PORTLAND, Oregon, March 7 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon issued the following news release: * * * Active-Duty and Former U.S. Army Soldiers Arrested for Theft of Government Property and Bribery Scheme PORTLAND, Ore.-- Jian Zhao and Li Tian, active-duty U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, along with Ruoyu Duan, a former U.S. Army soldier, were arrested today following indictments by federal grand juries in the District of Oregon and the West  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- The FBI issued the following news release on March 6, 2025: * * * Active-Duty and Former U.S. Army Soldiers Arrested for Theft of Government Property and Bribery Scheme One Soldier Charged with Conspiring to Transmit National Defense Information to Individuals Located in China View the indictment for Jian Zhao. Jian Zhao, and Li Tian, active-duty U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, along with Ruoyu Duan, a former U.S. Army soldier, were arrested   more

WASHINGTON, March 7 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the following document from Economics Daily: * * * Annual average unemployment rates increased in 21 states in 2024 March 07, 2025 In 2024, annual average unemployment rates increased in 21 states and were little changed in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Employment-population ratios decreased in 5 states and were little changed in 45 states and the District. The U.S. jobless rate increase  more

SALEM, Oregon, March 7 [Category: Education] -- The Oregon School Boards Association issued the following news: * * * Class size bill doesn't add up to better learning environments for all students Bills to reduce class sizes have been a regular feature in the Oregon Legislature for at least 15 years. Everyone agrees Oregon wants smaller classes if we can achieve them. Session after session, class size bills have nearly all been shot down, though, because the math is simple: Smaller class s  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies released the following written testimony by Jeremy Takala, chair of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, from a Feb. 27, 2025, public witness hearing on budget requests for fiscal 2026: * * * Summary of Budget Requests for FY2026: Increase Funding for Rights Protection Implementation a. Columbia River Fisheries Management - $6.4 million b. Columbia River-In Lieu Sites Law E  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies released the following testimony by Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, from a Feb. 26, 2025, public witness hearing on fiscal 2026 funding requests: * * * On behalf of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (the "Colville Tribes" or the "CCT"), I thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony on the Subcommittee's FY  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: * * * Hirono, Colleagues Call on FEMA to Respond to Questions about Disaster Victim Data, Mass Firings, and Funding Freezes Lawmakers: "The Administration's destructive approach will not assist the disaster-impacted communities across the country hoping to rebuild and move forward. To the contrary, it will leave the nation more vulnerable to future disasters and less prepared to pick up the pieces when t  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies released the following testimony by Cody Desautel, president of the Intertribal Timber Council, from a Feb. 27, 2025, public witness hearing on funding for tribal forests: * * * I am Cody Desautel, President of the Intertribal Timber Council (ITC) and Executive Director of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington State. The ITC is a 49-year-old association of fore  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- The Library of Congress issued the following news: * * * Library Announces Teaching with Primary Sources Regional Grant Awards The Library of Congress recently awarded six Teaching with Primary Sources regional grants. Recipients of these regional grants will make subgrants on behalf of the Library to organizations that wish to integrate Library resources and Teaching with Primary Sources methods into their educational programming. The recipients include Illinois Stat  more

WASHINGTON, March 6 -- Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * March 2024 Newsletter RAW TEXT IS BELOW THE PHOTO VERSION # RAW TEXT: PAGE 1 A message from Val: Dear Friends, Thank you to those of you who reached out and left messages over the past month. It is important to me that I hear your stories and opinions. I also want to share what I am doing to protect our district from the Trump administration's policies that attack our government and our democr  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Merkley, Wyden, Bipartisan Colleagues Push to Protect the Rights of Oregon, America's Workers Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressional and labor leaders to reintroduce the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act). This bipartisan legislation protects the rights of workers in Oregon and nationwide to s  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Demand FEMA Responds to Questions about Disaster Victim Data, Mass Firings, and Funding Freezes Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their colleagues to call on the leadership of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond to unanswered questions about Elon Musk's so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) and   more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Demand FEMA Responds to Questions about Disaster Victim Data, Mass Firings, and Funding Freezes Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their colleagues to call on the leadership of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond to unanswered questions about Elon Musk's so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) and its  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- NASA issued the following news release: * * * NASA Astronaut to Answer Questions from Students in Oregon NASA astronaut Don Pettit inside the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft. (Credit: NASA) Students from Oregon will have the chance to connect with NASA astronaut Don Pettit as he answers prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related questions from aboard the International Space Station. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 2:15 p.m. EDT on Monday  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies released the following testimony by Aurene Martin, a board member at the National Indian Child Welfare Association, from a Feb. 27, 2025, public witness hearing on funding recommendations for programs under the Bureau of Indian Affairs: * * * The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is a national American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) nonprofit organization. NICWA has been a l  more

SALEM, Oregon, March 7 [Category: Education] -- The Oregon School Boards Association issued the following news: * * * Negotiations improve bill to pay striking workers, but it still holds concerns for schools School districts are major employers, which means sometimes we must face labor issues. Senate Bill 916 has been one of the most contentious bills of this session. The bill would give striking workers, including school employees, the right to draw unemployment pay while they are not wor  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies released the following testimony by Greg Abrahamson, vice chair of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, from a Feb. 27, 2025, public witness hearing on fiscal 2026 Indian Health Service budget: * * * Chair Simpson and Ranking Member Pingree, and Members of the Subcommittee. My name is Greg Abrahamson, and I serve as Chair of the Spokane Tribal Business Council, Vice Chair of t  more

