Press Releases
Emerald Express to Receive Funding a Year Ahead of Schedule
Washington, D.C. - Eugene will receive $14.8 million in funding one-year ahead of schedule for the Emerald Express expansion, Oregon Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden noted today. The Senators are top proponents for funding the project, which will create a new hybrid-electric bus line between Eugene and Springfield. "The new line will boost job opportunities and bring communities closer together," Senator Smith said. "Project planers are smartly buying hybrid-electric busses, showing … Continue Reading
May 22, 2007
Wyden Hails Decision to Expand Health Care to Vets in Eastern Oregon through New Clinic in La Grande
Portland - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) today applauded the decision by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a Community Based Outpatient Clinic for veterans in La Grande.Wyden, who has lobbied hard for a La Grande clinic, said that according to preliminary projections his office has received from the Walla Walla, Washington, VA Medical Center (VAMC) planning staff, approximately 1,570 Eastern Oregon veterans will be able to receive care at the new La Grande outpatient … Continue Reading
May 22, 2007
Wyden Calls for Mandated Redeployment of U.S. Troops from Iraq
Washington, DC - Calling for the redeployment of American forces in Iraq, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced his support today for the Feingold-Reid amendment, which would require the President to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008."For more than four years, the Bush administration has been telling the American people that conditions in Iraq would change. They have, but for the worse. Today it is up to Congress to let the President and his administration know that using … Continue Reading
May 22, 2007
Wyden Follows up on Veterans' Concerns
Washington, DC - Following a series of meetings with Oregon veterans and their families, veterans' organizations and VA officials during the April Congressional recess, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden joined several colleagues today in introducing The Rural Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act of 2007, which addresses many of the concerns Wyden heard in his meetings."Too many Oregon veterans, especially in rural parts of our state, are having trouble accessing the health care they were promised when … Continue Reading
May 22, 2007
Senators Ask for Answers as Report Labels Sudan a "Strong Partner in the War on Terror"
Washington, DC - In a letter to Director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, members of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence raised concerns about the State Department's recent characterization of the Sudanese government as a "strong partner in the War on Terror." Citing the state-sponsored genocide that has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the Darfur region of Sudan, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Sheldon … Continue Reading
May 22, 2007
Wyden, Bennett, Baird Join CEOs of Top U.S. Companies to Push for Health Care Reform
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Bob Bennett (R-UT) and U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) today joined forces with the CEOs of several of the nation's largest companies to announce that the CEOs have formed a coalition to push for health care reform before the end of the 110th Congress.Last week, the Healthy Americans Act, which reflects many of the same goals as the CEOs announced today, picked up steam in Congress as Bennett, a senior member of the Republican leadership, … Continue Reading
May 22, 2007
Wyden to Hold Interior Nominee Until Ethics Concerns are Addressed
Washington, D.C. - Citing serious ethics transgressions committed by a high-ranking Interior Department official, Julie MacDonald, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced today that he will place a hold on Senate confirmation of Lyle Laverty, the President's nominee for Assistant Interior Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, until he is satisfied that such transgressions will not happen again.In his letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (see below), Wyden references a recent report … Continue Reading
May 22, 2007
Wyden Calls for Accountability at Hanford Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant
Washington, D.C. - Citing a recent report by the Inspector General of the Department of Energy -- which stated that the control system intended for use at the Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford "does not meet the stringent procedures, plans, specifications, or work practices associated with nuclear quality standards" -- U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to Secretary Samuel Bodman today asking what actions the Department will be taking in response to the Inspector General's … Continue Reading
May 22, 2007
Wyden, Bennett, Baird and Emerson Propose First Bipartisan, Comprehensive Bill in More than a Decade to Guarantee Health Coverage for All Americans
Washington, DC - Pointing to growing support in Congress to work now to fix America's health care system, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Bob Bennett (R-UT) and U.S. Reps. Brian Baird (D-WA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) today announced they are proposing the first bipartisan, comprehensive health care reform bill in more than a decade to guarantee health coverage for all Americans.Wyden, Bennett, Baird and Emerson said the bipartisan response to the Healthy Americans Act (HAA), which Wyden … Continue Reading
April 25, 2007
Smith-Wyden Look at Options to Cover the Uninsured
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) reintroduced legislation today that would improve access to health insurance for uninsured Americans and those with catastrophic health care costs. The measure, the Catastrophic Health Coverage Promotion Act, would create at least four state-based pilot projects that target the uninsured and individuals with catastrophic health care costs. Under the legislation, Oregon is guaranteed to be awarded at least one of the … Continue Reading
