Press Releases
Wyden, Merkley, Warren Press Interior Department on Agency's Disregard for COVID-19 Safety
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to immediately issue guidance for its employees on mask and personal protective equipment (PPE) policies consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The senators also asked that DOI agency employees be directed to follow state guidelines and cooperate with county-level and state-level coronavirus … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Wyden to Oppose Nomination of DOJ Official Over Unconstitutional Abuses in Portland
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced his opposition to the nomination of Justice Department official Patrick Hovakimian, after Hovakimian refused to answer questions about the federal occupation of Portland, Ore. in a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence open hearing. "If the line is not drawn in the sand right now, America may be staring down the barrel of martial law in the middle of a presidential election," Wyden said. Wyden pressed Hovakimian, the … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Wyden, Merkley, Western Senators Call for Expedited Hearing on Anti-Public Lands Crusader William Perry Pendley’s Nomination to Bureau of Land Management
Washington, D.C. - Following Donald Trump's formal nomination of anti-public lands activist William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management, Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and other Western colleagues in calling for an expedited confirmation hearing so Pendley can answer for his troubling record of anti-public lands advocacy before the American public. The senators wrote that Pendley, who was installed as the de facto acting … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Wyden Joins Merkley on the Senate Floor to Block Trump from Deploying Unwanted Paramilitary Forces in American Cities
Madam President, Donald Trump has deployed a paramilitary squad to my hometown of Portland. His secret police are terrorizing my friends and neighbors. And people across this country need to understand, yesterday Donald Trump announced to America that your friends and your neighbors are next. Unmarked vans full of armed men in military gear are snatching people off the streets. They take people away, hold them and interrogate them without justification, and ultimately without charges. Over … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Wyden, Colleagues Urge Administration to Enforce Housing Eviction Bans During Coronavirus Pandemic
Washington, D.C. - As the coronavirus pandemic continues to put many Americans in danger of falling behind on monthly rent payments, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined a group of his colleagues urging the Trump Administration to enforce bans on housing evictions for the duration of the crisis. In a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Wyden, Merkley: Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Receive $269,000 Grant for Water Infrastructure Repairs
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will receive a $269,000 federal grant to repair its main water line. "These urgently needed resources will help restore a dependable and safe water supply for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs," Wyden said. "That reliability is essential at any time, but especially now when the community is working to keep its members healthy during the coronavirus. I'm glad the … Continue Reading
July 20, 2020
Senators, Representatives Announce Legislation to Block Federal Paramilitary Occupations in Portland and Other American Cities
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), today announced that they are introducing the Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America's Streets Act, which would block the Trump administration from deploying federal forces as a shadowy paramilitary against Americans. Today's action comes after a week in which … Continue Reading
July 20, 2020
Wyden Introduces Bill to Protect Hong Kongers Against Chinese Government’s New National Security Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced a bill to protect Hong Kongers against the Chinese government's sweeping new national security bill and further punish Beijing by creating a streamlined pathway for high-skilled Hong Kongers to immigrate to the United States for work. "As the Chinese government continues to crack down on all forms of dissent in Hong Kong, it's critical that the United States shows where we stand. My bill would not only protect Hong Kongers … Continue Reading
July 20, 2020
ICYMI: Trump sent federal agents to Portland to help with his political agenda — not the protests
Article available here and below. For weeks now, Donald Trump has seemingly sought to incite violence on the streets of Portland. Not content with simply dropping squads of federal agents into my hometown to clash with peaceful protesters, as he first did in early July after signing an executive order to supposedly protect monuments from protestors, Trump and his acting secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, have now unleashed these agents like an occupying army - complete with … Continue Reading
July 20, 2020
Wyden, Merkley: Coquille Indian Tribe Secures $900,000 Federal Health Grant
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Coquille Indian Tribe has secured a $900,000 federal grant to expand access to health care by acquiring and operating a health clinic. "In the middle of a global pandemic, these health care resources for the Coquille Tribe are timely and welcome," Wyden said. "This health clinic run by the Coquille Tribe is a positive prescription for expanded and better local health care for the community that can be a model for … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Merkley, Wyden, Blumenauer, Bonamici Demand Federal Forces be Removed from Portland
