Press Releases
Wyden Applauds USDA Award for Oregon Biomass Innovation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today applauded the decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to award a groundbreaking Oregon project with funding to continue its innovative work using wood waste for renewable energy. The Oregon Torrefaction Project will convert forest wastes to a low-carbon product that can be used to heat and power homes and businesses. Processing in John Day will create access to rural jobs and reduce transportation costs. "Thanks to community … Continue Reading
May 12, 2016
Wyden Presses Energy Department Inspector General Nominee on Hanford
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today pressed the nominee for the Department of Energy's Inspector General post about changing the way the department manages the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state. At a confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Wyden asked Susan Beard to provide a timeline within 72 hours for actions she will take as inspector general to change the way clean-up is managed at Hanford. "I was there last week, and the … Continue Reading
May 12, 2016
Wyden Presses Energy Department Inspector General Nominee on Hanford
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today pressed the nominee for the Department of Energy's Inspector General post about changing the way the department manages the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state. At a confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Wyden asked Susan Beard to provide a timeline within 72 hours for actions she will take as inspector general to change the way clean-up is managed at Hanford. "I was there last week, and the … Continue Reading
May 06, 2016
Wyden Statement on Senator Bob Bennett
Portland, OR - Today, Senator Ron Wyden (D - Ore.) released the following statement on the passing of former Utah Senator Bob Bennett: "I am truly saddened by the news of Senator Bob Bennett's passing," Wyden said. "Senator Bennett was a cherished friend of mine and I have missed his presence since the day he left the Senate. Nancy and I extend our sincerest condolences to his wife Joyce and their children. "Senator Bennett was committed to creating solutions instead of soundbites, he … Continue Reading
May 06, 2016
Wyden response to Justice Department claim that they are permitted to keep 2003 OLC memo secret
Sen. Wyden made the following statement today regarding the Justice Department's new filing in the ACLU FOIA case regarding a classified legal opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel dated March 30, 2003. "The Justice Department isn't denying that this opinion is inconsistent with the public's understanding of the law - they are just arguing that they should be allowed to keep it secret," said Wyden. The Justice Department has a long track record of denying that the … Continue Reading
May 05, 2016
Senators Urge Implementation of Key Reforms to Improve Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Education (ED) urging the agencies to collaborate in … Continue Reading
May 02, 2016
Wyden, Crapo, Tester lead 31 senators in bipartisan fight to deliver critical payments to rural counties
Washington, DC --Senators Ron Wyden, Mike Crapo and Jon Tester led a bipartisan group of 31 Senators today demanding the reauthorization of critical payments to rural counties. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) the senators pushed to reauthorize Secure Rural Schools (SRS), which compensates counties with federal land that have seen declining timber production by providing payments to support local schools, infrastructure, and … Continue Reading
April 29, 2016
After Push from Senators, Dept. of Ed. Publishes Names of Schools Seeking Religious Exemptions from Critical Civil Rights Law
Washington, D.C. - Following a push from U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., the Department of Education today published on its website the names and applications of schools seeking religious exemptions under Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). In January, the Department of Education agreed to publish the names and applications along with a search tool to allow students and parents to easily find which schools have requested religious exemptions. … Continue Reading
April 29, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Urge Education Secretary to Provide Full Debt Relief to Defrauded Student Borrowers
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., today urged Secretary of Education Dr. John King to create strong protections and a streamlined path to debt relief for student loan borrowers in the Department's forthcoming "borrower defense" rule. The Oregon senators joined 41 colleagues on Senate and House letters reinforcing the need to ban mandatory arbitration-which limits students' legal rights-in school enrollment agreements, and to eliminate the federal … Continue Reading
April 28, 2016
Wyden Joins Murray, Booker to Introduce Legislation to End Harmful, Fraudulent Anti-LGBT “Conversion Therapy”
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and 15 of their Democratic colleagues introduced the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, legislation to classify "conversion therapy" as a fraudulent practice that would be illegal under the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) authority. This harmful practice has been widely discredited by nearly all major American medical, psychiatric, psychological, counseling, educational, and social work … Continue Reading
April 28, 2016
Wyden: Congress Must Reject Sprawling Expansion of Government Surveillance
