Press Releases
Wyden, Merkley: Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon Secures $3.9 Million Federal Grant
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon (MHAAO) has earned a $3.96 million federal grant to help adults in the justice system re-enter the job market. "Employment is an essential piece of a successful strategy for people to make a successful re-entry into their communities," Wyden said. "I'm gratified that the Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon has earned these federal funds to help … Continue Reading
July 10, 2020
Wyden, Merkley: Two Oregon Healthcare Providers to Get Federal Aid for Telehealth Work During COVID-19
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that OCHIN in Portland and Community Health Centers of Benton and Linn Counties will receive $1.14 million in federal funds to help provide telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic. "Recent spikes in new COVID-19 cases around the country highlight the urgent need to support the use of technology tools such as telehealth that protect Oregonians and the health care heroes who care for them," Wyden said. "I'm … Continue Reading
July 10, 2020
Merkley, Wyden, Bonamici, Blumenauer Urge ICE and DHS to Immediately Withdraw New Guidance that Threatens International Students with Deportation
Washington, DC - Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led a group of 96 lawmakers in the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, including Senator Ron Wyden and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer, in pushing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw new guidance issued by ICE that imperils the status of international students who would be studying online at U.S. institutions this coming academic year. The … Continue Reading
July 08, 2020
Wyden, Merkley: Warm Springs Housing Authority Will Receive $900,000 COVID-19 Grant
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the Warm Springs Housing Authority has secured a $900,000 federal grant to help with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Tribes throughout Oregon are battling hard to weather COVID-19's economic and public health fallout such as its impact on members' essential need to keep a roof over their heads," Wyden said. "I am gratified these housing resources are heading to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Wyden Will Hold Virtual Town Hall on July 14
Portland - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today announced he will have a live on-line town hall on July 14 hosted by Town Hall Project for residents of Lane, Linn and Benton counties. Anybody wanting to watch that virtual regional town hall beginning at noon on Tuesday, July 14 can go to this Facebook link. Video at that link is available as well to people who don't have a Facebook account. Residents of Lane, Linn and Benton counties who would like to participate by asking Wyden a question can fill out … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Wyden, Merkley Co-sponsor Legislation to Investigate and Hold Police Officers and Departments Accountable for Discriminatory Practices
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced they are co-sponsoring legislation that would strengthen the federal and state governments' ability to investigate police departments with a pattern or practice of unconstitutional and discriminatory behavior. "Real change to uproot systemic racism in police departments demands a firm commitment to investigations that carry real accountability for law enforcement agencies when they violate civil rights," Wyden said. … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Wyden Co-sponsors 1619 Act to Raise Awareness, Understanding of African American History in Schools
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced his co-sponsorship of legislation to increase awareness and understanding of African American history across schools in Oregon and nationwide through expanded access to programming from the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The 1619 Act would provide federal funding to support African American History educational programs through workshops and professional development activities for educators. "African … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Wyden Demands Full Implementation and Enforcement of the Death in Custody Reporting Act
Washington, DC - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today called on Attorney General William Barr immediately to fully implement and enforce a law that requires states to report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) how many individuals die each year while in police custody or during the course of an arrest. Six years after Congress reauthorized the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA), that law still has not been fully implemented or enforced, despite a 2018 DOJ Inspector General report that provided clear … Continue Reading
July 03, 2020
Wyden Co-Sponsors Bill to Protect Firefighters During COVID-19 Pandemic
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced his co-sponsorship of the COVID-19 as a Presumptive Disease in Wildland Firefighters Act to protect firefighters during the COVID-19 public health emergency. "Every year our wildland firefighters put their lives on the line to protect our communities in Oregon and nationwide from destruction and dangerous wildfire smoke. In the face of COVID-19, a disease that threatens the health of our lungs, their work has never been more … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues to Trump Administration: Don’t Rip Away Health Care from Millions During Public Health Crisis
Washington, D.C. - As the Trump administration keeps working to dismantle the health care law that provides coverage for millions of Americans, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have joined 45 of their Senate colleagues in introducing a resolution condemning that reckless effort. The senators also demanded the Department of Justice (DOJ) defend existing law in court, and halt its efforts to repeal the health care protections for millions of Americans-including 133 million … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Legislation to Improve Water Access for Agriculture and Conservation as West Continues to Face Drought
