Press Releases
Wyden, Crapo Lead Bipartisan Bill to Make Rail Investment Tax Credit Permanent
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today introduced the Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act, which would make permanent a critical tax credit used to repair and upgrade short line and regional railroads in Oregon and nationwide. "Short line and regional railroads provide an essential economic link for small manufacturers and communities in Oregon and across the nation," said Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance … Continue Reading
January 24, 2019
Senators Call on FCC and FTC to Investigate How Wireless Carriers Sold American’s Mobile Phone Locations To Data Brokers, Bounty Hunters and Shady Middlemen
Washington, D.C. -A group of 15 senators today called on the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission to investigate how wireless carriers allowed third parties - including data brokers and bounty hunters - to track Americans' cell phones without consent. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Ed Markey, D-Mass., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Amy … Continue Reading
January 24, 2019
Oregon Members Call for Unemployment Insurance for All Federal Employees
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Kurt Schrader, along with Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, and Peter DeFazio, sent a letter today to the Department of Labor asking to make clear that federal employees deemed "essential" or "excepted" may be eligible for unemployment insurance. The Members wrote: "The 2013 Employment and Training Administration (ETA) guidance memo […] states that 'essential' or 'excepted' federal workers may be ineligible … Continue Reading
January 23, 2019
Wyden Seeks Information on Trump Shutdown Impact on Federal Protections From Robocallers and Scammers
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today joined with a dozen senators to ask federal officials how the shutdown is impeding the ability of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to protect American consumers from robocallers and scammers. The letter from Wyden and other senators to the FTC comes in the wake of a report by The Washington Post that the government shutdown could cause illegal and scamming robocalls to rise dramatically because the FTC was not funded, thus unable to administer … Continue Reading
January 23, 2019
Merkley, Wyden Join Push To Protect Dreamer Data
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that they are cosponsoring the Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act of 2019, a bill to safeguard the private information-such as addresses and telephone numbers-of the young immigrants known as Dreamers to ensure they are not targeted by the Trump Administration for deportation. "Dreamers are American in every way that counts," said Merkley. "They trusted the government when they came out of the shadows to enroll … Continue Reading
January 17, 2019
Wyden, Cornyn Introduce Bill to Exempt Trafficking Survivors’ Restitution from Federal Taxes
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Or) and John Cornyn today introduced the Human Trafficking Survivor Tax Relief Act, which would exempt civil damages, restitution, and other monetary awards given to human trafficking survivors from federal income taxes. "Human trafficking survivors are faced with unfair and unnecessary obstacles when trying to seek justice against their abusers," said Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. "This legislation ends tax penalties on … Continue Reading
January 17, 2019
Wyden, Merkley Join Colleagues to Introduce Legislation to Raise the Minimum Wage
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week joined House and Senate colleagues to introduce legislation to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 in 2024. The Raise Wage Act of 2019 would also index future minimum wage increases to median wage growth and ensure all workers are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by phasing out the subminimum wages for tipped workers, youth workers, and workers with disabilities. "There are hardworking Americans who just simply … Continue Reading
January 16, 2019
William Barr Has Endorsed Unchecked Surveillance By the Government, Wyden Warns in Senate Speech
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today spoke on the Senate floor to warn his colleagues about Attorney General nominee William Barr's dangerously broad views about government surveillance. "Based on his own testimony, it is clear that Mr. Barr has fundamental problems with the Fourth Amendment, or at least its application to anything that the President might unilaterally decide involves national security. He believes that if the government determines that there is a threat, there's … Continue Reading
January 16, 2019
Wyden Urges Probe of Big Canadian Subsidies to Aerial Firefighting Companies
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today asked the U.S. Forest Service to investigate reports that Canada is unfairly subsidizing its aerial firefighting industry, endangering wildfire readiness in Oregon and the West as well as putting U.S. competitors at an unjust disadvantage for wildfire work. Wyden noted in his letter for U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen that these concerns raise urgent questions because responses are due this month to the Forest Service's Request for … Continue Reading
January 15, 2019
Wyden Urges Feds to Clear Up Health Care Coverage Questions for Employees Furloughed in Trump Shutdown
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today asked federal officials to clear up conflicting health care coverage information provided federal employees furloughed by the shutdown. In Wyden's letter to Margaret Weichert, Acting Director for the Office of Personnel Management, the senator wrote that health insurance concerns raised by Oregonians are urgent for federal workers and their families. "Today, January 15, 2019, the President's shutdown of the federal government has entered its 25th … Continue Reading
January 15, 2019
