Reading
September 14, 2016
Wyden Statement on Competitiveness and Transparency in App Stores
WASHINGTON - Today Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the importance of maintaining a competitive marketplace in application platforms: "Recently, Apple Inc. announced changes to its App Store, including allowing more developers to take advantage of subscription services. These welcome changes underscore the important role that the App Store, and other app platforms, play in the internet economy. These platforms have an outsized economic effect and provide much needed … Continue Reading
September 12, 2016
Wyden, Merkley, Senate Colleagues Press House Speaker for Vote on Zika Funding
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with 27 of their Senate colleagues, sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) urging him to bring the $1.1 billion Zika funding legislation passed by the Senate to the House floor for a vote. As of today, there are more than 18,000 cases of Zika reported in the United States and its territories. "Zika is now well established in the United States with cases of local transmission by mosquitoes being reported in … Continue Reading
September 08, 2016
Wyden Calls For A Vote on SMH Act To Stop Massive Expansion of Government Hacking Into Americans’ Personal Devices
Washington, D.C. -. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today went to the Senate floor to call for a vote on his bill to stop a dangerous plan that would make it far easier for the government to hack into Americans' personal devices on a massive scale. "This major policy change will make it easier for the government to hack into your personal devices and collect information about you," Wyden said. "By allowing the government to use secret, untested malware, it could end up damaging not only our personal … Continue Reading
August 31, 2016
Wyden and Merkley Announce $4.7 Million to Help Homeless Veterans Across Oregon
Washington, DC- Oregon's Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded over $4.7 million in grant funding for homeless veterans in Oregon. The funding comes from the Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) program and will be distributed to organizations across the state. "Honoring veterans requires a steadfast commitment to extend a helping hand if they are struggling to afford housing when they return to Oregon," Wyden … Continue Reading
August 11, 2016
Wyden: Federal Law ‘Behind the Times’ with DEA Decision Not to Reschedule Marijuana
Washington, D.C. - After the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today announced it would not reschedule marijuana from the most restrictive federal drug class, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement: "The DEA's decision flies in the face of choices made freely by voters in Oregon and many other states about the legality of marijuana. The bottom line is the DEA is keeping federal law behind the times," Wyden said. "The one piece of good news in today's announcement is … Continue Reading
August 05, 2016
Wyden, Grassley, Speier Push for Continued Protections Against Whistleblower Retaliation
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., filed an amicus brief this week with the Department of Labor (DOL) urging the agency to not weaken existing whistleblower protections in cases of retaliation against private-sector employees. Wyden, Grassley and Speier filed the brief with the DOL's Administrative Review Board as it reconsiders the case of Palmer v. Canadian National Railway/Illinois Central Railroad Company. … Continue Reading
August 04, 2016
Wyden, Broad Coalition of Senate Democrats Call on Top Consumer Agency to Limit Unfair Arbitration Agreements in Everyday Financial Contracts
WASHINGTON, D.C. -Today, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and a group of nearly 40 Democratic senators-including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senators Al Franken, D-Minn., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio-called on one of the nation's top consumer advocacy agencies to quickly finalize an important proposal to limit the use of what is called "forced arbitration" in contracts that Americans sign when they need to take out an auto loan, sign up for a checking … Continue Reading
August 04, 2016
Wyden and Merkley Call for Congress to Reconvene to Address Zika Crisis
Portland, OR - Today, Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined with 39 other Senate Democrats in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan urging the Republican leaders to immediately call Congress back into session to pass emergency funding legislation to address the growing Zika crisis. Merkley and Wyden have been outspoken about the need for more resources to address this growing threat and recently held a roundtable discussion with Oregon … Continue Reading
August 02, 2016
Wyden, Senate Dems: More To Do To Further Strengthen Education Dept. Rule for Debt Relief In Higher Education
WASHINGTON, D.C - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., a Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and 18 other Senators in sending a letter to the Department of Education ("the Department") to express support for the proposed "borrower defense" rule and to suggest a number of ways to strengthen the rule to protect students who have been the victims of unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices in higher education. In … Continue Reading
July 19, 2016
Wyden and Senate Colleagues Request Obama Issue Presidential Memo to Promote Diversity at Federal Land Management Agencies
