Press Releases
Wyden and Merkley: Trump Must Make Clear Saudi Arabia Must Immediately Stop Aiding Saudi Fugitives Fleeing U.S. Justice System
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today called on the Trump administration to take immediate action after the FBI revealed today in a newly declassified document that the government of Saudi Arabia is assisting its citizens accused of serious crimes in fleeing the United States. The document was declassified thanks to the Wyden-authored Saudi Fugitives Declassification Act, which became law in December. Wyden and Merkley have pressed the Trump administration … Continue Reading
January 17, 2020
Wyden, Brown, Eshoo Urge FTC to Investigate Firm Collecting and Selling Americans’ Financial Data
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif., today demanded the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate Envestnet for possibly violating the law by recklessly selling Americans' personal data. Envestnet operates Yodlee, the largest consumer financial data aggregator in the United States. Financial technology apps, banks and other companies use Yodlee to access, collect and analyze transaction data from consumers' … Continue Reading
January 16, 2020
Wyden, Oregon Labor, Ag and Business Leaders Hail Bipartisan Passage of New NAFTA
Washington, D.C. -Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., hailed the passage of the new NAFTA trade agreement today, by a bipartisan 89-10 vote. The updated agreement with Mexico and Canada includes strong new enforcement provisions by Wyden and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, along with modern digital trade rules to advance innovation and free speech, and new environmental protections. “The version of NAFTA the Trump administration released in 2018 was fundamentally flawed, … Continue Reading
January 15, 2020
Wyden and Bipartisan Group of Senators Request Meeting with HUD Secretary on Radon Dangers in Public Housing
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today led a bipartisan group of his colleagues requesting a meeting with Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson to get answers on why the agency has failed to protect tenants living in federally subsidized housing from the cancer-causing dangers of radon and to chart a path forward to resolve this serious health hazard. U.S. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Bob Casey, D-Penn., … Continue Reading
January 14, 2020
Wyden, Merkley Press Trump Admin on LNG By Rail Safety
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today expressed concerns over the Trump administration’s proposed rules on the transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail. In a letter to Administrator Howard Elliott, head of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation, the senators emphasized that the loosening of transportation regulations for LNG by rail in proposed rulemaking pose a risk to public … Continue Reading
January 13, 2020
Merkley, Wyden Slam FDA E-Cigarette Policy Riddled With Loopholes for Kid-Appealing Flavors
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have joined 28 colleagues in sending a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn criticizing the Trump administration's decision to break its promise to clear all nontobacco flavored e-cigarette products from the market. Earlier this month, the administration announced a weak policy that includes huge exceptions regarding menthol-flavored products and any flavored e-liquids that are not in a … Continue Reading
January 09, 2020
Wyden Supports Proposed FTC Rule Limiting The Use Of Non-Competes
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined a bipartisan group of senators to urge the limiting of non-compete agreements that harm American workers. In a bipartisan letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the senators wrote, "The American workforce has experienced significantly reduced job mobility, tepid wage growth, and declining rates of entrepreneurship in recent decades. At the same time, non-compete clauses have become more prevalent." The senators … Continue Reading
January 09, 2020
Wyden and Bicameral Coalition Ask FCC To Protect Consumers From Wireless Scams
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and five House and Senate members today pressed the Federal Communications Commission to do more to protect consumers from scammers who hijack phone numbers to hack bank accounts and other personal information. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Reps. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif., Yvette D. Clarke, D-N.Y., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., joined Wyden to urge FCC Chair Ajit Pai to use the agency's authority over wireless … Continue Reading
January 08, 2020
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Anti-War Crimes Resolution That Denounces Trump Threats to Attack Iranian Cultural Sites
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined with five other senators today to introduce a resolution condemning Donald Trump's threats to attack cultural sites in Iran and demanding he refrain from violating the laws of armed conflict. "If Donald Trump follows through on his threat to bomb Persian cultural sites it would be an abomination on the level of what the Taliban did to Buddhist relics in Afghanistan," Wyden said. "Congress cannot let Trump commit war crimes that … Continue Reading
January 08, 2020
Merkley, Wyden Announce Resolution to Emphasize Requirement of Clear Congressional Approval for Military Action in Iran
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, joined by Senator Ron Wyden, today announced a bipartisan resolution to underscore that any future war must be considered and authorized by Congress. Specifically, the resolution clarifies that neither the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force passed following the September 11 attacks nor the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq legally justify the use of military force against Iran. Merkley led the resolution … Continue Reading
