Press Releases
Wyden, Merkley Secure Their Provision in Defense Bill to Train National Guard Members to Fight Wildfires
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley tonight secured their provision in the Senate's defense bill that would provide federal funding to train members of the National Guard to fight wildfires. The Wyden-Merkley amendment would authorize federal funding to states to train their Guard members for wildfire response. It would give first preference to states with the most federal forest lands - states that have been hard-hit by this year's record-breaking wildfire season. … Continue Reading
September 18, 2017
Merkley, Wyden Respond to Trump Administration Assault on Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today responded to new reports that the Trump Administration will seek to shrink the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and diminish its protections. The Senators pointed out that the monument was expanded through an extensive public process, and that the Trump Administration's plans to shrink it disrespect the voice of the local community and rest on an unprecedented and legally dubious use of the Antiquities Act. The latest … Continue Reading
September 15, 2017
Wyden Applauds Senate’s Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Fight Human Trafficking
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues this week in applauding the passage of their anti-human trafficking legislation in the Senate. The Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017 would strengthen and reauthorize key programs that support survivors of human trafficking and provide resources to federal, state, and local law enforcement officials on the front lines of the fight against modern-day slavery. Additional cosponsors of the bill … Continue Reading
September 15, 2017
Wyden, Bipartisan Senators Introduce Bill to Address Workforce Shortages through Career and Technical Education
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., to introduce the bipartisan Middle School Technical Education Program (Middle STEP) Act, to give middle school students better access to career and technical education (CTE) programs focused on career exploration. The Middle STEP Act would establish a pilot program that allows middle schools to partner with colleges, other postsecondary institutions and local businesses to develop and … Continue Reading
September 15, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Amendment to Defense Bill to Train National Guard Members to Fight Wildfires
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week introduced an amendment to the Senate's defense bill that would help train additional members of the National Guard to fight wildfires. The Wyden-Merkley amendment would authorize federal funding to train Guard members for wildfire response. It would also give first preference to states with the most federal forest lands - states like Oregon that have been hard-hit by this year's record-breaking wildfire season. Their … Continue Reading
September 14, 2017
Wyden, Merkley, Bonamici Join Effort to Help Working Families Access Affordable, High-Quality Child Care
WASHINGTON, DC - Today Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., a leader on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, joined comprehensive legislation to improve child care and early learning programs. The Child Care for Working Families Act, introduced by Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Congressman Bobby Scott, D-Va., will provide every child with access to high-quality early learning and care that is affordable for working … Continue Reading
September 14, 2017
Wyden, DeFazio Urge UAS Use to Fight Wildfires
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio today asked federal officials what's being done to deploy more unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to fight wildfires raging throughout Oregon and the West. As Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. DeFazio last year authored legislation that directed the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of the Interior, and Department of Agriculture to expedite the safe use of UAS to support firefighting … Continue Reading
September 14, 2017
Wyden Introduces Bill to Provide Free Credit Protections to All Americans after Equifax Security Breach
Washington, D.C. - In response to reports that millions of Americans' personally identifiable and credit card information was exposed in a data breach at Equifax Inc., U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced legislation to allow hardworking Americans to protect themselves from financial fraud at no cost. Wyden's Free Credit Freeze Act would guarantee all consumers can use PIN numbers to freeze and unfreeze their credit free-of-charge to stop fraudsters from opening new unauthorized financial … Continue Reading
September 12, 2017
Wyden, Hatch Request Information on Equifax Breach
WASHINGTON - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) called on Equifax Inc., to respond to reports that the firm experienced a data breach exposing personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses and driver's license numbers of about 143 million Americans. In addition, credit card information of more than 200,000 people was compromised. "The scope and scale of this breach appears to make it one … Continue Reading
September 08, 2017
Oregon Delegation Presses New Forest Service Chief for Full Cooperation to Fight Wildfires
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader and Greg Walden today pressed the new chief of the U.S. Forest Service for full cooperation in bringing much-needed resources to wildfire-ravaged communities across Oregon. In a letter to Forest Service Chief Tony Tooke, the Oregon lawmakers stressed the need for the agencies, the administration and Congress to come together to battle the catastrophic fires … Continue Reading
September 07, 2017
Wyden, Crapo, Bipartisan Senators Urge Congress to Pass Wildfire Funding Fix in Any Future Disaster Aid
