Press Releases
Wyden Introduces Much-Needed Reforms to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Washington, D.C. - As the Internet's influence on global commerce, culture and information continues to tread new ground, there is a need to update and reform outdated laws that threaten its continued development. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a nearly 30-year-old criminal law with sweeping authorities that criminalize many forms of common Internet use. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has introduced legislation that reforms the CFAA to bring it in line with the needs of a 21st century … Continue Reading
June 20, 2013
Wyden, Merkley, Announce Passage of Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Bill
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley celebrated the Senate passage of the Devil's Staircase Wilderness Act today, which will permanently conserve thousands of acres of pristine forest near the Southern Oregon coast. The bill now goes to the House. "The proposed Devil's Staircase Wilderness area is undoubtedly one of Oregon's treasures and the kind of special place truly deserving of permanent protection," Wyden said. "My forestry philosophy has always been to get the … Continue Reading
June 19, 2013
Wyden, Udall Issue Statement on Effectiveness of Declassified NSA Programs
Washington, D.C. - U. S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) issued the following statement responding to comments made by members of the Intelligence Community about the value of certain NSA surveillance programs. Both Senators sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Over the past few days the Intelligence Community has made new assertions about the value of recently declassified NSA surveillance programs. In addition to the concerns that we have about the impact of … Continue Reading
June 19, 2013
Wyden Statement on the Confirmation of Michael Froman to be United States Trade Rep.
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement after the Senate vote to confirm Michael Froman as the United States Trade Representative. Wyden is the chair of the Senate Finance Committee's subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness. "The United States needs a Trade Representative that understands the broad challenges that face American producers and who knows how those challenges can be addressed. The country needs a Trade … Continue Reading
June 18, 2013
Grassley, Wyden Introduce Medicare Claims Data Transparency Legislation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced legislation to make Medicare claims data available to the public. The legislation is the product of the senators' combined efforts - each was working on a method of making the data public and combined approaches in this bipartisan legislation. "Taxpayers have a right to see how their dollars are being spent," Grassley said. "There shouldn't be a special exception for hard-earned dollars that happen to … Continue Reading
June 18, 2013
Wyden, Merkley Applaud Step Forward for Secure Rural Schools Extension, Oregon Treasures
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., today applauded the passage of legislation through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would expand wild and scenic river and wilderness protections for lands in Oregon, as well as provide much-needed payments to timber communities through the Secure Rural Schools program. Both bills now are eligible to be considered by the full Senate. The committee passed a one-year extension of the Secure … Continue Reading
June 18, 2013
Support Builds for Udall, Wyden Proposal to Limit the Federal Government's Ability to Collect Vast Amounts of Data on Americans
Senators Mark Udall and Ron Wyden, who serve on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the bipartisan group of senators who joined their effort today to limit the federal government's ability to collect data on Americans without links to terrorism or espionage is a sign of the growing support to reopen the USA PATRIOT Act. Udall and Wyden introduced their proposal today to ensure that the federal government can protect national security as well as the privacy rights of millions … Continue Reading
June 14, 2013
Udall, Wyden Propose Limiting the Federal Government's Ability to Collect Vast Amounts of Data on Americans
Senators Mark Udall and Ron Wyden, who both serve on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, will introduce legislation that would limit the federal government's ability to collect data on Americans' without a demonstrated link to terrorism or espionage. Their legislation follows reports that the federal government has used a "secret interpretation" of the PATRIOT Act, renewed in 2011, to continuously collect data on Americans. "The NSA's collection of millions of Americans' phone … Continue Reading
June 13, 2013
Wyden Outlines New Medicare Reforms
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today outlined new Medicare reforms aimed at reducing costs by focusing on the needs of the millions of seniors suffering from chronic conditions. "Chronic disease needs to be Medicare's primary focus," Wyden said during a keynote speech at the National Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) Summit. "Providers should be encouraged to seek out beneficiaries who are in need of chronic disease prevention, management and treatment and work to manage patients' … Continue Reading
June 13, 2013
Udall, Wyden Call On National Security Agency Director to Clarify Comments on Effectiveness of Phone Data Collection Program
Senators Mark Udall and Ron Wyden, who serve on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, called on Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, to clarify his statements that the surveillance programs disclosed through leaks over the past week have helped avert "dozens of terrorist attacks" in recent years. Alexander testified yesterday that the collection of millions of Americans' phone records was "critical in corroborating" information … Continue Reading
