Press Releases
Wyden, Merkley Call for Hearings on Gun Violence Prevention
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week wrote the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to call for hearings on universal background checks legislation. "Statistics demonstrate that universal background checks save lives, and polls show that 97% of Americans support the implementation of these checks," the Oregon senators wrote Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in a letter signed by 36 other senators. "We noted with interest your statements that … Continue Reading
March 07, 2019
Wyden Calls for Investigation into Non-compete Agreements
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today joined colleagues from both parties to request a federal investigation into the use and abuse of non-compete agreements, saying their widening use in recent years raises serious concerns about their increasing toll on workers and the economy. "We are concerned that the use of non-compete agreements on a large scale could slow economic and wage growth, reduce productivity and competition in labor markets, and create significant barriers to … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Wyden, Heinrich, Harris Request Declassification of Response to Questions About Chinese Interference in U.S. Elections
Washington, D.C. - Senate Intelligence Committee members Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., today called on the Director of National Intelligence to declassify a letter sent October 31, 2018, that responded to questions about whether China interfered in the 2016 and 2018 U.S. elections. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats provided an unclassified response to those questions on February 8, which is available here. That unclassified … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Wyden, Rubio, Warner Reintroduce “Student Right to Know Before You Go Act” to Empower Students as Consumers
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mark Warner, D-Va., today reintroduced legislation to provide critical information to help students, families, policymakers and taxpayers better understand the costs and outcomes associated with higher education, while protecting individual privacy. The bipartisan Student Right to Know Before You Go Act makes data available to prospective college students about schools' graduation rates, debt levels, how much graduates can … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Wyden, Merkley Co-sponsor Veterans Agent Orange Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced they are co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill that would provide health care benefits to additional veterans who served decades ago in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Their bill would move the start date for the presumption of service connection to all veterans exposed to Agent Orange in the Korean Demilitarized Zone from April 1968 to September 1967. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) presumes that veterans … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Wyden Joins Colleagues to Reintroduce Bill to Stop Trump Administration from Detaining and Shackling Pregnant Women
Washington, D.C. -U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today joined 24 cosponsors to reintroduce legislation that would protect the health and safety of pregnant women and youth in immigration custody. The Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act reinstitutes the Obama-era policy that presumed the release of pregnant women and youth from immigration custody and further prohibits the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from shackling pregnant women in its custody. The bill also sets new … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Wyden, Merkley: UO to Get More Than $400,000 for Earthquake Research
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the University of Oregon will receive more than $400,000 in federal funds for research into improving earthquake early warning systems. "A state-of-the-art early warning system for earthquakes and tsunamis Oregon and the entire West Coast is a must to save lives if and when disaster strikes," Wyden said. "I am gratified that the University of Oregon has earned these awards to continue building on its pioneering … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Wyden Renews Call to Reform Tax Code to Kick the Carbon Habit
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., renewed his call for reforming the tax code to better support investment and innovation in clean energy during today's U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on the electricity sector in a changing climate. Wyden highlighted his proposal to replace the current 44 separate energy tax breaks with a simpler set of long-term, performance-based energy tax incentives that are technology-neutral and promote clean energy in the … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Wyden Calls for Permanent End to NSA Phone Records Program
Washington, D.C. - Senior Senate Intelligence Committee member, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement on the National Security Agency (NSA) telephone records program today: "I cannot comment on classified matters referenced in media reports. However, it is increasingly clear to me that the NSA's implementation of reforms to the phone records dragnet has been fundamentally flawed. In my view, the administration must permanently end the phone records program and Congress … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Wyden, Merkley Join Colleagues to Reintroduce the Marijuana Justice Act
