WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release: The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from 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) during today's hearing titled, "Proposals for a Water Resources Development Act of 2022: Stakehol more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- 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), Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA), Chair of the Joint Economic Committee Don Beyer (D-VA) and 117 representatives yesterday wrote to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Co more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 11, 2022: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Dina Titus (D-NV) announced a hearing titled, "FEMA Priorities for 2022: Stakeholder Perspectives." At the hearing, members will hear from more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Thursday, February 17, will convene a hearing on the tax filing season and IRS challenges to providing customer service. The witnesses at next Thursday's hearing will be: * Erin M. Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC * Jessica Lucas-Judy, Director, Strategic more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit issued the following testimony by Nico Larco, professor of architecture and urban design and director of the Urbanism Next Center at the University of Oregon, involving a hybrid hearing on Feb. 2, 2022, entitled "The Road Ahead for Automated Vehicles": * * * Thank you for this opportunity to testify on the future of automated vehicles and the impacts they could have on communities throughout more PR

PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 11 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: This week Senator Ron Wyden, Senator Jeff Merkley, Governor Kate Brown, and Representative Suzanne Bonamici announced the formation of the Oregon Semiconductor Competitiveness Taskforce. The purpose of the task force, the conveners noted, is to analyze the state of the semiconductor industry in Oregon and how this important industry can continue to thrive and grow, and help produce  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-04) today announced that Oregon would receive $7,733,679 this year under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which he led before becoming law, to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along key roads and highways. "The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides the first major investment in a national EV charging network," said Rep. DeFazio. "To reduce har more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 8, 2022: Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-04) today voted in support of H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act. This bill aims to overhaul the United States Postal Service and includes Rep. DeFazio's USPS Fairness Act, legislation that would save the USPS at least $5 billion annually. You can watch Rep. DeFazio's floor remarks on the legislation here. The House has finally voted to bring the Postal Ser more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 8, 2022: U.S. Representatives Kurt Schrader (D-OR-05), John Katko (R-NY-24), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL-7), and Ashley Hinson (R-IA-1) introduced the Informed Lawmaking to Combat Inflation Act. This bipartisan legislation is aimed at addressing the inflationary impact of major legislation in Congress. The bill directs the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to analyze the inflationary impact of  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 9, 2022: U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, alongside U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), who is a member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, today sent a letter to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and released the following statement amid reports that the federally owned electrical utility is threatening to cut off its  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 8, 2022: U.S. Representatives Peter DeFazio (OR-04) and Lloyd Doggett (TX-35) today led Members of the House of Representatives in sending a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra urging him to follow through with Biden Administration's commitment to lowering exorbitant prescription drug costs. Xtandi, a prostate cancer drug marketed by a Japanese company, was initially  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- 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), Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA), and Congressman Jesus G. "Chuy" Garcia (D-IL) yesterday pressed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to finalize its implementation of modernized Principles, Re more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Rep. Gerald "Gerry" Connolly, D-Virginia, issued the following news on Feb. 11, 2022: With one million children at risk of starvation in Afghanistan, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11) led a group of 24 lawmakers to sound the alarm bell about the country's dire hunger crisis and economic collapse and urge the Biden Administration to continue addressing these humanitarian issues. In a letter sent to Secretary Antony Blinken  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 11, 2022: With one million children at risk of starvation in Afghanistan, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11) led a group of 24 lawmakers to sound the alarm bell about the country's dire hunger crisis and economic collapse and urge the Biden Administration to continue addressing these humanitarian issues. In a letter sent to Secretary Antony Blinken and S more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on Feb. 10, 2022: * * * Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued a statement of support for Dr. Robert Califf, nominated to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "Too many families and taxpayers are paying sky-high prices for drugs that still haven't been shown to have any clinical benefit, even as companies continue raising their more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 7, 2022: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on the Internal Revenue Service to end the use of facial recognition software for users to access their tax information on IRS.gov, he wrote in a letter to Commissioner Charles Rettig today. "The IRS does not use facial recognition for tax filing or to receive a refund, and the agency should not req more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement at a Feb. 9, 2022, confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services nominees. The nominees are Robert Michael Gordon to be HHS assistant secretary, January Contreras to be assistant secretary for family support, and Rebecca E. Jones Gaston to be commissioner on children, youth and families. * * * This morning the Finance Committee meets to discuss three nominations for i more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement at a Feb. 8, 2022, hearing on youth mental health care: * * * On behalf of Senator Crapo and myself, it's our hope that this morning's hearing on the state of mental health for our youth serves as a wake up call. Millions of young Americans are struggling under a mental health epidemic. Struggling in school. Struggling with addiction or