Press Releases
Bipartisan Coalition of Senators Designates Hemp History Week
Washington, D.C. - To highlight the vast economic potential of industrial hemp for America's agricultural industry, the Senate passed a bipartisan resolution designating June 5-11, "Hemp History Week." Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced the bipartisan resolution Wednesday. The Hemp History Week resolution passed the Senate unanimously last night. The United States is the world's largest consumer of industrial hemp, but … Continue Reading
June 08, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Resolution Honoring MAX Attack Heroes Passes Senate
Washington, DC - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley praised the Senate's passage today of their joint resolution to honor Oregon heroes Rick Best, Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, and Micah David-Cole Fletcher. Best and Namkai-Meche were fatally stabbed on May 26 defending two young women targeted by threatening anti-Muslim hate speech on the MAX train in Portland. Fletcher was seriously wounded in the attack. "These three Oregonians stood up courageously against terrorism -- and for … Continue Reading
June 08, 2017
Wyden Blasts Interior Department’s Attempt to Undo Federal Sage Grouse Plans
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today blasted Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's announcement that the department would review federal land management plans for the Greater Sage-grouse for their potential to impede oil and gas development on public lands. The review, issued in the form of a secretarial order, could undo federal sage grouse habitat management plans, which farmers, ranchers, environmentalists, and industry stakeholders spent years establishing to prevent an … Continue Reading
June 07, 2017
Wyden Marks National Hemp History Week
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today pressed his colleagues in Congress to support a bipartisan effort to lift the federal ban on growing industrial hemp in the United States. Industrial hemp farming holds vast potential for job creation and economic benefits in Oregon and nationwide. Sales of hemp-based products in the U.S. total almost $600 million each year, but current federal law bans farmers from growing hemp in the U.S. Wyden said the federal prohibition on growing hemp is … Continue Reading
June 07, 2017
Wyden Blasts Trump Administration for Refusal to Disclose Number of Americans Swept Up Under FISA 702, Covering up The True Impact on Innocent Americans
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., blasted Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats today for announcing that the Trump administration will not provide an estimate of how many Americans' emails, calls and other communications are swept up under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, despite the fact Congress has sought this number since 2011. View Wyden's questions here. "What the director said today is in my view a 180-degree retreat from what he said … Continue Reading
June 06, 2017
Wyden on Energy Department Nominee: Selling off Bonneville Power is a Nonstarter
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today voted against four Trump administration nominees that would have sweeping control over energy costs, future energy infrastructure projects and public lands, in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee business meeting. Wyden said he voted against the nominee to be the deputy secretary of Energy, Dan Brouillette, because Brouillette did not commit to working to keep Bonneville Power Administration in public ownership, in a written … Continue Reading
June 05, 2017
Wyden to Vote “No” on FERC Nominees
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced he will vote against two nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), after they failed to commit to avoiding political interference from the White House or to protecting the interests of local residents in making decisions about future energy projects. In written responses to questions from Wyden, the two FERC nominees, Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson, did not commit to remaining independent from White House … Continue Reading
June 02, 2017
Oregon Delegation Honors Heroes of Portland Terrorist Attack
Portland, Ore. - Representative Earl Blumenauer, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader, and Greg Walden today announced that they will introduce a joint resolution to honor the heroism of Rick Best, Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, and Micah David-Cole Fletcher. On Friday, May 26, these brave individuals were brutally stabbed on local transit in Portland, OR as they protected two young women who were the targets of threatening … Continue Reading
May 25, 2017
Wyden Joins Shaheen, Colleagues to Introduce Legislation to Boost Public Participation at FERC
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and their colleagues to reintroduce legislation to create an Office of Public Participation and Consumer Advocacy at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). As one of the lead agencies responsible for developing energy infrastructure and ensuring reliability of the electric grid, FERC has sweeping authority over the wholesale power markets and ultimate jurisdiction in the federal siting and … Continue Reading
May 25, 2017
Wyden, Blumenauer Introduce Vote-by-Mail Bill to Fight Growing Tide of Voter Suppression
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Democrats, today 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. "This administration is fixated with making it harder for Americans to vote," Wyden said. "And when regular Americans can't vote, lobbyists, special interests everyone else who wants to profit off of the government win. … Continue Reading
May 24, 2017
West Coast Senators Push Administration to Restore Support for Salmon Recovery Fund