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., today introduced legislation to help communities in Oregon and across the West experiencing high levels of drought. Their bill will improve water access for agriculture and conservation by funding projects that improve dam safety, create more resilient watersheds and benefit agricultural and urban water users. "At a time when the nation is suffering increased droughts that are hurting critical habitats and forcing farmers and … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Wyden Co-sponsors Amendment Requiring Trump Organization Disclose Income and Licensing Agreements for Its Foreign Properties
Washington, DC - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today co-sponsored an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would require Donald Trump and the Trump Organization to disclose full financial information for foreign properties owned by Trump's family business. That information would include the total income earned by the Trump Organization from any licensing agreements. "This isn't complicated - the American people deserve to know if presidents are making … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Wyden, Merkley: Greater Eastern Oregon Development Corporation Receives $400,000 CARES Award
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Greater Eastern Oregon Development Corporation (GEODC) has earned a $400,000 federal economic development aard that would help the Pendleton-based private non-profit cover costs for staff, planning, training and equipment in support of rural and frontier communities hit hard by COVID-19. The $400,000 award is part of the funding allocated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that Congress … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Wyden Co-sponsors Bill to Ensure Seniors in Federal Housing Can Live Safely, Stay Healthy during Pandemic
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today co-sponsored legislation that would provide $1.2 billion to ensure federally-assisted senior housing facilities have the resources to protect residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Seniors in Oregon and across the country face serious dangers from both COVID-19 and inaction from the federal government to protect them," Wyden said. "Congress must ensure seniors can remain in their homes and have the proper safeguards to stay healthy. … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Wyden Presses Federal Health Officials for Answers On Nursing Homes Evicting Residents Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Washington, DC - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden joined with 11 colleagues in calling on federal health officials to act in response to nursing homes evicting residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) cites New York Times reports that nursing homes have evicted more than 6,400 residents since the beginning of the pandemic. "Such evictions have been of great concern for many years, but they … Continue Reading
July 01, 2020
Wyden Joins Colleagues on the Senate Floor to Demand Assistance for Renters During COVID-19
Madam President, I'm joining my colleagues here this afternoon to talk about the avalanche of evictions that may be headed our way in a matter of weeks if the Senate does not act. The pandemic is getting worse. Yesterday Dr. Fauci talked about soon possibly seeing 100,000 new cases a day. You cannot have a healthy economy in a country suffering from mass illness and death. There are already tens of millions of Americans out of work as a result of a pandemic that's only continuing to spread. … Continue Reading
July 01, 2020
Wyden Statement on First Publicly Reported COVID-19 Cases at Oregon Child Care Center
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on Oregon's first publicly reported cases of COVID-19 at a child care center in the state: "Tragically, this issue is not unique to Oregon or to this specific center, as child care centers across America are grappling with how to keep children and families safe. Like most businesses, child care centers have lost revenue with kids staying home and higher operational costs to keep their centers safe. As the country slowly … Continue Reading
July 01, 2020
Wyden: New Version of EARN IT Would Do Little to Stop CSAM; Continues to Threaten Encryption and Free Speech Online
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement, after Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., pulled the EARN IT Act today and replaced it with an entirely new bill, one day before a scheduled markup in the Senate Judiciary Committee. "After widespread condemnation of the EARN IT Act as a dangerous attack on encryption and free speech, the bill's authors are attempting to replace their deeply flawed bill with an entirely new piece of … Continue Reading
July 01, 2020
Wyden, Merkley to Barr: Reverse Anti-LGBTQ Position, Protect Transgender Workers from Discrimination
Washington, D.C. - Following the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., which held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ workers from discrimination, Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined their colleagues to demand the Department of Justice (DOJ) reverse its anti-LGBTQ position that federal law does not shield transgender workers. In a letter to Attorney General William Barr, the senators called for DOJ to immediately … Continue Reading
July 01, 2020
Merkley, Wyden Announce Passage of Critical Fix to Help Klamath Irrigators
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the Senate has passed a critically needed fix to the 2018 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that will provide relief to Klamath Basin irrigators who have been hard-hit by drought. In 2018, WRDA included language that was essential for irrigators in the Klamath Basin to effectively use $10 million in drought relief funds that the lawmakers had previously secured. The new technical correction … Continue Reading
