Press Releases
Wyden Extends Deadline for Federal Judgeship Applicants to December 15, 2011
Portland, OR - Senator Ron Wyden's office today announced an extension of the deadline for applicants interested in filling a vacant federal district court judgeship in Oregon. The previous application deadline was this Thursday, November 17. The new deadline is Thursday, December 15. "Although there are already some excellent applicants for this opening, we want to make sure that everyone interested in the position has adequate time to apply and that the selection committee has the broadest … Continue Reading
November 16, 2011
Wyden SOPA Statement Warns of Severe Repercussions to a Free and Open Internet if Bills are Passed
Washington, D.C. - As the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) a former member of the House of Representatives, included a statement into the hearing record warning of the dangers SOPA will pose to a free and open Internet. Wyden has put a hold on similar legislation in the Senate known as PROTECT IP and has vowed to "fight this every step of the way." "I would like to take this opportunity to commend Chairman Smith … Continue Reading
November 10, 2011
Wyden/Merkley Devil’s Staircase and Oregon Caves Bills Passed by Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Washington, D.C. - Efforts to preserve some of Oregon's most pristine and valued natural resources moved closer to success today as two bills protecting Oregon's Devil's Staircase and Oregon Caves cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) the passage of these two bills by the committee clears the way for their consideration by the full Senate. "Devil's Staircase is rugged, wild, pristine and remote and Oregon … Continue Reading
November 10, 2011
Wyden, Collins, Bingaman Legislation Will Increase Investments in the Storage of Renewable Energy
Washington, D.C. - As the nation takes steps to improve energy efficiency and develop renewable resource technologies, not enough is being done to ensure that electricity infrastructure is being used efficiently. The focus on building transmission and generation capacity to meet peak demand for electricity means that consumers pay more while producers are forced to rely on less cost-efficient energy sources. U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senate Energy … Continue Reading
November 10, 2011
Wyden Soft Landing Bill Will Ease Burden of Returning National Guard and Reserve Members
Washington, D.C. -It is important to remember -- especially on Veterans Day -- that National Guard and Reserve members have spent the last 10 years fighting the same wars as active duty soldiers. Yet when they return home from combat, they are treated strikingly different than active-duty servicemembers -- often being thrown back into civilian life after only a few days without the tools and services they need to reintegrate successfully. As part of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden's longstanding push … Continue Reading
November 09, 2011
Wyden Statement on Commerce Decision to Investigate Surging Solar Panel Imports from China
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Senate Finance's Subcommittee on Trade, Customs and Global Competiveness issued the following statement in response the U.S. Commerce Department's announcement that it has initiated an investigation into surging solar panel imports from China. "I welcome the Commerce Department's decision to launch an investigation into whether or not China is adhering to global trade rules. I don't want to pre-judge the Department's … Continue Reading
November 09, 2011
Wyden, Merkley Announce Transportation Grants to aid Veterans
Portland, OR - Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced today that transit districts in Lane County and the Portland Metropolitan Area have received separate grants totaling more than $1.4 million to improve transportation for veterans. Lane Transit District will receive $1,088,000 and Tri-Met will receive $330,728 from the Federal Transit Administration's Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative. In both cases, the money will be used to connect veterans and their … Continue Reading
November 09, 2011
Wyden, Carper and Casey Bill Gives Entrepreneurs Breathing Room to Start Businesses
Washington, D.C. - As the nation's unemployment rate continues to hover around 9 percent many unemployed Americans could be taking advantage of the opportunity to start their own small businesses if not for rules governing unemployment insurance (UI). While not every unemployed American is a would-be-entrepreneur, giving unemployed Americans an opportunity to use their skills to build their own small businesses could be an exponential job creator, finding work not just for one unemployed … Continue Reading
November 07, 2011
“What We Do in Congress Should Be About More Than Winning Elections”
Washington, D.C. -- Each month, as part of its YouTube Town Hall series, YouTube invites Members of Congress to submit videos addressing the nation's most talked about issues, as decided by viewer votes and popular Google News topics. Videos are posted without party identification giving viewers a chance to weigh the many sides of an issue on its merits versus the political party of the speaker. // For the third consecutive month, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has submitted … Continue Reading
November 03, 2011
Wyden, Ayotte Introduce Resolution to Protect Online Business from Unfair Taxation
Washington, D.C. - Whether by purchasing hand-made jewelry from Etsy, a sweater from an independent retailer on eBay or some vintage vinyl from a Portland record shop, millions of Americans each year utilize the internet to purchase products from small online retailers. However, there is movement in the Congress to give states the ability to create burdensome and unfair taxes on these transactions that cross state lines -- imposing taxes on businesses of other states selling goods online and … Continue Reading
November 01, 2011