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley last week joined Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and colleagues in reintroducing the Marijuana Justice Act to end the federal prohibition on marijuana. "The War on Drugs destroyed lives, and no one continues to be devastated more than low-income communities and communities of color," said Wyden. "There is a desperate need not only to correct course by ending the failed federal prohibition of marijuana, but to right these wrongs and … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Wyden: “Andrew Wheeler Fights for Those Who Endanger Our Health and Pollute Our Air and Water”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to the nomination of Andrew Wheeler as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "The mission of the EPA is to protect human health, and to fight for clean air and water, for everyone. Andrew Wheeler fights for those who endanger our health and pollute our air and water," Wyden said. "This isn't a tough call. I'm a no on this backward and dangerous nomination. And I urge my … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Merkley, Wyden Join Colleagues to Introduce Comprehensive Child Care And Early Learning Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have joined 33 Democratic colleagues to introduce the Child Care for Working Families Act, a comprehensive early learning and child care bill to ensure affordable, high-quality child care for working middle class families and those living paycheck to paycheck. "I know firsthand that finding child care is stressful enough without worrying about how to afford a five-figure price tag for it," Merkley said. "For Oregon families, … Continue Reading
February 26, 2019
Wyden on House Passage of Bipartisan Public Lands Bill: “Another Proud Chapter of Oregon’s Conservation Legacy”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today welcomed House passage of the bipartisan public lands legislation that passed the Senate earlier this month. The bill is the largest public lands package passed by Congress in a decade and includes important conservation and wildfire protections for Oregon secured by Wyden. "At my town halls, and in line at the grocery store, I hear from Oregonian after Oregonian who wants our state's special places protected. Now, even more of Oregon's natural … Continue Reading
February 26, 2019
Wyden, Heinrich, Reed, Coons, Harris Reintroduce Bill Requiring Public Report on Khashoggi Murder by Saudi Arabia
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., introduced legislation today requiring a public report on the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The bill comes in response to the Trump administration's repeated refusal to release a public assessment about Khashoggi's murder at the hands of Saudi officials. "The Saudi government brazenly murdered a Washington Post … Continue Reading
February 21, 2019
Wyden, Murkowski, Cantwell, Gardner, Feinstein Reintroduce Bill to Help Prepare and Protect Communities from Landslides
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, Lisa Murkowski, Maria Cantwell, Cory Gardner and Dianne Feinstein recently reintroduced bipartisan legislation to improve the science and coordination needed to help local communities prepare for and respond to landslides and other natural hazards. S. 529, the National Landslide Preparedness Act, will help protect communities and property, save lives, and improve emergency preparedness and planning by targeting key gaps in current science and mapping … Continue Reading
February 21, 2019
Merkley, Wyden, Walden Push Changes to Law that Arbitrarily Excludes Rural Airports
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR 2), are pushing the Comptroller General of the United States to consider the negative impact of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 on Klamath Falls and other rural airports in an upcoming study on reforms to the Essential Air Service program. The law limits the Essential Air Service (EAS) program to airports that were already participating in the program between Sept. 30, 2010 and Sept. … Continue Reading
February 15, 2019
Wyden, McConnell Urge USDA to Ensure Expeditious and Proper Implementation of the Hemp Farming Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently sent a letter to U.S Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue urging USDA to ensure that the provisions from the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 included in the 2018 Farm Bill are implemented expeditiously and follow Congressional intent. As authors of the Hemp Farming Act, Wyden and McConnell are encouraging proper implementation of the law by the USDA to support hemp's lawful future for … Continue Reading
February 14, 2019
Wyden Introduces Bill to Protect Government Contractors During Shutdowns
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, Catherine Cortez Masto and Patty Murray have introduced legislation that would ensure federal contractors affected by a government shutdown can withdraw funds from their retirement savings without being penalized. "Federal employees who missed paychecks during the Trump shutdown will eventually get their back pay, but nobody should forget about the millions of contractors and their families left uncovered after a senseless five-week shutdown," said … Continue Reading
February 13, 2019
Wyden Introduces Rural Broadband Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden this week introduced bipartisan legislation that aims to ensure the success of current rural broadband initiatives and to remove barriers to future rural broadband growth in Oregon and nationwide. "All across Oregon, one of the top issues I hear about is the need to bring fast, reliable internet to our rural areas," Wyden said. "For education, for jobs, for medicine, broadband is really essential to helping rural communities thrive today. Creating a new … Continue Reading
February 13, 2019
Wyden, Feinstein, Merkley & Colleagues Press U.S. Forest Service for Update on Wildfire Prevention and Fuels Treatment Efforts Following Trump Shutdown
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., today led a group of their colleagues in seeking answers from the U.S. Forest Service on the recent Trump shutdown and its impact on the agency's critical wildfire prevention and fuels treatment efforts-answers that are especially pressing with the threat of another shutdown looming. In addition to Wyden, Feinstein and Merkley, the letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen was … Continue Reading
