Press Releases
Wyden, Schatz Ask FCC For Details of Reported Cyberattack
Chairman, Ajit Pai, to explain in more detail the nature of a reported cyberattack on May 8, including how it impacted the public's ability to comment on a proposal to roll back net neutrality protections. In their letter, the senators asked Chairman Pai if the FCC was prepared to defend against such distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, should they happen again. Distributed denial-of-service-attacks involve bad actors flooding a given website with more online traffic than it is … Continue Reading
May 09, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Urge FCC to Protect Net Neutrality
Washington, DC - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today wrote Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to express their strong opposition to the Chairman's plans to gut net neutrality protections. "Net neutrality rules protect the free flow of ideas that are creating new industries, educating our youth, promoting free speech, and supporting the communications that we rely on every day," the Oregon senators wrote in the letter along with Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) … Continue Reading
May 03, 2017
Senators Introduce Bill to Boost Next-Generation Hydro Power
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Angus King, I-Maine, Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, today introduced legislation to increase domestic production of low-carbon, renewable energy from the natural power in ocean waves, tides and currents. The Marine Energy Act provides federal resources to encourage private investments in renewable energy projects that use the power in oceans to produce electricity. "Capturing the energy found in ocean … Continue Reading
May 03, 2017
Wyden, Merkley, Bonamici Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Extend Urgently Needed Lifeline to Rural Oregon Counties
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., today introduced a bipartisan bill in the Senate and House to restore urgently needed federal funding for vital resources in rural counties in Oregon and across the country. The bill will extend payments to counties for two years through the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination (SRS) Act. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., led the bill introductions … Continue Reading
May 02, 2017
Wyden Stresses Urgent Need to Extend Secure Rural Schools and Sustainably Increase Forest Management
Washington, D.C. - Rural counties in Oregon and across the country urgently need restored federal funding for vital county services and sustainably increased timber harvests, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., stressed at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing today. Wyden underscored the importance of both extending Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payments to counties and sustainably increasing timber harvests in order to keep the essential services SRS has funded since Congress first … Continue Reading
May 01, 2017
Wyden Statement on Oregon priorities in Government Funding Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on an agreement to fund the federal government through Sept 30, 2017, the end of the fiscal year: "The bill to fund the government through September contains some good news for Oregon communities, including increased funding to maintain our national parks and resources to keep our public lands open for outdoor recreation opportunities. It also provides help for students struggling to afford college by … Continue Reading
April 28, 2017
Wyden Statement on NSA Ending Collection of Americans’ Emails About Surveillance Targets Under FISA 702
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement in response to the National Security Agency's announcement it will no longer sweep up emails that are merely about foreign surveillance targets, under the FISA 702 program. "This change ends a practice that could result in Americans' communications being collected without a warrant merely for mentioning a foreign target," Wyden said. "For years, I've repeatedly raised concerns that this amounted to an end run around the … Continue Reading
April 27, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Call on Administration to Protect Coastlines from Offshore Oil Drilling
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined their Senate colleagues today in calling on the Trump administration to protect the coastlines of the United States from offshore oil drilling. The senators sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke urging him not to revise the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (Five-Year Plan) to eliminate protections for the East and West Coasts, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and for the sensitive marine … Continue Reading
April 27, 2017
Senate Passes Bipartisan Resolution Designating May 20 “Kids to Parks Day”
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, applauded the Senate's passage of their bipartisan resolution to encourage children to get outdoors by designating May 20 National Kids to Parks Day. The seventh annual Kids to Parks Day kicks off a summer-long series of events at local, state and national parks. Kids to Parks Day began in 2011 with the National Park … Continue Reading
April 26, 2017
Oregon Leaders, Joined by Diverse Group of Local Stakeholders, Urge Protection of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, in response to an unprecedented Executive Order mandating a "review" of national monuments designated since 1996, Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Governor Kate Brown, and a diverse group of local stakeholders including tribes, sportsmen and businesses highlighted the benefits of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and urged the Trump Administration to protect the full monument for future generations. Following a local, scientist-led campaign to … Continue Reading
April 24, 2017
