Press Releases
Wyden, DeFazio, Merkley Introduce Chetco River Protection Bills in House and Senate
Washington, D.C. - Seeking to protect the Chetco River from expanded suction dredge mining that threatens salmon and steelhead breeding grounds, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) introduced bills in both the House and the Senate to permanently raise the federal protection levels of more than three miles of the river and put in place new prohibitions on future mining that will preserve the Wild and Scenic portions of the … Continue Reading
June 10, 2010
SENATORS URGE OVERHAUL OF CHILD NUTRITION REAUTHORIZATION BILL AS THE HOUSE UNVEILS MORE ROBUST PLAN
Washington, D.C. - As the House of Representatives unveiled their Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, along with six of her colleagues, sent a letter to Senate Leaders, urging them to overhaul the Senate version of the legislation to include a significant increase in the reimbursement rate for school meals. Joining Senator Gillibrand are Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Al Franken (D-MN), Tim … Continue Reading
June 09, 2010
Senators Call On Business Round Table to Support Covering Recent Graduates Early
Washington, D.C. - As millions of young adults graduating from college this month face one of the toughest job markets in history leading to a serious gap in their healthcare coverage, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D- R.I.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Bob Casey (D- Pa.) sent a letter to the Business Round Table urging the organization to convince its members to voluntarily close that gap by adopting an important health … Continue Reading
June 02, 2010
SCHUMER, WYDEN TO BP: SUSPEND SHAREHOLDER DIVIDEND UNTIL CLEAN-UP COSTS FROM GULF SPILL ARE CALCULATED
WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) pressed the head of British Petroleum (BP) on Wednesday to table plans to pay out its shareholder dividend until the full costs for cleaning up the Gulf oil spill can be calculated. According to London-based reports, BP CEO Tony Hayward plans to reassure shareholders that the company would go ahead with its dividend payment even as estimates of the company's potential liability from the environmental disaster continue … Continue Reading
May 28, 2010
Wyden’s Week in Oregon Includes Stops in Boardman, Arlington, Newport and Bend
Portland, OR - Senator Ron Wyden's schedule next week starts in Eastern Oregon on Wednesday, June 2, with visits to job-generating, green-energy projects in Boardman and Arlington. On June 3, he is on the Central Oregon Coast to celebrate the decision to bring the NOAA fleet and staff to Newport. On Friday, June 4, he is in Central Oregon for a congressional subcommittee hearing in Bend on the Eastside Forestry Bill.Wednesday, June 2, 11:30 a.m., ZeaChem groundbreaking, Port of Morrow, 2 … Continue Reading
May 27, 2010
Wyden in Jackson County for Memorial Day Events; Press Availability on Tuesday at New 911 Dispatch Center
Portland, OR - Oregon Senator Ron Wyden will attend three Memorial Day events in Jackson County on Monday. He will speak at events at the Fallen War Heroes Memorial in Central Point and at the Eagle Point National Cemetery. He will also attend a barbeque at the SORCC in Medford. On Tuesday, he will hold a press availability at 10:15 a.m. with local law enforcement officials at the new 911 Dispatch Center, now known as the Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon, in Medford. Monday, May 31, … Continue Reading
May 27, 2010
Wyden in Jackson County for Memorial Day Events
Portland, OR - Oregon Senator Ron Wyden will attend three Memorial Day events in Jackson County on Monday. He will speak at events at the Fallen War Heroes Memorial in Central Point and at the Eagle Point National Cemetery. He will also attend a barbeque at the SORCC in Medford. On Tuesday, he will hold a press availability at 10:15 a.m. with local law enforcement officials at the new 911 Dispatch Center, now known as the Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon, in Medford. Monday, … Continue Reading
May 27, 2010
Wyden Calls on FCC to Investigate Near Doubling of Wireless Termination Fees
Washington, D.C. - Following reports that many of the nation's largest wireless carriers plan to dramatically raise Early Termination Fees (ETF) weeks before the latest generation of popular smart phones hits the market, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski calling for an investigation to help determine the costs wireless providers are attempting to mitigate through increased ETFs. "I don't believe it is any … Continue Reading
May 24, 2010
Senators Call on AG DOJ to Investigate Transocean Ltd. Money Transfers
Washington, D.C. - After reports that Transocean Ltd., the owner of the destroyed oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, intends to distribute $1 billion to private shareholders, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote a letter with 17 of his Senate colleagues to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking that the Department of Justice look into the corporation's financial transactions. The announcement came only hours after a closed-door meeting of company executives and weeks after the Transocean-owned … Continue Reading
May 20, 2010
Wyden Report Finds Green Goods Trade Vastly Overestimated
Washington, D.C. - Continuing his drive to make exports of environmentally friendly goods a spark that will ignite America's economic recovery, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today released a follow-up report to his December 2009 trade report entitled, "Major Opportunities and Challenges to U.S. Exports of Environmental Goods," which looked at the benefits of lowering overseas tariffs to green products produced by American companies. Today's follow-up report is the first of its kind, offering … Continue Reading
May 17, 2010
Wyden, Schrader Ask DOD/GAO to Investigate “Institutionalized discrimination against Guard and Reserve Forces”
