WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Two months after requesting that the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General investigate reports that U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and her staff gave preferential treatment for discretionary grants, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) formally asked the Inspector General to broaden the inquiry. In accordance with Chair DeFazio's ori  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Wyden, Merkley Pushed Trump Administration to Tackle Troubling Pattern, Possibility the Saudi Government has Aided Saudi Fugitives; Package Slated to Pass on Thursday and Become Law This Week * * * Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced Wyden's Saudi Fugitives Declassification Act, which requires the FBI to declassify any information it may possess about the Saudi government's role i  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) voted in favor of two articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump. One article was for abuse of power and the other for obstruction of Congress. Bonamici spoke in support of impeachment on the House floor prior to the vote. Video of her remarks can be found here: https://youtu.be/ObxJKtJTXg0 "Donald Trump has abused his office, obstructed justice and C  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), a member of the House Education and Science Committees, announced that Sanjana Ilango of Westview High School won the Congressional App Challenge for Oregon's First Congressional District. Ilango's mobile phone application, Spoiler Alert!, helps consumers determine if food and medications are safe to use. The app scans the barcodes of foods and medications and conne  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) sent a letter to Administrator Andrew Wheeler of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressing his strong disapproval of the Trump Administration's plans to move forward with rolling back protections for our Nation's waterways--a clear and de  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) sent a letter to the top official at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) urging immediate action be taken to conduct a thorough analysis of the potential impacts of transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail tank car. The letter was sent in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking pu  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Congressman Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) sent a letter to the top official at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) urging immediate action be taken to conduct a thorough analysis of the potential impacts of transporting liquef  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release: Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA), and Brett Guthrie (R-KY) applauded the passage by voice vote in the House of Representatives of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR 4998), their bipartisan bill to help secure America's telecom  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following joint statement with Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, Rep. Michael Doyle, D-Pennsylvania, chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Ranking Member Robert E. Latta, R-Ohio, after the Senate passed the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, otherwise known as the TRACED Act: The Hous  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on federal real property. The report (GAO-20-130) is titled "Measuring Actual Office Space Costs Would Provide More Accurate Information". The report was sent to Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman, Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Dec. 10, 2019. Here are excerpts of summaries associated with the report. What GAO Found: "The Office of Management an  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Legislation would help save endangered species and cut off lucrative profit source for terrorists * * * Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), and Representatives Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Dina Titus (D-NV) announced that the Rescuing Animals With Rewards (RAWR) Act, legislation that would help save endangered animals by combatting wildlife trafficking and poaching, is on track  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley, joined by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Kamala Harris (D-CA), and U.S. Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Greg Walden (R-OR-2), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3), Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), and Jared Huffman (D-CA-2), announced a major, bipartisan victory for West Coast trawlers in th  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - The bill has passed both houses of Congress, and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law * * * Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the 2020 spending bill includes U.S. Department of Interior Appropriations funding that provides critical investments in earthquake preparedness, water infrastructure, and wildfire suppression and recovery activities that are of  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - The bill has passed Congress, and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law * * * Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced key provisions in the fiscal year 2020 spending bill that will help Oregon's agriculture industry and rural communities--from investments in rural housing; to research into the impacts of wildfire smoke on crops; to hemp, which is becoming a cas  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - The bill has passed both houses of Congress, and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law * * * Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced key provisions in the 2020 spending bill funding commerce, justice and science, that will help rural communities across Oregon. The bill has passed both houses of Congress and now goes to the president to be signed into law. "I'm in  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - The bill has passed Congress, and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law * * * Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the fiscal year 2020 spending bill includes $2.173 billion to battle unaffordable rents and homelessness. The bill, which has passed both houses of Congress and now goes to the president's desk to be signed into law, funds several federal d  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Tillamook People's Utility has received a 30-year loan of over $42.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Electric Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee Program for critical line expansion and improvement. "This loan will help ensure that Tillamook's electricity needs are met for years to come, and help hundreds of Oregonian  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Tillamook People's Utility has received a 30-year loan of over $42.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Electric Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee Program for critical line expansion and improvement. "This loan will help ensure that Tillamook's electricity needs are met for years to come, and help hundreds of Oregonians g  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley, joined by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Kamala Harris (D-CA), and U.S. Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Greg Walden (R-OR-2), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3), Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), and Jared Huffman (D-CA-2), announced a major, bipartisan victory for West Coast trawlers in the 2  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3), along with Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), announced that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act, sending it to the president's desk to be signed into law. The legislati  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, issued the following statement on House passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement by a 385-41 vote: "This was an unprecedented vote for an unprecedented trade agreement. "This agreement got more Democratic votes than Republican votes, and we were able to thwart the efforts of big drug companies for the first time ever in a trade agreement. "This should be a sign that the  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following statement: * * * - Trade Agreement Backed by Labor - Contains Important Gains for Enforcement, Prescription Drugs, and the Environment * * * Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici released the following statement on the negotiated US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Speaker Pelosi appointed Bonamici to the USMCA Working Group, which was responsible for negotiating with the Administration on behalf of the Democratic Caucus to  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement: "Twenty-five years ago, when President Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), he promised the deal would mean good-paying American jobs. Unfortunately, those claims couldn't have been further from the truth, and NAFTA has led to the loss of millions of American family-wage jobs over the past twenty-five years. "I voted against NAFTA, helped to   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following statement ahead of the House vote to impeach President Trump: "Today is a dark day for both our country and our representative democracy. "I fully support the articles of impeachment drafted by the House Judiciary Committee and will be voting in favor of them today. "Impeachment is the most serious responsibility granted to Congress by our Constitution. This vote is not something I take lightly, but the case is clear-cu  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) sent a letter to Administrator Andrew Wheeler of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressing his strong disapproval of the Trump Administration's plans to move forward with rolling back protections for our Nation's waterways--a clear and destructive priority of this Administration. "Your repeated refusal to   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley, joined by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Kamala Harris (D-CA), and U.S. Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Greg Walden (R-OR-2), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3), Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), and Jared Huffman (D-CA-2), announced a major, bipartisan victory for West Coast trawlers in t  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, issued the following statement after the House voted to impeach President Trump: "After reading the transcript of President Trump's July 25th conversation with the Ukrainian President where he asks for a political favor that would lead to foreign influence in our election and listening to career and political appointees of the President himself express concern that a President of the United States would act in such a manner, I voted in favor   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05) voted for the passage of the United States Mexico Canada Trade Agreement that will set new standards for future U.S. trade agreements. "Congress and the Trump Administration have succeeded in negotiating and passing a new NAFTA agreement with our two most important trading partners: Canada and Mexico, said Rep. Schrader. "For a trade dependent state like Oregon where much   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-OR) voted in the House of Representatives for two minibus appropriations bills to fund the federal government for fiscal year 2020. These packages will avert a government shut down and ensure that federal employees are paid, and federal programs remain fully funded. "While not perfect spending packages, these bills are the end result of compromise and Democrats and Republicans w  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, issued the following statement after House passage of two bills that would help improve and expand access to rural broadband in Oregon: "Yesterday the House passed two bipartisan bills that will help communities in places like rural Oregon get access to reliable, high speed broadband. "For example, John Day's lack of reliable access to internet services has resulted in local businesses at times having to manually process credit cards, making i  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, issued the following statement after voting against the articles of impeachment against President Trump: "President Donald Trump is unique in the history of the American presidency. No one has led as he has. His success and his style have frustrated his opponents. "Remember back to the fall of 2016 when pundits and politicians on the left lectured Americans about the historical need to accept the outcome of the election? Then Hillary Clinton l  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement on health care provisions included in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1865): "The CREATES Act, which was drawn from the bipartisan H.R. 19, the Lower Costs, More Cures Act, will prevent the anti-competitive behavior that denies patients more affordable generic options at the pharmacy counter. We also secured provisions to help   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement after key elements of the Lower Costs, More Cures Act (H.R. 19) were introduced in the Senate: "Not only is the Lower Costs, More Cures Act bipartisan, it is now also bicameral. "With the Speaker's partisan Fewer Cures Act dead on arrival in the Senate, and a President who has leaned in more than any other on the issue of lowering drug costs f  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, issued the following statement after House passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement: "I am glad that the House came together today to pass the bipartisan USMCA and I applaud President Trump for working hard to negotiate this deal. "Today is a big win for Oregon's businesses and ag producers. Oregon businesses export $3.7 billion in goods to Canada and Mexico, supporting 7,421 jobs in our state. "This agreement expands and solidifies   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release: Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) released the following statements on Energy and Commerce provisions included in H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act. Reauthorization of Provisions of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA): "Congress has finally put an end to an outda  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release: Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai in response to the FCC's recent announceme  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, ranking Republican member of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following joint statement with Reps. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, ranking Republican member of the House Education and Labor Committee, after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is unconstitutional: "This is no surprise.   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Amicus makes the case for the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act and Congress's authority to legislate for the benefit of Indian Tribes * * * U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader filed an amicus brief in federal court making the case for the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare A  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, ranking Republican member of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following joint statement with Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is unconstitutional: "This is no surprise. Republicans warned Democrats the ACA, written in secret and rushed through Congress, was  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release: Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH) are calling for bipartisan cooperation from Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats to stop the diversion of 9-1-1 fees for unrelated, non-emergency purposes. In a letter to Chairman Frank Pallo  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following joint statement with Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, ranking Republican member of the House Education and Labor Committee, after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is unconstitutional: "This is no surprise. Republicans warned Democrats the ACA, written in secret and rushed through Congress, was  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following joint statement with Rep. Robert E. Latta, R-Ohio, on House passage of bills to improve broadband mapping: "The first step in expanding broadband to communities in America who lack adequate access is to understand exactly where those communities are. "These bipartisan bills will help us assess the availability of internet across our country and take the  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following joint statement with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, ranking Republican member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, on House passage of bipartisan consumer protection bills: "These bipartisan bills will help protect America's consumers, families, and children - both online and in their homes. Reauthorizing the SAFE WEB Act w  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3), along with Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), announced that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act, sending it to the president's desk to be signed into law. The leg  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following joint statement with Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Trade, regarding the environmental improvements in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, which is intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement: Specifically, Blumenauer and Carper worked together to develop a new enforcement mech  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement after securing the inclusion of retirement savings legislation based on his bipartisan bill with Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, in the year-end appropriations package: * * * - The SECURE Act Mirrors the Bipartisan Grassley-Wyden Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act * * * The SECURE Act includes the Retirement Enhancement and Savings (RESA) Act of 2019, legislati  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Three-year infrastructure push yields over $1.5 billion for rural connectivity * * * Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced that for the third year in a row, his rural development subcommittee has put more than a half-billion dollars to bringing high-speed internet to rural America. The 2020 Agriculture and Rural Development spending bill includes $555 million--bringing the three-year total t  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following statement after voting against the 2020 spending bill for the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security: Earlier today, he voted for the 2020 spending bill that will fund domestic priorities including health care, wildfire prevention and public lands management, transportation infrastructure, housing, and more. "Coming to an agreement to fund the government is always a challenging negotiation, and I ap  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following statement after voting against the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act: Previous versions of the bill contained provisions to take on the issue of PFAS water contamination, which currently threatens millions of Americans' drinking water supply. Many of the bipartisan PFAS provisions contained in the Senate version of the legislation were stripped out of the final bill, despite the fact that PFAS is known to be d  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following statement after the House voted to impeach President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress: "Our founders created the process of impeachment because they were deeply concerned about two significant dangers: first, foreign influence that might corrupt American democracy; and second, abuse of power by a president tempted to use his powers to become more like a king. "For these two reasons, the founders placed  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Legislation requires the first national study on the health and safety impacts on sex workers from SESTA/FOSTA and the loss of access to certain online platforms * * * U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to introduce the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act, a bill to require the first ever national study on the health and safety of sex workers, i  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following statement after the House voted to impeach President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress: The articles of impeachment now go to the U.S. Senate, which will hear arguments and vote on whether or not Trump should be removed from office. "A senator has no weightier responsibility than to judge a president impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. "As a juror in impeachment proceedings, I intend to look at a  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to Senate passage of the SECURE Act: "After years of effort, our legislation to help working families save for retirement will be signed into law. The bill includes a number of important reforms to address the country's retirement crisis. "To allow workers to start saving as early as possible, the bill makes it easier for more employers, partic  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on the tax extenders package: "The agreement addresses expired and expiring tax provisions that are critical for middle-class families and our economy. A better agreement to make a number of policies permanent and extended others was near the finish line, but the administration opposed the package. For example, Trump killed a proposal to permanently extend i  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Wyden Votes Against Expanded Defense Spending and Endless Foreign Wars; Wyden Praises Authors for Including 15 Wyden Provisions to Help Whistleblowers, Improve Cybersecurity, Bolster Election Security and Secure Wireless Networks * * * Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., voted against a massive defense policy bill, in opposition to the measure's misplaced priorities, including $740 billion in military spending, t  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3), along with Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), announced that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act, sending it to the president's desk to be signed into law. The legislation   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news: * * * - Senators say HHS decision to rollback essential nondiscrimination protections runs counter to HHS mission to 'enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans' * * * Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray, D-Wash., led every  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release: Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) expanded a bipartisan investigation into surprise billing practices of physician staffing companies and top insure  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - In bicameral letter to HUD Secretary Ben Carson, legislators question the use of facial recognition in federally assisted housing, highlight possible threats to residents' safety and civil liberties * * * U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Cory Booker, D-N.J., Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif., and U.S. Representatives Yvette D. Clarke, D-N.Y., Ayanna Pressley  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, announced that a two-year authorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program is included in the end-of-year funding package that will be considered by Congress this week. This significant win for rural communities in the Northwest and nationwide follows calls from the senators to reauthorize the lapsed progr  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, announced that a two-year authorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program is included in the end-of-year funding package that will be considered by Congress this week. This significant win for rural communities in the Northwest and nationwide follows calls from the senators to reauthorize the lapsed program   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - The bill has passed Congress, and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law * * * Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced key provisions in the fiscal year 2020 spending bill that will help Oregon's agriculture industry and rural communities--from investments in rural housing; to research into the impacts of wildfire smoke on crops; to hemp, which is becoming a cash c  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - The bill has passed Congress, and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law * * * Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the fiscal year 2020 spending bill includes $2.173 billion to battle unaffordable rents and homelessness. The bill, which has passed both houses of Congress and now goes to the president's desk to be signed into law, funds several federal depa  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Amicus makes the case for the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act and Congress's authority to legislate for the benefit of Indian Tribes * * * U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader filed an amicus brief in federal court making the case for the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Ac  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Amicus makes the case for the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act and Congress's authority to legislate for the benefit of Indian Tribes * * * U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader filed an amicus brief in federal court making the case for the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (  more