Press Releases
Oregon Delegation Announces Partial Federal Disaster Relief for Severe Winter Storms
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's entire congressional delegation today announced the White House will grant a partial federal disaster declaration for a few days of a winter weather-related losses across the state this January. The decision is a reversal of an earlier denial of federal disaster relief for the state. The disaster declaration will allow local governments to seek much-needed federal relief for damage caused by winter storms from Jan. 7-10. But that is likely to fall far short of the … Continue Reading
August 04, 2017
Wyden, Boozman, Markey Bill to Ensure Equal Treatment for Wounded Guard and Reserve Members Goes to President’s Desk
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., John Boozman, R-Ark., and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., today announced their bipartisan legislation to restore GI benefits to members of the Guard and Reserve is headed to the president's desk as part of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, also known as the Forever GI Bill. The GI Bill Fairness Act passed the Senate this week as part of the Forever GI bill, a broader package to improve veterans' education benefits and … Continue Reading
August 04, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Secure Major Win for Oregon Crab Fisheries
Washington, D.C. - A bill introduced by Oregon's Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to strengthen Oregon's crab fishery passed the United States Senate and will now head to the president's desk for signature into law. The bill permanently extends a decades-long fishery management agreement that has been vital to the Pacific Northwest's Dungeness crab fishery. Without this legislation, crab fisheries in Oregon faced an uncertain future without an approved fishery management plan. "The signature … Continue Reading
August 03, 2017
Wyden Joins Senators Calling on FCC to Extend Net Neutrality Comment Period
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined a group of 21 senators in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to extend the reply comment period for its proposal to undo the Open Internet Order and net neutrality protections. In 2015, the FCC adopted the Open Internet Order, which reclassified broadband as a telecommunication service under Title II. The D.C. Circuit Court upheld the rules in its 2016. The FCC's Open Internet Order prohibits internet service providers … Continue Reading
August 03, 2017
Wyden Suggests Ways to Estimate Americans Swept Up Under Foreign Surveillance Program
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today asked Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to consider new ways to estimate the number of Americans swept up under a surveillance program intended to target foreigners. Wyden has sought that estimate since 2011, but Coats recently announced the administration was abandoning efforts to determine how many Americans are caught up in foreign intelligence dragnets. In a letter to Coats, Wyden asked the executive branch to estimate the number … Continue Reading
August 03, 2017
Wyden, Booker, Durbin Urge Consumer Protection Agency to Bring Transparency to Small Business Lending for Women and Minority Entrepreneurs
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to bring transparency to small business lending by identifying barriers that prevent women and minority entrepreneurs from starting small businesses. The senators pressed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to follow through with implementing a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that required the CFPB to collect and make available … Continue Reading
August 03, 2017
Wyden, Bonamici Announce Bipartisan Effort to Prevent Student Loan Defaults
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., and a bipartisan group of colleagues announced the SIMPLE Act, legislation to reduce administrative burdens on struggling student loan borrowers. The legislation allows vulnerable borrowers to automatically enroll in affordable income-driven loan repayment plans and it removes burdensome paperwork requirements for totally and permanently disabled borrowers whose loans are … Continue Reading
August 03, 2017
Wyden, Risch, Merkley, Heinrich Urge Congress to Pass Bipartisan Wildfire Funding Fix in Senate Bill
Washington, D.C. - As wildfire season rages across Oregon, Idaho and the West, Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., today urged the Senate to pass a wildfire funding fix included in new legislation to address funding for floods and other natural disasters. A wildfire funding fix similar to the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, which Wyden and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, first introduced in 2013, was included in July in legislation under … Continue Reading
August 01, 2017
Wyden Votes ‘No’ on Nomination of Christopher Wray to lead FBI
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., voted against confirming Christopher Wray as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations today. "In his public and private statements, Chris Wray failed to oppose government backdoors into Americans' personal devices, or to acknowledge the facts about encryption - that it isn't about liberty versus security, it's about more security versus less security. While I appreciate his willingness to continue studying the issue, other officials who have … Continue Reading
August 01, 2017
Wyden Statement on Legislation to Wreck Foundation of the Internet and Social Media
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on legislation today that attacks a fundamental pillar of the internet, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act: "Not long after 50 members voted to throw out much-needed internet privacy rules, yet another group of senators is attacking a fundamental pillar of the internet. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is widely viewed as the legal basis for all of social media and it has been vital to the … Continue Reading