Washington, D.C. - Responding to concerns that National Guard soldiers are not receiving proper medical care and are being released from active duty too early, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representative Kurt Schrader (D- Ore.) are calling for an investigation into the Army's programs for providing medical treatment to National Guard troops prior to and after combat deployment Iraq. Their request to the Department of Defense Inspector General and the Government Accountability … Continue Reading
May 04, 2010
Senators Introduce Legislation To Expand Vote By Mail, Save Money and Increase Voter Participation
Washington, D.C. - Looking for ways to expand voter participation and reduce the growing cost of elections, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Thomas Carper (D-Del.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a package of bills today that would make it easier for states to institute the same vote-by-mail process currently used in Oregon. Wyden - who is the first federal official to be elected entirely by mail - also introduced … Continue Reading
April 30, 2010
"Shepherds Flat Wind Farm Will Move Forward"
Washington, D.C. - A months-long stand-off came to a close today after the Deputy Secretary of Defense informed U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and U.S. Congressman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) that the Pentagon would no longer block construction of the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm in Oregon's Gilliam and Morrow counties and would instead upgrade a nearby radar system which had until now put the project's future in doubt. The announcement would also eliminate the threat to other … Continue Reading
April 29, 2010
SENATE DEMOCRATS UNVEIL LEGISLATION TO LIMIT FALLOUT FROM SUPREME COURT RULING THAT ALLOWS UNLIMITED SPECIAL-INTEREST SPENDING ON ELECTIONS—ANNOUNCE PLAN FOR SENATE PASSAGE BY JULY 4
WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Al Franken (D-MN) announced new legislation Thursday to blunt the harmful impacts from the Supreme Court's decision allowing corporations and other special interests to spend unlimited sums to influence elections. The lawmakers said their goal is for the Senate to pass the new measure by July 4 so the law can take effect in time for the 2010 midterm elections. The legislation … Continue Reading
April 28, 2010
Wyden, Murkowski Bill Would Lift Restrictions on Fishermen's Use of Capital Construction Accounts
Washington, D.C. - Recognizing changes in the commercial fishing industry and the need to create new jobs and prevent overfishing, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced legislation today that will give America's fishermen greater flexibility in how they can use money set aside in special capital construction funds. "The Capital Construction Fund program was created in 1976 to help modernize the American fishing industry so it could compete with highly efficient … Continue Reading
April 28, 2010
Wyden Files Amendment to Force Financial Firms To Disclose Bets Made Against Their Clients
Washington, D.C. - In an effort to promote greater transparency between buyers and sellers, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) filed an amendment to the financial reform legislation today that intends to force financial institutions to clearly state any financial stake they have in seeing their product lose value. Wyden argued that transparency and accountability are essential to a functioning market and that this amendment will bring those attributes to an area of finance that has … Continue Reading
April 27, 2010
Wyden/Grassley Lead Bipartisan Effort to End Senate Secret Holds
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Senate's leading bipartisan voices for ending secret holds introduced legislation today that would make it even harder for individual senators to secretly obstruct the legislative process. For more than a decade, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Chuck Grassley have fought to eliminate secret holds and in 2007 a modified version of their proposal was included in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. In introducing the "Secret Holds Elimination Act" … Continue Reading
April 22, 2010
Wyden and Thune Bill Helps Native American Vets with Disabilities Receive Housing Assistance
Washington, D.C. - Continuing efforts to make sure all of America's veterans are taken care of when they return from combat U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and John Thune (R- SD) introduced legislation that will correct a flaw in current law that excludes some disabled Native American Veterans from housing assistance programs. The Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act of 2010 will discontinue the counting of disability compensation as income, a practice that often pushes disabled … Continue Reading
April 22, 2010
Wyden Statement on the Release of ACTA Negotiation Text
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness released the following statement today regarding the decision made by United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk to release the ACTA negotiating text: "The decision by Ambassador Kirk to release the ACTA negotiating text is a step toward greater transparency in an increasingly important area of trade. This move … Continue Reading
April 15, 2010
OR TREASURY DEPT: Major "Build America Bond" sale will create thousands of Oregon jobs, improve highways, and save $56 million thanks to lower loan costs
SALEM - Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden announced today the completion of the State of Oregon's successful first sale of Build America Bonds, which will pay to improve roads and bridges across the state while also saving Oregonians $56 million in financing costs. Now, they said, it's time to get Oregonians to work. The $580 million sale, with 93 percent of the total in Build America Bonds and 7 percent in tax-exempt bonds, will allow the Oregon Department of … Continue Reading
