WASHINGTON, May 26 -- Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California, issued the following news release and letter on May 25, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) sent a letter to the Biden Administration ahead of the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution expressing their disappointment with the lack of United States negotiating stance, signaling that the Administration is not committed to an ambitious agreement to en  more

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release and letter: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) sent a letter to the Biden Administration ahead of the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution expressing their disappointment with the lack of United States negotiating stance, signaling that the Administration is not committed to an ambitious agreement to end plastics pollution.  more

WASHINGTON, May 24 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following news release and letter: Congressman Earl Blumenauer, founder and co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, lead a letter urging the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) for a full investigation into the horse deaths that have occurred in the leadup of this year's Kentucky Derby. The letter requests that the results of the investigations be made public, an evaluation of additional HISA authori  more

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 25, 2023: Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced legislation to promote pregnancy intention screenings that help prevent unintended pregnancies and increase the likelihood of healthy pregnancies. The Enhancing Questions to Understand Intentions for Pregnancy (EQUIP) Act would create a pilot program at the Centers for Disease Control to promote routine screening of people of child-bea  more

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: During Older Americans Month,Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Becca Balint (D-VT), and Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) introduced legislation to help LGBTQI+ seniors access needed care and services. The Ruthie and Connie LGBTQI Elder Americans Act would help overcome barriers faced by many LGBTQI+ seniors by decreasing isolation, improving health, and increasing access to culturally competent servi  more

WASHINGTON, May 24 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 23, 2023: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) joined Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), and a bipartisan group of her colleagues to introduce the Dignity Act. The historic proposal seeks to fix the United States' broken immigration system, and it is the first serious bipartisan immigration solution proposed by Congress in over a decade. The Dignity Act consists of four cor  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release and letter: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05), a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, joined committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) and Rep. Tim Walberg (MI-05) to demand information from Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su about recent reports that migrant children - many of whom were under the care of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - are being trafficked and working  more

WASHINGTON, May 24 -- Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, issued the following news release: The Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held an oversight hearing on the president's Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget request for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs). Su  more

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 24, 2023: On Wednesday, May 24, 2023, the National Endowment for the Arts announced it will award the Oregon Arts Commission a $1,016,100 grant to support its programs, services, and activities associated with carrying out the agency's National Endowment for the Arts-approved strategic plan. "Creative expression through art is incredibly powerful," said Rep. Salinas. "Yet we too often see arts program  more

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on May 24, 2023: * * * Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (D-Tigard) issued the following statement to mark one year since the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas: "One year ago, an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas became the site of one of the most horrific acts of violence in American history. Nineteen precious young lives and two courageous teachers were stolen from us by an eighteen-year-o  more

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 467, the HALT Fentanyl Act, which would make the class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances permanent, supply law enforcement with the tools needed to keep these dangerous drugs off the streets, and support research efforts to understand the effects of fentanyl-related substances on people's health. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05), who is a  more

WASHINGTON, May 23 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release and letter: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led Senators in a bipartisan letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Richard Spinrad, and National Marine Fisheries Service Janet Coit, pushing for a revised proposed rule to the Seafood Import Monitoring Plan (SIMP) current proposal to tackle Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) fis  more

WASHINGTON, May 24 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 23, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will be awarded $8,364,460 under the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Emergency Relief Program. The funding will be used for road and bridge repairs on Forest Service roads that have sustained damages from extreme weather events. "Oregonians across the state depend on safe and relia  more

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 23, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will be awarded $8,364,460 under the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Emergency Relief Program. The funding will be used for road and bridge repairs on Forest Service roads that have sustained damages from extreme weather events. "Oregonians across the state depend on safe and reliable  more

WARM SPRINGS, Oregon, May 23 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 22, 2023: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs celebrated over $28 million in federal investments being made to build a new water treatment plant, which is critical to ensure the community will have safe and dependable drinking water for years to come. The Senators and Warms Springs leadership were joined on-site by the U.S. Environmenta  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-California, issued the following news release and letter: Rep. Pete Aguilar led California Democrats in supporting a $700 million infrastructure project, which will alleviate air pollution and global warming emissions associated with medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The letter was co-led by Rep. Grace Napolitano. In a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Aguilar and California Democrats stated their support for a grant  more

