Press Releases
Merkley, Wyden Join Senate Colleagues In Urging Dept. of Education to Hold Student Loan Servicer MOHELA Accountable for Its Failures
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined a coalition of Senators led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) urging the agency to hold student loan servicer MOHELA accountable for its failures. ?The letter comes after ED announced that more than a million MOHELA borrowers will be transferred to other federal student loan servicers to “improve borrowers’ experiences.” Joining Warren, Merkley, and Wyden in … Continue Reading
May 14, 2024
Wyden, Duckworth, Hirono Call for More Funding of U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai’i, today urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide increased funding-at least $32 million-for the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHS) in FY 2025 to ensure these highly-trained frontline workers are always ready and fully-deployable to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all Americans. Currently, the PHS is the only uniformed service without a budget … Continue Reading
May 14, 2024
Wyden, Colleagues Urge DHS to Investigate Federal Funding of ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection System
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he and three congressional colleagues are urging the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the department’s grant funding spent on the ShotSpotter acoustic gunshot detection system, including whether the use of ShotSpotter led to civil rights violations. ShotSpotter purportedly lets law enforcement accurately detect and locate gunshot incidents. According to the manufacturer, ShotSpotter uses various … Continue Reading
May 13, 2024
Wyden, Merkley Praise Passage of Bill Honoring Dustoff Crews from the Vietnam War
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today welcomed the Senate passage of legislation they cosponsored to award a collective Congressional Gold Medal to U.S. Army Dustoff crews in recognition of their extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions during the Vietnam War. Among the Oregonians now earning this well-deserved Congressional Gold Medal under the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act are former Dustoff Crew Chief Gary E. Hagen, 72, … Continue Reading
May 10, 2024
Wyden, Colleagues Call for Increased Funding of Federal Public Defender Program
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in calling on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund the Federal Defender Services program in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. “In FY24, Defender Services was appropriated $1.45 billion, and in FY25, the Judiciary is requesting $1.69 billion. This essential funding supports the 4,420 attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and … Continue Reading
May 10, 2024
Wyden, Colleagues Pass FAA Reauthorization Act
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today that the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act he voted for this week would save lives as well as benefit Oregon air travelers and small businesses. “It is absolutely essential to our national security and economy to fully fund the departments that keep our planes in the sky and Oregonians safe in Oregon and throughout the country,” Wyden said about the legislation authorizing operations for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National … Continue Reading
May 09, 2024
Wyden, Merkley: Lane and Douglas Counties to Receive Vital Drought Resiliency Investments
Washington D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced Douglas and Lane counties will receive $1.22 million and $4 million, respectively, in drought resiliency funding as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. “In Oregon and throughout the West, we know firsthand how much the climate crisis has devastated our communities and economies with drought and other impacts,” Wyden said. “Solutions for water storage and innovative ways to capture … Continue Reading
May 08, 2024
Merkley, Wyden Announce Nearly $1.7 Million for State and Tribal Historical Preservation in Oregon
Washington, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced the National Park Service (NPS) is awarding a total of $1,697,354 in Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) investments to help preserve treasured historical and cultural places in the state. These investments include $1,161,729 for State and Local Preservation Grants and $535,625 in Tribal Preservation Grants. “A core pillar of ensuring Oregon’s future success is preserving its rich past, places, and culturally … Continue Reading
May 08, 2024
Wyden, Colleagues Call for Increased Funding to the Office of Federal Student Aid
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and 23 Senate colleagues urging Senate appropriators to provide $2.7 billion in funding to the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) in fiscal year (FY) 2025. “Fully funding the President’s request for FSA this fiscal year - a $625 million increase from the FY 2023 levels - is particularly critical given that FSA’s FY 2023 and FY 2024 funding was stagnant compared to previous years, severely undermining … Continue Reading
May 07, 2024
Wyden, Merkley: DOT Selects Boutique Air to Continue Providing Essential Air Service at Pendleton Airport
Washington D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the U.S. Department of Transportation has selected Boutique Air to continue providing Essential Air Service between Pendleton and Portland with 21 nonstop round trips a week between the two cities. “Regular air service is critical for rural communities to give local businesses the opportunity to tap into national and international economies, and provide a vital connection for Eastern Oregonians to travel and to have … Continue Reading
May 03, 2024
Wyden Applauds Final Approval of the REPORT Act; Wyden Provision Requires Big Tech to Secure Digital Evidence of Crimes Against Children
