WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 11, 2024: Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Senators Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley along with Congresswoman Bonamici and Mayor Ted Wheeler announced the U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding $450,000,000 in federal funding to the Oregon Department of Transportation for the I-5 Rose Quarter improvement project. The funding will go toward the construction of a highway cover over a portion of I-5, reco  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) is now accepting submissions for the 2024 Congressional Art Competition. The competition is open to any student in grades 9-12 who lives in Oregon's First Congressional District, which includes large portions of Washington and Multnomah counties, and all of Tillamook, Clatsop, and Columbia counties. A panel of local arts leaders will select the winning student arti  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: - Today, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) and Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) are introducing the Stop Spying Bosses Act, a bill to empower and protect workers from the use of exploitative surveillance technologies on the job. Employers are increasingly using these technologies to monitor workers' activities, both on and off duty, and even penalize them without sufficient oversight, accountabili  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Today Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) and Chris Deluzio (PA-17) introduced legislation to protect workers from AI-based discrimination and strengthen transparency in management and hiring decisions. The No Robot Bosses Act would reduce the potential for discrimination from AI-based hiring tools by adding protections for job applicants and employees related to automated decision systems. The leg  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 13, 2024: Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-WA) introduced legislation to improve the Federal Work Study Program. The Federal Work Study Program (FWS) helps thousands of students afford college every year, but a lack of resources and other restrictions prevent the program from fully meeting the needs of students. TheOpportunities for Success Act is a com  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-WA) introduced legislation to improve the Federal Work Study Program. The Federal Work Study Program (FWS) helps thousands of students afford college every year, but a lack of resources and other restrictions prevent the program from fully meeting the needs of students. TheOpportunities for Success Act is a comprehensive and ove  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced major investments in Oregon agriculture, rural housing, food assistance, and rural business priorities--along with nearly $12.7 million in funding for 14 Oregon community-initiated projects--have passed through the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) minibus funding package. This six-bill package cleared both chambers of Congress last we  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced major investments in Oregon agriculture, rural housing, food assistance, and rural business priorities--along with nearly $12.7 million in funding for 14 Oregon community-initiated projects--have passed through the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) minibus funding package. This six-bill package cleared both chambers of Congress last week   more

WASHINGTON, March 11 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Today the House passed bipartisan legislation led by House Oceans Caucus Co-Chair Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) to help remove marine debris from the ocean and waterways. The Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act updates the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act and Marine Debris Act to provide NOAA with greater flexibility to deliver federal resources and enter into cooperative agreements to conduct marine debris prevention and   more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley & U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) led their colleagues in sending a letter to the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Board of Directors to urge EXIM not to move forward providing a long-term loan or financial guarantee over $100 million to Bapco Energies to expand oil and gas drilling in Bahrain ahead of a critical board vote today. Their letter  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Washington, issued the following news release on March 13, 2024: Today, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), the lead Democrat on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation's announcement of $3.3 billion through the Reconnecting Communities Program and the Neighborhood Access and Equity Program, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. USDOT announced a total of $3.3 bill  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Today, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led 19 senators in a letter to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Whitaker calling attention to the continued need for clear and workable rules permitting members of flight crews to pump breastmilk aboard aircraft during non-critical phases of flight. Joining Merkley in this letter are U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA)  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024:   Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04) today announced Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center was awarded a federal grant of $165,252 to deliver health care services via telemedicine, directly benefiting 3,066 patients on Oregon's rural South Coast. "Rural communities deserve access to affordable, easy-to-get health care," Merkley said  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04) today announced Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center was awarded a federal grant of $165,252 to deliver health care services via telemedicine, directly benefiting 3,066 patients on Oregon's rural South Coast. "Rural communities deserve access to affordable, easy-to-get health care," Merkley said. "Te  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's Congressional delegation--U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, alongside U.S. House of Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Val Hoyle, Andrea Salinas, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Cliff Bentz--wrote a letter to the White House urging approval of Oregon Governor Tina Kotek's request for a Major Disaster Declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Governor's  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's Congressional delegation--U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, alongside U.S. House of Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Val Hoyle, Andrea Salinas, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Cliff Bentz--wrote a letter to the White House urging approval of Oregon Governor Tina Kotek's request for a Major Disaster Declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Governor's formal  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 13, 2024: Today, Congressman Cliff Bentz (R-OR) joined 197 of his Republican and 155 of his Democrat colleagues voting in support of H.R. 7521, The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at protecting American national security against the threats posed by social media applications controlled by foreign adversary governments. This bill, introdu  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 13, 2024: Today, Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD) demanded the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) remedy the "ineffective implementation" of the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act. The letter comes as HHS is overdue to provide Congress a report on federal barriers to cannabis research, as directed by the Medical Marijuana and Cann  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 14, 2024: Today, U.S. Representatives Val Hoyle (OR-04) and Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) introduced the Airport Ramp Worker Safety Act, which would help develop proper training and safety standards to protect airport ground crew workers while on the job. "Every worker deserves to be safe on the job. But today, airport ground crew workers don't have uniform safety training requirements which has led to som  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 13, 2024: Today, U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06) announced that she delivered $14,009,279 in Community Project Funding for Oregon's Sixth District. Rep. Salinas requested this funding for critical public safety, housing, infrastructure, and rural development initiatives in her district. The legislation passed Congress last week and was signed into law by the President on March 9, 2024.   more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Senate Health, Employment, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee Chair Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., this week sent a letter to federal agencies requesting they issue guidance to insurers to crack down on cost-sharing practices that land patients with surprise medical bills after receiving preventative servi  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement at a hearing on the American manufacturing boom, the IRA and CHIPS & Science Act on March 12, 2024: * * * There's a lot for the Finance Committee to discuss on the topic of manufacturing this morning. I want to start off with a bit of recent history on key manufacturing priorities. On infrastructure, it became a running joke during the Trump administration that every week  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement at a finance committee hearing on President Biden health care agenda, on March 14, 2024: * * * Today, the Finance Committee meets to discuss the year ahead for health care in our country. Thank you, Secretary Becerra, for joining us. I'm going to start us off today with a little history lesson. Topic one: drug prices. In July of 2020 Donald Trump said, and I quote: "Since  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on March 12, 2024: * * * Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement today in reaction to President Biden's State of the Union address: "Tonight the president once again made a strong argument for why the Congress ought to pass my Billionaires' Income Tax as the centerpiece of an effort to ensure that the ultra-wealthy and big corpor  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) renewed their call for the passage of their bipartisan legislation to crack down on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their shadowy tactics that drive up the cost of prescription drugs and force pharmacies across the country to shutter their doors. Ahead of a press  more

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on March 14, 2024: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Ranking Member Mike Crapo R-Idaho, today renewed their call for the passage of their bipartisan legislation to crack down on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their shadowy tactics that are driving up the cost of prescription drugs and forcing pharmacies across the country to close their doors.   more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee issued the following written testimony by Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor of economics and policy analysis at the New School for Social Research, involving a hearing on Feb. 28, 2024, entitled "Taking a Serious Look at the Retirement Crisis in America: What Can We Do to Expand Defined Benefit Pension Plans for Workers? * * * Go-Fund-Me Pensions Are Not A Solution In April 2023, Betty Glover, a 91-year-old groce  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced major investments to enhance water infrastructure and conservation and supercharge renewable energy projects in Oregon--including over $12.5 million in funding for 8 critical community-initiated projects across the state--have passed through the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) minibus funding package. This six-bill package cleared both chambers of Con  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced major investments to enhance water infrastructure and conservation and supercharge renewable energy projects in Oregon--including over $12.5 million in funding for 8 critical community-initiated projects across the state--have passed through the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) minibus funding package. This six-bill package cleared both chambers of Congre  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon Senator Ron Wyden today urged National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director Michael Casey to alert the public to the possibility that the Chinese government may possess backdoor codes to electronic locks made in China, by updating public educational materials to recommend that businesses upgrade their safe locks to meet U.S. government security standards. It is a common, albeit not widely kn  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024: U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley along with U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle today asked federal officials to extend the initial comment period for the development of environmental assessment of leasing activities in the Coos Bay Wind Energy Area and the Brookings Wind Energy Area off the south Oregon Coast. The three Oregon lawmakers wrote in their letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BO  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on March 12, 2024: U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley along with U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle today asked federal officials to extend the initial comment period for the development of environmental assessment of leasing activities in the Coos Bay Wind Energy Area and the Brookings Wind Energy Area off the south Oregon Coast. The three Oregon lawmakers wrote in their letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BO  more