Press Releases
Wyden Calls for Release of Unclassified Report on National Security Threats to U.S. Phone System
Watch a video of Wyden deliver his remarks here Since July 2022, I’ve repeatedly urged CISA to release an important, unclassified report by independent cybersecurity experts that the agency commissioned, titled “U.S. Telecommunications Insecurity 2022.” Congress and the American people must read this report. It includes frankly shocking details about national security threats to our country’s phone system that require immediate action. CISA permitted my staff to read the report at the … Continue Reading
July 28, 2025
Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $9.6 Million Heading to Oregon to Protect Forests and Advance Wood Product Innovation
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is investing $9,622,000 in 17 projects in Oregon to boost the creation of innovative wood products, develop more markets for uses of mass timber and renewable wood energy, and increase the capacity of wood processing and manufacturing facilities. This federal funding is critical to ensuring the state’s leadership in the wood products industry, while helping to restore healthy … Continue Reading
July 28, 2025
Merkley, Wyden Advocate for Affordable Child Care
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden said today they cosponsored the Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need. “Child care is essential for the success of working families, but as I hold town halls in all of Oregon’s 36 counties, I hear from hardworking families about child care being too hard to find and too expensive,” said Merkley. “We need to … Continue Reading
July 25, 2025
Wyden Announces Agreement by License Plate Surveillance Tech Company to Protect Oregonians’ Data from Immigration and Abortion-Related Abuses
Washington, D.C. -U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced that Flock, a license plate surveillance technology company, has agreed to his request that it protect Oregonians’ data from abusive access by out-of-state law enforcement agencies as part of their states’ anti-abortion investigations, and to assist federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Oregonians should never be driving in fear that automatic license plate reader cameras installed by police departments could be abused by … Continue Reading
July 24, 2025
Wyden, Ruiz Introduce Senate Resolution to Honor Community Health Workers
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz, MD, D-Calif., today introduced a resolution to recognize the contributions of community health workers and support their work to improve health outcomes in underserved and high-need communities by establishing the week of August 25 to August 29, 2025, as “National Community Health Worker Awareness Week.” “Community health workers put in long, tireless hours to make sure people and families living in rural … Continue Reading
July 23, 2025
Wyden Blasts Republicans Over Manufactured Energy Crisis
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today blasted congressional Republicans during a committee hearing for ending clean energy tax credits in their disastrous budget bill, triggering a significant decrease in energy supply when demand is skyrocketing. “The Republicans have been doing favors for their Big Oil buddies at the consumers’ expense, and that’s a major reason why energy bills are going through the roof,” Wyden said at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. … Continue Reading
July 22, 2025
Wyden, Colleagues Investigate Skydance’s Role in Potential Secret Trump Payoff Connected to Paramount Deal
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pressed Skydance Media about reports of a secret deal between Skydance and Donald Trump that may be related to Paramount’s recent multi-million-dollar settlement agreement with the Trump administration, in a letter with Senate colleagues. Skydance and Paramount are awaiting approval from the Trump administration on their proposed mega-merger, raising concerns about potential bribery related to the deal. In May, following reports of a … Continue Reading
July 22, 2025
Merkley, Wyden, Bonamici Introduce Bill to Stop Occupation of American Cities by Federal Law Enforcement, Armed Forces
Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), announced legislation to block the Trump Administration from deploying federal law enforcement and armed forces against Americans. Merkley and Bonamici introduced the Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act after the chaos in Los Angeles and in light of reports of increasing numbers of federal officers around the U.S. Immigration and Customs … Continue Reading
July 21, 2025
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Legislation Targeting The Use of Presidential Libraries as Tools for Corruption
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., said today they have joined colleagues in introducing legislation that would close loopholes letting presidential libraries be used for corruption and bribery. From mega-merger approvals to the preservation of the U.S. military base in Qatar, giant corporations, at least one foreign government, and several other entities have promised donations collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Donald Trump’s future … Continue Reading
July 18, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Announce Legislation to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., said today they have joined Senate colleagues in introducing legislation that would implement federal enforceable workplace heat stress protections in Oregon and nationwide. “As evidenced by this week's high temperatures in Oregon, record-hot weather is here to stay thanks to the growing climate crisis,” Wyden said. “I applaud this legislation that takes common-sense steps to protect workers from preventable hazards … Continue Reading
July 18, 2025
Wyden, Colleagues Condemn Trump Administration for Letting Credit Union Off the Hook for Overcharging Military Families
