Press Releases
Wyden Demands U.S. Energy Department Response to Discovery of Hanford Tank Leak
Washington, DC -- Sen. Ron Wyden today demanded the U.S. Energy Department establish an independent panel to monitor and report on an already damaged high-level waste tank and to re-assess the risks associated with the remaining double shell-tanks at the Hanford Reservation. Wyden's letter to Energy Department Secretary Ernest Moniz follows in the wake of reports that Hanford workers on Sunday detected an unexpectedly large amount of waste in an outer tank while retrieving high-level waste … Continue Reading
April 19, 2016
Senate Passes FAA Bill that Includes Merkley-Wyden ‘TSA Fairness Act’ to Restore Commercial Service at Klamath Falls Airport
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the U.S. Senate today passed legislation renewing and updating the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s authorities, which includes a bipartisan provision pushed by Merkley and Wyden, the Treating Small Airports with Fairness (TSA Fairness) Act. The TSA Fairness Act would restore Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening at, among other smaller airports, the Crater Late-Klamath airport. This … Continue Reading
April 19, 2016
Wyden Legislation to Help Oregon UAS Sites in Pendleton, Tillamook and Warm Springs Passes Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A provision cosponsored by Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden to extend the life of the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test site program through 2022 was approved today by the Senate. The inclusion in a larger FAA bill of Wyden's legislation extending congressional authorization for the test sites from 2017 until 2022 will provide much-needed certainty to Oregon's test sites in Pendleton, Tillamook and Warm Springs as well as three test sites outside Oregon. "This Oregon industry … Continue Reading
April 14, 2016
Wyden, Merkley, Democratic Senators Join in Call for Bipartisan Action on Supreme Court Nomination
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined their Democratic Senate colleagues in calling on Senate Republicans to sign a letter requesting a hearing to consider Merrick Garland's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Every Democrat in the Senate has agreed to sign a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Grassley pushing for transparency and action in the Supreme Court nomination process. Senate … Continue Reading
April 13, 2016
Wyden Statement on Burr-Feinstein Anti-Encryption Bill
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement in response to a new anti-encryption bill released today. "The encryption debate is about having more security or having less security. This legislation would effectively outlaw Americans from protecting themselves. It would ban the strongest types of encryption and undermine the foundation of cybersecurity for millions of Americans. This flawed bill would leave Americans more vulnerable to stalkers, identity thieves, … Continue Reading
April 12, 2016
Wyden Statement on BLM Plan for O&C Counties
Washington, D.C. -The Bureau of Land Management's latest plan for managing forests in Oregon's O&C Counties makes clear that only congressional action can deliver real certainty on jobs, the environment and timber harvest, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today. "While I appreciate the BLM's latest attempt to update forest management in Western Oregon, the reality is only legislation can provide the certainty necessary to sustainably increase the timber harvest and protect clean water," Wyden … Continue Reading
April 12, 2016
Wyden Honors Oregon’s Beverly Cleary
Washington, DC - Sen. Ron Wyden today marked the upcoming 100th birthday for award-winning and beloved author Beverly Cleary, an Oregon native whose books set in Portland have long enchanted millions of children. In a congressional statement, Wyden cited the positive impact of Cleary's children's books, which have sold more than 90 million copies to young readers who devoured the tales of Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Ralph S. Mouse, and so many other memorable characters. "Thanks to … Continue Reading
April 08, 2016
Wyden Statement on Draft Bill Requiring Companies to Undermine Strong Encryption
Senator Ron Wyden issued the following statement today, in response to a draft bill that would require companies to undermine strong encryption: "This legislation says a company can design what they want their back door to look like, but it would definitely require them to build a back door," Wyden said. "For the first time in America, companies who want to provide their customers with stronger security would not have that choice - they would be required to decide how to weaken their products … Continue Reading
April 07, 2016
Wyden, Merkley: Federal Agencies Commit to Marijuana Scheduling Decision This Year
Washington, D.C. - In a response to requests from U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and their Senate colleagues, three federal agencies announced plans to release a determination this year about whether to reschedule marijuana. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) responded on Monday to a letter from the senators that requested … Continue Reading
April 07, 2016
Senate Takes Up FAA Bill That Includes Merkley-Wyden Provision to Bring TSA Service Back to Klamath Airport
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Senate has now acted by a unanimous, bipartisan vote to move forward on legislation renewing and updating the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s authorities. The legislation includes a bipartisan provision pushed by Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, the TSA Fairness Act, that would restore TSA screening at, among other smaller airports, the Klamath Falls airport. This provision is important for the restoration of commercial service at the … Continue Reading
