Press Releases
Wyden, Merkley Co-Sponsor Legislation to Impose Sanctions on Perpetrators of Global Violence against LGBTI Communities
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley with colleagues reintroduced legislation that would impose sanctions on foreign individuals responsible for human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals abroad. "No one should face persecution because of who they love or how they identify," Wyden said. "America must stand with the global LGBTI community and make it clear that LGBTI rights are human … Continue Reading
June 28, 2021
Wyden Releases New Bill To Protect Journalists’ First Amendment Rights Against Government Surveillance
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released new legislation to protect reporters and journalists against unnecessary government surveillance that can chill First Amendment activities. Wyden proposed these new legal restrictions on government surveillance of reporters following recent revelations about the Trump administration's abusive, politicized surveillance of reporters at CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post. "The Trump Administration spied on reporters it … Continue Reading
June 25, 2021
Wyden, Merkley Unveil Key Legislation to Make Historic Investment in Care Economy
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have introduced legislation with colleagues that would make a historic investment in home- and community-based services by expanding access to quality home care services, making it easier for families to navigate the process of making a long-term care choice, and providing good-paying jobs for caregivers. "For too long, American families have struggled to help their mom, dad, relative or child with a disability find … Continue Reading
June 25, 2021
Wyden, Booker, Blumenthal, Jones, Raskin Introduce Legislation to Modernize Federal Civil Rights Law
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said today he has joined with U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ) as well as U.S. Reps. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) to introduce legislation that would fulfill the promise of a multiracial economy by setting a new standard for antidiscrimination laws. The Economic Inclusion Civil Rights Act of 2021 would revitalize the nation's first civil rights law, known as Section 1981, which was enacted in the wake of the Civil … Continue Reading
June 25, 2021
Wyden Co-sponsors Equal Pay Bill for U.S. National Teams
Washington, DC - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said today he is co-sponsoring the Even Playing Field Act, which would ensure equal pay, investment and working conditions for U.S national team athletes, coaches and other personnel. "The women athletes representing our country next month in the Tokyo Olympics fully deserve the same pay and conditions as their male counterparts," said Wyden, who is scheduled to attend the U.S. Olympic track-and-field trials this Sunday in Eugene. "This gold-medal … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Merkley, Wyden, Bonamici Urge President Biden to Deliver Much-Needed Relief by Extending Pause on Federal Student Loan Payments, Interest
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, alongside U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), this week urged President Biden to provide student loan borrowers with urgently needed relief by extending the current pause on payments and interest for federally held student loans. "The suspension of payments and interest during the pandemic has provided essential relief to borrowers and their families during this economic and public health crisis," the lawmakers … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Wyden Touts River Democracy Act at ENR National Parks Subcommittee Hearing
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today testified and questioned witnesses at the Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee Hearing on his River Democracy Act. "What I have done with [the River Democracy Act] is I've asked Oregonians to give me their ideas and their best suggestions for additional conservation efforts and opportunities to protect our rivers," Wyden said. "The response was overwhelming - in just a few months, my office received over 15,000 … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Urge Congressional Leadership to Include $700 Billion for Child Care in Infrastructure Package
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today with colleagues sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to include at least $700 billion over 10 years in direct spending on child care in the upcoming infrastructure package. "As the pandemic has made clear, child care is essential infrastructure that makes all other work in our country possible. High-quality child care also has long-lasting benefits for young children's development. The next funding … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: $6.3 Million in Federal Funds to Salem Cherriots for Low Emission Vehicles
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Salem Area Mass Transit District Project, also known as Cherriots, will receive a $6.3 million federal grant to buy or lease low- or no-emission buses and other transit vehicles. "Energy-efficient public transit systems that Oregonians need to get easily from Point A to Point B are critical to economic growth and combatting climate change," Wyden said. "These resources for Salem Cherriots to afford … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Wyden, Blumenthal Introduce Expanded Legislation to Protect Domestic Abuse Survivors From Gun Violence
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Lori Jackson - Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act to protect domestic violence survivors from gun violence. "The devastating loss Nicolette's family has suffered is one no family should ever have to face," Wyden said. "Keeping guns out of the hands of domestic violence abusers shouldn't be controversial, it's commonsense. No more lives should be taken because of inexcusable … Continue Reading