January 07, 2020
Wyden, Grassley Hail Passage of Updated NAFTA
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today released the following statements regarding the broad, bipartisan passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act, which was reported out of committee on a 25-3 basis and will update the North American Free Trade Agreement. “Thanks to hard work by my colleagues on the Finance Committee and in the House, this new NAFTA delivers long-overdue upgrades … Continue Reading
January 06, 2020
Wyden Supports War Powers Resolution to Prevent War With Iran
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today joined Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., to support a war powers resolution to force a debate and vote in Congress to prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran. "At each of my town halls this past weekend, I heard from Oregonians concerned that Donald Trump is racing our country towards war. Today I cosponsored a Senate Resolution to prevent this reckless administration from launching a war against Iran," Wyden said. "We cannot allow Trump's rash … Continue Reading
January 03, 2020
Wyden Statement on the Assassination of Qassem Soleimani
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on the assassination of Qassem Soleimani: "Qassem Soleimani was a bad man with a lot of blood on his hands, but Donald Trump's decision to assassinate him was a reckless escalation that will take us further down the road to ruinous war. A president has the responsibility to ensure that all necessary steps have been taken to protect vulnerable American military and civilian targets before taking such a precipitous act. … Continue Reading
December 23, 2019
Wyden, Blumenthal, Warren and Eshoo Question Sale of .ORG Domains to Private Equity Firm
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., questioned whether nonprofit groups, free speech and internet users would be harmed selling control of .ORG domains to a private equity firm, in a letter sent today. Currently, the Internet Society, a non-profit group, controls how website names ending in .ORG are allocated. In November, the Society announced that it would sell control of the .ORG … Continue Reading
December 20, 2019
Merkley, Wyden Announce Investments in Small Ports, Irrigation Districts, Renewable Energy Included in 2020 Spending Bill
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that provisions that will help create jobs and improve infrastructure in Oregon communities are included in the 2020 spending bill that has passed both chambers of Congress, and is headed to the president’s desk to become law. “One of the most gratifying parts of serving on the Senate Appropriations Committee is that I get to work with communities across the state to fund their needs, and then see the funding … Continue Reading
December 20, 2019
Merkley, Wyden Announce Major Investments in Coastal Communities, Tribes Included in Spending Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced key provisions in the 2020 spending bill funding commerce, justice and science, that will help rural communities across Oregon. The bill has passed both houses of Congress and now goes to the president to be signed into law. "I'm in every county every year, and across rural and coastal Oregon I hear about ways we can create jobs and strengthen communities," said Merkley, who serves on the Senate … Continue Reading
December 20, 2019
Merkley, Wyden Announce Increased Water Infrastructure, Tribal, Forest Funding in 2020 Spending Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the 2020 spending bill includes U.S. Department of Interior Appropriations funding that provides critical investments in earthquake preparedness, water infrastructure, and wildfire suppression and recovery activities that are of particular importance to communities across Oregon. "This bill invests in both recovery and prevention efforts to save our forests, our communities, and our farms, ranches and … Continue Reading
December 20, 2019
Merkley, Murray, Wyden, Walden Announce Spending Bill to Advance Rural Business Development Funding for the Columbia River Gorge
WASHINGTON, DC - Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), and Representative Greg Walden (R-OR-5), today announced that the 2020 spending bill passed by Congress will include $2 million in new funding for rural business development grants, with priority given to National Scenic Areas that have been devastated by wildfires, such as the Columbia River Gorge. This funding is intended to be used by entities such as the Mid-Columbia Economic Development … Continue Reading
December 19, 2019
Merkley, Wyden Announce Key Priorities for Oregon Agriculture, Rural Communities Included in 2020 Spending Bill
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced key provisions in the fiscal year 2020 spending bill that will help Oregon’s agriculture industry and rural communities—from investments in rural housing; to research into the impacts of wildfire smoke on crops; to hemp, which is becoming a cash crop for Oregon. The bill has passed both chambers of Congress on bipartisan votes, and now heads to the president’s desk to become law. “Every year I visit every … Continue Reading
December 19, 2019
Merkley, Wyden Announce More than $2 Billion to Address Housing, Homelessness Included in 2020 Spending Bill
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the fiscal year 2020 spending bill includes $2.173 billion to battle unaffordable rents and homelessness. The bill, which has passed both houses of Congress and now goes to the president's desk to be signed into law, funds several federal departments, and includes Oregon priorities for transportation, housing, and other programs that local communities rely on to fund services, build parks, and … Continue Reading
