Press Releases
Wyden Amendment Extends Tax Credit for Electric Motorcycle Purchases
Washington, D.C. - With the electric motorcycle industry poised to create thousands of American jobs over the next five years, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was able to successfully extend and streamline the tax credit for the purchase of new electric motorcycles as part of the tax extenders package being debated in the Senate Finance Committee. "Right now, companies like Brammo in Oregon are keeping the American electric vehicle industry on the cutting edge," Wyden said. "But without an … Continue Reading
August 02, 2012
Wyden Statement on Vote Against Cloture of the Cybersecurity Act
Washington, D.C. - U. S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement today regarding his vote against the motion to invoke cloture on the Cybersecurity Act: "Today's vote was one in which Senators were asked to sacrifice Internet users' privacy and civil liberties for weak proposals to improve cyber security; I voted no. In its current form, the Cybersecurity Act does not sufficiently safeguard Internet users' privacy and civil liberties, nor would it create the correct … Continue Reading
August 02, 2012
Pair of Wyden, Merkley Land Management Bills Pass the House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. - Continuing efforts to boost tourism and improve the economies of local communities in eastern and central Oregon, legislation to transfer federal land to the cities of La Pine and Wallowa passed the United States House of Representatives. Introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the pair of bills will provide the communities of La Pine and Wallowa as well as Deschutes County, with access to hundreds of acres of federal land for … Continue Reading
July 31, 2012
Wyden Statement on Commitments from Chairman Bingaman and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Connor for Funding of a Long-term Klamath Basin Solution
Washington, D.C. -U. S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement after commitments to pursue funding of a long-term solution for the Klamath Basin's water issues were agreed to by both Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor during a committee hearing today. "The commitments from the Bureau of Reclamation and Chairman Bingaman are an important step toward finding the funding to … Continue Reading
July 31, 2012
Wyden Amendments to Cyber Bill Clarify Rules for GPS Tracking; Seek Privacy Protection in the Cloud
Washington, D.C. - As the technological capabilities of cloud storage and location tracking continue to grow, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has filed amendments to the Cybersecurity Act being debated in the Senate to provide clear rules for how and when the government can access location tracking data from individuals' cell phones and other electronic devices, limit government access to private information stored by cloud storage services alongside government data, and strengthen limits on … Continue Reading
July 26, 2012
Senators Seek Answers from DNI on How Many of Americans’ Communications Have Been Monitored
Washington, D.C. - As the U.S. Senate debates the renewal of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, a letter from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and a bipartisan group of legislators including Mark Udall (D-Colo.) Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Mike Lee (R- Utah), Bernie Sanders (I-VT.), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Il.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) requests more information about the number of Americans' communications … Continue Reading
July 23, 2012
Wyden and Merkley Announce More than $12 Million in Transportation Grant Funding
Washington, D.C. - Continuing efforts to ensure that Oregon maintains its first-rate transportation infrastructure, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) have announced the awarding of seven grants to improve bus transportation and passenger facilities in locations throughout the state. Awarded as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's State of Good Repair, Bus Livability and Transit Asset Management Grant program this funding will replace buses, construct … Continue Reading
July 19, 2012
Wyden Bill Works to Make Palliative and Hospice Care Available to All Americans
Washington, D.C. - Building on more than 35 years of working to ensure seniors are getting the best possible health care, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has introduced legislation to improve the recently recognized medical specialty of palliative and hospice medicine to help seniors and those with serious or chronic illnesses better manage their pain and improve their quality of life. Palliative and hospice care focuses less on curative treatment of a specific disease and more on relieving … Continue Reading
July 18, 2012
Wyden, Snowe’s ENFORCE Act Passes Out of Senate Finance Committee
Washington, D.C. - U. S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee's subcommittee on Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness, and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) issued the following statements after the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance passed the ENFORCE Act, S. 1133 - legislation written by Wyden and Snowe and supported by Senators from both sides of the aisle -- to improve the nation's ability to combat foreign trade cheaters evading U.S. trade laws. "When we talk … Continue Reading
July 16, 2012
Defazio, Wyden, Merkley Urge Corps to Dredge Port of Port Orford
WASHINGTON, DC-Congressman Peter DeFazio and Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) urging them to find funds to dredge the Port of Port Orford before it becomes unusable and threatens the local economy. DeFazio, Wyden, and Merkley asked the USACE to add funds to dredge the Port of Port Orford to another shallow water dredging contract on the nearby Chetco River. This would save the USACE $400,000 in the long-term and preserve this vital … Continue Reading