June 22, 2021
Wyden Praises Election Security, Access, Vote By Mail Provisions of For the People Act
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today praised key updates to the For the People Act, by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., which incorporates strong new election security and access provisions that Wyden co-authored: "By ensuring every voter would have the choice to vote at home, and adopting other commonsense reforms, the For the People Act would represent the greatest advance in voting rights in a generation and a strike back against the growing tide of voter … Continue Reading
June 21, 2021
Wyden Leads Legislation to Broaden Access to Mammograms for Veterans
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today announced efforts to expand Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mammogram screening eligibility to improve health services for veterans. "It's long past time to expand access to life-saving VA care and services." Wyden said. "Women who have served may be at much higher risk of developing breast cancer and deserve access to early detection and treatment. Updating the VA's guidelines for mammogram procedures will provide our nation's veterans with … Continue Reading
June 18, 2021
Wyden, Merkley Co-Sponsor Legislation to Update Safety Net Program to Ensure Older Adults and Oregonians with Disabilities are not Trapped in Poverty
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today with Senate Democrats re-introduce legislation to bring the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program into the 21st Century and ensure disabled and elderly Americans are able to live with dignity. "Supplemental Security Income was created to provide a lifeline for people in Oregon and across the nation in dire need of making ends meet," Wyden said. "But receiving benefits should not have to be a vow of poverty. It's … Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Wyden and Merkley Release Legislation to End Voter Suppression by Unreasonably Long Lines
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced legislation to end hours-long lines at polling places that suppress hundreds of thousands of American votes, and to restore our Constitutional rights to vote in free and fair elections. Although expanded early voting and voting from home kept lines short in many states, hours-long lines were spotted in in Mississippi, Georgia and a handful of other states last year. Studies estimate that nearly 3 million … Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Wyden, Lieu, Daines and McClintock Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Require Warrants for Government Use of “Stingray” Phone Surveillance
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., introduced legislation today to defend Americans' rights by requiring the government to get a warrant to deploy cell site simulators, also known as "stingray" devices, which are used by law enforcement agencies to track individuals and identify all the phones in an area. The bipartisan Cell Site Simulator Warrant Act puts an end to overlapping, … Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Wyden Sounds Alarm on Wildfire Season at ENR Committee Hearing on Forest Service Budget
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sounded the alarm during today's U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on the U.S. Forest Service annual budget on what every person living in the West knows is coming: another catastrophic wildfire season. "This year in the West we could be looking at the prospect of multiple fires, big ones, at the same time," Wyden said. Wyden asked U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen for the agency's plan for resource … Continue Reading
June 16, 2021
Wyden, Merkley Press Federal Land Managers for 2021 Wildfire Season Help
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today pressed federal land managers on Oregon's preparedness needs for the 2021 wildfire season as intense drought conditions persist and are expected to worsen in the state. "As you are well aware, the 2020 Oregon wildfire season was one of the most destructive seasons on record; destroying thousands of homes, burning over one million acres, and straining communities already battling a historic pandemic. Though many Oregonians are … Continue Reading
June 15, 2021
Wyden, Merkley Urge SBA to Speed Up Relief to Struggling Live Event Venues
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the Small Business Administration (SBA) to disburse Shuttered Venue Operator Grant funding to struggling live entertainment venues in Oregon and nationwide as soon as possible, noting that the Save Our Stages Act was signed into law more than six months ago and event venues are going out of business while awaiting these grants. "The Save Our Stages Act, now the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, was created to … Continue Reading
June 15, 2021
Merkley, Wyden Announce $28.7 Million in Federal Funding for TriMet’s Red Line Extension, Bus Rapid Transit Projects
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is receiving $28.7 million in combined federal funding for its MAX Red Line extension and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects. The MAX Red Line extension project aims to add an additional 7.8 miles of service connecting the Beaverton Transit Center to Downtown Hillsboro, and the BRT project will create a 15-mile line between Portland's … Continue Reading
June 14, 2021
Wyden, Merkley: Oregon Counties and Cities to Receive More than $19 Million in Emergency Housing Vouchers
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that 28 counties and two cities in Oregon will receive more than $19 million in emergency housing vouchers through the American Rescue Plan Act. "Every single Oregonian deserves an affordable and accessible place to call home," Wyden said. "The economic fallout from the global pandemic has worsened a statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis. These vouchers give local housing authorities critical tools to … Continue Reading