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and 23 other senators have sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to issue a Presidential Memorandum to promote diversity at federal land management agencies like the National Park Service, which celebrates its centennial this August. A renewed focus on diversity will more fully reflect and celebrate the numerous cultures, communities, and people that have … Continue Reading
July 15, 2016
Wyden Statement on Declassification of 28 Pages
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the declassification of 28 pages of the congressional Joint Inquiry into the September 11 attacks: "There is no excuse for keeping these 28 pages secret for more than a decade, so this release is welcome and long overdue," Wyden said. "It helps illuminate additional details about a major event in our country's history. The FBI believes that they investigated all of these leads in the years after 9/11. But the best … Continue Reading
July 14, 2016
Tribal Lands Legislation Passes Key Senate Committee
Washington, DC - A package of tribal land bills sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley that will help the economic self-sufficiency of Native Americans in Oregon passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "These Tribes have all waited patiently for these bills, each of which will help them as sovereign nations to build their economies," said Wyden, a senior member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "I am gratified this legislation that both corrects … Continue Reading
July 14, 2016
Backed By Coalition of Voting Rights Advocates, Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer, Cicilline Introduce National Vote-By-Mail Bill
Washington, D.C. - Backed by a broad coalition of voting rights groups, Oregon's Senators Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley and Representative Earl Blumenauer and David Cicilline, D-R.I., today introduced a new bill to expand Oregon-style vote-by-mail nationwide and cut through bogus obstacles to voting. "Too many states are making working Americans, people of color, young people and those with disabilities go to absurd lengths just to exercise their constitutional right to vote," Wyden said. "When … Continue Reading
July 14, 2016
Wyden, McCaskill, Markey: New Report Finds Whistleblowers at Risk at Energy Department Sites
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., today released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that documents examples of retaliation and intimidation against whistleblowers by Energy Department contractors, while the department did little to monitor or stop these abuses. The senators were joined by two whistleblowers who were fired by contractors at the Department of Energy. Sandra Black, a contractor employee at DOE's … Continue Reading
July 13, 2016
Wyden Applauds Rail Transportation Notification for Emergency Responders
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., applauded a proposed rule announced today by the Department of Transportation that would require railroads to provide more notification about shipments of crude oil and other flammable liquids. "First responders must be informed when trains carrying hazardous materials are going to travel through their communities. Today's proposal moves toward greater transparency by requiring railroads to better notify emergency responders about large … Continue Reading
July 13, 2016
Wyden Legislation Helps Oregon UAS sites in Pendleton, Tillamook and Warm Springs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Legislation by Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden to provide much-needed certainty for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test sites in Oregon and nationwide to continue their economic growth was approved today by the Senate. The inclusion in a larger FAA bill of Wyden's legislation extends congressional authorization for the test sites in Pendleton, Tillamook and Warm Springs as well as three test sites outside Oregon until Sept. 30, 2019. "Creating greater certainty for Oregon's growing … Continue Reading
July 13, 2016
Frank Moore Steelhead Management Area Bill Advances to Full Senate
Washington, DC - A bill sponsored by Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley that would designate nearly 100,000 acres of public lands in Oregon as the "Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area" today passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The committee action sends to the full Senate the measure designating 99,653 acres of Forest Service land north of the North Umpqua River around Steamboat Creek in Douglas County. "Frank's extraordinary dedication conserving … Continue Reading
July 13, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Legislation to Address Oil Train Derailments
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced legislation that will take on the threats posed by oil trains and help prevent horrific accidents like what happened in Mosier, Oregon last month. The Mandate Oil Spill Inspections and Emergency Rules (MOSIER) Act would require the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate every major oil train derailment, clarify the Federal Rail Administration's authority to place moratoriums on … Continue Reading
July 12, 2016
Wyden Named to Energy Bill Conference
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement after the Senate voted to proceed to the energy bill conference today: "I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find a path forward on an energy bill that advances the low-carbon economy," Wyden said. "I will be working to keep a permanent wildfire funding fix as part of conference talks in order to put an end to the fire borrowing that's bankrupting the Forest Service and … Continue Reading
