Press Releases
Wyden, Merkley Press for Significant New, Flexible Funding for State and Local Governments in COVID-19 Response
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week joined U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and 34 other colleagues to urge Senate Republican leadership to support significant, new and flexible funding for state and local governments in Oregon and across the nation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The senators sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., requesting that he support the funding amount and flexibility for state and local … Continue Reading
July 24, 2020
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Call for Congress to Use the Power of the Purse to Stop Trump's Constitutional Abuses in Portland and Other American Cities
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., today led eight of their Senate colleagues in calling on congressional leaders to include provisions in future funding legislation that would explicitly prohibit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) from infringing upon the constitutional rights of Americans. The senators' letter to Senate Appropriations Committee leaders follows weeks of heavily-armed, unmarked federal forces … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
At Request of Oregon Delegation, DHS and DOJ Offices of Inspector General Open Investigations into Federal Operatives in Portland
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, today announced that at their request, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offices of Inspector General (OIG) are opening investigations into the unrequested presence and violent actions of recently deployed federal forces in Portland. The delegation yesterday sent a letter formally requesting the investigations, … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Wyden Touts Importance of Improving and Expanding Water Conservation for Agriculture, Fish and Wildlife
Washington, D.C. - During an Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power hearing, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., yesterday highlighted the importance of his Water for Conservation and Farming Act, S. 4189, to help communities in Oregon and across the West experiencing high levels of drought. "Water is the lifeblood of the northwest. Right now in Oregon, 35 out of 36 counties are experiencing at least some level of drought. And of course with climate change causing … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Wyden Votes No on Defense Policy Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement after voting against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in light of the federal occupation in Portland, Ore.: "I cannot, in good conscience, vote in support of this bill while federal agents occupy my hometown and put Oregonians at risk, all to sell a lie that liberal cities are overrun by anarchists. These occupying forces have made Portland far more volatile and more dangerous. Federal agents … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Wyden, Merkley Introduce The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and 45 other senators in introducing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bipartisan bill to restore the landmark Voting Rights Act, end the scourge of minority voter suppression and help preserve the legacy of John Lewis - one of America's greatest civil rights heroes. "We all stand in the shadow of John Lewis' legacy as a fierce advocate for the voting rights of all Americans. He … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Wyden, Merkley, Warren Press Interior Department on Agency's Disregard for COVID-19 Safety
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to immediately issue guidance for its employees on mask and personal protective equipment (PPE) policies consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The senators also asked that DOI agency employees be directed to follow state guidelines and cooperate with county-level and state-level coronavirus … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Wyden to Oppose Nomination of DOJ Official Over Unconstitutional Abuses in Portland
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced his opposition to the nomination of Justice Department official Patrick Hovakimian, after Hovakimian refused to answer questions about the federal occupation of Portland, Ore. in a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence open hearing. "If the line is not drawn in the sand right now, America may be staring down the barrel of martial law in the middle of a presidential election," Wyden said. Wyden pressed Hovakimian, the … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Wyden, Merkley, Western Senators Call for Expedited Hearing on Anti-Public Lands Crusader William Perry Pendley’s Nomination to Bureau of Land Management
Washington, D.C. - Following Donald Trump's formal nomination of anti-public lands activist William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management, Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and other Western colleagues in calling for an expedited confirmation hearing so Pendley can answer for his troubling record of anti-public lands advocacy before the American public. The senators wrote that Pendley, who was installed as the de facto acting … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Wyden Joins Merkley on the Senate Floor to Block Trump from Deploying Unwanted Paramilitary Forces in American Cities
Madam President, Donald Trump has deployed a paramilitary squad to my hometown of Portland. His secret police are terrorizing my friends and neighbors. And people across this country need to understand, yesterday Donald Trump announced to America that your friends and your neighbors are next. Unmarked vans full of armed men in military gear are snatching people off the streets. They take people away, hold them and interrogate them without justification, and ultimately without charges. Over … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Wyden, Colleagues Urge Administration to Enforce Housing Eviction Bans During Coronavirus Pandemic
Washington, D.C. - As the coronavirus pandemic continues to put many Americans in danger of falling behind on monthly rent payments, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined a group of his colleagues urging the Trump Administration to enforce bans on housing evictions for the duration of the crisis. In a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Wyden, Merkley: Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Receive $269,000 Grant for Water Infrastructure Repairs
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will receive a $269,000 federal grant to repair its main water line. "These urgently needed resources will help restore a dependable and safe water supply for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs," Wyden said. "That reliability is essential at any time, but especially now when the community is working to keep its members healthy during the coronavirus. I'm glad the … Continue Reading
July 20, 2020
Senators, Representatives Announce Legislation to Block Federal Paramilitary Occupations in Portland and Other American Cities
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), today announced that they are introducing the Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America's Streets Act, which would block the Trump administration from deploying federal forces as a shadowy paramilitary against Americans. Today's action comes after a week in which … Continue Reading
July 20, 2020
Wyden Introduces Bill to Protect Hong Kongers Against Chinese Government’s New National Security Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced a bill to protect Hong Kongers against the Chinese government's sweeping new national security bill and further punish Beijing by creating a streamlined pathway for high-skilled Hong Kongers to immigrate to the United States for work. "As the Chinese government continues to crack down on all forms of dissent in Hong Kong, it's critical that the United States shows where we stand. My bill would not only protect Hong Kongers … Continue Reading
July 20, 2020
ICYMI: Trump sent federal agents to Portland to help with his political agenda — not the protests
Article available here and below. For weeks now, Donald Trump has seemingly sought to incite violence on the streets of Portland. Not content with simply dropping squads of federal agents into my hometown to clash with peaceful protesters, as he first did in early July after signing an executive order to supposedly protect monuments from protestors, Trump and his acting secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, have now unleashed these agents like an occupying army - complete with … Continue Reading
July 20, 2020
Wyden, Merkley: Coquille Indian Tribe Secures $900,000 Federal Health Grant
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Coquille Indian Tribe has secured a $900,000 federal grant to expand access to health care by acquiring and operating a health clinic. "In the middle of a global pandemic, these health care resources for the Coquille Tribe are timely and welcome," Wyden said. "This health clinic run by the Coquille Tribe is a positive prescription for expanded and better local health care for the community that can be a model for … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Merkley, Wyden, Blumenauer, Bonamici Demand Federal Forces be Removed from Portland
PORTLAND, OR - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, today blasted federal agencies' politically-motivated "authoritarian tactics" and demanded that U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf immediately remove their special forces from Oregon. "These tactics include deploying federal agents without identifying insignia in an apparent effort to evade transparency and … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Support Grows for Emergency Broadband Connection Act
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of planned Senate discussions on the next relief bill for the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced support from dozens of new organizations for the Emergency Broadband Connections Act, and two new cosponsors. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance announced its endorsement for Wyden's bill on June 30. Over 220 other advocacy groups also joined together July 8 on behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to write in support of … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Merkley, Wyden, Blumenauer, Bonamici Call for Investigations into Federal Operatives in Portland
PORTLAND, OR - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, today announced that they will be asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offices of Inspector General to investigate the unrequested presence and violent actions of federal forces in Portland. The request for investigations follows federal operatives shooting a peaceful protester in the head, causing serious … Continue Reading
July 16, 2020
Wyden, Schumer, Senate Democrats Announce Historic Proposal For $350 Billion Investment In Communities Of Color
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats to unveil a major new legislative proposal to invest $350 billion in Black communities and other communities of color. Wyden and his colleagues' plan would make a significant federal commitment to communities of color through ten major investments over the next five years in historically underfunded areas like public health, child care, infrastructure and job … Continue Reading
