Press Releases
Bipartisan Senators Question Rush to Expand DOJ Hacking Authority Without Congressional Oversight
Washington, D.C.-Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., today made a last-ditch effort to delay broad new government hacking authority that is now set to go into effect tomorrow. Wyden, Coons and Daines asked the Senate to pass or vote on three separate measures to block or delay a set of new rules that would broadly expand government hacking authority without any Congressional input or hearing. The bipartisan group of senators has repeatedly asked for … Continue Reading
November 29, 2016
Wyden-Backed Bill to Detail Economic Benefits of Outdoor Recreation Economy to Become Law
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., applauded the Senate's passage this week of bipartisan legislation that he pushed to study the economic benefits of outdoor recreation. The Outdoor Recreation's Economic Contributions (REC) Act would inform policymakers and business leaders on the number of jobs created and the amount of consumer spending driven by the U.S. outdoor recreation economy. Last year, Wyden and Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., sent a letter urging the … Continue Reading
November 22, 2016
Wyden, Coons: DOJ Dodges Senate Questions About Government Hacking
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. and Chris Coons, D-Del., are deeply disappointed with the Justice Department's failure to substantively answer many of the questions by 23 U.S. lawmakers about a new expanded mass hacking authority that is set to go into effect next month if Congress does not act. "The American people deserve answers to these very basic questions about how our government intends to hack thousands or millions of personal devices with a single warrant," Wyden said. … Continue Reading
November 19, 2016
Wyden Statement on Announcement of General Michael Flynn for National Security Adviser and Nomination of Rep. Mike Pompeo to lead CIA
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued the following statement regarding national security officials announced today by President-elect Trump's transition team. "The designation of Michael Flynn to be National Security Adviser is deeply alarming. His statements about Muslims are profoundly un-American as well as damaging to the fight against terrorism and national security. He has indicated an openness to torture and the … Continue Reading
November 17, 2016
Drumbeat Against Bannon Grows as Senators Call for His Dismissal
WASHINGTON - Today, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) joined a group of Senators led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in signing a letter to President-Elect Donald Trump urging him to repudiate his hate-filled campaign attacks, and to show the country that he is serious about uniting Americans by immediately firing newly-appointed Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. In addition to Senators Wyden and Merkley, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown … Continue Reading
November 17, 2016
Wyden Statement on Director Clapper’s Resignation
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the announcement of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's resignation: "During Director Clapper's tenure, senior intelligence officials engaged in a deception spree regarding mass surveillance. Top officials, officials who reported to Director Clapper, repeatedly misled the American people and even lied to them. In 2012 you saw the Director of the NSA make statements like 'we don't hold data … Continue Reading
November 17, 2016
Wyden Denounces Delaying Rural Broadband Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Following the announcement by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to remove agenda items from its November 17 Open Meeting, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today raised serious concerns about Republican efforts to delay critical programs that preserve and extend mobile broadband and voice services in rural America. Congressional Republicans recently wrote to the FCC, requesting the Commission halt activity on new rulemakings after November 8, 2016. "I regularly hear … Continue Reading
November 03, 2016
Wyden: FBI Leadership Failures Underscore Need for Independent Oversight, Limits on Government Surveillance
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement, in response to ongoing, unchecked leaks at the FBI, and a pattern of poor judgement by FBI Director James Comey: "The continued leadership failures at the FBI are another reminder we can't let intelligence agencies say 'trust us' and then give them a blank check to probe into Americans' lives," Wyden said. "While I've argued for years that Congress must create ironclad protections for Americans' security and … Continue Reading
November 03, 2016
Wyden, Warren, Menendez Question Wells Fargo CEO about Accuracy of Reports with Financial Regulator
Washington, D.C. - In a letter today to Wells Fargo's new CEO, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J. raised questions about the accuracy of Wells Fargo's filings with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and claims of retaliation against whistleblowers relating to the termination of employees for creating more than two million unauthorized checking and credit card accounts. As a major securities industry regulator, FINRA is … Continue Reading
November 01, 2016
Wyden Raises Net Neutrality Concerns With Potential AT&T-Time Warner Merger
Washington, D.C. - Following the announcement of a pending merger between AT&T and Time Warner Inc, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in a letter today to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler, raised serious concerns of the future use of data caps and zero-rating by this potential mega-company. "Data cap plans that zero-rate data at the discretion of the ISP violate the principle of net neutrality by creating an internet where one bit is favored over another bit absent … Continue Reading
October 27, 2016
Bipartisan Coalition Presses DOJ About Government Hacking
