WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 28: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) announced the Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "The Airline Passenger Experience: What it Is and What It Can Be." The hearing will examine the U.S. airline passenger experienc  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- 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 Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) sent a letter to Secretary Elaine Chao of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requesting information on how DOT plans to effectively prepare for the imminent arrival of a pandemic cause  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- 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 Chair of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) announced the Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, "Funding a Robust Freight and Passenger Rail Network." The hearing will discuss the benefits of   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a decision denying a bid protest filed by REEL COH of Quebec, Canada. According to the GAO, REEL COH Inc., "protests the award of a contract to Knight Construction and Supply, Inc., of Deer Park, Washington, by the Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), under request for proposals (RFP) No. W9127N-19-R-0004, for the installation of a crane at the Dalles Lock and Dam in Oregon. REEL challenges the agency's e  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The report (GAO-20-103) is entitled "Considerable Progress Made Implementing Business Provisions, but IRS Faces Administrative and Compliance Challenges". The report was sent to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 25, 2020. Here are excerpts of summaries associated with the report. What GAO Found: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on individual retirement accounts. The report (GAO-20-210) is entitled "IRS Could Better Inform Taxpayers about and Detect Noncompliance Related to Unconventional Assets". The report was sent to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 26, 2020. Here are excerpts of summaries associated with the report. What GAO Found: "The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Publications 590-A   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington, issued the following news release: Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) sent a letter to Oregon Governor Kate Brown, extending an invitation to tour Ice Harbor Dam in Washington's 4th Congressional District to hear directly from scientists and fish biologists about the world-class fish passage technology being deployed at the dam. The invitation comes as a response to a letter sent by Governor Brown to Washington Governor Jay Inslee stating her suppor  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) announced that his office is now accepting submissions for the annual Congressional Art Competition. High school students from across Oregon's Second District are invited to compete for a chance to showcase their art in the U.S. Capitol Building where it will be seen by Members of Congress and countless visitors from around the world. "The annual Congressional Art Competition h  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following remarks on Feb. 27 at an Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee hearing titled, "The Fiscal Year 2021 Environmental Protection Agency Budget": Welcome back to the committee, Administrator Wheeler. We and are our staff interact frequently with you, your offices, and your staff throughout the year, but this annual appearance to discuss the President's  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following remarks on Feb. 27 at a Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing entitled, "Strengthening Communications Networks to Help Americans in Crisis": We have a number of bills before us today that aim to advance public safety communications, and it is my hope that we can work in a bipartisan manner to reach consensus. But much work remains to be done   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following remarks on Feb. 26 at an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing titled, "In the Dark: Lack of Transparency in the Live Event Ticketing Industry": As Ranking Member Guthrie mentioned, purchasing tickets to a live event is something that we can all relate to. Live entertainment, whether it is a concert, theater event, or a sporting event, can lea  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, issued the following statement on the death of Weston Mayor Jennifer McClure-Spurgeon: "Weston and all of Eastern Oregon has suffered a great loss. Jennifer worked tirelessly for Weston and rural communities across our state. "She was a creative and vocal advocate of rural broadband buildout in eastern Umatilla County and across the region. "Her thoughts and counsel were valuable as we worked to achieve these shared goals. She will be greatl  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - H.R. 19 would lower drug costs without limiting innovative cures * * * This week at an Energy and Commerce hearing, Representative Greg Walden spoke to the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar about efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs. During the hearing, Walden called for the critical need to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Americans in a way that does n  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 27: Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA), and Brett Guthrie (R-KY) released the following statement after the Senate passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (H.R. 4998), their bipartisan bill to help secure America's telecomm  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Bill Foster (IL-11), and Steve Cohen (TN-09) introduced legislation to protect consumers from predatory debt collectors. Many debt collectors use misleading or incomplete information to undermine consumers' rights and to try to convince them they must pay debts that are not legally due -- or may not even be theirs. The Securing Consumers Against Misrepresented (S  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, issued the following joint statement on Feb. 28 on the Federal Communications Commission's C-band auction order: "The U.S. must win the race to 5G. It's simple: either we lead the way, bring along other like-minded countries, and write the rules on advanced technologies, or we hav  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Grace F. Napolitano, D-California, chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, issued the following opening remarks on Feb. 27 at a hearing to examine committee members' priorities in the development of the Water Resources Development Act: Chair DeFazio: Thank you, Chairwoman Napolitano for holding this hearing and welcome to our Colleagues who h  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Megabank has already admitted to other spying schemes * * * Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley pressed the Chairmen and Board Members of Credit Suisse and Harris Associates amid reports that Credit Suisse has engaged in coordinated espionage against climate activists to retaliate for protests over the bank's fossil fuel investments. The alleged incident is the third time within the last calendar y  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - After hearing concerns at town halls, Merkley's webpage