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today praised the House passage of the REPORT Act this week, and President Biden’s expected signature of the bill today. The REPORT Act, by Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., will modernize the U.S. system for reporting digital child sexual abuse material to improve investigation and prosecution of heinous crimes against children. “Senators Blackburn and Ossoff worked closely with me to require that tech companies meet … Continue Reading
May 03, 2024
Wyden, Merkley Co-sponsor Bill to Restore Voting Rights for Qualifying Formerly Incarcerated Individuals
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they are co-sponsoring the Next Step Home Act, a crucial piece of legislation aimed at restoring voting rights for people with felony convictions who have been released under the First Step Act and successfully reentered society. “Making voting easy and accessible shouldn’t be a Democratic or Republican issue. It’s an American democracy issue,” Wyden said. “By restoring the voting rights of these formerly incarcerated … Continue Reading
May 02, 2024
Wyden Applauds Haaland for Commitments to Oregon: Implement Legislation in Malheur County as Written, Improve Services at Crater Lake
Video HERE of Wyden exchange with Secretary Haaland at Hearing on President Biden’s Budget Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Secretary Deb Haaland committed to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that if his Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act becomes law, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will implement it as enacted. “Back east people call the Owyhee Oregon’s version of the Grand Canyon. We call it home - and it supports the … Continue Reading
May 02, 2024
Wyden, Hickenlooper, Lummis Introduce Bills to Extend Drought Relief, Water Monitoring Programs
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., introduced two bipartisan bills that would extend existing programs to continue important water management programs and address long-term drought in the West. The Drought Preparedness Act and the Water Data Improvement Act would reauthorize current programs managed by the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Geological Survey to help secure water infrastructure, prepare drought … Continue Reading
May 02, 2024
Wyden Demands Intuit Help Oregonians Whose Use of TurboTax Misled Them into Overpaying State Taxes
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today demanded that Intuit make whole all Oregon taxpayers whose recent use of the company’s TurboTax product incorrectly led them to overpay their state tax. In a letter to Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi, Wyden cited a recent report that a TurboTax software error opted Oregon taxpayers into claiming the standard deduction on their state taxes when itemizing would have produced a larger refund. Wyden noted the Oregon Department of Revenue notified Intuit … Continue Reading
May 01, 2024
Wyden, Merkley, Luján, Heinrich Introduce Bill to Help Identify and Address Water and Sanitation Needs of Underserved Communities
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., today introduced the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Access Data Collection Act of 2024 (WASH Access Data Collection Act) to make sure the United States has the comprehensive data it needs to address the water and sanitation needs of rural, Tribal and other underserved communities. In addition to improving national data collection, the bill would also expand interagency … Continue Reading
May 01, 2024
Merkley, Wyden, 20+ Western Colleagues Push Biden Administration to Support American West Amid Historic Drought
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) alongside 26 Senate and House colleagues representing Western states - including U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) - called on the Biden administration to make further investments to address long-term drought caused by climate change. “Drought remains a severe risk for American farmers and ranchers and … Continue Reading
April 30, 2024
Wyden, Markey Reveal Automakers Provide Detailed Location Information to Law Enforcement Without a Warrant, Rarely Notify Car Owners; Request FTC Investigate Broken Promises to Protect Drivers’ Privacy
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., requested the Federal Trade Commission investigate major automakers for breaking a pledge to protect their customers’ location data, in a letter to Chair Lina Khan sent today. The automakers had deceptively pledged that they would insist on warrants or other court orders before turning over location data from their customers’ connected automobiles to law enforcement agencies. The letter comes in response to an inquiry … Continue Reading
April 29, 2024
Wyden Praises FCC Fines on Wireless Carriers in Response to His Investigation into Abuse of Location Data
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today praised the Federal Communications Commission for voting today to approve fines against AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint, for selling customers’ detailed location data to shady data brokers in violation of federal law. Wyden originally revealed the practice in 2018 and called on the FCC to investigate wireless carriers for betraying their customers’ privacy and security. Wyden revealed that one government contractor that purchased … Continue Reading
April 29, 2024
Wyden, Merkley Announce $345,000 for Klamath Falls Recycled Water Supply
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week announced that Klamath Falls will receive $345,000 in federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to help conserve groundwater and increase supply of recycled potable water. “Rural communities in Oregon depend on water for everything from taking showers at home to sustaining their entire economies,” Wyden said. “I’m glad this funding from the legislation I fought to pass is … Continue Reading