Wyden Votes “No” on Sonny Perdue to Lead the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement after voting against the confirmation of Sonny Perdue to be the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture: "I have concerns about Mr. Perdue's commitment to vital programs for rural Americans, such as the Secure Rural Schools program, and am not convinced he recognizes the vital role they play in hard-hit rural communities. Additionally, when we spoke, he simply would not commit to making sure the U.S. … Continue Reading
April 12, 2017
Senators Call for Boosted Funding to Decontaminate Lead-Tainted National Guard Armories and Readiness Centers
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden led a group of ten Senators calling on Senate Appropriations Committee leaders to dedicate adequate funding to cleaning up National Guard sites across the U.S. that have been contaminated by dangerous amounts of lead dust. In addition to their National Guard uses, these armories and readiness centers are often used by the community for events such as job fairs and are rented out for weddings, baby showers, baptisms and … Continue Reading
April 11, 2017
Wyden Demands Answers from United Airlines About Forcible Removal of a Passenger
Washington, DC - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today joined with 20 colleagues to demand answers from United Airlines about the forcible removal of a ticketed passenger on Flight 3411 from Chicago, Illinois to Louisville, Kentucky. "Consumer trust and confidence are critical to ensure this industry continues to thrive, and we hope United Airlines will work diligently to immediately address this incident and make necessary improvements to ensure it does not occur again," wrote Wyden and the senators. … Continue Reading
April 07, 2017
Wyden Statement on Syria
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on Syria: "I am relieved that Bashar al-Assad's most recent war crime-the use of banned nerve gas to poison his own citizens-has finally convinced the Trump administration what my Senate colleagues and I have long known: the bloodthirsty Assad regime has no qualms about the liquidation of its detractors. This use of sarin against men, women, and most horrifically, against children, violates international rules and … Continue Reading
April 06, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Urge Colleagues to Support Rural Air Service
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged their colleagues to support the Essential Air Service Program, which ensures vital rural air links such as commercial flights in and out of Pendleton's Eastern Oregon Regional Airport. The Oregon lawmakers made their request along with 19 of their colleagues in a bipartisan letter in response to the president's budget cutting that Department of Transportation program connecting more than 170 small communities nationwide. … Continue Reading
April 05, 2017
Wyden, Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Grow Small Businesses, Jobs and Local Economies
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today introduced bipartisan legislation to boost local economies and businesses by providing small business owners better access to financial capital through credit unions. The Credit Union Residential Loan Parity Act, S.836, would spur business and job growth in local communities by ensuring that small housing project loans do not count toward the business lending cap for credit unions. Removing these loans … Continue Reading
April 05, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Co-Sponsor Bill to Block Immigration Enforcement at Sensitive Locations
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced legislation today to block immigration agents from stalking sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and religious institutions without prior approval and exigent circumstances. The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act codifies the Department of Homeland Security's existing policies and expands on those policies to ensure that immigrants can have access to education, criminal justice, and social services without fear of … Continue Reading
April 04, 2017
Wyden, Paul, Polis and Farenthold Bill Requires Warrants to Search Americans’ Digital Devices at the Border
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, today introduced the Protecting Data at the Border Act to ensure Americans are not forced to endure indiscriminate and suspicionless searches of their phones, laptops and other digital devices just to cross the border. The bipartisan, bicameral bill shuts down a legal Bermuda Triangle that currently allows law enforcement agencies to search Americans' phones and … Continue Reading
April 04, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Join in Honoring Equal Pay Day, Reintroduce Paycheck Fairness Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., joined Sen. Patty Murray D-Wash., and Representative Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., today in commemorating Equal Pay Day by reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation aimed at reinforcing the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by guaranteeing that women can challenge pay discrimination and hold their employers accountable. "It should go without saying that women should be treated equally and fairly within the workplace," Wyden said. … Continue Reading
April 04, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Urge Administration to Maintain Critical Funding for National Sea Grant Program
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined 21 of their Senate colleagues in urging the president to reconsider his proposal to eliminate the $73 million National Sea Grant College Program in his Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget. In a letter to Trump, the senators highlighted the important role Sea Grant Programs play in boosting local economies and preserving coastal communities, and urged him to fully fund the program in FY 2018. "We represent senators from … Continue Reading
