Press Releases
Wyden, Merkley Demand RFK Jr. Reverse Mass Firings at Head Start, Office of Child Care
Washington D.C.— U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said today they are joining Senate colleagues to condemn the Trump Administration’s mass firings of federal employees at the Office of Head Start (OHS) and the Office of Child Care (OCC) and to urge Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to reinstate these employees immediately. “This attack on employees at a time when children, families, child care providers, and early educators are relying on … Continue Reading
April 04, 2025
Wyden, Merkley Co-Sponsor Bill to Repeal Trump’s Anti-Voter Executive Order and Block DOGE Access to Voter Data
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced they are co-sponsoring legislation that would repeal Donald Trump’s illegal anti-voter executive order, while also blocking DOGE from unlawfully accessing sensitive voter registration data records from Oregon and nationwide. In addition to repealing Trump’s anti-voting executive order, the Defending America’s Future Elections Act would prevent DOGE from using Americans’ federal tax dollars to get access to state … Continue Reading
April 03, 2025
Wyden Reintroduces Legislation to Improve Watershed Resilience and Health
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today reintroduced legislation that would improve the restoration of watersheds - the land and waters that supply our communities with drinking and irrigation water and provide habitat and recreation opportunities - across Oregon and nationwide. “With this year’s scorching hot summer right around the bend, it is more important than ever to improve watersheds so our communities have clean drinking water, fertile soil, outdoor recreation, … Continue Reading
April 03, 2025
Wyden Asks Dr. Oz to Honor His Commitment to Come to Eastern Oregon
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today invited Dr. Mehmet Oz to honor his recent commitment to join him for a Malheur County town hall so the Trump appointee could hear directly about Medicaid’s importance in the county with the state’s highest share of residents enrolled in the federal-state program that helps seniors, children, families and more cover medical and nursing home costs -- known in Oregon as the Oregon Health Plan. Citing Dr. Oz’s March 14 confirmation hearing last … Continue Reading
April 03, 2025
Wyden Co-Sponsors Resolution Underscoring Crucial Role of Local News Amid Threats to Free Press
Washington D.C. -U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today announced he is co-sponsoring a resolution designating April 2025 as “Preserving and Protecting Local News Month” to highlight local journalism’s vital role in U.S. democracy, particularly as news outlets face mounting threats and intimidation from the Trump administration. “The cornerstone of democracy is a free and fair press. Among this administration’s blatant threats, exclusions and intimidation, it’s more important than ever to … Continue Reading
April 03, 2025
Wyden Co-Sponsors Legislation to Help Families Pay their Heating and Cooling Bills
Washington D.C. —U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today announced he is co-sponsoring a bill to expand and modernize the severely underfunded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), bringing much-needed relief for Americans struggling to pay their utility bills in Oregon and nationwide. This legislation comes on the heels of reports that RFK Jr. has terminated the entire LIHEAP staff, making this bill all the more crucial. “No Oregonian should have to choose between putting food on … Continue Reading
April 03, 2025
Oregon Delegation Pushes to Preserve Support for Public Libraries and Museums
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led his Oregon delegation colleagues—Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05)—in sounding the alarm over potential federal funding cuts at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which comes as the agency’s entire staff was recently placed on administrative leave. “Libraries and museums play a vital role in our … Continue Reading
April 02, 2025
Wyden, Warren, Gillibrand Urge Expanded Investigation into State Oversight of Care Provided to Seniors in Assisted Living Facilities
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) today demanded a new investigation into the quality of care provided at assisted living facilities to establish whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state Medicaid agencies have improved their ability to protect hundreds of thousands of seniors and people with disabilities in assisted living facilities that participate in Medicaid. “A new GAO report could … Continue Reading
April 01, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Introduce Honor Farmer Contracts Act
Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said today they have joined Senate colleagues to introduce legislation that would release funding illegally withheld by the Trump administration for all contracts and agreements previously entered into by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “The unlawful freezing of federal funding has inflicted chaos on nearly every part of our lives, and this funding can make the difference between whether farms in Oregon and … Continue Reading
March 31, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demand Trump Rescind Illegal Anti-Voter Executive Order
Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said today they have joined Senate colleagues in calling on Donald Trump to revoke his illegal anti-voter executive order that would disenfranchise millions of Americans. “This unlawful directive exceeds your authority over an independent agency and would likely disenfranchise millions of eligible American voters by creating barriers to voting, while also inviting chaos into state voter registration processes - … Continue Reading
