WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release on Sept. 28, 2021: Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, opened debate last night on the Senate amendment to H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and closed debate on the House floor today. During the debate, Chair DeFazio made clear it is beyond time for Congress t more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following statement on Oct. 1, 2021: * * * Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to extend the authorization of current surface transportation programs for 30 days. "Today's extension protects thousands of Department of Trans more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release on Oct. 1, 2021: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA) announced that the subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, "Emerging Contaminants, Forever Chemicals, and More: Challenges to Water Quality, Publi more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 30, 2021: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today announced that both houses of Congress have passed a provision proposed by Merkley to help ease the transition to the U.S. for recently evacuated Afghan refugees who are relocating to America. Last week, Merkley introduced the WELCOMED Act to fix a technicality that that is preventing many Afghan ev more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following joint statement on Sept. 30, 2021: * * * Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Barbara Lee (D-CA)--co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus--released the following joint statement today after the House Judiciary Committee passed the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. "Today's Judiciary Committee approval of the MORE Act continues our monumental effort to get the federal governmen more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Following a summer of scorching heat waves that set record temperatures in many parts of Oregon, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are joining a bipartisan effort to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for better assistance in dealing with extreme heat events. * "This summer has produced historic heat waves and high temperatures across the United States, particularly in the W more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Following a summer of scorching heat waves that set record temperatures in many parts of Oregon, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are joining a bipartisan effort to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for better assistance in dealing with extreme heat events. "This summer has produced historic heat waves and high temperatures across the United States, particularly in the West,  more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 30, 2021: Congressman Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario) announced that his congressional staff have worked more than 1,100 cases on behalf of constituents in Oregon's Second Congressional District since Bentz took office 9 months ago. "My offices in Oregon and Washington, DC are dedicated to serving the people of Oregon's second congressional district," said Bentz. "I am incredibly proud of my hardworking casewo more PR

BEAVERTON, Oregon, Sept. 30 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 29, 2021: Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) announced that the Federal Communications Commission is awarding $28.9 million in funding to Oregon schools and libraries for broadband connectivity and devices to support educational needs. "The digital divide is holding students and workers back from achieving their full potential," said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. "The pandemic more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 27, 2021: Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced bicameral legislation to protect consumers from tax refund scams by unscrupulous tax preparers. The Tax Refund Protection Act would grant authority to the Department of the Treasury to establish the licensing, fees, and certification of tax return preparers to stop unethical practices. Millions of Ame more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Congressman Peter A. DeFazio (OR-04) is excited to announce that he will be hosting a Congressional App Challenge (CAC), an app competition for students in middle and high school. The CAC accepts computer programs (or apps) written in any programming language, for any platform (desktop/PC, web, mobile, raspberry Pi, etc.). The Challenge's submission portal is now open. Students are encouraged to register  more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 -- Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, issued the following joint statement on Sept. 27, 2021: * * * U.S. Representatives Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA), Ed Case (D-HI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Jared Golden (D- ME), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Kurt Schrader (D-OR), and Filemon Vela (D-TX) released the following statement. "Debate on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill begins today with a vote no later than Thursday. "This bill is a huge win for th more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 29, 2021: Today Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY) introduced a bipartisan resolution to honor September as National Workforce Development Month. The resolution recognizes that increased investment in workforce development programs will benefit workers and employers. People without a four-year college degree were hit hard by the pandemic, and workforce development p more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 30, 2021: Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) along with Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) today reintroduced the bipartisan School Food Recovery Act. The bill will create a new program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support schools working on food waste reduction projects. Pingree and Newhouse recently relaunched the Food Recovery Caucus, a bipart more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following joint statement on Oct. 1, 2021: * * * U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07), Chairman Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), and Chairman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) released a joint statement with 14 members of the House Ways and Means Committee expressing support for the Haitian people and reaffirming the Committee's role in promoting trade policies that foster economic development and improve conditions for workers. The statement is attribut more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Representatives Norma J. Torres (CA-35), Suzan K. DelBene (WA-01), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Sharice L. Davids (KS-03), along with U.S. Senators Ben Ray Lujan (N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.), introduced legislation to replace the term Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day in federal law and regulations and to establish Indigenous Peoples' Day as a public holiday. For many indigenous people, more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden this week asked the U.S. Forest Service to answer several questions about its proposed modifications to contracts for helicopters that fight wildfires in Oregon and nationwide. "Helicopters play a critical role in America's wildland firefighting arsenal and it is important to ensure they remain a viable tool for fire managers," Wyden wrote in his letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy M more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 29, 2021: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced the Finance Committee will begin advancing the nomination of Chris Magnus to be the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner, following a call today with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. "I have heard firsthand from Oregonians how Donald Trump's dispatch of troops to Portland back in the summer of 2020 led  