Wyden, Merkley Urge FDA to Update Regulations to Ensure U.S. Producers and Consumers Have Access to CBD, Other Hemp-Derived Products
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to update federal regulations governing the use of certain hemp-derived ingredients in food, beverages or dietary supplements. Congress legalized the production and sale of industrial hemp and hemp derivatives, including hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD), when it passed Wyden and Merkley's Hemp Farming Act as a provision included in the 2018 Farm Bill. Outdated regulations, however, limit … Continue Reading
January 10, 2019
Wyden, Merkley Back Measure to Give Medicare Drug Negotiating Power
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., this week introduced a bill that will allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for the 43 million seniors who participate in Medicare Part D. "Medicare should be able to use its massive bargaining power to lower seniors' drug prices. It's high time to rein in the drug industry's arbitrary, profit-driven pricing power and protect Americans from the ever-increasing cost of prescriptions," Wyden said. "Too often, … Continue Reading
January 09, 2019
Wyden, Merkley Co-sponsor Expanded Gun Background Check Bill
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week co-sponsored legislation that would expand federal background checks to all gun sales. The Background Check Expansion Act would fix federal law that unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check prior to transferring a firearm. "Students, parents and teachers throughout Oregon ask me often during town halls and other meetings why Congress can't come together to reduce gun violence with … Continue Reading
January 03, 2019
Wyden, Blumenauer Applaud Inclusion of Vote-By-Mail in House Reform Bill; Reintroduce Flagship Vote-By-Mail Bill in House and Senate
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Rep. Earl Blumenauer today re-introduced their bill to expand Oregon-style vote-by-mail nationwide and knock down the mounting obstacles that voters across the country are facing, just to cast their ballots. The House of Representatives included a portion of the Wyden-Blumenauer bill in House Resolution 1, a package of pro-democratic reforms released today. "The House is doing the right thing by recognizing the value of vote-by-mail and the … Continue Reading
December 19, 2018
Wyden Secures Improved Wildfire Resiliency and Protections for Oregon Wildlands and Rivers in Bipartisan Public Lands Legislation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden announced tonight that he secured several critical measures for Oregon-including improved flexibility for hazardous fuels reduction efforts and protections for wilderness and wild and scenic rivers-in a bipartisan package of public lands legislation that U.S. Senate leadership guarantees will be voted on by the full Senate in January. "The management of our public lands is nothing to mess around with - it impacts public safety, our local and regional … Continue Reading
December 19, 2018
Wyden on Latest Facebook Privacy Scandal: When Companies Repeatedly Lie To the Public And Congress, Congress Must Act to Protect Americans’ Privacy
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called for Congress to pass strong privacy legislation in response to the latest privacy scandal at Facebook, revealed in today's New York Times. "Mark Zuckerberg had a lot of chutzpah telling Congress that Americans could control their data, when seemingly every other week Facebook faces a new privacy scandal for abusing our personal information. "Sheryl Sandberg told me that personal privacy is a matter of national security, while we now know … Continue Reading
December 18, 2018
Oregon Members Announce AVA Designation for Van Duzer Corridor
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05), along with Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), announced the designation of Oregon's Van Duzer Corridor as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) this month. "Receiving the AVA designation is huge for our Oregon wineries and vineyards in their ability to grow in and beyond the region," said Schrader. "This kind of recognition helps solidify the Corridor's place on the map. I'd … Continue Reading
December 17, 2018
Wyden Asks FCC to Adopt New Three-Digit Number for Mental Health and Suicide Support
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt a new three-digit phone number for those needing mental health and suicide support. Wyden noted in his letter to the FCC that suicide rates are rising nationally with the Centers for Disease Control reporting more than 40,000 Americans died by suicide last year. And unfortunately, according to Mental Health America, Oregon ranks poorly among states for prevalence of mental illness for … Continue Reading
December 14, 2018
Wyden, Merkley & Colleagues File Amicus Brief As Part Of Litigation Against Trump’s Illegal Asylum Ban
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have filed an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit filed by six asylum seekers in the D.C. District Court challenging the legality of Donald Trump's Presidential Proclamation and rule effectively barring all asylum claims outside of ports of entry. The Oregon senators on Thursday joined Sens. Patrick Leahy, Sheldon Whitehouse, Richard Blumenthal, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris to argue in their court filing as part of O.A. v. Trump that … Continue Reading
December 13, 2018
Wyden, Crapo Introduce Legislation to Provide Much-Needed Certainty for Secure Rural Schools Program
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, today introduced legislation to provide much-needed financial certainty for rural counties to ensure they have the long-term funding needed for schools, road maintenance, law enforcement and other essential services. The bipartisan Forest Management for Rural Stability Act makes the Secure Rural Schools program-which expired at the end of FY 2018-permanent by creating an endowment fund to provide stable, increasing … Continue Reading