March 31, 2025
Merkley, Wyden Join Legislation to Combat Urban Heat Islands
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined colleagues in introducing the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act, which would create a competitive grant program to provide funding to combat the causes and consequences of urban heat islands. “In places like East Portland, where a lack of tree canopy already leaves neighborhoods dangerously exposed to extreme heat, the Trump Administration’s illegal funding freeze and grant contract cancellations will only deepen this … Continue Reading
March 31, 2025
Wyden, Markey, Merkley and Van Hollen Release Bill to Protect Americans Against Musk, DOGE and Other Unauthorized Access to Sensitive Personal Information
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., today released legislation to protect Americans against Elon Musk, DOGE and other officials illegally accessing stores of personal data held by the government, including social security numbers, medical history, financial data and other sensitive information. The Privacy Act Modernization Act would make it easier for Americans to sue officials for violations and would increase the penalties for such … Continue Reading
March 27, 2025
Wyden Blasts Republicans for Giving Big Banks the Green Light to Gouge American Families
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement today on Republicans voting to abolish a Biden-era rule that was set to reduce the cost of overdraft fees and improve transparency for consumers: “It comes as no surprise that Republicans have once again broken their promise to lower costs and handed big banks a victory on the backs of American families who are already struggling to keep their heads above water due to Trump’s chaos. Throwing this rule in the … Continue Reading
March 25, 2025
Wyden, Colleagues Slam Draconian Immigration Registration Order
Washington D.C.—U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined Senate colleagues in a letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) opposing the Trump administration’s resurrection of a draconian and discriminatory immigration policy that forces immigrants to register with the federal government and carry proof of their registration at all times. “The Administration has explicitly linked this revived registration requirement to enforcement efforts, empowering federal … Continue Reading
March 24, 2025
Merkley, Risch, Wyden, Crapo Team Up for Bipartisan Bill to Boost Mass Timber Industry Nationwide
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Idaho’s U.S. Senator James Risch today launched a renewed bipartisan effort to promote the use of mass timber in federal building projects and military construction. The bipartisan Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act—which is cosponsored by Oregon’s U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and Idaho’s U.S. Senator Mike Crapo—would incentivize the use of mass timber building materials by providing a preference in federal building contracts for mass timber … Continue Reading
March 24, 2025
Wyden, Warren Press Social Security Commissioner Nominee on Trump, Musk Efforts to Gut Agency
Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said today they are pressing the Social Security Commissioner nominee to commit to stopping the Trump Administration and the self-styled “Department of Government Efficiency’s” ongoing efforts to hollow out the Social Security Administration (SSA). Wyden, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee; and Warren, a member of the Finance Committee, warned those Social Security schemes may be a “prelude to … Continue Reading
March 21, 2025
Merkley, Wyden Condemn President Trump’s Move to Revive Cruel Family Detention Policy
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their colleagues in an effort led by Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-IL) to decry President Donald Trump and his Administration moving to revive family detention for migrant families. The Senators began with strenuous objection, writing in their letter: “We strongly object to the failed and inhumane practice of detaining migrant families. We are deeply disturbed by reports that your … Continue Reading
March 21, 2025
Bonamici, NW Members Demand Trump Admin Not Close Portland, Seattle Housing Offices
WASHINGTON DC [3/21/25] - Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1) led Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representatives Adam Smith (WA-9), Suzan DelBene (WA-1), Val Hoyle (OR-4), Andrea Salinas (OR-6), and Maxine Dexter (OR-03) in demanding that the Trump administration abandon plans to close the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s field office in Portland and regional office in Seattle. The Trump administration is reportedly planning to … Continue Reading
March 21, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demand Answers on DHS, DOGE Requests to Access Sensitive IRS Information
Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., today led Senate colleagues, including Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., in a letter to top officials with the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) demanding answers on reports that DHS and the self-styled “Department of Government Efficiency” have illegally requested sensitive taxpayer information from the IRS. “We write about alarming reports that the Department of Homeland … Continue Reading
March 20, 2025
Salinas Leads Oregon Delegation in Calling on Trump Administration to Protect American Manufacturing
Salinas Leads Oregon Delegation in Calling on Trump Administration to Protect American Manufacturing Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06) led the Oregon delegation - including U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05) - in a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, expressing concern about the Trump Administration’s decision … Continue Reading