Wyden Statement on House Passage of Wireless Tax Fairness Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement in response to the House of Representatives' passage of the Wireless Tax Fairness Act. In March 2011, Wyden and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced the legislation in the U.S. Senate. "Wireless is a prime example of how every time a new innovation hits the market - governments invent new ways to tax it. We should be encouraging wireless usage as it continues to revolutionize the way Americans work, … Continue Reading
October 25, 2011
NEWS CONFERENCE: Senator Ron Wyden, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Attorney and Portland Police on the Abuse and Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs
WHO: Senator Ron Wyden DEA Special Agent in Charge Matthew G. Barnes U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall Portland Police Chief Michael Reese Judy Cushing, Oregon Partnership WHAT: Press Conference on the importance of properly disposing of prescription drugs WHEN: 10 a.m., Thursday, October 27, 2011 WHERE: Portland Police Bureau, North Precinct, 449 N. Emerson, Portland Portland, OR - The abundance and abuse of prescription drugs … Continue Reading
October 21, 2011
Wyden Announces Statewide Committee to Recommend Names for Federal Judgeship
Portland, OR - Senator Ron Wyden announced today the names of 13 Oregonians who will serve on the Senator's Judicial Selection Committee that will recommend names to fill a federal district court judgeship for Oregon. The committee, selected by Wyden and Senator Jeff Merkley, will be chaired by Lou Savage, senior policy advisor with the Oregon Department of Consumer Business Services and a veteran of the federal judicial selection process. The committee is being asked to recommend names to … Continue Reading
October 18, 2011
Senator Kirk Joins Wyden as Cosponsor of Digital Surveillance Legislation
Washington, D.C. - Surrounded by technology that was considered cutting edge when major digital surveillance laws were written, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) welcomed U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R- Ill.) as a cosponsor of the Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act (GPS) which provides sorely needed legal clarity for the use of electronically-obtained location data that can be used to track and log the location and movements of individual Americans. The GPS Act was introduced in June by Wyden … Continue Reading
October 17, 2011
Wyden, Portman Lead Effort to Make Medicare Secondary Payer Program More Efficient, Save Taxpayer Dollars
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) are leading a bipartisan effort that includes U.S. Senators Ben Nelson (D- Neb.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) to make the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Program more efficient and cost effective to taxpayers. The Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers (SMART) Act will speed up the rate by which Medicare and its beneficiaries are reimbursed for costs that should be borne by another party. "Streamlining third party … Continue Reading
October 12, 2011
Wyden to President: Isn’t Congress Supposed to Approve International Trade Agreements?
Washington, D.C. - As the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) prepares to ratify an international agreement related to the enforcement of intellectual property rights, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) - chairman of the Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Trade - sent a letter to President Obama today asking why the administration believes the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) does not require Congress's formal approval. According to legal experts, cited by Wyden, if the USTR ratifies … Continue Reading
October 06, 2011
Wyden and McGovern Introduce Resolutions Blocking Arms Sale to Bahrain
Washington, D.C. - As the Arab Spring spread across the Arab world, ordinary citizens in the Kingdom of Bahrain began to rise up and demand political and economic rights from their government. The ruling family, members of a powerful Sunni minority, responded through violent suppression of dissent - jailing and sometimes killing those who spoke out against the regime and anyone who aided them. Today, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representative James McGovern (D-Mass.) have … Continue Reading
October 06, 2011
MERKLEY, MORAN, TESTER INTRODUCE PROTECTING RURAL POST OFFICES BILL
Washington, DC -A bipartisan coalition of Senators today introduced the Protecting Rural Post Offices Act, which would require that a post office closure cannot result in more than a ten mile distance between post offices, measured on roads with year-round access. The bill is sponsored by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Jon Tester (D-MT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). "In Oregon, 80% of the post offices on the potential closure list are … Continue Reading
October 05, 2011
Oregon Leadership Unites Behind Legislation to Extend County Payments Program
Washington, D.C. - All six members of the Oregon Congressional delegation - U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader and Greg Walden - and Governor John Kitzhaber expressed unified support today for a county payments agreement they called "essential to ensuring a lifeline for Oregon's rural communities." For months, Oregon's Congressional delegation has been working with Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman on a … Continue Reading
October 05, 2011
Wyden, Merkley Send Letter to Secretary Panetta Seeking Medal of Honor for Henry Lincoln Johnson
Washington, D.C. - For more than 90 years, Sgt. Henry Lincoln Johnson - an African American World War I hero serving in an all-black unit under French Command - has been denied the Medal of Honor for single-handedly fighting off a German raiding party and saving the life of a fellow soldier. His actions earned him the French equivalent of the Medal of Honor in 1918. Today, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) have sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, urging … Continue Reading