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today he has joined Senate colleagues in condemning the Trump administration for its recent decision to terminate the consent order against Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU), effectively excusing it from accountability for charging millions in illegal surprise overdraft fees to their members - primarily active-duty service members, veterans, Department of Defense employees, and their families. “In 2024, the CFPB found that between 2017 … Continue Reading
July 17, 2025
Merkley, Bonamici, Oregon Delegation Slam Trump Education Funding Cuts Harming Schools Across the State
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) led the Oregon Democratic delegation—Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Representatives Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05)—to demand the Trump Administration reverse its abrupt cutoff of more than $73 million in federal education funds for Oregon, harming afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for … Continue Reading
July 17, 2025
Wyden Demands Answers on Shadowy, Mass Collection of DNA from Immigrants by DHS
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., slammed the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice for massively expanding the DNA collection of immigrant children and adults to permanently store in a national criminal database that could be weaponized by the Trump administration. Wyden demanded answers from the Trump administration, which has failed to explain why it has vastly expanded DNA collection from immigrants by 5000%. Department of Homeland Security agents … Continue Reading
July 16, 2025
Wyden, Merkley Join Colleagues to Introduce Bill to Safeguard Consumers from Online Subscription Traps
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they are joining colleagues in reintroducing legislation that would protect consumers in Oregon and nationwide from online free trial scams and hard-to-cancel recurring-payment programs. The Consumer Online Payment Transparency and Integrity (OPT-IN) Act puts the responsibility on companies rather than consumers when it comes to subscriptions and memberships, including a shift from “opt-out” default conditions to … Continue Reading
July 16, 2025
Wyden Votes ‘No’ on FY26 Intelligence Authorization Act for Removing Critical Oversight of Intelligence Agencies
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced that he voted against the 2026 Intelligence Authorization Act, which removed essential oversight of government intelligence and surveillance programs and passed the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday evening. “It’s legislative malpractice to reduce the Senate’s oversight of the federal intelligence agencies while Donald Trump and his cronies are ignoring both laws and constitutional protections for Americans rights on a daily basis,” Wyden said. … Continue Reading
July 15, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Press Trump Administration on Weaponizing Immigration Hearings to Trap, Arrest, Deport Immigrants
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., said today they have joined a group of 21 Senate Democrats in pressing the Trump administration on its recent initiatives to weaponize immigration court hearings by terminating those cases and deporting people without due process. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons, the senators … Continue Reading
July 15, 2025
Dexter, Wyden, Merkley Secure Emergency Court Order to Halt Deportation of Portland Family, Grant Access to Legal Counsel
PORTLAND, OR —Today, Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03), along with U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, announced that a federal judge granted an emergency temporary restraining order preventing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from removing the Merlos family from the court’s jurisdiction. Dexter, Wyden, and Merkley released the following joint statement: “Our constituents, including four U.S. citizen children, were detained without due process by their own government. … Continue Reading
July 15, 2025
Wyden, Warren Press Social Security Commissioner on Broken Staffing Promises
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today demanded the Social Security Administration answer reports that the agency is reassigning thousands of field office employees to staff a “pilot” phone program aimed at reducing hours-long phone wait times. Wyden and Warren wrote Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano that after gutting the agency’s workforce, these latest moves will further drain field offices, creating even longer wait times for … Continue Reading
July 14, 2025
Wyden, Merkley, Hoyle, Salinas, Dexter Announce $5.15 Million for Airports Across Oregon
Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with U.S. Representatives Val Hoyle, Andrea Salinas and Maxine Dexter today announced $5.15 million combined in federal infrastructure investments at airports in Aurora, Portland, Newport, Salem, John Day and Brookings. “Airports big and small are critical to keeping communities across the state connected and prepared to respond to natural disasters that include wildfires, winter weather and more,” Wyden said. “These federal … Continue Reading
July 14, 2025
Wyden Introduces Legislation to Require ICE Officers to Display Clear Identification
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today he has introduced new legislation prohibiting immigration enforcement officers from concealing their identity during enforcement actions in public. Under the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, Department of Homeland Security officers have engaged in public enforcement operations while concealing their identities with unmarked tactical gear and face coverings. Without visible badges, names, or insignia, the public … Continue Reading
