WASHINGTON, May 19 -- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto's (D-Nev.) bipartisan effort to crack down on xylazine continues to pick up support from across the country, with 39 attorneys general from both parties calling for Congress to pass her Combating Illicit Xylazine Act. In a new letter, attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florid  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following news release and letter: Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) led a letter to the U.S Department of Agriculture requesting an investigation into conflicts of interest within the panel responsible for overseeing animal testing at Elon Musk's medical device company, Neuralink. "The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) appears to be composed almost exclusively of company employees wi  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05), a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, questioned U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on the importance of high school proficiency testing requirements for math, reading, and writing. Specifically, she highlighted Oregon's 2021 law, which suspended a requirement for high schools to demonstrate that students were graduating with the abil  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 17, 2023: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) joined Reps. Josh Harder (CA-09), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), and Lucy McBath (GA-07) to introduce the bipartisan Youth Workforce Readiness Act. The proposal seeks to establish a grant for eligible after-school programs to equip the next generation with the skills they will need to succeed in the workforce. "When I was a mayor, I always looked for ways to  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) joined Rep. Michael McCaul (TX-10) to introduce the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which seeks to combat the fentanyl crisis by targeting the illicit drug's global supply chain. Specifically, the proposal would strengthen current law and direct the Treasury Department to target, sanction, and block the financial assets of transnational criminal organizations - targeting everyone  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: Reps. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) have introduced the First Responders' Care Expansion (FRCE) Act to lower the Medicare enrollment age for first responders to 57. The lawmakers introduced the legislation in recognition of National Police Week. First responders are often forced to retire early due to the physical toll of service. The FRCE Act would ensure first responders have   more

WASHINGTON, May 19 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Con.Res.40 to express support for law enforcement officers and condemn efforts to defund police departments. Following her vote in support of the bipartisan resolution, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) released the following statement. "Our law enforcement officers put themselves in dangerous situations so we can feel safe in our own homes. They need, and dese  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on May 16, 2023: * * * Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (D-Tigard) issued the following statement in recognition of National Police Week: "Every day, from Tigard to Turner, McMinnville to Monmouth, tens of thousands of courageous Oregonians answer the call to protect and serve. They put on their badge and, with it, make a commitment to put their community before themselves. Whether they're rushing into an active s  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) has cosponsored three bipartisan bills to ensure law enforcement, firefighters, and first responders receive the benefits they deserve. The Public Safety Retirees Healthcare Protection Act, the Law Enforcement Officer Fair Retirement Act, and the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act would help ensure public safety officers receive well-earned health care and retirement benefit  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 19, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Val Hoyle (D-OR-04) teamed up to introduce bicameral, bipartisan legislation to address the urgent need for clear rules and regulations allowing flight crews to safely pump breastmilk aboard aircraft. With the PUMP Act of 2022 included in the Fiscal Year 2023 year-end federal funding bill, millions of new mothers are now guaranteed the right  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 16, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that Central Oregon Community College (COCC) was awarded nearly $3 million to help expand the electric vehicle (EV) technician workforce. The funding comes from the National Science Foundation and will support COCC's Northwest Engineering and Vehicle Technology Exchange (NEVTEX). "The transportation sector is the largest contrib  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 16, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that Central Oregon Community College (COCC) was awarded nearly $3 million to help expand the electric vehicle (EV) technician workforce. The funding comes from the National Science Foundation and will support COCC's Northwest Engineering and Vehicle Technology Exchange (NEVTEX). "The transportation sector is the largest contributo  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 19, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding the Portland International Airport $6 million under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to update their master plan. "PDX is a vital hub for Oregon's residents and businesses that rely on air travel, whether it's f  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 19, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding the Portland International Airport $6 million under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to update their master plan. "PDX is a vital hub for Oregon's residents and businesses that rely on air travel, whether it's for   more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 19, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding the Portland International Airport $6 million under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to update their master plan. "PDX is a vital hub for Oregon's residents and businesses that rely on air travel, whether it  more

