WASHINGTON, May 29 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) released a statement after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced proposals to improve efficiency in forest management projects and expedite efforts to clean up after wildfires. "Southern Oregon has borne the brunt of wildfires and smoke in recent years," said Walden. "The BLM's proposals take meaningful steps to streamline forest management projects that help p  more

WASHINGTON, May 29 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 28: During today's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) asked Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Loren Sweatt to explain why the agency has issued only one COVID-19 workplace safety citation during the worst worker safety crisis in recent history. The sole citation was for recordkeeping. Though OSHA is  more

WASHINGTON, May 28 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Susan Wild (PA-07), Kendra Horn (OK-05), and Josh Harder (CA-10) led a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos demanding accountability for a lack of Department oversight which led the credit scores of 4.8 million student loan borrowers to drop significantly and erroneously. Passed by Congress and signed into law in late March, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, a  more

WASHINGTON, May 28 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Reps. Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Greg Walden (OR-02) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) requested U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Vicki Christiansen provide details on the agency's efforts to prepare for the 2020 wildfire season amidst the coronavirus pandemic. "The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with high levels of drought throughout the West, will create unprecedented wildlan  more

WASHINGTON, May 28 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Reps. Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Greg Walden (OR-02) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) requested U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Vicki Christiansen provide details on the agency's efforts to prepare for the 2020 wildfire season amidst the coronavirus pandemic. "The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with high levels of drought throughout the West, will create unprecedented wildland f  more

WASHINGTON, May 30 -- Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Rep. Schrader announced a $3.5 million-dollar grant from the Department of Transportation that will be used to purchase five electric buses for Salem Keizer Transit as part of the Low or No Emission Vehicle Program. "I am very pleased that Salem Keizer Transit was chosen to by the DOT to receive these much-needed funds," said Rep. Schrader. "I led a letter to the DOT requesting these funds to purchase electr  more

WASHINGTON, May 30 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-New York, chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, issued the following opening remarks at a video conference hearing entitled "The Status of the U.S. Maritime Supply Chain During the COVID-19 Pandemic": Chair DeFazio: Thank you, Chairman Maloney, I commend you for quickly organizing this afternoon's hearing to   more

WASHINGTON, May 29 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: Reps. Greg Walden (OR-02), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) requested U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Vicki Christiansen provide details on the agency's efforts to prepare for the 2020 wildfire season amidst the coronavirus pandemic. "The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with high levels of drought throughout the West, will create unprecedented wildland fir  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following joint statement with Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Rep. Michael Burgess, D-Texas, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health, after President Trump's announcement on lowering insulin costs for seniors: "We applaud President Trump for working to make insulin affordable for seniors t  more

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following column: As Congress works with the Administration to consider the next phases of federal support to address the impacts of the pandemic, I am advocating for getting resources to smaller communities to ease recovery. Enacting a long-term solution for the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (SRS) and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) programs is a priority to provide much-needed certainty to rural communitie  more

WASHINGTON, May 30 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following statement after President Trump announcement to cut off U.S. funding for and withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization: In January, Merkley led a bipartisan push for the WHO to declare the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, which the WHO did the day after Merkley's call for action. * * * "Let's be crystal clear: Cutting the United States out of the World Health Organization  more

WASHINGTON, May 28 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on May 27 after State Secretary Mike Pompeo released a new determination that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from mainland China: The determination, which follows a anti-democratic law cracking down on Hong Kong, signals the potential end of Hong Kong's special trading status with the United States. * * * "The United States had little choice but to make this determination after the Chinese government's lates  more

WASHINGTON, May 30 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with seven of his colleagues in the Senate, are calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue specific guidance for when long-term care facilities can safely reopen their doors to visitors, and what steps long-term care facilities should take to ensure the safety of residents and family members when they do so. "Significant restrictions on d  more

WASHINGTON, May 30 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 29: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley teamed up with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren to lead a group of six senators in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Education (ED) Secretary Betsy DeVos, raising serious concerns about reports that one of ED's federal student loan servicers, Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. (which is owned by Nelnet, Inc., another federal student loan servicer), provid  more

WASHINGTON, May 29 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news: Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked federal watchdogs to review the prevalence and consequences of insurance companies subcontracting mental health service coverage to a different insurance company. In a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Wyden asked the agency to review whether plans that subcontract mental health   more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement in response to the final dark money rule, which repeals nonprofit donor reporting requirements: "The Trump administration has opened the flood gates to dark money pouring into our election system just months before Donald Trump is on the ballot. "We're in the midst of a global pandemic and once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis and the Trump administration is p  more