August 01, 2017
Wyden, Bipartisan Senators Ask Justice Department to Fully Inform Judges About Stingray Impacts on Innocent Americans
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, today asked the Department of Justice to fully inform judges about the impacts of stingrays and other IMSI-catchers on innocent Americans' communications, including 911 calls. "We are concerned that the Department may not be adequately disclosing to courts important details about how stingrays work and their impact on innocent Americans," the senators wrote, in a letter … Continue Reading
August 01, 2017
Wyden to AG Sessions: Release Task Force Recommendations on Marijuana, Violent Crime, Immigration Policies
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called on U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to release recommendations on marijuana, violent crime and immigration policies from the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety. In a statement last week, Sessions said he is already making changes to Justice Department policies based on recommendations provided by the task force. In a letter to Sessions today, Wyden said Americans have a right to know … Continue Reading
July 28, 2017
Wyden Announces Advance of Key Rural Oregon Legislation
Washington, DC - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden announced today that legislation to support rural air service and job growth in Eastern Oregon is heading to the full Senate for its consideration. He made the announcement after the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved full funding of $155 million for the Essential Air Program. The program supports key travel connections like commercial flights in and out of Pendleton's Eastern Oregon Regional Airport. The airport is the only commercial … Continue Reading
July 27, 2017
Wyden Supports Rural Wireless Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today he supports new bipartisan legislation that would help build out cell service and wireless internet coverage throughout rural Oregon. "Wireless coverage is essential for law enforcement and healthcare providers to respond quickly to life-and-death situations and for precision agriculture as well as small mom-and-pop businesses to communicate with their customers in the global economy," Wyden said. "Simply put, the reliability of … Continue Reading
July 26, 2017
Wyden, Bishop Announce Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Access to Outdoor Recreation Opportunities
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee Rob Bishop, R-Utah, today introduced legislation in the Senate and House to remove barriers to outdoor recreation and boost rural economies across the country. Their bipartisan Recreation Not Red-Tape (RNR) Act, S. 1633, would promote access to outdoor recreation opportunities and allow more visitors to get outdoors. The RNR Act would streamline the permitting process for guides and … Continue Reading
July 24, 2017
Wyden Statement on Kushner Testimony
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called for full transparency by Jared Kushner, in response to the statement Kushner released this morning. "It is imperative that the public hear Jared Kushner testify in an open session of the Senate Intelligence Committee, under oath, and support his claims with full transparency in the form of emails, documents and financial records," Wyden said. "Kushner's statement, which he released publicly to the press, raises far more questions than it … Continue Reading
July 20, 2017
Wyden Asks DOJ How Often the Government Searches for Americans’ Communications Under E.O. 12333
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today asked the Department of Justice a series of questions about how it uses Executive Order 12333 to conduct warrantless backdoor searches of Americans' calls, emails and other communications. Specifically, Wyden asked: How many times, in each of the calendar years 2011-2016, has the Attorney General provided this approval? Can the Intelligence Community conduct these searches "for the purpose of targeting a U.S. person or a person in the United … Continue Reading
July 19, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Join Colleagues in Introducing LGBT Data Inclusion Act
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined their colleagues in introducing legislation requiring federal surveys to include data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity, which would ensure the LGBT community does not face discrimination in federal programs. While some federal data on LGBT communities is currently collected, there is no centralized requirement prioritizing the collection of LGBT data in federal surveys, which the LGBT Data Inclusion … Continue Reading
July 18, 2017
Wyden Refutes Pai’s Mischaracterization on Net Neutrality in Comment to FCC
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., refuted the intentional mischaracterization of his net neutrality position by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, in a comment filed today. Pai has repeatedly cited a letter Wyden signed nearly 20 years ago as justification for rolling back strong net neutrality protections that ensure an open internet. Today Wyden reiterated his strong support for the 2015 Open Internet Order, and called on Pai to abandon both his mischaracterization … Continue Reading
July 13, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Bill to Protect Oregon Wildlands and Scenic Rivers, Supporting Rural Economies and Local Recreation Jobs
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today introduced their bill to protect some of the state's most pristine and environmentally significant areas, which are essential for recreation jobs and the economies of rural areas across Oregon. The Wyden-Merkley Oregon Wildlands Act would designate more than 200,000 acres of land as wilderness or national recreation areas and add more than 250 miles to the Wild and Scenic River System. "When it comes to recreation … Continue Reading
