Press Releases
Wyden NDAA Amendment to Hold Contractors Accountable Sent to the President
Washington, D.C. - With the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon will not be able to sign agreements freeing defense contractors from liability for their actions without justifying such an agreement to Congress. The provision, authored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), was maintained in the House-Senate Defense Authorization Conference report and agreed to by the Senate today. The House agreed to the report yesterday. The bill now goes to the President for … Continue Reading
December 21, 2012
Wyden Statement on EPA boiler rule
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement after the release of the Environmental Protection Agency's pollution control standards for industrial boilers and incinerators: "Today's boiler rule by the Environmental Protection Agency represents a good balance. It spells out to employers the steps they will need to take to upgrade their boilers, while also taking a measurable step forward in protecting the health of people and the environment. EPA estimates … Continue Reading
December 20, 2012
Wyden Data Cap Legislation Will Protect Consumers and Promote Innovation
Washington, D.C. - As the Internet becomes increasingly important to American consumers, businesses and innovators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are increasingly imposing caps on the amount of data that consumers may move over the Net. Data caps are appropriate if they are carefully constructed to manage network congestion but, as the New York Times has editorialized, they "should not just be a way for Internet providers to extract monopoly rents." The imposition of data caps also risks … Continue Reading
December 19, 2012
Wyden Statement on Ending Gun Violence
"As the father of three children under six, I have tried to imagine the horror of a parent who has sent their child to a school or mall only to never have them return home due to gun violence. As an elected official, I am supposed to have words of comfort in the aftermath of disaster or tragedy, but no words can do justice to a parent's grief over losses like these. I have supported important public safety initiatives in the past including closing the Gun Show Loophole, but I have concluded … Continue Reading
December 13, 2012
Veterans Affairs Department Agrees to GI Bill Housing Allowance Fix for OIT Students
Washington, D.C. - In a good first step toward fairer housing allowances for veterans going to school on the post-9/11 GI bill, the Department of Veterans Affairs is allowing veterans studying at the Oregon Institute of Technology's Wilsonville satellite campus to receive a housing allowance more in line with their cost of living. The move could open the door for GI Bill students at colleges and universities in Oregon and nationwide to be given housing allowances that accurately represent … Continue Reading
December 12, 2012
Department of Energy Awards Grant for Wind Power Demonstration Project Off the Oregon Coast
Portland, OR -Keeping Oregon at the forefront on alternative energy development, the U.S. Department of Energy announced today that it has awarded $4 million for a wind power demonstration project off the Oregon Coast at Coos Bay. The money was awarded to a Washington state firm, Seattle-based Principle Power, which plans to install five semi-submersible floating foundations outfitted with 6-megawatt direct-drive offshore wind turbines. The project will be sited in deep water ten to 15 miles … Continue Reading
December 07, 2012
Oregon Lawmakers to Pentagon: Don’t Put Taxpayers on the Hook for Contractors’ Negligence
Portland, OR - Six members of Oregon's congressional delegation are urging The Pentagon to resist efforts by military contractor Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) to stick American taxpayers with the estimated $100 million bill for the company's negligence in the 2003 poisoning of members of the Oregon National Guard serving in Iraq. "Contractors that put our servicemen and women, as well as innocent civilians, at risk should be held accountable," the letter to Jo-Ellen Darcy, assistant secretary … Continue Reading
December 07, 2012
Wyden Statement on Release of Public Interest Declassification Board Report
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement after the release of the Public Interest Declassification Board's report on classification procedures used by the US government: "The balance between the public's right to know and the government's need to keep certain things secret is essential to the preservation of both democracy and national security. However, the tendency of the government to over-classify information can undermine national security and … Continue Reading
December 05, 2012
Statement on Energy Department natural gas export study
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden's office issued the following statement Wednesday in response to an Energy Department-commissioned study on the effect of exporting liquefied natural gas: Senator Wyden received this study this afternoon and plans to examine it closely before weighing in on the details. Broadly speaking, the study appears to confirm that exports of LNG will raise the domestic price of natural gas. Senator Wyden is insisting that impacts such as these guide the export … Continue Reading
December 04, 2012
Wyden Amendment to NDAA Forces Pentagon to Disclose Contractor Indemnification Agreements
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Senate today passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 that contains an amendment written by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that will require the Pentagon to disclose and justify to Congress any contracts that contain indemnification clauses that hold military contractors harmless of acts of negligence. Last month, a jury ordered defense contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) to pay $85 million in damages to troops negligently exposed to toxic … Continue Reading
December 04, 2012
In Letter, Oregon Lawmakers Seek to Have VA’s GI Bill Housing Allowance Calculated Based on Where Veterans Live and Study
