Press Releases
Wyden Asks Forest Service to Answer Questions About Proposed New Helicopter Contracting Systems for Wildfire Fighting
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden this week asked the U.S. Forest Service to answer several questions about its proposed modifications to contracts for helicopters that fight wildfires in Oregon and nationwide. "Helicopters play a critical role in America's wildland firefighting arsenal and it is important to ensure they remain a viable tool for fire managers," Wyden wrote in his letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. "I have heard a number of concerns raised about proposed … Continue Reading
September 30, 2021
Merkley, Wyden Announce Passage of Major Funding for Wildfire Response and Drought Relief
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that key legislation to fund the federal government until December and respond to recent natural disasters has passed both chambers of Congress and will be signed into law. Merkley serves as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, one of the key subcommittees directing the funding. This legislation includes billions of dollars in funding for wildfire disaster response, drought relief, … Continue Reading
September 30, 2021
Wyden, Veasey Lead Resolution to Designate September as ‘National Voting Rights Month’
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced a resolution with Congressman Marc Veasey, D-Texas, to designate September as "National Voting Rights Month." The resolution will encourage voter registration in the month of September, and push Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to preserve the right to vote amid Republican-led voter suppression attempts. "There is no right more essential to the functioning of our democratic nation than the right to vote," … Continue Reading
September 30, 2021
Wyden, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Fund Urban Parks Projects
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today joined colleagues to introduce bipartisan legislation that would create a dedicated source of funding for projects that expand outdoor recreational opportunities in urban and low-income communities in Oregon and nationwide. "Appreciation of the outdoors is in Oregon's DNA, and we must make sure green spaces and local parks are accessible to everyone," Wyden said. "Cementing the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program into federal law … Continue Reading
September 29, 2021
Wyden Secures Review of DHS Law Enforcement Policies, Answers to Questions About Trump Administration Use of Force; Finance Committee Will Begin Consideration of Magnus Nomination for U.S. CBP Commissioner
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced the Finance Committee will begin advancing the nomination of Chris Magnus to be the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner, following a call today with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. "I have heard firsthand from Oregonians how Donald Trump's dispatch of troops to Portland back in the summer of 2020 led to tear gas damaging their health and from school officials how tear gas canisters … Continue Reading
September 29, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: More than $1.3 Million to Oregon Housing Services for Transitional Living & Outreach
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that housing services organizations in five Oregon counties have earned a combined $1.3 million in grant dollars for street outreach and transitional services to help young Oregonians facing housing insecurity. "The epidemic of housing insecurity among young Oregonians puts them at risk on the streets and undermines their opportunity to learn in school so they can lead stable and successful lives," Wyden said. "I'm … Continue Reading
September 29, 2021
Merkley, Wyden Announce $18 Million in American Rescue Plan Funding for Oregon Health Centers
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the federal department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $18 million in funding for health centers all across Oregon. The funding-provided through the American Rescue Plan, which Merkley and Wyden helped to pass last spring-comes as Oregon is facing its most difficult COVID-19 surge yet, fueled by the Delta variant. Health centers will use this funding to help pay for new needs … Continue Reading
September 28, 2021
Following a Summer of Massive Heat Waves, Merkley and Wyden Press FEMA on Extreme Heat Preparedness
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Following a summer of scorching heat waves that set record temperatures in many parts of Oregon, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are joining a bipartisan effort to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for better assistance in dealing with extreme heat events. "This summer has produced historic heat waves and high temperatures across the United States, particularly in the West, devastating communities and causing hundreds of heat-related … Continue Reading
September 24, 2021
Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer, Bonamici Applaud $99.9 Million Award to TriMet to Expand Red Line to Hillsboro
Washington, D.C. -U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici today announced that TriMet will receive $99.9 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to support the expansion of the MAX Red Line beyond Beaverton to Hillsboro. "Investments in mass transit reduce vehicle traffic and emissions with the added benefit of ensuring that Oregonians have the most direct and expedient way to get where they need to go," Wyden said. … Continue Reading
September 24, 2021
Merkley, Wyden Join Introduction of the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today they are co-sponsoring the Tyler Clementi Education Anti-Harassment Act, introducing it alongside Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI-02). Named after Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University who died by suicide after being harassed and bullied online, the legislation calls on colleges and universities to implement anti-harassment policies … Continue Reading
September 24, 2021
