Press Releases
Wyden Statement on DHS Withholding Information on Russian Interference in U.S. Presidential Campaign
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior Senate Intelligence Committee member, today released the following statement after reports revealed the Department of Homeland Security withheld information regarding Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election: "Every official responsible for withholding critical facts about Russian interference is complicit in covering up an attack on our country by a foreign adversary and must be held accountable. Just four days ago, the director of … Continue Reading
September 02, 2020
Wyden, Booker, Clarke and Waters Demand Answers From NFL on its Use of Race-Based Formula To Deny Payments to Black Ex-Players
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, D-N.Y., and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., questioned the National Football League's use of a race-based formula to deny concussion settlement payments to Black former players. In a letter sent today to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the members asked for an explanation of how the league's race-based formula has been developed and used, after it was disclosed in a New York Times report. "If these … Continue Reading
August 31, 2020
Wyden Calls for Action on Testing Supply Shortages in Rural Oregon
Wyden Calls for Robust Use of Defense Production Act by Trump Administration to Get Needed Supplies to Health Care Providers Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called on the Trump administration to mobilize the resources of the federal government to ensure health care providers in Oregon and across the country have the supplies they need to conduct COVID-19 tests at capacity. "Despite warnings of the hardships rural medical providers would face, frontline hospitals, clinics … Continue Reading
August 31, 2020
Merkley, Wyden Blast Trump Administration’s Constant, Dangerous Political Interference in COVID-19 Response
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and 30 of their Democratic Senate colleagues wrote to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar criticizing the Trump administration for their continued political interference in the COVID-19 response. The Senators warned that decisions to pressure and overrule public health experts will erode public trust and hamper efforts to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. "The timing of this interference is particularly troubling, … Continue Reading
August 29, 2020
Wyden Statement on DNI Denying Election Security Briefings to SSCI
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement regarding Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe's decision to deny election security briefings to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence: "Russia is once again interfering in our elections to get Donald Trump elected and, rather than defend American democracy, Trump and his partisan intelligence leadership are trying to keep the facts from Congress. This is part of an escalating pattern of law breaking and … Continue Reading
August 27, 2020
Wyden, Casey, Warren: Reports Reveal Nursing Homes Gave Residents Hydroxychloroquine to Treat COVID-19 Without Consent or State Approval
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are requesting information from federal health agencies regarding the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients in nursing homes. Following official state reports showing the inappropriate use of hydroxychloroquine in nursing homes, the senators sent letters to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator … Continue Reading
August 27, 2020
Wyden, Merkley Call on FCC to Bolster Program That Keeps Students Connected
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to boost its Lifeline program to keep students connected as millions of children return to school both virtually and in person. Since 1985, the FCC's Lifeline program has made basic internet and telephone service more affordable for low-income Americans and has had bipartisan support. "As millions of American families face unprecedented financial pressures and educational … Continue Reading
August 25, 2020
Wyden, Merkley Join Legal Brief Against Donald Trump’s Illegal Asylum Ban
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined a legal brief seeking to preserve the D.C. District Court of Appeals' decision to strike down Donald Trump's plainly illegal ban on all asylum claims outside of ports of entry. A previous amicus brief Wyden and Merkley also joined helped the plaintiff asylum seekers convince the lower court in the case - O.A. v. Trump - to strike down Trump's illegal ban. "My parents fled Nazi Germany for the … Continue Reading
August 25, 2020
Wyden, Merkley Join Legal Brief to End Discrimination in Foster Care and Adoption
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined a legal brief in an impending Supreme Court case focused on anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in the foster care and adoption system. "Religion must not be misconstrued as a license to discriminate, plain and simple," Wyden said. "To deny prospective and well-qualified foster and adoptive parents simply based on who they love or how they identify hurts our children in the foster care system by unjustly … Continue Reading
August 21, 2020
As DeJoy Testifies Before Congress, Merkley, Wyden Demand End to Policies Disenfranchising Servicemembers Abroad
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined 28 colleagues in writing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to raise concerns over the heightened impact of harmful United States Postal Service (USPS) policy and operational changes to servicemembers and their families. DeJoy is testifying before a Senate committee today and a House committee on Monday about the severe mail delays that are jeopardizing access to medicines, essential goods, voting, correspondence, and … Continue Reading
August 20, 2020
Wyden, Colleagues Request Analysis from Social Security Administration on the Impact of Eliminating the Payroll Tax