April 25, 2007
Dorgan, Wyden Call for GSA Administrator to Resign
Washington, D.C. - As evidence of serious alleged ethics and possibly legal violations at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) continue to mount, U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) today called for the resignation or firing of GSA Administrator Lurita Doan. Doan has held the top GSA job since May 31, 2006, and has come under fire from bipartisan congressional critics.Wyden said two incidents have troubled him the most: Doan's efforts to undermine the Office of … Continue Reading
April 25, 2007
Wyden Applauds ITC Investigation into Possible Hardwood Plywood Abuses
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) today announced that the U.S International Trade Commission (ITC) has formally opened an investigation "into the competitive conditions affecting the U.S. wood flooring and hardwood plywood industries."Wyden, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, had requested that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus request the investigation by the ITC. Baucus did so in a February 28, 2007, letter. The ITC's report is due by June 6, 2008.Nearly … Continue Reading
April 25, 2007
Wyden Calls Administration Plan to Abandon Tax Reform "Bad Judgment"
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, today said the Bush Administration was turning its back on millions of American taxpayers just one day after Tax Day in announcing it was abandoning much-needed reform of the nation's confusing and special-interest heavy tax code. News of the Administration's decision to walk away from tax reform came during today's Senate Finance Committee hearing at which U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson - responding … Continue Reading
April 17, 2007
Wyden, Emanuel Provide Real Tax Relief for Middle Class in "Simpler, Flatter, Fairer" Reform Plan
Washington, DC - As millions of Americans scramble to finish their taxes on the eve of Tax Day, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) today introduced comprehensive tax reform legislation that contains major tax relief for America's middle class by making the 1.4-million word U.S. income tax code simpler, flatter and fairer. Wyden is a member of the Senate Finance Committee. Emanuel is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.Wyden and Emanuel's bill, the … Continue Reading
April 06, 2007
Statement of Senator Ron Wyden on Passage of Budget Reconciliation Legislation
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today voted against final passage of budget reconciliation legislation under consideration by the Senate, and released the following statement this evening: "This budget reconciliation bill takes exactly the wrong approach to reducing America's deficit - instead of repealing tax cuts that benefit only the fortunate few, it gives the middle class more burdens to bear. At the same time, it undermines much-needed programs from Medicaid to … Continue Reading
April 06, 2007
Senator Ron Wyden's Statement on Veteran's Day
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released the following statement in commemoration of Veterans Day:"Today, Oregonians once again come together to remember the service and sacrifice of America's veterans."Veterans know the price of freedom. Each has a story of sacrifice - of families left behind, of brothers and sisters lost in battle, of battle scars that that often dwell far beneath the skin. Yet Americans serve, as is inscribed at Arlington Cemetery, 'Not for fame or reward, … Continue Reading
April 06, 2007
Statement by U.S. Senator Ron WydenRegarding America's Eventual Withdrawal from Iraq
It is my belief that we should withdraw our military from Iraq as soon as we are able to ensure that our departure will not be followed by a Rwanda or Darfur of our own making.While I was one of 23 U.S. Senators who voted against going to war in Iraq, I also acknowledge that -- once the President invaded that nation -- we inherited a moral obligation to attempt to leave Iraq with a more peaceful and prosperous future. While I will not and cannot defend the misleading information used by … Continue Reading
April 06, 2007
Wyden Statement on Commerce Panel Vote on FTC Chair Nominee
Washington, DC - In a meeting of the Senate Commerce Committee today, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) voted against the nomination of Deborah P. Majoras, President Bush's nominee to head the Federal Trade Commission. Wyden also indicated today that he would maintain his procedural hold blocking a full Senate vote on her appointment to a full five-year term."I am disappointed that the Commerce Committee approved Ms. Majoras' nomination for a full term," said Wyden. "There is still no evidence … Continue Reading
April 06, 2007
Wyden Statement on White House Veto Threat to Proposed Medicare Drug Reforms
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released the following statement this evening following the President's threat to veto legislation seeking to reform the Medicare prescription drug benefit:"Spiraling costs and the low levels of participation we've seen so far may jeopardize the survival of the hard-won Medicare drug benefit. Ignoring those obvious problems and threatening to veto any solutions isn't a productive or responsible reaction. Making changes to contain costs and … Continue Reading
April 04, 2007
Wyden Amendment to Make CIA Inspector General Report Public
Washington, DC -- Believing that the American people have a right to know how the CIA performed prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today offered an amendment that would require the Director of the CIA to declassify the Executive Summary of the CIA Inspector General's report on 9/11. The CIA report is the only major 9/11 government review that has not been made public.Wyden's … Continue Reading