Wyden, Rubio, Colleagues Urge Biden to Press Bahrain on Human Rights Violations
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., today led colleagues in urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to press Bahrain about their human rights abuses and pushing for more accountability. Joining Wyden and Rubio on the letter were Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. "For the past decade, the State Department and major human rights advocates have detailed a long list … Continue Reading
September 24, 2021
Wyden, Merkley, Booker, Ossoff and Van Hollen Urge Justice Department to Protect Journalists First Amendment Rights at Public Events
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., urged the Department of Justice to strengthen its policies to protect the rights of reporters, and to drop its challenge to court-ordered protections for reporters covering demonstrations and other First Amendment-protected activities. "Protecting the rights established by the First Amendment is crucial to our democracy's functioning. The federal … Continue Reading
September 22, 2021
Wyden Introduces Bill to Improve Watershed Resilience and Health
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced a bill to improve the resilience and health of the nation's watersheds - the land leading into streams, rivers or lakes. Watersheds play an essential role in the health and economic livelihood of local communities, supporting safe drinking water for communities, outdoor recreation and productive fisheries. "As the American West continues to face unprecedented heat waves and droughts due to the climate crisis, it's more … Continue Reading
September 22, 2021
Wyden, Casey Applaud Administration for Publishing User-Friendly COVID-19 Vaccination Nursing Home Data
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Bob Casey today applauded the Biden Administration for publishing user-friendly data on the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations among residents and workers at more than 15,000 individual nursing homes across the country. The move comes after multiple requests from Wyden (D-OR) and Casey (D-PA) to put this data in the hands of nursing home residents, workers and families. "This important step will help families easily access key data about the safety of … Continue Reading
September 22, 2021
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Urge Biden Administration to Increase Wildland Firefighter Pay
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined a group of Senate colleagues urging the Biden Administration to increase the pay for federal wildland firefighters and transition many from seasonal to permanent status. The senators noted that pay disparities amongst wildland firefighters are limiting personnel and will leave areas vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires. In the letter, they requested that at least 1,000 seasonal firefighting positions be promoted to … Continue Reading
September 21, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: More than $1.6 Million in Housing Vouchers will go to the Metro Area for Families and Youth Aging out of Foster Care
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the housing authorities for Clackamas County and the city of Portland have earned a combined $1.6 million in housing vouchers to support families and youth aging out of foster care. "Foster kids making the transition to adulthood in Oregon and nationwide often need support to help them face all of life's challenges," Wyden said. "I'm gratified these federal resources will assist Clackamas County and the City of … Continue Reading
September 21, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: Two Rural Electric Co-ops in Oregon to Receive $21 Million in FEMA Funds for Repairs from Wildfires
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that Lane Electric Cooperative and Consumers Power Inc. -- two electrical co-ops serving rural Oregonians -- will receive a combined $21 million in federal funds to help cover the cost of repairs to infrastructure damaged by wildfires in September 2020. "The need for federal resources to help Oregonians rebound from these wildfires was clear from the destruction I witnessed statewide, and the powerful accounts I heard … Continue Reading
September 21, 2021
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Urge SCOTUS to Protect Reproductive Rights by Upholding Roe and Rejecting Mississippi’s Blatantly Unconstitutional Law
Washington, D.C. -U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined Senate and House colleagues in an amicus brief in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, urging the Supreme Court to uphold nearly 50 years of precedent in Roe v. Wade and protect the constitutional right to abortion care. After the Court refused to block the dangerous, cruel abortion ban in Texas from going into effect, Dobbs represents yet another case that could undermine nearly 50 years of precedent … Continue Reading
September 20, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: Four Oregon Colleges to Receive More than $400,000 for Child Care for Student Parents
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that four Oregon colleges will receive a combined more than $400,000 from the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program to support parents as they complete their higher education. "Completing a degree program is challenging under most circumstances, but can be especially difficult when trying to navigate child care," Wyden said. "I am gratified that Oregon State, Lane Community College, OSU-Cascades and … Continue Reading
September 20, 2021
Wyden Applauds $952,951 CAHOOTS Planning Grant for Oregon
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today applauded the Biden administration for announcing a $952,951 planning grant award for Oregon's Medicaid program to support the development of mobile crisis intervention service programs to help those struggling with mental health and substance use disorder crises. "This grant will kick-start the effort to help those experiencing a mental health crisis in Oregon get the services they need and reduce the prospect of an encounter with law … Continue Reading
