Press Releases
Merkley, Wyden Tout $9.8 Million Coming to Oregon for Brownfield Cleanup
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced $9,806,847 is coming to the state from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support cleanup projects at brownfields sites, land that has been previously polluted or contaminated. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Merkley and Wyden championed, added $1.5 billion to the EPA’s Brownfields Program to help assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse … Continue Reading
May 20, 2024
Wyden, Merkley Announce $5.5 Million to Replace Aging Water Infrastructure in Oregon
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today that Oregon will receive $5.5 million in federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to replace aging water delivery infrastructure in communities across Oregon. “Access to reliable and safe water is essential for communities to thrive in rural and urban Oregon,” Wyden said. “Updating our water infrastructure not only prevents waste, but keeps communities thriving. This funding is a … Continue Reading
May 20, 2024
Wyden, Merkley, More Than 130 Lawmakers Tout Direct File’s Successes, Urge Biden Administration to Expand Program and Make Permanent
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today that they and more than 130 lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, applauding the Direct File program’s success pilot and urging them to make it permanent while expanding its functionality and scope. The letter follows the 2024 tax season’s conclusion and the IRS Direct File program’s implementation in 12 pilot states which allowed taxpayers to … Continue Reading
May 17, 2024
Wyden Presses Federal Officials to Make Improvements Quickly at Roseburg VA
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today urged top federal Department of Veterans Affairs officials to act quickly to make improvements identified in a troubling new report that details how problems with staffing levels and electronic records at the Roseburg VA Health Care System are undermining care for veterans. Wyden’s letter to Dr. Teresa Boyd of the VA Northwest Health Network Office follows a report this week by the VA’s Office of Inspector General (VA OIG). “First, I recognize … Continue Reading
May 16, 2024
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Urge End of Private Immigration Detention Centers, Demand Closure of Facilities with Inhumane Conditions
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they and seven colleagues urged federal agencies, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to phase out the use of private detention centers, and close four facilities with well-documented inhumane conditions. “The federal government should not pay private facilities with continuously problematic conditions,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Department of Homeland … Continue Reading
May 16, 2024
Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $6.2 Million to Boost Oregon’s Innovative Wood Products Economy and Support Healthy Forests
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is investing $6,276,170 in 13 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. The federal funding is critical to ensuring the state’s leadership in the wood products industry, while helping to restore healthy … Continue Reading
May 16, 2024
Wyden, Merkley Announce $660,000 for Road Safety in Columbia and Clatsop Counties
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today that Oregon will receive $660,000 in federal funds to Columbia and Clatsop counties to help develop transportation improvement plans and boost public safety. “Oregonians need to be confident that the roads they drive on daily are safe,” Wyden said. “This federal investment funded from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that I fought to pass will help ensure that folks can dependably travel in Oregon’s northwest corner, and … Continue Reading
May 16, 2024
Wyden Announces Four Town Halls in Southern Oregon
Portland - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced he will hold in-person town halls in Josephine, Curry, Coos and Douglas counties on May 28-29. Heading into these four town halls, Wyden will have held 1,081 town halls throughout Oregon - including 16 so far this year -- in fulfillment of his pledge to hold at least one town hall each year in each of our state’s 36 counties. The town halls in these four counties originally had been scheduled for April, but had to be postponed because of … Continue Reading
May 15, 2024
Senate Designates May 18 as “Kids to Parks Day”
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and colleagues today applauded the Senate’s passage of their bipartisan resolution to empower young people and their families to get outdoors and promote healthy outdoor recreation by designating May 18, 2024 National Kids to Parks Day. Started in 2011 with the National Park Trust, the fourteenth annual Kids to Parks Day kicks off a summer-long series of events at local, state and national parks. The Senate … Continue Reading
May 15, 2024
Wyden, Colleagues Call to Provide At Least $3 Billion for Shelter and Services Program in FY 25
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and his colleagues today called on Senate Appropriations Committee leadership to provide no less than $3 billion in FY 2025 funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Shelter and Services Program for humanitarian assistance funding. That funding supports state, local, and nonprofit service providers who assist the federal government by providing critical services for asylum seekers released from government custody to continue … Continue Reading
May 15, 2024
Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $3.6 Million for the Tualatin Mountain Forest Project
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is awarding?$3.63 million to further support the Tualatin Mountain Forest Project through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Legacy Program. This new federal funding builds off of the?$10 million foundation Merkley and Wyden announced for the project last year.?The additional investment will further help the project conserve and manage the economically and … Continue Reading
May 14, 2024
Merkley, Wyden Join Senate Colleagues In Urging Dept. of Education to Hold Student Loan Servicer MOHELA Accountable for Its Failures
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined a coalition of Senators led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) urging the agency to hold student loan servicer MOHELA accountable for its failures. ?The letter comes after ED announced that more than a million MOHELA borrowers will be transferred to other federal student loan servicers to “improve borrowers’ experiences.” Joining Warren, Merkley, and Wyden in … Continue Reading
May 14, 2024
Wyden, Duckworth, Hirono Call for More Funding of U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai’i, today urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide increased funding-at least $32 million-for the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHS) in FY 2025 to ensure these highly-trained frontline workers are always ready and fully-deployable to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all Americans. Currently, the PHS is the only uniformed service without a budget … Continue Reading
May 14, 2024
Wyden, Colleagues Urge DHS to Investigate Federal Funding of ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection System
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he and three congressional colleagues are urging the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the department’s grant funding spent on the ShotSpotter acoustic gunshot detection system, including whether the use of ShotSpotter led to civil rights violations. ShotSpotter purportedly lets law enforcement accurately detect and locate gunshot incidents. According to the manufacturer, ShotSpotter uses various … Continue Reading
May 13, 2024
Wyden, Merkley Praise Passage of Bill Honoring Dustoff Crews from the Vietnam War
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today welcomed the Senate passage of legislation they cosponsored to award a collective Congressional Gold Medal to U.S. Army Dustoff crews in recognition of their extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions during the Vietnam War. Among the Oregonians now earning this well-deserved Congressional Gold Medal under the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act are former Dustoff Crew Chief Gary E. Hagen, 72, … Continue Reading
May 10, 2024
Wyden, Colleagues Call for Increased Funding of Federal Public Defender Program
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in calling on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund the Federal Defender Services program in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. “In FY24, Defender Services was appropriated $1.45 billion, and in FY25, the Judiciary is requesting $1.69 billion. This essential funding supports the 4,420 attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and … Continue Reading
May 10, 2024
Wyden, Colleagues Pass FAA Reauthorization Act
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today that the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act he voted for this week would save lives as well as benefit Oregon air travelers and small businesses. “It is absolutely essential to our national security and economy to fully fund the departments that keep our planes in the sky and Oregonians safe in Oregon and throughout the country,” Wyden said about the legislation authorizing operations for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National … Continue Reading
May 09, 2024
Wyden, Merkley: Lane and Douglas Counties to Receive Vital Drought Resiliency Investments
Washington D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced Douglas and Lane counties will receive $1.22 million and $4 million, respectively, in drought resiliency funding as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. “In Oregon and throughout the West, we know firsthand how much the climate crisis has devastated our communities and economies with drought and other impacts,” Wyden said. “Solutions for water storage and innovative ways to capture … Continue Reading
May 08, 2024
Merkley, Wyden Announce Nearly $1.7 Million for State and Tribal Historical Preservation in Oregon
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced the National Park Service (NPS) is awarding a total of $1,697,354 in Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) investments to help preserve treasured historical and cultural places in the state. These investments include $1,161,729 for State and Local Preservation Grants and $535,625 in Tribal Preservation Grants. “A core pillar of ensuring Oregon’s future success is preserving its rich past, places, and culturally … Continue Reading
May 08, 2024
Wyden, Colleagues Call for Increased Funding to the Office of Federal Student Aid
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and 23 Senate colleagues urging Senate appropriators to provide $2.7 billion in funding to the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) in fiscal year (FY) 2025. “Fully funding the President’s request for FSA this fiscal year - a $625 million increase from the FY 2023 levels - is particularly critical given that FSA’s FY 2023 and FY 2024 funding was stagnant compared to previous years, severely undermining … Continue Reading
