WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security has released the following 32-page public communication dated April 1, 2025, from the U.S. Lumber Coalition Inc. Here are excerpts: * * * To: The Honorable Howard Lutnick Secretary of Commerce Attn: Bureau of Industry and Security Docket No. 250310-0030; X-RIN 0694-XC117; BIS-2025-0011 U.S. Department of Commerce 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230 Re: Comments of the U.S. Lumb  more

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 2, 2025: * * * Bynum Leads 32 Freshman Dems in Demanding Speaker Johnson Bring Legislation to the Floor to Lower Costs Washington, DC - Today, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) led 32 of 33 Freshman House Democrats in sending a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, calling on him to prioritize bringing forward legislation to the House floor that lowers costs for working families, creates good-paying jobs,   more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Congresswoman Bynum Introduces Amendments to Protect Families From Harmful Reconciliation Bill Washington, DC - Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced five amendments during the committee's markup on Republicans' reconciliation bill. Republicans are threatening to include massive cuts to key programs, including Medicaid in reconciliation. Al  more

WASHINGTON, May 3 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released an updated list of laboratories and Instrumented Initial Testing Facilities (IITFs) that are currently certified to meet the standards for urine and oral fluid drug testing in compliance with the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs. This notice, published in the Federal Register on May 2, 2025, is intended to inform federal agencies of the laboratories and testing facil  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Merkley Announces Central Oregon Town Halls Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced today he will hold three town halls for Oregonians in Jefferson, Crook, and Deschutes counties on Saturday, May 10. Merkley will be joined by U.S. Representative Janelle Bynum for the Deschutes County town hall in Sisters. The three rescheduled events in Central Oregon continue Merkley's 2025   more

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Merkley Statement on Trump Administration's "Skinny" Budget WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following the release of President Trump's 'skinny' budget for Fiscal Year 2026. "This budget is exactly what we expected: a betrayal of hardworking, middle-class famili  more

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The National Association of Scholars (NAS) issued a report, "Ideological Insistence: A Quantitative Study of DEI Statements in American University Job Listings," in March 2025, revealing that 86 out of 98 American universities investigated require diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements for at least some job positions. The study analyzed over 23,000 job listings across 89 public universities in 11 states, the eight Ivy League institutions, and MIT. The NAS report,  more

SALEM, Oregon, May 3 -- Gov. Tina Kotek, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on May 2, 2025: * * * Governor Kotek Announces Wildfire Prepared Partnership Partnership with IBHS will explore opportunities to build resilience within Oregon communities in the face of catastrophic wildfires Today, Governor Kotek announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), launching   more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Oregon, issued the following floor remarks on May 1, 2025 (In this document, the reference to Mr. Speaker refers to the presiding officer of the House at the time of the speech): * * * Mr. Speaker, the emergency isn't coming. It is here. Donald Trump is abducting American children. He is detaining judges. He is disappearing people into foreign prisons. This is authoritarianism in full view. I didn't come to Congress to sit back while democracy is di  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky, posted the following statement in the extensions of remarks section of the Congressional Record on May 1, 2025: * * * Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Brannon Rains on his career with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A Dundee, Oregon native and 2018 graduate of Oregon State University, Brannon began his career in the U.S. House of Representatives as an intern for his home state Congressman, Representative Greg Walden (OR02) bef  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-California, issued the following floor remarks on May 1, 2025 (In this document, the reference to Mr. Speaker refers to the presiding officer of the House at the time of the speech): * * * Mr. Speaker, there is good news for Americans when it comes to gas prices. They are down about 50 cents since last year, but unfortunately this good news does not extend to Californians. As you can see here, we remain a stark outlier with by far the highest gas prices  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory released a report on January 18, 2025 exploring the potential for offshore wind (OSW) power transmission on the U.S. West Coast. The report, "West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Study," examines how OSW can deliver electricity to western states, reduce costs, and contribute to a cleaner energy future. The report, prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), was authored by T. Douville, K. Arkema, E.   more

SALEM, Oregon, May 2 [Category: Education] -- The Oregon School Boards Association posted the following news: * * * School board governance bills seek elusive clarity Correction: A March 7 Legislative Highlights article on Senate Bill 916 was updated to clarify potential employer costs. School board members are rightly focused on public education for student success and all the legislation swirling around it. But school boards are also governmental entities that must follow state public mee  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release: * * * Secretary Rollins Announces New State Directors for the Farm Service Agency and Rural Development (Washington, D.C., May 2, 2025) - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today announced the latest slate of presidential appointments for key Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Rural Development (RD) State Director roles. "When America's farming communities prosper, the entire nation thrives. This  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following floor statement on May 1, 2025, on the on the nomination of Frank Bisignano to lead Social Security: * * * Wyden Opposes Bisignano Nomination to Lead Social Security Ahead of Floor Vote As Prepared for Delivery I ask unanimous consent that the Milande Watson of my team be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the Congress. I rise to urge my colleagues to reject Frank B  more

WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * Senator Marshall Joins Senators Young and Cantwell Introducing Legislation to Address Housing Affordability Washington - U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) joined U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Indiana) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) in introducing the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, which would expand and strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and provide more affor  more

WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, issued the following news release: * * * Senators Murray, Wyden, and Padilla and West Coast Ports Sound Alarm on Trump's Tariffs Leaving Shelves Bare, Forcing Painful Layoffs ***WATCH THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE HERE ; DOWNLOAD HERE Washington, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) held a virtual press call alongside West Coast ports to sound the alarm on the dramatic decline of contain  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Sens. Wicker, Merkley Introduce Bipartisan Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Co-Chairs of the Senate Nursing Caucus, introduced the Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act. This legislation would ensure that nurses in the federal Nurse Corps do not need to pay income tax on their student loan repayments and scholarships. "Nurses are essential to   more

SALEM, Oregon, May 2 [Category: Education] -- The Oregon School Boards Association posted the following news: * * * Unemployment benefits for striking workers bill turns up volume again Things have felt a bit quieter in the Capitol in the weeks following the first chamber deadline. Many bills have gone off to wait silently in the Joint Ways and Means Committee until the Oregon Economic and Revenue Forecast is revealed May 14. Others were amended sufficiently in the first chamber to limit co  more

WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, issued the following news release: * * * WATCH: Padilla, Murray, Wyden, West Coast Ports Sound Alarm on Trump's Tariffs That Are Leaving Shelves Bare, Forcing Painful Layoffs WATCH : Padilla highlights importance of California's ports in powering national economy WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) hosted a virtual press call alongside Port of Long Beach Chief E  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: * * * WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Leaders Recognize EPA's 100 Monumental Actions in First 100 Days of Trump Administration WASHINGTON - This week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin recognized the historic first 100 days of the Trump administration by releasing 100 environmental actions taken by EPA since Jan. 20 th to advance the agency's core mission of protecting human hea  more

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on May 2, 2025: * * * Wyden Blasts Trump Budget as Blueprint to Hurt Working Families Washington, D.C. -- Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on Donald Trump's budget blueprint: "This budget is Donald Trump's latest blueprint to rip away the services that millions of Americans rely on, leaving families les  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Wyden Demands Investigation into Trump Administration's Potential Criminal Activity Against Harvard University Senator joins Schumer, Warren and Markey to sound the alarm about abuses that could also lead to targeting other schools, hospitals, churches and more Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today demanded an investigation into the Trump Administration for potential criminal activity   more