Washington, D.C. - Oregon lawmakers wrote to the Veterans Administration to object to regulations which shortchange Oregon veterans going to college under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. In a letter to VA Director of Education Services Robert Worley, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) along with Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) urged the VA to change the regulations governing how the Post 9-11 GI Bill housing allowance is paid to reflect the cost of living … Continue Reading
December 04, 2012
Wyden, Isakson Lead Bipartisan Letter Urging Morsi to Crack Down on Arms Smuggling into Gaza
Washington, D.C. - Recognizing the role Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi played in brokering the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire last month, 18 U.S. Senators from both sides of the aisle sent a letter to President Morsi urging him to step up efforts to stop arms smuggling through the Sinai and into Gaza that could reignite the conflict between Israel and Hamas. U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers urge President Morsi to allow the peace … Continue Reading
November 29, 2012
Bingaman, Wyden, Udall and Markey applaud Interior Department’s Drakes Estero decision
Washington, D.C. - Senators Jeff Bingaman, Ron Wyden, Mark Udall and Representative Edward Markey spoke out in support of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's announcement that he will allow the permit for an oyster farm at Drakes Estero to expire on November 30. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee's current chairman, expected incoming chairman, chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee and ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, respectively, applauded the decision, … Continue Reading
November 14, 2012
Wyden Places Hold on Intelligence Authorization Bill
Washington, D.C. - Citing concerns over anti-leak provisions that would inhibit free speech and damage the news media's ability to report on national security issues, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) publicly placed a hold on the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, preventing it from passing without serious debate and amendment. "I think Congress should be extremely skeptical of any anti-leaks bills that threaten to encroach upon the freedom of the press, or that would reduce … Continue Reading
November 07, 2012
Wyden statement on U.S. International Trade Commission solar trade ruling
Washington, D.C. - U. S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement following the U.S. International Trade Commission ruling today confirming that Chinese solar panel imports harm U.S. manufacturers. "It is unfortunate that China still refuses to play by the global trade rules it signed up to over a decade ago. Today's decision by the International Trade Commission enables the government to protect American solar manufacturers from the harm caused by China's illegal trade … Continue Reading
November 02, 2012
Wyden: U.S. should reconsider rubber-stamping LNG exports as part of a 21st-Century energy policy
Washington, D.C. - In response to questions about the impact of trade negotiations on U.S. natural gas exports, U. S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement: "The provision of the Natural Gas Act that grants automatic approval of natural gas exports to countries that share free trade agreements with the U.S. was adopted before newly-accessible shale gas became a strategic asset for the U.S. This policy needs reconsideration," Wyden said. "It could harm the nation's ability … Continue Reading
November 01, 2012
Wyden, Roe Seek Justice Department Investigation into Pseudoephedrine Tracking Program
Washington, D.C. - In a letter to the U.S. Justice Department today, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representative Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) raised concerns that the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx), a nation-wide program tracking sales of pseudoephedrine, may violate the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act (CMEA). NPLEx was created as a tool for pharmacies and law enforcement to investigate and crack down on the illegal production of methamphetamine. The lawmakers are seeking an … Continue Reading
October 10, 2012
Wyden statement on Commerce Department’s Chinese solar panel enforcement decision
Washington, D.C. - U. S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued a statement following the U.S. Commerce Department's decision on counteracting illegal trade practices by Chinese solar panel manufacturers: "I am glad the administration intends to act against cheating by Chinese solar producers, but fear today's ruling leaves a loophole that will enable these companies to sidestep the impacts. That gap exempts panels from tariffs when only a small portion of panels is made outside of China," Senator … Continue Reading
September 27, 2012
Senate and House members call on Commerce Department to stop Chinese solar companies from dodging U.S. trade laws
Washington, D.C. - Eight members of U.S. Congress, led by Sen. Ron Wyden, (D-Ore.) asked the Commerce Department to close a loophole in its preliminary decision to crack down on illegal trade practices by Chinese solar panel manufacturers, in a letter sent Thursday. House Ways and Means Committee Ranking member Sandy Levin (D-Mich.), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and Rep. Diana … Continue Reading
September 26, 2012
Wyden, Merkley, Schrader Announce $4 Million Federal Grant to Wave Energy Test Facility off the Oregon Coast
PORTLAND, OR -- In a move that will further establish Oregon as a leader in alternative energy development, the Department of Energy has awarded a $4 million grant to create a world class, grid-connected ocean energy test facility off the Oregon Coast. The grant announced today by Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Congressman Kurt Schrader was awarded to the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), one of three DOE-sponsored ocean energy centers in the country. … Continue Reading