WASHINGTON, May 24 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 23, 2023: Today Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL) and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced legislation to prohibit the practice of corporal punishment in any school that receives federal funding. The Protecting Our Students in Schools Act of 2023 would establish a series of important protections for students and families and  more

WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee issued the following testimony by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, involving a hearing on May 11, 2023, entitled "Examining Cannabis Banking Challenges of Small Businesses and Workers": * * * Thank you for holding this critical hearing today on our SAFE Banking Act. And thank you for the invitation to come and testify on an effort I began over eight years ago and have partnered with bi-partisan colleagues, including Sena  more

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on May 25, 2023: * * * Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on the House Republican international tax bill: "In 2017 Republicans passed a tax law that created new incentives to ship jobs and park profits overseas, and they have resisted every effort to ensure that multinational corporations pay a fair share. It's now abunda  more

WASHINGTON, May 23 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement at a hearing on May 11, 2023, entitled "Cross-Border Rx: Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and U.S. International Tax Policy": * * * The Finance Committee meets this morning to discuss the highly intricate tax schemes of some of the largest U.S. pharmaceutical companies, and the immense handouts those companies got from the 2017 Republican tax law. In short, it goes like this. W  more

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Representatives Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Steven Horsford (NV-04) introduced the Educating Future Nurses Act to expand clinical education and training opportunities for future Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). The legislation creates a permanent federal funding stream for hospitals to partner with schools of nursing, community-based care settings, and other hospital  more

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on May 24, 2023: * * * U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., applauded the Department of Homeland Security for releasing a new department-wide policy requiring use of body-worn cameras to improve accountability of DHS law enforcement personnel. The policy was recommended by DHS's Law Enforcement Coordination Council, which was created following Wyden's hold on the confirmation of former Customs and Border Protection Commi  more

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on May 24, 2023: * * * U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement applauding the Department of Education for protecting the privacy of students by updating FERPA regulations to provide best practice guidance to school districts regarding contracting with ed-tech vendors. "I'm pleased the Department of Education listened to my call to protect students' data from big tech companies by updating F  more

WASHINGTON, May 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release and letter: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on the International Trade Administration (ITA) to answer questions about its promotion of dangerous surveillance technology in foreign markets, and explain what steps it is taking to prevent such technology sales from harming human rights. Wyden chairs the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over international trade policy. He first requested inform  more

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 24, 2023: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde will receive a $500,000 federal investment to build a fixed wireless network providing high-speed Internet connections to 200 unserved households in their community. "Quality rural broadband is essential to quality of life, and that infrastructure priority must include Tribal communities," said   more

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 24, 2023: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde will receive a $500,000 federal investment to build a fixed wireless network providing high-speed Internet connections to 200 unserved households in their community. "Quality rural broadband is essential to quality of life, and that infrastructure priority must include Tribal communities," said Wyd  more

WASHINGTON, May 23 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 22, 2023: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and the Burns Paiute Tribe have earned federal grants to build affordable housing and repair a cultural heritage center. "Affordable housing and rehabilitated cultural resources are crucial to continued Tribal independence and sovereignty," Wyden said. "I am gratified to see th  more

WASHINGTON, May 23 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 22, 2023: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and the Burns Paiute Tribe have earned federal grants to build affordable housing and repair a cultural heritage center. "Affordable housing and rehabilitated cultural resources are crucial to continued Tribal independence and sovereignty," Wyden said. "I am gratified to see these  more

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 24, 2023: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and U.S. Representative Deborah Ross, D-N.C., today announced the Fair Courts Act, legislation that makes it more difficult for litigants to seek out specific judges to guarantee their preferred outcome and requires a panel of judges to preside over cases that seek nationwide relief. "It's fundamentally unjust for a special interest group to play hopscotch with Ame  more