June 11, 2013
Wyden Statement Responding to Director Clapper’s Statements About Collection on Americans
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding statements made by the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about collection on Americans. Wyden is a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "One of the most important responsibilities a Senator has is oversight of the intelligence community. This job cannot be done responsibly if Senators aren't getting straight answers to direct questions. When NSA Director Alexander failed … Continue Reading
June 11, 2013
Senators: End Secret Law
Washington, DC - Today, Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), accompanied by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mark Begich (D-AK), Al Franken (D-MN), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), introduced a bill that would put an end to the "secret law" governing controversial government surveillance programs. This bill would require the Attorney General to declassify significant Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) opinions, allowing Americans to … Continue Reading
June 10, 2013
Farm Bill Includes Wyden Provisions to Fight Hunger and Bring Local Food to Schools
WASHINGTON - The Farm Bill approved by the Senate today included two provisions authored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to advance farm-to-school efforts nationwide, and to help to fight hunger. "Fresh, healthy and locally-grown food should be at the top of the shopping lists for schools in Oregon and across the country," Wyden said. "Under this provision, states already involved with farm-to-school efforts will have the opportunity to demonstrate new and innovative ways to deliver fresh … Continue Reading
June 07, 2013
Wyden, Udall Question the Value and Efficacy of Phone Records Collection in Stopping Attacks
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) issued the following joint statement challenging claims that bulk phone record collection by the Intelligence Community has been "a critical tool in protecting the nation." Wyden and Udall are members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "In our capacity as members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, we have spent years examining the intelligence collection operations that have been secretly authorized … Continue Reading
June 06, 2013
Wyden Statement on Alleged Large-Scale Collection of Phone Records
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), released this statement following news reports alleging that the U.S. Government has collected the phone records of millions of Verizon customers. Wyden is a senior member of the Senate Intelligence committee. "The program Senators Feinstein and Chambliss publicly referred to today is one that I have been concerned about for years. I am barred by Senate rules from commenting on some of the details at this time. However, I believe that … Continue Reading
June 06, 2013
Wyden Leads Bi-Partisan Bill to Address Domestic Child Sex Trafficking in the Child Welfare System
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) was joined by five other senators today in introducing the bi-partisan Child Sex Trafficking Data and Response Act of 2013 to improve state and national data on the scope and prevalence of child sex trafficking and bring reforms to better identify and assist victims of child sex trafficking. "Domestic child sex trafficking is a scourge that must come to an end," Wyden said. "This bill will push states to address the needs of children … Continue Reading
June 03, 2013
Grassley, Wyden Say Medicare Claims Data Still Falls Short of Transparency
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., say that despite a recent federal ruling affirming that Medicare data should be available to the public and federal efforts to make some data publicly available, much more still needs to be done to make Medicare claims data fully transparent. "Medicare is a $500 billion program with billions of dollars going out in error each year," Grassley said. "The bad actors get bigger and bolder all the time. They stay out of law … Continue Reading
May 31, 2013
Wyden Asks Ag. Secretary Vilsack to Ensure Discovery of Genetically Engineered Wheat Does Not Affect Trade
Washington, D.C. - Following the news that a small and unharvested amount of genetically engineered (GE) wheat was discovered by an Oregon farmer, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack praising their investigation into the issue and urging them to work with the US Trade Representative and the Departments of State and Commerce to prevent this discovery from negatively affecting Oregon's international wheat exports. Wyden is the chairman of the … Continue Reading
May 24, 2013
Wyden and Warner use Twitter to Discuss Bill that Helps Students Choose Colleges and Programs
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mark Warner, D-Va., answered questions through Twitter about their bipartisan bill aimed at helping students trying to choose between colleges and degree programs by making a wide range of accurate, comparative and easy to understand information available about debt, employment and graduation rates. Wyden and Warner spent 30 minutes together using Twitter to read and reply to questions and comments about the Student Right to Know Before You Go … Continue Reading
May 23, 2013
Wyden Statement on the President’s Speech at the National Defense University
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement in response to President Obama's counterterrorism speech at the National Defense University: "The President said today that 'we must define the nature and scope' of the conflict with al-Qa'ida, 'or else it will define us.' I couldn't agree more. In my twelve years on the Senate Intelligence Committee I have seen the consequences of letting this struggle define the United States. The President's speech today was … Continue Reading