Washington, D.C. -A bipartisan coalition of Senate and House lawmakers today asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to provide Congress with more information about a proposed expansion of government hacking and surveillance powers. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Judiciary Committee member Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., with House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. John Conyers, Jr., D-Mich., and senior Judiciary Committee member Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, led a … Continue Reading
October 27, 2016
Lawmakers Push Feds to Clarify Conflicting Rules on Growing and Selling Hemp
Washington, D.C. - After new guidance created widespread confusion about when and where farmers can grow, research and sell industrial hemp in the United States, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Representatives Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Jared Polis, D-Colo., Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and 14 other members of Congress today pushed three federal agencies to clarify parts of the guidance that conflict with current laws. In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), along … Continue Reading
October 25, 2016
Wyden, Merkley: Our Government Should Have No Part In Funding Discrimination
Washington, D.C. - As negotiations between House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) reach their final stage, Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and a group of other United States Senators today raised concerns regarding a dangerous provision included in the House-passed NDAA that would roll back critical workplace protections and enable taxpayer-funded discrimination. In a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, … Continue Reading
October 21, 2016
Bipartisan Group of Pacific Northwest Senators Pushes for Pioneering U.S. Wave Energy Test Facility
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, today urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to support the construction of the United States' first open-ocean, power grid-connected wave energy test facility at a site off the Oregon coast. The senators wrote in support of a partnership made up of Oregon State University, the University of Washington and the University of … Continue Reading
October 18, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Statement on Interior Department’s Support of Klamath River Dam Removal
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today issued the following statement after news that Interior Department Secretary Sally Jewell will formally support the applications for removal of four dams along the Klamath River, another crucial step toward addressing water issues affecting the region: "Today's letter from Secretary Jewell is a welcome move in maintaining the momentum around all parts of a workable Klamath River Basin resolution. The Interior Department's … Continue Reading
October 11, 2016
Wyden: FCC $2.3 Million Fine Against Comcast Sends A Message: Consumers Aren’t Captives to Big Cable Price Gouging
Washington, D.C. -Following pressure from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and his colleagues, the Federal Communication Commission's Enforcement Bureau today announced that Comcast will pay a $2.3 million fine to resolve an investigation into whether the company wrongfully charged cable TV customers for services and equipment that those customers never authorized. Under the terms of today's settlement, Comcast will pay the largest civil penalty assessed from a cable operator by the FCC and implement a … Continue Reading
October 10, 2016
Wyden Report Shows Only 1 in 10 Oregonians with Opioid Addiction Receiving Needed Treatment
Portland --- Oregon Senator Ron Wyden today released a report detailing the consequences of underfunding treatment and prevention programs for opioid addiction in Oregon and nationwide. Earlier this year, Congress passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA), which provided a framework to address the epidemic of opioid addiction, but failed to provide the funding states like Oregon need to expand treatment capacity. "Sadly, Oregonians are no strangers to the human toll … Continue Reading
October 07, 2016
Wyden: The Executive Branch Must Always Declassify New Interpretations of Federal Surveillance Law
WASHINGTON - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement, following media reports about mass-scanning of Americans' emails. Wyden has not commented on the veracity of those reports. "Recent reports of a mass-email scanning program have alleged that federal law is being interpreted in ways that many Americans would find surprising and troubling," Wyden said. "The USA Freedom Act requires the executive branch to declassify Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinions that … Continue Reading
October 06, 2016
Sens. Wyden, Franken, Leahy Press FCC to Address Potential Impacts of “Stingray” Technology on 911, Communities of Color
WASHINGTON-Today, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. joined Sens. Al Franken, D-Minn., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and nine other colleagues to press Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler to address allegations that state and local law enforcement use of cell-site simulators -portable surveillance devices that collect cell phone data by mimicking cell phone towers-is disrupting ordinary consumers' cellular service and may interfere with calls for emergency assistance. The Senators also … Continue Reading
October 06, 2016
Wyden, Senate Democrats Call for Justice Department to Hold Wells Fargo Executives Accountable
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., along with 13 other senators, is urging the Justice Department to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute wrongdoing by executives at Wells Fargo after revelations that the bank's employees had opened millions of accounts without customer approval. In September, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its largest penalty to date - more than $100 million - to the bank as a result of this multi-year, multi-state fraud. In a … Continue Reading
