Press Releases
Wyden Demands Plan to Address Radioactive Waste Leaks at Hanford
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D- Ore., today asked the Energy Department to come up with a plan and a strict timeline to address storage tanks leaking radioactive nuclear waste at the Hanford Site in Southeast Washington. Wyden requested the plan in response to a Government Accountability Office report released today that describes the continuing deterioration of Hanford tanks. The GAO report found that both the older single-shell and newer double-shell tanks at Hanford are continuing to … Continue Reading
December 10, 2014
Oregon Lawmakers Secure Provision to Keep Newport Coast Guard Air Facility Open until January 2016
Washington, D.C. - Following their repeated calls to ensure the safety of residents in coastal areas, Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representatives Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader, Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici today announced the Congress has passed legislation that will keep the U.S. Coast Guard's air facility at Newport open through the coming year. The Oregon lawmakers worked to include language in the Coast Guard reauthorization bill that would keep the Coast Guard's … Continue Reading
December 10, 2014
Wyden: Rural Counties Lose Out After County Payments Left Out Of Spending Bill
Washington, D.C. - Today House Republican leaders rejected Sen. Ron Wyden's efforts to fund and pass county payments for one more year. The decision will leave cash-strapped Oregon counties with little money to fund law-enforcement, schools and roads. "Rural Oregonians deserve better than to have politics put on hold this essential lifeline for funding roads, firefighters and schools," Wyden said. "I will not stop fighting for Oregon's rural counties. I'll be back at it when Congress returns … Continue Reading
December 09, 2014
Wyden: Senate Report Shows CIA Torture Did Not Work and America Should Never Torture Again
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today responded to the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on torture by the Central Intelligence Agency. "Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a small number of CIA officials decided to listen to the advice of outside contractors who told them that the way to quickly get important information from captured terrorist suspects was by using coercive interrogation techniques that had been developed and used by … Continue Reading
December 08, 2014
Oregon Selected for Pilot Program Helping Schools and Farmers
Washington, DC - Oregon Senator Ron Wyden today announced that Oregon has been chosen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as one of eight states in a pilot project that will allow them to increase purchases of locally-grown fruits and vegetables for their school meal programs. The Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables, was introduced by Senator Wyden as an amendment to the Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the Farm Bill. "Today's news is a win for … Continue Reading
December 08, 2014
Wyden: Ensure Fair Trade for Oregon Workers and Businesses
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., testified today before the International Trade Commission to ensure fair trade practices and a level playing field for Oregon workers and businesses, including SolarWorld. The commission is examining the impact of unfair trade practices by Chinese and Taiwanese businesses as a result of a trade case filed by SolarWorld. The Oregon-based business successfully demonstrated that China was providing illegal subsidies to its solar producers, and filed … Continue Reading
December 04, 2014
Wyden Introduces Bill To Ban Government-Mandated Backdoors Into Americans’ Cellphones and Computers
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced the Secure Data Act to protect Americans' privacy and data security. The bill prohibits government mandates to build backdoors or security vulnerabilities into U.S. software and electronics. U.S. government officials have recently proposed to compel companies to build backdoors in the security features of their products. These proposals threaten to undermine the development and deployment of strong data security technologies … Continue Reading
November 25, 2014
Wyden Asks FAA to Update Unmanned Aircraft Rules
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to speed up approvals for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) test permits, and to ensure the agency's plans to regulate these aircraft don't fall behind schedule, in a letter sent today. The FAA created six test sites across the country to study unmanned aircraft in response to a request from Congress in 2012 to craft regulations that meet the unique safety challenges posed by UAS. The agency, … Continue Reading
November 25, 2014
Wyden, Burr, 39 Other Senators Urge Funding Solution for LWCF
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Richard Burr, R-N.C., and a bipartisan coalition of 39 of their Senate colleagues urged Senate leaders Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to work with them to find a permanent funding solution for the Land and Water Conservation Fund before the end of the current Congress on Dec. 31, in a letter sent yesterday. The LWCF program, which helps ensure access to outdoor recreation areas by providing funding to protect public lands … Continue Reading
November 18, 2014
Wyden Statement on USA Freedom Act Vote
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement after the Senate failed to advance its version of the USA Freedom Act: "Today's vote showed a strong bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate is ready to debate intelligence reform and start the process of ending the mass surveillance dragnet," Wyden said. "They join a chorus of Americans who oppose these programs, which violate the privacy of millions of Americans without making our country safer. Although I'm … Continue Reading