PORTLAND, OR - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, today blasted federal agencies' politically-motivated "authoritarian tactics" and demanded that U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf immediately remove their special forces from Oregon. "These tactics include deploying federal agents without identifying insignia in an apparent effort to evade transparency and … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Support Grows for Emergency Broadband Connection Act
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of planned Senate discussions on the next relief bill for the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced support from dozens of new organizations for the Emergency Broadband Connections Act, and two new cosponsors. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance announced its endorsement for Wyden's bill on June 30. Over 220 other advocacy groups also joined together July 8 on behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to write in support of … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Merkley, Wyden, Blumenauer, Bonamici Call for Investigations into Federal Operatives in Portland
PORTLAND, OR - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, today announced that they will be asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offices of Inspector General to investigate the unrequested presence and violent actions of federal forces in Portland. The request for investigations follows federal operatives shooting a peaceful protester in the head, causing serious … Continue Reading
July 16, 2020
Wyden, Schumer, Senate Democrats Announce Historic Proposal For $350 Billion Investment In Communities Of Color
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats to unveil a major new legislative proposal to invest $350 billion in Black communities and other communities of color. Wyden and his colleagues' plan would make a significant federal commitment to communities of color through ten major investments over the next five years in historically underfunded areas like public health, child care, infrastructure and job … Continue Reading
July 16, 2020
Merkley, Wyden Announce Over $700,000 in Funding for Federal and State Drinking Water Partnerships, Salmon Recovery, and Biomass Development
Washington, DC - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the Drinking Water Providers Partnership, which supports collaboration between federal and state agencies and nonprofits, is allocating over $370,000 to eight projects in Oregon that will help improve drinking water quality and salmon habitat. In addition, the Oregon Coast Salmon Restoration Environmental Impact Fund Feasibility Study will receive $140,000, and the Biomass Energy Implementation Fund-which … Continue Reading
July 16, 2020
Merkley, Wyden Announce Millions in Grants for Oregon Small and Rural Hospitals
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that Oregon will receive more than $16 million in grants to support health care providers that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The funding will target small and rural hospitals, as well as certain acute care hospitals. The funding is being distributed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). "Small and rural hospitals are critical to their communities, and in many cases … Continue Reading
July 16, 2020
Wyden: New Three-Digit Mental Health Hotline Will Create Much-Needed Lifeline
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said people in Oregon and nationwide facing a mental health crisis will have a much-needed lifeline with today's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision designating a new nationwide three-digit 988 phone hotline. Citing alarming suicide statistics from Oregon and throughout out the United States, Wyden has been a long-time advocate for the FCC to take this step creating a three-digit number for people in a mental health crisis or considering … Continue Reading
July 14, 2020
Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer and Bonamici Demand Answers from DHS and DOJ after Federal Agent Shoots Peaceful Protester in Head
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici today demanded answers from the Trump administration after a federal agent shot a peaceful protester in the head with potentially deadly crowd-control munition. The Oregonian suffered a direct hit, resulting in a critical head injury, and is now hospitalized after undergoing surgery. In a letter to Attorney General William Barr and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad … Continue Reading
July 13, 2020
Merkley, Wyden to President Trump: Remove Policies Discriminating Against LGBTQ Individuals
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with more than 100 members of Congress, are calling on President Trump to direct the federal government to remove all regulations, executive orders and agency policies that discriminate against LGBTQ individuals. The letter comes after the Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that prohibitions on sex discrimination in federal civil rights laws extend to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation … Continue Reading
July 10, 2020
Wyden Bill to Help Non-Profits Passes House
Washington, DC - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said today that House passage of legislation he introduced to help non-profits will help these key community groups to remain financially viable during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Nonprofit organizations in Oregon and nationwide are essential pieces of each community's response to weather the devastating economic and public health challenges leveled by the coronavirus," Wyden said. "As nonprofits battle to maintain an effective safety net, I am glad this … Continue Reading