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined colleagues in asking the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide an analysis of the impact of eliminating the payroll tax that funds Social Security's Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund. In a letter to SSA Chief Actuary Stephen Goss, the senators wrote, "Specifically, what would be the implications of such legislation for revenue coming into the OASI and DI trust … Continue Reading
August 19, 2020
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Press for Accurate 2020 Census Count for Native Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with 17 of their Senate colleagues, are urging the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Census Bureau to honor their previously announced 2020 census completion date to ensure an accurate count for Indian Country and the Native Hawaiian community. On April 13, 2020, the Commerce Department and Census Bureau announced a modified timeline for 2020 census operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which extended the … Continue Reading
August 18, 2020
Merkley, Wyden Demand Postal Service Address Delivery Delays of Veterans’ Prescription Drugs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are demanding immediate action following reports of significant delays in veterans' prescription medications through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). In a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, Merkley and Wyden joined 29 Senate colleagues in urging USPS to correct operational changes that are needlessly delaying veterans' access to life-saving prescriptions. "Veterans and the VA should … Continue Reading
August 18, 2020
Merkley, Wyden Announce $3.6 Million in Federal Funding to Support Oregon Businesses as Coronavirus Impacts Worsen
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that $3.6 million in federal funding is headed to Oregon to support nine Economic Development Districts as they update economic development plans and strengthen support services amid the deepening coronavirus crisis. The funding was authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which Congress passed in March. "Creativity and resourcefulness have long been critical ingredients … Continue Reading
August 17, 2020
Wyden, Colleagues Urge Federal Health Agencies to Offer COVID-19 Guidance to Child Care Providers
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is asking federal health agencies for more detailed public health guidance to support the child care sector during and following the COVID-19 public health emergency. In an Aug. 14 letter to the Office of Child Care at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Wyden and other legislators wrote, "The child care industry is at risk of collapse. A Bipartisan Policy Center … Continue Reading
August 17, 2020
Wyden Joins Colleagues to Call on Postal Board of Governors to Immediately Reverse Changes Made by Trump Megadonor Turned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy That Have Degraded and Delayed Postal Service Operations
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined colleagues in sending a letter to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors calling on it to immediately use its authority under the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 to reverse changes to postal service operations and mail service delays put in place by Trump megadonor turned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. In addition to Wyden, the letter is signed by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Democratic Leader … Continue Reading
August 17, 2020
Wyden, Merkley, DeFazio, Blumenauer, Bonamici, Schrader Demand Postmaster General End Deliberate Slowdown of Mail Delivery
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici and Kurt Schrader today demanded that U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy rescind his orders that have unacceptably slowed mail delivery across Oregon and the nation. In their letter to DeJoy, the Oregon lawmakers noted their concerns are heightened by the raging pandemic and the Nov. 3 election just weeks away. They wrote that DeJoy's actions at Donald Trump's behest … Continue Reading
August 17, 2020
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Demand Answers from Postmaster General After Postal Service Delays Spark Fear and Outrage Across Oregon
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today teamed up with their Senate colleagues in the Democratic Caucus to press Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for answers on severe mail delays that are jeopardizing access to medicines, essential goods, voting, correspondence, and livelihoods for veterans, small businesses, rural communities, seniors, and millions of Americans who rely on the mail. The delays have resulted from Postmaster General DeJoy's significant … Continue Reading
August 14, 2020
Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer and Bonamici Demand Answers on Environmental and Health Impacts of Tear Gas Used by Federal Officers
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici today demanded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) immediately investigate the impacts of sustained tear gas used by federal agents on people, air, land and bodies of water. As members of Congress whose duties demand oversight of federal agencies, the lawmakers said their request follows sustained tear gas use by federal officers from the Department of Justice and the … Continue Reading
August 14, 2020
Merkley, Wyden, Announce $3 Million Investment to Create Jobs in Klamath Falls
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the Klamath Falls community will receive $3 million in federal funds to build an Apprenticeship and Industrial Trades Center-which is expected to create 166 jobs and generate $677,000 in private investment. "As we continue to grapple with the deepening coronavirus crisis, we must make the critical investments in our workforce that will help us pave a path toward a prosperous future," said Merkley. "I'm … Continue Reading