April 06, 2016
Wyden Statement on WhatsApp Implementing End-to-End Encryption
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement about WhatsApp's announcement it will upgrade security for millions of people who use its messaging app: "This is a significant step to strengthen online security for millions of people worldwide. Consumers are demanding the best possible security for their digital communications and WhatsApp is just the latest company moving to meet that demand. This is especially important for human rights activists, political … Continue Reading
April 06, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Statement on Klamath Agreements Announcement
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, today released the following statement after the announcement that the governors of Oregon and California, along with the Department of the Interior, will begin a process to remove the Klamath River Basin dams in a step forward to address water issues affecting the region. "These agreements are a major step forward toward implementing the Klamath Basin water agreements. One agreement lays out a path toward a history-making … Continue Reading
April 04, 2016
Wyden, Heinrich Praise CIA Decision to Drop Email Destruction Proposal
Washington, D.C. - Senate Intelligence Committee members Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., praised the CIA's decision to drop a proposal to destroy the vast majority of its emails, rather than archive them like other government agencies. Wyden and Heinrich issued a joint statement commending the CIA's decision to drop the plan: "Given the grave importance of CIA operations, it is critical to preserve the agency's emails, to enable independent oversight and an accurate … Continue Reading
April 04, 2016
Wyden Statement on Passage of Defend Trade Secrets Act
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act Monday evening: "I supported this legislation because trade secrets have come under greater and greater threat from international espionage and require special protections if they are to retain their value," Wyden said. "Uniquely, trade secrets can lose some or all of their value when exposed, making their protection from bad actors that much more critical. I want to continue working to … Continue Reading
March 30, 2016
Wyden Calls for New Compact for Privacy and Security in the Digital Age
San Francisco - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., laid out a bold new vision for protecting Americans' basic freedoms, and warned of dangerous consequences if the nation allows unchecked expansion of government surveillance. "The rapid advances in technology over the past 20 years threaten the rights of every single American more immediately and more personally than most people fully understand," Wyden said on Wednesday. "For centuries, individual liberty was protected by technological limitations. … Continue Reading
March 30, 2016
Wyden, Senators Push for New Resources to Combat Sexual Assault on College Campuses
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., along with a bipartisan group of their colleagues, are calling for new federal resources to address the troubling and pervasive problem of sexual assault on college and university campuses across the country. "Every year, tens of thousands of women and men who attend college in the U.S. become victims of sexual assault," the senators wrote in a letter to the Appropriations Subcommittee … Continue Reading
March 25, 2016
Wyden Pushes for Boost in Biomass Energy
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is pressing for increased production of sustainable, low-carbon biomass energy to heat and power homes and businesses, while reducing the risk of wildfires and creating jobs in rural areas. In letters to Senate appropriators, Wyden highlighted the important role of biomass programs at the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Energy in helping create innovative technologies for low-carbon biomass energy. In addition to its potential to provide … Continue Reading
March 25, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Fight to Protect Coastal Communities
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are fighting to ensure coastal communities in Oregon have the resources they need to protect themselves against earthquakes, major storms and the impacts of climate change. Wyden and Merkley are urging Congress to prioritize the West Coast Earthquake Early Warning System, which is being developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Oregon, the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, Berkley, … Continue Reading
March 24, 2016
Wyden Urges AG Lynch to Comply With ACLU Request for Secret Memo
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged Attorney General Loretta Lynch to declassify and make public a secret memo by the Office of Legal Counsel that is the subject of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Wyden has repeatedly asked the administration to declassify and withdraw the classified legal opinion, in a committee hearing as well as letters to former Attorney General Eric Holder and CIA Director Brennan. Text of the letter is below, or available here. March 24, 2016 Dear … Continue Reading
March 24, 2016
Advisory: Wyden To Deliver Major Speech on Future of Privacy in the Digital Age
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will address RightsCon on Wednesday, March 30, to deliver a major speech on the future of privacy in the digital age. Wyden will argue that precedents set today will have lasting - and potentially dangerous - implications for personal privacy and security. What: Sen. Ron Wyden on Privacy in the Digital Age When: 2:30 p.m. PDT, March 30 Where: RightsCon at Mission Bay Conference Center, 1675 Owens St #251, San Francisco, CA Reporters interested in … Continue Reading