WASHINGTON, May 30 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to President Trump's campaign ad: "Donald Trump is the new chairman of the chutzpah caucus, attempting to take credit for supercharged unemployment in his whopper of a campaign ad. "To be clear, Donald Trump had nothing to do with boosting unemployment benefits. Supercharging unemployment benefits was a top priority of Senate Democrats, and Dona  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on May 26 in response to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, on an amendment on the protection from warrantless collection of internet browsing history and searches: "The House Intelligence Committee chairman's assertion that the Lofgren-Davidson amendment does not fully protect Americans from warrantless collection f  more

WASHINGTON, May 29 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on May 28 in response to President Trump's planned executive order to punish private companies and attempt to re-write Sect. 230, as well as the 1st Amendment: "I have warned for years that this administration was threatening 230 in order to chill speech and bully companies like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter into giving him favorable treatment. Today Trump proved me right. I expect those companies, and every American  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on May 26 regarding Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., securing a vote on an amendment to ban warrantless surveillance of Internet searches and web browsing in the House Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reauthorization bill: "I applaud Rep. Lofgren for securing a vote on my amendment to ban warrantless collection of Americans' internet activity. There are few things more private than where a person goes on the internet  more

WASHINGTON, May 30 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined colleagues in pressing the Trump administration to clarify the formula used to allocate payments to Tribal governments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In the letter, the senators ask Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to ensure that the disbursement formula is fully transparent and that all   more

WASHINGTON, May 28 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said he has introduced a bipartisan bill that would protect recovery payments provided in the recent CARES Act pandemic response legislation from garnishment by private debt collectors. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis. Relief was intended for struggling families, not predatory debt collectors," said Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. "Our legislation would en  more

WASHINGTON, May 29 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news: Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Senate Rules Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., requested assurances from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that he would not follow an illegal order from Donald Trum  more

WASHINGTON, May 29 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Biggs community in Sherman County will receive over $2 million in federal assistance to establish a municipal water system that will source and store water to support residents, firefighting efforts, and other emergency services. The funding--a $1.56 million loan and $535,500 grant--is distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)  more

WASHINGTON, May 29 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Biggs community in Sherman County will receive over $2 million in federal assistance to establish a municipal water system that will source and store water to support residents, firefighting efforts, and other emergency services. The funding--a $1.56 million loan and $535,500 grant--is distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Ru  more

WASHINGTON, May 30 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Salem Area Mass Transit District will receive over $3.5 million in grant funding for the purchase or lease of zero-emission and low-emission transit buses and the leasing, construction, and acquisition of necessary supporting facilities. "Now is the time to make the investments our communities need to build a foundation for the healthy, economi  more

WASHINGTON, May 30 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Salem Area Mass Transit District will receive over $3.5 million in grant funding for the purchase or lease of zero-emission and low-emission transit buses and the leasing, construction, and acquisition of necessary supporting facilities. "Now is the time to make the investments our communities need to build a foundation for the healthy, econ  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley called for increased funding for programs that support domestic violence survivors and their pets that were established under the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act. In a bipartisan letter with 30 other senators to Senate and Appropriations Committee leadership, Wyden and Merkley highlighted how reports of domestic violence have risen during this pandemic, and that   more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with 27 of their Senate colleagues, wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to blast the administration's intention to finalize a proposed rule changing the enforcement of an anti-discrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposed rule could empower providers to deny care to LGBTQIA+ individuals, limit care to  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with 27 of their Senate colleagues, wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to blast the administration's intention to finalize a proposed rule changing the enforcement of an anti-discrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposed rule could empower providers to deny care to LGBTQIA+ individuals, limit care to wo  more

WASHINGTON, May 28 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif., led 14 colleagues in pressing the Trump administration for answers regarding the health and safety of young people detained in juvenile facilities across the country. In a letter to Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Administrator Caren Harp, the senators requested the agency make public the measures it has taken to prote  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley called on federal officials to implement the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provision of the bipartisan CARES Act as Congress intended and to stop targeting critical, safety-net health care providers like Planned Parenthood based on political ideology. In a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley called on federal officials to implement the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provision of the bipartisan CARES Act as Congress intended and to stop targeting critical, safety-net health care providers like Planned Parenthood based on political ideology. In a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, t  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 26: Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley called for increased funding for programs that support domestic violence survivors and their pets that were established under the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act. In a bipartisan letter with 30 other senators to Senate and Appropriations Committee leadership, Wyden and Merkley highlighted how reports of domestic violence have risen during this pandemic, an  more

WASHINGTON, May 28 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release: Energy and Commerce Republicans last week unveiled 15 bills as part of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee agenda to ensure American leadership in emerging technologies to beat China and other challenges to global competitiveness. Here's what members and stakeholders are saying about this effort. Thomas Quaadman, executive vice  more