Washington, D.C. - With large fires blazing across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, a bipartisan group of senators led by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, today urged Senate Leaders Mitch McConnell and Charles E. Schumer to include a wildfire funding fix in any future disaster aid legislation that passes through Congress. In addition to Wyden and Crapo, the letter's signers include Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Martin Heinrich, … Continue Reading
September 06, 2017
Wyden Pushes Trump Administration to Support Wildfire Funding Fix in Disaster Aid for Hurricane Harvey
Washington, D.C. - After the governors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and California declared states of emergency from wildfires ripping across the West, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today pushed the Trump administration to include wildfire funding fix in any request to Congress for disaster aid. Wyden has repeatedly pushed Congress to pass a wildfire fix and reform the way the federal government fights wildfires. Wyden and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, first introduced in 2013 the Wildfire … Continue Reading
August 22, 2017
Wyden Secures Key Amendments on FY2018 Intelligence Authorization Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, secured three key amendments to the Intelligence Authorization Act for the 2018 fiscal year, which was recently made public. A report on the threat to the United States from Russian money laundering. The amendment calls on intelligence agencies to work with elements of the Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement … Continue Reading
August 15, 2017
Wyden, Murray, Merkley, Democratic Senators Urge NCAA to Promote Campus Safety
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and five of their Senate Democratic colleagues today urged the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Commission to Combat Campus Sexual Violence to promote campus safety by recommending uniform policies for prospective student-athletes and athletes seeking to transfer between universities. In a letter to the NCAA commission, the senators urged the commission to evaluate new … Continue Reading
August 09, 2017
Oregon Delegation Announces Partial Federal Disaster Relief for Severe Winter Storms
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's entire congressional delegation today announced the White House will grant a partial federal disaster declaration for a few days of a winter weather-related losses across the state this January. The decision is a reversal of an earlier denial of federal disaster relief for the state. The disaster declaration will allow local governments to seek much-needed federal relief for damage caused by winter storms from Jan. 7-10. But that is likely to fall far short of the … Continue Reading
August 04, 2017
Wyden, Boozman, Markey Bill to Ensure Equal Treatment for Wounded Guard and Reserve Members Goes to President’s Desk
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., John Boozman, R-Ark., and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., today announced their bipartisan legislation to restore GI benefits to members of the Guard and Reserve is headed to the president's desk as part of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, also known as the Forever GI Bill. The GI Bill Fairness Act passed the Senate this week as part of the Forever GI bill, a broader package to improve veterans' education benefits and … Continue Reading
August 04, 2017
Wyden, Merkley Secure Major Win for Oregon Crab Fisheries
Washington, D.C. - A bill introduced by Oregon's Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to strengthen Oregon's crab fishery passed the United States Senate and will now head to the president's desk for signature into law. The bill permanently extends a decades-long fishery management agreement that has been vital to the Pacific Northwest's Dungeness crab fishery. Without this legislation, crab fisheries in Oregon faced an uncertain future without an approved fishery management plan. "The signature … Continue Reading
August 03, 2017
Wyden Joins Senators Calling on FCC to Extend Net Neutrality Comment Period
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today joined a group of 21 senators in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to extend the reply comment period for its proposal to undo the Open Internet Order and net neutrality protections. In 2015, the FCC adopted the Open Internet Order, which reclassified broadband as a telecommunication service under Title II. The D.C. Circuit Court upheld the rules in its 2016. The FCC's Open Internet Order prohibits internet service providers … Continue Reading
August 03, 2017
Wyden Suggests Ways to Estimate Americans Swept Up Under Foreign Surveillance Program
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today asked Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to consider new ways to estimate the number of Americans swept up under a surveillance program intended to target foreigners. Wyden has sought that estimate since 2011, but Coats recently announced the administration was abandoning efforts to determine how many Americans are caught up in foreign intelligence dragnets. In a letter to Coats, Wyden asked the executive branch to estimate the number … Continue Reading
August 03, 2017
Wyden, Booker, Durbin Urge Consumer Protection Agency to Bring Transparency to Small Business Lending for Women and Minority Entrepreneurs
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to bring transparency to small business lending by identifying barriers that prevent women and minority entrepreneurs from starting small businesses. The senators pressed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to follow through with implementing a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that required the CFPB to collect and make available … Continue Reading