Washington, D.C.- U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. today called for Congress to reject new rules that will massively expand the government's hacking and surveillance powers, if the rules are allowed to go into effect later this year. These new surveillance and hacking rules are known formally as amendments to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. "These amendments will have significant consequences for Americans' privacy and the scope of the government's powers to conduct remote … Continue Reading
April 28, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Legislation to Restore Oregon Salmon Runs, Northwest Fisheries
Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced legislation to protect fish populations and habitats while allowing for continued water supplies for irrigation and other uses in the Pacific Northwest. The Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act (FRIMA) would reauthorize a voluntary, cost-share program the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses to pay for installing fish screens that protect salmon and other fish from entering irrigation channels … Continue Reading
April 28, 2016
Wyden Calls for National Vote-By-Mail to Fight Back Against New Barriers to Voting
Washington, D.C. -As a new tide of voter disenfranchisement rises across the country, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced a new campaign to expand an Oregon-style vote-by-mail program nationwide and tear down barriers to voting. "My home state of Oregon has led the nation in making voting more accessible. No one has to take time off work just to exercise his or her constitutional rights," Wyden said. "My proposition is the rest of our country should follow Oregon's lead and offer all … Continue Reading
April 26, 2016
Wyden Joins Bipartisan Push to Pass Bill to Combat Campus Sexual Assault
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., today were joined by Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate and survivors of sexual assault to urge the Senate to pass the Campus Accountability and Safety Act. This bipartisan legislation would ensure campus sexual assault cases are handled with professionalism and fairness to better protect and empower students, and would provide colleges and universities with incentives to solve the … Continue Reading
April 22, 2016
In the Wake of Corinthian Collapse, Wyden and Merkley Join Colleagues to Urge the U.S. Department of Education to Hold College Accreditors Accountable
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the wake of the collapse of Corinthian Colleges, Oregon's Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined 22 of their colleagues in a new letter urging the U.S. Secretary of Education John King to ensure that college accreditors, the gatekeepers to the $150 billion in federal financial aid that flows to colleges and universities each year, are held accountable in ensuring that schools are providing their students with a quality education and not just saddling them with … Continue Reading
April 21, 2016
Wyden Leads Bipartisan Group of Senators in Introducing Kids to Parks Day Resolution
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, today introduced a Senate measure to encourage active lifestyles for children across America by designating May 21 National Kids to Parks Day. The sixth 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 … Continue Reading
April 21, 2016
Oregon Delegation Applauds TSA’s Return to Klamath Airport
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Congressmen Greg Walden and Peter DeFazio today applauded news that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will restore screening services at the Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport in Klamath Falls, clearing the path for commercial service to return to the airport. The Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport has been working to restore commercial service since carrier SkyWest left the airport in June 2014. Last fall, … Continue Reading
April 21, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Bill to Name Clinic in The Dalles For Local War Hero Loren Kaufman
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced legislation that would designate the veterans community-based outpatient clinic in The Dalles the Loren R. Kaufman Memorial Veterans' Clinic. The Oregon senators said their bill introduced this week would provide long-overdue recognition to a local Army soldier who served bravely in both World War II and the Korean War. "There is no better way to remember Loren Kaufman's service and sacrifice than honoring him at a clinic that … Continue Reading
April 21, 2016
Wyden Strongly Supports Paris Climate Change Agreement
Washington, DC - Sen. Ron Wyden today strongly backed the Obama Administration's decision to sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's Paris Agreement on April 22, which coincides with Earth Day in the United States. Wyden said he proudly signed on to the April 21 letter sent to President Obama by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and nearly 150 lawmakers because it fits perfectly with his approach of "putting points on the board every day" to combat climate change. "This … Continue Reading
April 20, 2016
Senate Passes Two Wyden Renewable Energy Bills
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced the Senate today passed two bills he wrote to increase domestic production of low-carbon renewable energy from underground hotspots and the power in ocean waves, tides and currents. Wyden's Marine and Hydrokinetic Renewable Energy Act would boost domestic production of renewable energy from ocean waves, tides and currents and facilitate private investment in potential projects. His Geothermal Energy Opportunities Act would encourage … Continue Reading