November 18, 2014
Bipartisan, Bicoastal Group of Lawmakers Calls on Coast Guard to Keep Facilities Open
Washington, D.C. - In a continued effort to ensure the safety of residents living and working in coastal areas, members of Congress from South Carolina today joined Oregon lawmakers in calling on the U.S. Coast Guard to keep facilities in Oregon and South Carolina from closing next month. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Representatives Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., Earl Blumenauer, … Continue Reading
November 14, 2014
Wyden Bill to Implement Landmark Klamath Basin Agreement Passes Energy Committee
Washington, D.C. - Legislation by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden to implement landmark water resources agreements in the Klamath Basin passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today. It now moves to the full Senate. The Klamath Water Recovery and Economic Restoration Act (S. 2379) would comprehensively settle water rights disputes in favor of collaborative solutions to water management in the basin. The bill provides an end to the water wars that made the Klamath Basin a … Continue Reading
November 14, 2014
Wyden: White House Contribution to Climate Fund "Sets the Bar High”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement after it was reported that the White House will contribute $3 billion to a United Nations fund to help developing countries combat climate change: "I commend the President on this significant commitment to support the world's poorest countries in tackling climate change through a public-private partnership that carries forward work begun by the Bush Administration," Wyden said. "This sets the bar high for other … Continue Reading
November 13, 2014
Energy Committee Passes Wyden O&C Bill that Significantly Boosts Timber Harvests
Washington, D.C. - Washington, D.C. -Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden's O&C forestry bill passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today, with new provisions to dramatically increase timber harvests, ensure unprecedented certainty for timber sales and create the strongest legislative protection ever for Northwest old growth. "I am proud to announce this bill is now expected to generate more than 400 million board feet every year for 50 years on O&C lands - more than … Continue Reading
November 13, 2014
Marine Hydropower Bill Passes Committee
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced that his bill to encourage development of electricity from the water power in oceans, rivers and lakes took a step forward when it passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today. The Marine and Hydrokinetic Renewable Energy Act of 2014 (S. 1419) facilitates marine hydrokinetic (MHK) technologies that generate emissions-free renewable energy from ocean tides and waves, and the free-flowing water in rivers and lakes. … Continue Reading
November 10, 2014
Wyden and Oregon Library Association urge FCC to protect net neutrality
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and Oregon Library Association President Candice Watkins, in an op-ed in the East Oregonian, call for Oregonians to join in their fight to ensure equal access to the Internet. The governing principle of the Internet to date has been net neutrality - bits are bits, and Internet service providers should not prioritize content delivery based on ability to pay. Net neutrality ensures that all Internet users can seek out and find information from all points of … Continue Reading
October 31, 2014
Wyden: CIA Demand To Black Out Torture Report Details Would Be Unprecedented
Washington, D.C. -The Central Intelligence Agency's call to black out all pseudonyms from the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on torture would be unprecedented - and represents an unacceptable effort to obscure key facts, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today. "This report is about mistakes, misdeeds and falsehoods that were repeated over a period of years. If you don't know whether they were repeated by different officials each time, or by the same officials over and over, you really … Continue Reading
October 28, 2014
Merkley, Wyden and Schrader Persuade Coast Guard to Delay Newport Helicopter Closure
Portland, OR - Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Congressman Kurt Schrader today spoke with the Commandant of the Coast Guard and got assurance from him that the November 30th date previously set for the closure of the Newport helicopter facility would be extended to December 15th. The Coast Guard agreed that this additional time would allow for a more extensive and thorough discussion of the risks to recreational fishing, commercial fishing and other activities on the Central … Continue Reading
October 22, 2014
Wyden, Merkley, Schrader, DeFazio, Blumenauer and Bonamici to Coast Guard: Keep Newport Air Facility Open Through Crabbing Season
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined today with Oregon Representatives Kurt Schrader, Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici to call on the U.S. Coast Guard to hold off on its abrupt decision to shut down its Newport Air Facility and to keep open this important piece of the coastal safety net through the busy crabbing season. The Coast Guard with little notice announced this month that it plans to close the Newport Air Facility by December 1. At a … Continue Reading
October 22, 2014
Wyden Asks Energy Department to Study Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D- Ore., today asked the Department of Energy to follow through on a recommendation from the Government Accountability Office to study the size and make-up of the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve - the largest emergency supply of crude oil in the world. In a report released Monday, the GAO noted that increased domestic crude oil production, combined with decreasing net oil imports as well as industry developments and related public policies … Continue Reading
