WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following opening statement at a confirmation hearing on Feb. 9, 2022, to consider the nominations for the Health and Human Services Department. The nominees are Robert Michael Gordon to be an assistant secretary for financial resources, January Contreras to be assistant secretary for family support, and Rebecca E. Jones Gaston to be commissioner on children, youth, and families. * * * The Fi more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following opening statement at a hearing on Feb. 8, 2022, entitled "Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part I - An Advisory and Call to Action": * * * 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.  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 23, 2022: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) issued the following statement after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced yesterday $1 billion to be made available for airport terminal development projects in  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on Feb. 24, 2022: * * * "Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked, unjustifiable, and undermines the most basic norms of international law. His imperialist ambitions will have tragic, unspeakable consequences for innocent civilians. "I share President Biden's opposition to the deployment of American troops inside Ukraine and I applaud him for working with our allies to impose sanctions. "The Uni more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 25, 2022: U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett, Chair of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, and U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer, Chair of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, announce today that they are introducing legislation to end Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with the Russian Federation and to initiate a process to formally deny Russia access to the World Trade Org more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on Feb. 24, 2022: * * * Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-04) today issued the following statement after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. "I strongly condemn Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and I join the international community in calling on Russian forces to immediately withdraw from Ukraine. "Russia's brutal dictator, Vladimir Putin, is a violent thug who is putting his delusions of grandeur ahea more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, issued the following statement: * * * U.S. Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05) released the following statement concerning Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of the sovereign country of Ukraine: "Russian President Vladimir Putin's unjustified attack on Ukraine is being felt deeply in Ukrainian communities in my district and across Oregon. My thoughts are with them and their families. I want them to know I stand with Ukraine, and I fu more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) introduced H. Res 939, the Annual Bipartisan Public Schools Week Resolution, with Representatives Mark Pocan (WI-02), Sam Graves (MO-06), Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-15), and 88 of their colleagues. This year Public Schools Week is February 21 to 25, and it serves as a time to celebrate the achievements of our public schools and honor the significant contributions and ac more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Representatives Peter DeFazio (OR-04) and Warren Davidson (OH-08) today led a bipartisan letter to the Biden administration, signed by 43 Members of Congress, urging the president to receive authorization from Congress before involving U.S. armed forces in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. "We strongly urge your administration to respect the separation of powers, U.S. law, and Congress's constit more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following statement: * * * Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after President Biden announced that he would nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the United States Supreme Court. "I thank President Biden for fulfilling his constitutional obligation to put forward a nominee to fill this critical vacancy. Ketanji Brown Jackson has an impressive record of accomplishments and her nomination is an more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following statement: * * * Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he is launching a military operation re-invading Ukraine. "Russia today is not only attacking Ukraine, it is attacking the very foundations of the international order. Those laws and norms were put in place after World War II t more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 -- The Senate Indian Affairs Committee issued the following testimony by Delores Pigsley, chairman of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Oregon, involving a legislative hearing on Feb. 16, 2021, to receive testimonies on a bill to amend the Siletz Reservation Act (S. 3123): * * * My name is Delores Pigsley and I am Chairman of the Tribal Council for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. My tribe is a confederation of all the bands and tribes of western Oregon t more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 22, 2022: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Missouri's U.S. Senator Roy Blunt today announced the introduction of their No Facial Recognition at the IRS Act, a bipartisan bill to ban the use of biometric recognition technology by the IRS. The introduction of Merkley and Blunt's bill comes less than a month after the Senators sent a letter to the agency demanding it immediately stop the use of biom more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 25, 2022: Tridonex, an auto parts factory located in Matamoros in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico and subsidiary of a U.S. company, has continually interfered in workers' organizing efforts. Today, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, issued the following statement following news of a rushed union election at Tridonex' Matamoros plants in Mexico, to be held on February 28, and the l more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Feb. 23, 2022: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., today sent a letter to Dr. Alondra Nelson, Deputy Director of Science and Society, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), urging for the establishment of a national government-wide public-access policy for federally funded research with a focus on equity, sustainability, and strategic technological development, guaranteeing more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week urged the Bureau of Reclamation to invest in critical facility upgrades at Keno Dam on the Klamath River that would benefit irrigation, water quality, wildlife refuges, and salmon and steelhead fisheries. The Oregon senators noted in their letter to Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton that the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week urged the Bureau of Reclamation to invest in critical facility upgrades at Keno Dam on the Klamath River that would benefit irrigation, water quality, wildlife refuges, and salmon and steelhead fisheries. The Oregon senators noted in their letter to Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton that the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJ more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are joining Western colleagues in calling on Senate leadership to include $616 million in emergency drought funding and agricultural assistance in the omnibus appropriations bill as the West continues to suffer from the worst megadrought in more than 1200 years. "The Colorado River, the lifeblood of seven western states, could lose 29 percent of its flow by the 2050s  more PR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are joining Western colleagues in calling on Senate leadership to include $616 million in emergency drought funding and agricultural assistance in the omnibus appropriations bill as the West continues to suffer from the worst megadrought in more than 1200 years. "The Colorado River, the lifeblood of seven western states, could lose 29 percent of its flow by the 2050s and more PR