WASHINGTON, May 19 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release and letter: As Congressional Republicans demand major cuts that would cause incalculable damage to the lives of working Americans, 11 Senate Democrats sent a letter on Thursday to President Joe Biden urging his administration to prepare to invoke the 14th Amendment to avoid a catastrophic debt default. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Elizabeth   more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 17, 2023: At a time when more than 1 million people in the United States have lost their lives to the coronavirus pandemic - at least one third of which have been linked to lack of health insurance - and 15 million Americans are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) today came together with 14 of their colleague  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management and Trade issued the following testimony by Brent Cheyne, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, involving a hearing on May 2, 2023, entitled "Commodity Programs, Credit, and Crop Insurance - Part 1: Producer Perspectives on the Farm Safety Net": * * * Thank you for the opportunity to testify before this Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade Subcommittee. My name  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release: Following the release of a two-year investigation that found Credit Suisse enabled ongoing, potentially criminal tax evasion by failing to report the outflow of fortunes belonging to U.S. citizens -- a violation of its 2014 plea agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) expanded his inquiry with letters to four   more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement at a hearing on House Republican IRS funding cuts undermining law enforcement and taxpayer service, on May 16, 2023: In recent months this committee has held three hearings, two with Commissioner Werfel and one with Secretary Yellen, in which Republicans have attacked the Inflation Reduction Act funding for the IRS. The first bill that House Republicans passed in 2023 repe  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement at a hearing on IRA tax incentives, on May 18, 2023: * * * The Finance Committee meets this morning for our first hearing on America's energy transformation since the Inflation Reduction Act became law. Two years ago, almost to the day, this committee voted on the Clean Energy for America Act. In writing that legislation, our lodestar was developing a technology-neutral, m  more

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on May 16, 2023: * * * U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on the release of the feasibility study showing broad support among Americans for the IRS setting up a system that would allow taxpayers to file returns directly to the IRS online for free: "Between tricking Americans into accepting unnecessary charges and lobbying relentlessly again  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on May 15, 2023: * * * Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on IRS Commissioner Werfel's letter regarding racial bias in audits: "Researchers did a great service spotting the racial bias in the algorithms that guide audit selection, and even before Commissioner Werfel was confirmed by the Senate, he pledged that he'd get to  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on May 15, 2023, on Republican's proposed cuts to Medicaid: * * * The Senate has just heard compelling arguments from the Senators from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania about the importance of Medicaid. Now I'm going to lay out three key arguments about the House Republican proposal to cut the program. Most Americans with health coverage through Medicaid are already working i  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on May 18, 2023, and letter: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today sent a letter to President Joe Biden expressing support for his position to reject any proposals that take away health care coverage from Americans or increase poverty. "I am deeply disturbed by the House Republicans' push to threaten Medicaid health coverage for over 20 million Americans  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release and letter: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked the Biden Administration for information about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) plans to help Americans access new Alzheimer's medications that are coming to market. "I write today to ask CMS to provide prompt, clear, and publicly available information about how Medicare providers and p  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on May 17, 2023: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today responded in a new letter to billionaire Republican activist Harlan Crow's attorney and resubmitted key questions regarding real estate transactions and gifts of luxury travel he has provided to Justice Clarence Thomas and his family over multiple decades. Crow's attorney replied to Senator Wyden  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release and letter: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Congressman Don Beyer (D-Va.-08), former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to crack down on Swiss banks enabling ongoing tax evasion by U.S. citizens and hold accountable individual bankers involved in these criminal schemes. The joint letter to Attorney General   more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on May 19, 2023: * * * U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement calling for reforms to FISA surveillance following disclosure of new abuses. "Yet again, the public is learning about shocking abuses of FISA Section 702, in particular the FBI's warrantless searches through 702 data for information on Americans. "These abuses have been going on for years and despite recent changes in FBI pract  more

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 19, 2023: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Shelly Moore Capito, R-W. Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., today announced their bipartisan resolution that encourages children to get outdoors and promote healthy outdoor recreation by designating May 20, 2023 National Kids to Parks Day. First c  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 15, 2023: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today that he and Senate colleagues have introduced legislation that would ensure military families in Oregon and nationwide receive the quality reproductive health care they deserve. "Military families in Oregon and nationwide deserve access to equitable reproductive health care and contraception--without having to pay hundreds of dollars per year out of pocket," Wyde  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 15, 2023: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today with colleagues introduced bipartisan legislation that would help build nearly two million new affordable homes over the next decade. "When it comes to solutions for affordable housing there's no substitute for increasing supply. The centerpiece of this proposal is the largest-ever expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which is the most effective program on   more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 17, 2023: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today that he and Senate colleagues have released a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office that found the use of non-compete agreements is widespread throughout the U.S. labor market and serves to unfairly protect large employers while restricting job mobility, lowering wages for workers, and discouraging innovation. "I've been sounding the alarm that   more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 17, 2023: As Oregonians gear up for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources today advanced on a bipartisan vote bills authored by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley that would make the outdoors more accessible, support the recreation economy, protect drinking water for thousands of Oregonians, and ensure essential wildfire prevention work. "Oregon is hom  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release and letter on May 17, 2023: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and six bipartisan senators today called for stronger protections for the privacy of Americans' letters and packages, in a letter to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) today. Wyden chairs the Senate Finance Committee, and Paul is ranking member of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Senators Cynthia Lumm  more