SALEM, Oregon, March 8 -- Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield issued the following news release: * * * Attorney General Rayfield and Multi-State Coalition Submit Final Proposed Fix to End Google's Search Monopoly Attorney General Dan Rayfield, along with a coalition of 38 attorneys general today proposed a final plan to end Google's illegal monopoly over internet search engines and bring back competition, which will benefit consumers across the country. The revised Proposed Final Judgment s  more

SALEM, Oregon, March 8 -- Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield issued the following news release: * * * Attorney General Rayfield Files Lawsuit to Stop Mass Firings of Federal Probationary Attorney General Rayfield joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against numerous federal agencies for conducting illegal mass layoffs of federal probationary employees. These mass firings will cause irreparable burdens and expenses on the part of the states, both to support recently  more

SALEM, Oregon, March 8 -- Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield issued the following news release on March 7, 2025: * * * Attorney General Rayfield Releases 6 Month Report On Oregon Consumer Privacy Act Majority of complaints involved denied requests to have information removed from websites Attorney General Dan Rayfield released a report today, showing results from the first 6 months of Oregon's Consumer Privacy Act. The comprehensive law, which took effect in July, empowers individuals and   more

SALEM, Oregon, March 7 -- Gov. Tina Kotek, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Governor Kotek, Mayor Wilson Team Up to Increase Housing in Portland Workgroup will identify barriers and problem solve to increase multifamily housing construction in the city Today, Governor Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson kicked off the first meeting of their Multifamily Housing Development Workgroup, convened to explore potential actions Oregon and Portland can take to move more multi  more

WASHINGTON, March 6 -- Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, issued the following news release: * * * Padilla, Schiff Urge Interior Department to Halt Further Workforce Cuts at Bureau of Reclamation Senators to DOI: "Rather than decimating the agency and its dedicated staff, Interior should work with Congress to bolster Reclamation's workforce to meet the growing demands of extreme weather, population growth, and increasing pressures on our water supply systems." WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S.   more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies released the following testimony by Esther Lucero, president and CEO of the Seattle Indian Health Board from a Feb. 27, 2025, public witness hearing on funding to address homelessness, mental health disorders and substance use: * * * Chair Simpson, Ranking Member Pingree, and members of the House Committee on Appropriations - Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, my  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- The U.S. Senate conducted six committee hearings on March 6, 2025: * * * CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology concluded a hearing to examine options to reduce catastrophic wildfire, including H.R. 471, to expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and improve forest management activities on National Forest System lands, on public lands under  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: * * * Welch, Colleagues Call on FEMA to Respond to Questions about Disaster Victim Data, Mass Firings, and Funding Freezes WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Peter Welch and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) led nine of their colleagues in calling on leadership of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond to unanswered questions about Elon Musk's so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) an  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on March 6, 2025: * * * Wyden and King Demand Answers on Trump Firing of Medicare and Medicaid Workers Mass Layoffs at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Which Administers Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act Marketplace, and the Children's Health Insurance Program Will Have a Negative Impact on Americans' Health Care, Senators Say DOGE Effort t  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Wyden Announces Town Halls in Linn, Clackamas, Crook and Deschutes Counties U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum will co-host senator's upcoming open-to-all town halls in Linn and Clackamas counties Portland - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced he will hold town halls on Sunday, March 16 in Linn and Clackamas counties with U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, and two more on Tuesday, March 18 in Crook and Deschutes countie  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following remarks on March 6, 2025, on the nomination of Michael Faulkender to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury: * * * Wyden Slams Trump-Musk Economic Chaos, Opposes Faulkender Nomination As Prepared for Delivery This is no typical nomination hearing for the Finance Committee. It is our understanding that Mr. Faulkender has been at the Treasury Department since day one of this Trump  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Wyden, Colleagues Sound Alarm on EPA's Plot to Rollback Decades of Scientific Findings on Greenhouse Gases "As the Administrator of the EPA, you are tasked with making decisions grounded in science, law, and the best interests of the American people." Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today led 12 Senate Democrats in raising the alarm over reports that the Environmental Protection Age  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Wyden, Merkley Co-Sponsor Legislation to Update Antiquated Mining Law to Protect Public Lands and Taxpayers Bill would modernize Civil War era mining law that has led to significant waste, fraud, and abuse Washington, D.C. -U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced they are co-sponsoring legislation that would modernize the 1872 Mining Law that has let mining companies exploit public   more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Wyden, Merkley Co-Sponsor Legislation to Update Antiquated Mining Law to Protect Public Lands and Taxpayers Bill would modernize Civil War era mining law that has led to significant waste, fraud, and abuse Washington, D.C. -U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced they are co-sponsoring legislation that would modernize the 1872 Mining Law that has let mining companies exploit public res  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Wyden, Schumer, Murray, Senate Democrats Warn Trump and Musk's Scheme to Fire Social Security Staff Will Disrupt Benefits for Americans Letter Comes as Acting Commissioner Continues to Enable DOGE to Fire Workers, Close Offices and Access Americans' Sensitive Personal Data Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senate  more