July 13, 2012
Wyden Calls on President to Provide Assistance Fighting Fires in Southeastern Oregon
Washington, D.C. - With the Long Draw wildfire in southeastern Oregon being just one of several wildfires already having burnt more than 600,000 acres collectively across the state, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has sent a letter to President Obama seeking additional resources to fight these fires as well as aid in securing disaster relief to prevent more damage to farmers and ranchers and the increased loss of cattle and wild horses. Several wildfires are burning on Oregon's Bureau of Land … Continue Reading
June 29, 2012
Senator Ron Wyden, City and County Elected Officials, Advocates to Meet in Medford on the Violence Against Women Act
(Editors: The roundtable discussion on VAWA will start at 10 a.m. Senator Wyden and the other attendees will be available at 11 a.m. THE PRESS IS WELCOME AT EITHER TIME.) Medford, Or -- Since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has help thousands of women escape a life of domestic violence, achieve a measure of freedom and regain their self respect. Now, renewing the Act stalled in Congress. Senator Ron Wyden, local law enforcement officials and advocates will urge congressional action on … Continue Reading
June 29, 2012
NEWS CONFERENCE Monday, July 2, 10 a.m., Gateway Children’s Campus, Portland Senator Ron Wyden, City and County Elected Officials, Advocates on the Violence Against Women Act
WHO: Senator Ron Wyden Dan Saltzman, Portland City CommissionerJeff Cogen, Multnomah County Commission ChairLoretta Smith, Multnomah County CommissionerRod Underhill, Multnomah County District Attorney's OfficeMartha Strawn Morris, Gateway Center DirectorAnnie Neal, Multnomah County Domestic Violence Coordination Office WHAT: Press conference on the need for Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. WHEN: 10 a.m., Monday, July 2, 2012 … Continue Reading
June 28, 2012
Wyden Statement on the Supreme Court Upholding the Affordable Care Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement after the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act: "The Supreme Court affirmed today that health insurance is not just for the healthy and wealthy and that denying coverage to those who need it most has no place in the United States. I think it is unfortunate that instead of looking for ways to better guarantee health care for their citizens, some states have focused only on repealing a law … Continue Reading
June 28, 2012
Surface Transportation Bill Includes Senate-Passed County Payments Extension
WASHINGTON, D.C. - This morning, conferees on the House-Senate surface transportation bill announced that the final negotiated legislation includes the one-year $346 million extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act - commonly known as the country payments law -- that passed the U.S. Senate March 14. More than $100 million of the $346 million goes to 33 of Oregon's 36 counties. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who authored the original county payments law and … Continue Reading
June 25, 2012
Wyden Calls on FBI Director to Release Information That Could Help Combat Sex Trafficking
Washington, D.C. - As news outlets, advocates, and policymakers continue to draw attention to the need to address the trafficking of minors for sex, it is important to underscore the necessity of cross-sector and inter-agency cooperation, collaboration, and data sharing in addressing this unconscionable crime. Too often, victims face violence up to and including murder, and data collected by the FBI as part of the Bureau's Highway Serial Killings Initiative could help law enforcement and … Continue Reading
June 21, 2012
Wyden Statement on Hemp Amendment to the Farm Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement on the amendment to the Farm bill he introduced lifting prohibitions on the growing of industrial hemp: "I firmly believe that American farmers should not be denied an opportunity to grow and sell a legitimate crop simply because it resembles an illegal one. I fought for an amendment that would have recognized industrial hemp as a legitimate crop, but since doing so requires amending the Controlled Substances … Continue Reading
June 20, 2012
Wyden Secures Farm-to-School and Microloan Amendments to the Senate Farm Bill
Washington, D.C. - A pair of amendments to the Senate Farm Bill authored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that establishes multiple farm-to-school demonstration projects across the United States and helps gleaners access USDA operating loans to assist their efforts to alleviate food insecurity in their communities have been approved. The Farm-to-School amendment will for the first time create a competitive pilot program with at least 5 farm-to-school demonstration projects, each … Continue Reading
June 13, 2012
Wyden Statement on President Obama Signing Air Tanker Legislation
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden issued the following statement today after President Obama signed legislation (introduced on June 4th by Senator Wyden and cosponsored by Senators Bingaman, Mark Udall, Tester, and Feinstein) allowing the U.S. Forest Service to speed up contracting of additional air tankers needed to fight forest fires. "Congress and the President acted quickly to address the need to get more planes in the air to fight forest fires that are getting larger and more … Continue Reading
June 11, 2012
Wyden Places Hold on FISA Amendments Act Extension
Washington, D.C. - Continuing his career-long practice of publicly announcing his holds on legislation, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), announced that he will block unanimous consent requests to pass a five-year extension of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA). Wyden identified two specific concerns that he believes Congress must address before agreeing to a long-term extension of FAA's authorities. The first … Continue Reading