isolation. Struggling to make it from  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 9, 2022: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today joined nine colleagues in calling on President Biden to step up efforts to demilitarize the police. In their letter to the president, the senators cite reports showing that police militarization fails to reduce rates of violent crime or change the number of officers assaulted or killed. Instead, arming police departments with military equipment has led to an increase more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 8, 2022: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) today outlined the committee's next steps as it continues to work to address the shortfalls in America's mental health care system. "With today's hearing, the Finance Committee is ramping up our legislative efforts as a group. Several of our members have graciously agreed to partner on specific policy challe more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 9, 2022: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced a total of $262,736,000 headed to Oregon to help the state recover from wildfires. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will allocate nearly $1.1 billion in disaster assistance funding nationally to support different regions dealing with post-disaster recovery and other emergency needs as a result of natural disasters occurring in 2019, 2 more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 8, 2022: In an effort to address restoration of wildlife and reduce agricultural runoff in central Oregon rivers, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced critical legislation to reauthorize the Deschutes River Conservancy's (DRC) federal eligibility to receive federal funding for water quality and conservation projects. Founded in 1996, DRC initially focused on grazing and tim more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 8, 2022: In an effort to address restoration of wildlife and reduce agricultural runoff in central Oregon rivers, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced critical legislation to reauthorize the Deschutes River Conservancy's (DRC) federal eligibility to receive federal funding for water quality and conservation projects. Founded in 1996, DRC initially focused on grazing and timber more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 9, 2022: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced a total of $262,736,000 headed to Oregon to help the state recover from wildfires. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will allocate nearly $1.1 billion in disaster assistance funding nationally to support different regions dealing with post-disaster recovery and other emergency needs as a result of natural disasters occurring in 2019 more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced the Department of Health and Human Services will be awarding a grant totaling $1,169,999 to the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. Over the next year, these funds will be used by the health board to partner with other national organizations to increase access to vaccines in underserved communities. "The challenges of  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced the Department of Health and Human Services will be awarding a grant totaling $1,169,999 to the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. Over the next year, these funds will be used by the health board to partner with other national organizations to increase access to vaccines in underserved communities. "The challenges of th more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 9, 2022: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced a total of $1,370,473 in grant money from the Bureau of Reclamation to reduce the impact of drought in Central Oregon. These funds will help establish and administer a water bank for the Deschutes Basin of Central Oregon, increase water monitoring within irrigation districts, and improve drought forecasting. This is one of 13 initi more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 9, 2022: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced a total of $1,370,473 in grant money from the Bureau of Reclamation to reduce the impact of drought in Central Oregon. These funds will help establish and administer a water bank for the Deschutes Basin of Central Oregon, increase water monitoring within irrigation districts, and improve drought forecasting. This is one of 13 in more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., both members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for new transparency about bulk surveillance conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency, following the release of documents that revealed a secret bulk collection program and problems with how the agency searches and handles Americans' information. Wyden and Heinrich re more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week announced that farms and other small businesses in Oregon have earned a combined total of over $32 million in rural business grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help them grow and continue to create job opportunities statewide. "Our rural economies thrive when small businesses thrive," Wyden said. "Grants and loans that help eme more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week announced that farms and other small businesses in Oregon have earned a combined total of over $32 million in rural business grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help them grow and continue to create job opportunities statewide. "Our rural economies thrive when small businesses thrive," Wyden said. "Grants and loans that help emergi more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that Oregon will receive $7.7 million in federal funds this fiscal year from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help create a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the state. "Electric vehicles are an essential step on the road to a clean energy future that's a must to combat the climate crisis," Wyden said. "I'm grat more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that Oregon will receive $7.7 million in federal funds this fiscal year from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help create a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the state. "Electric vehicles are an essential step on the road to a clean energy future that's a must to combat the climate crisis," Wyden said. "I'm gratifi more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today welcomed news that the U.S. Forest Service is awarding contracts to Oregon companies in Merlin, Redmond, Salem, Ashland, Philomath, Merrill, Sutherlin and Independence to provide crews to fight wildland fires. "Fighting wildfires and protecting lives, homes and small businesses in Oregon and nationwide demand trained crews that can respond quick more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 10, 2022: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today welcomed news that the U.S. Forest Service is awarding contracts to Oregon companies in Merlin, Redmond, Salem, Ashland, Philomath, Merrill, Sutherlin and Independence to provide crews to fight wildland fires. "Fighting wildfires and protecting lives, homes and small businesses in Oregon and nationwide demand trained crews that can respond quickly  more PR