compiles a variety of information, resources and recommendations all in one place, for easy access to reliable updates * * * Oregon's U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley launched a new resource for Oregonians seeking information about the coronavirus (COVID-19), including the number of cases in Oregon; information on risk of exposure, prevention and treatm  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Legislation would reverse and restore $3.8 billion in military funding * * * U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden announced he is co-sponsoring legislation that would reverse and restore the Trump administration's short-sighted and dangerous transfer of $3.8 billion to build part of Donald Trump's ineffective border wall. The Restoring Military Priorities Act of 2020 also would reduce the Trump administration's tran  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to the appointment of Erin M. Collins to be the National Taxpayer Advocate: "Erin Collins has a wealth of experience in the public and private sector, and I look forward to getting to know her. "She has spent the past two decades at one of the most prominent accounting firms in the country, so I'd particularly like to discuss her priorities fo  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on Feb. 27 regarding reports that the Federal Communications Commission will fine wireless companies for failing to protect users' location data: "Based on today's news reports, it seems clear Chairman Pai has failed to protect American consumers at every stage of the game - this issue only came to light after my office and dedicated journalists discovered how wireless companies shared Americans' locations willy nil  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: In a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pressed the chief of the U.S. Forest Service for an update on implementation of the "fire borrowing" fix and the agency's plans to prioritize the 2.5 million acres backlog of hazardous fuels and wildfire prevention projects in Oregon. Congress in 2018 passed Wyden's Wildfire Disaster Funding Act to end the dam  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 26: * * * - Arbitrary limits to USDA rural broadband program eligibility will cost rural communities critical federal funding * * * U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led a bipartisan group of senators to urge the Trump administration to expand access to rural broadband by changing a requirement that prevents providers in rural communities across 19 states from even applying to the U.S. Department of Agri  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 25: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing the FDA, and Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), met with Mitch Zeller, the FDA's director of the Center for Tobacco Products to discuss the youth vaping crisis. Merkley and Romney are leading bipartisan legislation in the Sena  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Funds will help restore forest affected by wildfires, improve landscape resiliency * * * Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Ochoco and Wasco Forest Collaboratives have secured $1.68 million and $4.78 million in grant funding, respectively, from the Forest Service and National Resource Conservation Service. The funds will help the forests recover damage from previou  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 26: * * * - The program is designed to help rural communities build broadband infrastructure to boost local economies, schools, and health services * * * Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced two letters pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for solutions to a number of administrative hurdles and eligibility problems within the ReConnect Program that have put criti  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced that Homes for Good, based in Eugene, Ore., and Warm Springs Housing Authority will receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding to help economically empower families living in federally subsidized housing by facilitating access to supportive services. These include health services, child care, transportation, job placement, job traini  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced that Homes for Good, based in Eugene, Ore., and Warm Springs Housing Authority will receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding to help economically empower families living in federally subsidized housing by facilitating access to supportive services. These include health services, child care, transportation, job placement, job training,   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley urged the Trump administration to withdraw proposed rules that would expand federally funded discrimination against members of the LGBTQIA+ community, women, non-religious people and religious minorities. Wyden, Merkley and other Senate Democrats sent three separate letters to the Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services (HHS). Both rules  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Resources to cover costs from February 2019 storms that caused flooding, landslides, and mudslides * * * U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that Lane County will get a federal emergency grant totaling more than $1.1 million to cover costs for severe storms from February 2019 that caused flooding, landslides, and mudslides. "When Oregonians get clobbered by destructive weather, i  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * - Resources to cover costs from February 2019 storms that caused flooding, landslides, and mudslides * * * U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that Lane County will get a federal emergency grant totaling more than $1.1 million to cover costs for severe storms from February 2019 that caused flooding, landslides, and mudslides. "When Oregonians get clobbered by destructive weather, it's  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 26: Today, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved a slate of bipartisan measures during the first full Committee markup of the new year, including legislation to ensure people who are affected by disasters can promptly access critical assistance, legislation to prevent the Federal Emergency Management Agen  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release: The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will hold a Full Committee markup this Wednesday, February 26, 2020, at 10:00 am in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building to consider the following measures: * Amending Committee rules * Approving revised membership and leadership of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Bu  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- 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 Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change Republican Leader John Shimkus (R-IL) praised the US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Administrator Andrew Wheeler for their proposal to regulate perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news: Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., demanded answers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the recent whistleblower report that HHS deployed federal non-health care staff from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to two coronavirus quarantine sites in California without adequate procedures, safety pro  more