Press Releases
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Call for Large-Scale Expansion of Humanitarian Aid in Gaza, and Resumption of Diplomatic Efforts to Secure a Ceasefire and End the War
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) today joined more than 40 other senators in a letter to the Trump administration expressing alarm about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling for the large-scale expansion of humanitarian aid and urging the administration to resume diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire agreement and end the war. “The acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza is also unsustainable and worsens by the day,” the senators wrote. “Hunger and … Continue Reading
July 29, 2025
Senate Passes Wyden Bill to Release Unclassified Report on Phone Network Security Threats
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today unanimously passed legislation requiring the release of an unclassified report containing important details about U.S. telephone network security. “Congress and the American people deserve to read this report. It includes frankly shocking details about national security threats to our country’s phone system that require immediate action,” Wyden said on the Senate floor on Monday. Wyden took to the Senate floor following years of … Continue Reading
July 29, 2025
Update: Merkley, Wyden, Hoyle: Federal Disaster Relief Coming to Southern Oregon Flooding Recovery
UPDATE: Merkley, Wyden, and Hoyle have been informed that FEMA denied Governor Kotek’s Major Disaster Declaration request to provide support to eligible individuals and households in Coos, Curry, and Douglas counties through the Individual Assistance (IA) program. Additionally, FEMA denied the Oregon lawmakers’ request to make the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) available in the three counties and statewide. Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S. … Continue Reading
July 29, 2025
Wyden, Welch Lead Bill to Repeal Trump ‘Sick Tax’ and Big Pharma Handouts in ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., said today they have introduced legislation to repeal changes to Medicaid cost-sharing requirements and handouts to Big Pharma in the Republicans’ reconciliation tax and spending bill. The Repealing the Trump Sick Tax Act would repeal the “sick tax” imposed by Trump and congressional Republicans’ recently passed budget bill, which forces Medicaid enrollees to pay an out-of-pocket fee every time they need to see a … Continue Reading
July 29, 2025
Wyden Joins Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Small Businesses from Trump Tariffs on Canada
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced he has joined his colleagues in the Senate to introduce legislation that would exempt United States-owned small businesses from tariffs imposed on Canada. “Trump’s Canada tariffs don’t make sense for ANYONE, but especially not for American small businesses. Taxes on products from Canada means small businesses in America will pay more for the inputs they use to make things here in the United States - meaning prices will go up, … Continue Reading
July 28, 2025
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 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 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