Washington, D.C. - Led by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, West Coast senators today pushed the Trump administration to continue funding for salmon fishery recovery efforts that support good-paying jobs in coastal communities. In a letter to the Trump administration today, Wyden and Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., called on the administration to reverse its proposal to cut all federal funding for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery … Continue Reading
May 24, 2017
Wyden, Walden, Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Call on GAO to Review Infrastructure Safety, Unfinished Work at Hanford Nuclear Reservation
Washington, D.C. - Following this month's tunnel collapse at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State, a bipartisan group of Pacific Northwest lawmakers today called for a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of the nuclear waste cleanup and environmental remediation work at Hanford. In their letter today, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., along with Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Reps. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Dan … Continue Reading
May 24, 2017
Wyden, Walden, Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Call on GAO to Review Infrastructure Safety, Unfinished Work at Hanford Nuclear Reservation
Washington, D.C. - Following this month's tunnel collapse at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State, a bipartisan group of Pacific Northwest lawmakers today called for a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of the nuclear waste cleanup and environmental remediation work at Hanford. In their letter today, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., along with Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Reps. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Dan … Continue Reading
May 23, 2017
Wyden: Administration’s Budget Proposal “A Cynical Assault on American Ideas”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today blasted the Trump administration's budget proposal, calling it a cynical assault on programs that provide crucial support for children and working families in Oregon: "This budget uses "Madoff math" and failed economic theories that will burden future generations. This proposal is more than numbers on a lopsided ledger - it's a cynical assault on the fundamental idea that Americans should be there for one another when it counts. Gutting … Continue Reading
May 17, 2017
Wyden Statement on Appointment of Special Counsel
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel: "The appointment of an independent special counsel is a necessary first step to figure out what happened to our democracy - and essential to making sure that no one - not even the president, is above the law. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee I am going to bird-dog this every step of the way to be sure that former Director … Continue Reading
May 16, 2017
Wyden, Bennet Press Interior Secretary to Respect Local Input on Sage Grouse Plans
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Michael F. Bennet, D-Colo., today pressed Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to respect local input and years-long collaborative efforts on land management plans to prevent an Endangered Species Act listing for the Greater Sage-grouse. Such a listing would harm land users by creating unpredictability for ranchers, conservationists, sportsmen, and industry. "Over the last decade, federal agencies, states, and a broad coalition of groups … Continue Reading
May 15, 2017
Wyden Pushes for Stronger Security in Collection of Personal Information
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today pushed a federal panel to recommend that strong data security measures be employed by government agencies collecting and analyzing personal information in an upcoming report to Congress on evidence-based policymaking. In a letter today to the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, Wyden stressed the need to use privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) to protect private data that is collected and stored in government databases. The … Continue Reading
May 11, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Urge Feds to Lift Sudden Suspension of Public Land Advisory Groups
Washington, DC - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the Interior Department to lift its sudden suspension of long-standing local committees and advisory boards that provide essential community input on public land management. The letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke follows reports from Oregonians on public resource advisory councils and committees (RACs) that the Department of Interior (DOI) postponed all their meetings until September. "We are very concerned about this … Continue Reading
May 10, 2017
Wyden Announces Hold On Treasury Nominee Until Administration Produces Documents on Russian Dealings With Trump Associates
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today placed a hold on the nomination of Sigal Mandelker to be Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Wyden said he will maintain that hold until the Treasury Department provides the Senate Intelligence Committee and Senate Finance Committee information and documents related to Russia and its financial dealings with President Trump and his associates. On Tuesday, May 9, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman … Continue Reading
May 10, 2017
Senators introduce bipartisan bill to protect law-abiding knife owners
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., introduced legislation today to ensure that those traveling with a properly secured knife are not prosecuted under local or state laws which ban certain knives. "The Interstate Transport Act provides common-sense protections for knife owners traveling through the United States," Wyden said. "Our bipartisan bill would protect public safety, respect states' rights and ensure knife owners who are following the law are … Continue Reading