more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 30, 2021: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today joined colleagues to introduce bipartisan legislation that would create a dedicated source of funding for projects that expand outdoor recreational opportunities in urban and low-income communities in Oregon and nationwide. "Appreciation of the outdoors is in Oregon's DNA, and we must make sure green spaces and local parks are accessible to everyone," Wyden said. " more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 30, 2021: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced a resolution with Congressman Marc Veasey, D-Texas, to designate September as "National Voting Rights Month." The resolution will encourage voter registration in the month of September, and push Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to preserve the right to vote amid Republican-led voter suppression attempts. "There is no right more e more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following statement: * * * Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on a newly public report that reviewed the activities of the Trump Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis in Portland, beginning in the summer of 2020: "This report is 76 pages of stunning incompetence, mismanagement, and abuse of power by the Trump Administration's Department of Homeland Security, in order to politicize and  more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: In response to the harmful tax penalties for married couples included in the Democrats' reckless tax-and-spending spree, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and 30 additional Republican colleagues sent a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) to rem more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 29, 2021: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the federal department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $18 million in funding for health centers all across Oregon. The funding--provided through the American Rescue Plan, which Merkley and Wyden helped to pass last spring--comes as Oregon is facing its most difficult COVID-19 surge yet, fueled  more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 29, 2021: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the federal department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $18 million in funding for health centers all across Oregon. The funding--provided through the American Rescue Plan, which Merkley and Wyden helped to pass last spring--comes as Oregon is facing its most difficult COVID-19 surge yet, fueled by  more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 30, 2021: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that key legislation to fund the federal government until December and respond to recent natural disasters has passed both chambers of Congress and will be signed into law. Merkley serves as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, one of the key subcommittees directing the funding. This legislation includ more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 30, 2021: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that key legislation to fund the federal government until December and respond to recent natural disasters has passed both chambers of Congress and will be signed into law. Merkley serves as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, one of the key subcommittees directing the funding. This legislation inc more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Oct. 1, 2021: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will purchase $16.5 million of Pacific seafood through its commodities purchasing program, with over 80 percent of the fish and shrimp coming from Oregon. "Not only do our fisheries deliver incredible  more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on Sept. 27, 2021: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senator Michael F. Bennet, D-Colo., and Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, today introduced legislation to provide a down payment on reforming the nation's unemployment insurance system. The Unemployment Insurance Improvement Act is a modified version of the discussion draft Senators Wyden and Bennet relea more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Oct. 1, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they are co-sponsoring legislation that seeks healing for stolen Native children and their communities by establishing a formal commission that would investigate, document, and acknowledge past injustices of the federal government's Indian Boarding School policies. The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the Uni more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Oct. 1, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they are co-sponsoring legislation that seeks healing for stolen Native children and their communities by establishing a formal commission that would investigate, document, and acknowledge past injustices of the federal government's Indian Boarding School policies. The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici today announced that TriMet will receive $99.9 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to support the expansion of the MAX Red Line beyond Beaverton to Hillsboro. "Investments in mass transit reduce vehicle traffic and emissions with the added benefit of ensuring that Oregonians have the m more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Oct. 1, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that Hobby Field Airport in Creswell will receive about $3.3 million in federal funds to reconstruct its runway as well as rebuild its runway lighting and airfield guidance signs. "Small community airports like Hobby Field in Creswell play a key role in the quality of life in rural communities, creating jobs and economic activity by prov more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Oct. 1, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that Hobby Field Airport in Creswell will receive about $3.3 million in federal funds to reconstruct its runway as well as rebuild its runway lighting and airfield guidance signs. "Small community airports like Hobby Field in Creswell play a key role in the quality of life in rural communities, creating jobs and economic activity by providi more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Oct. 1, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that four educational institutions in Oregon will receive a combined more than $1.2 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities to help programs recover from the economic burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our museums, colleges and universities continue to struggle to stay financially viable as this pandemic rages on," Wyden s more PR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Oct. 1, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that four educational institutions in Oregon will receive a combined more than $1.2 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities to help programs recover from the economic burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our museums, colleges and universities continue to struggle to stay financially viable as this pandemic rages on," Wyden said more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 29, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that housing services organizations in five Oregon counties have earned a combined $1.3 million in grant dollars for street outreach and transitional services to help young Oregonians facing housing insecurity. "The epidemic of housing insecurity among young Oregonians puts them at risk on the streets and undermines their opportunity more PR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Sept. 29, 2021: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that housing services organizations in five Oregon counties have earned a combined $1.3 million in grant dollars for street outreach and transitional services to help young Oregonians facing housing insecurity. "The epidemic of housing insecurity among young Oregonians puts them at risk on the streets and undermines their opportunity to more PR