Wyden Statement at Finance Committee Hearing on the President’s 2020 Budget with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin

The Finance Committee is back for Round Two on the budget, and we're joined by Secretary Mnuchin. Since the Treasury budget is largely about taxes, and taxes pay for the bulk of federal programs, I want to start with a hard look at the overall picture. This isn't a budget as much as it's an economic smash and grab perpetrated on the American people. Get rid of the Washington lingo, and it's obvious. Cuts to Medicare. Cuts to Medicaid. Cuts to Social Security. Cuts to education. Cuts to housing… Continue Reading

Wyden Statement at Finance Committee Hearing on the President’s 2020 Budget with HHS Secretary Azar

It's budget week on Capitol Hill. There's a lot to discuss this morning, so I'll get right to it. The Trump administration seems to have an inexhaustible supply of destructive health care ideas that would harm vulnerable Americans. Let's start with the Arkansas paperwork requirements. With the Trump administration's blessing, Arkansas went ahead inflicting a right-wing experiment onto people enrolled in Medicaid. They say it's all about work requirements, not about reducing coverage. They're w… Continue Reading

Wyden to Introduce Legislation Ending Tax Break for College Donations

Washington, D.C.-Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced his intent to introduce legislation that would end the tax benefit for donations made to colleges and universities before or during the enrollment of children of the donor's family: "Yesterday's headlines about the wealthiest Americans buying access to our elite colleges and universities is just a new version of an old story. While the prosecutor attempted to distinguish these crimes from payoffs in the … Continue Reading

Wyden Statement on JCT Data on Pass-through Deductions

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement in reaction to data from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) on the benefits of the pass-through deduction in the Republican tax law: "Another Republican talking point in support of their tax law bites the dust. Just as Democrats predicted, new JCT data again confirms that the so-called 'small business' deduction provides the most benefits to those at the top. Two-thirds of the tax cuts from this d… Continue Reading

Democrats Call on HHS to Revoke Waiver Allowing South Carolina Child Welfare Agencies to Discriminate

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., today led 40 Senate Democrats in an effort to stop the Trump administration from allowing taxpayer-funded discrimination that will deny vulnerable children access to the qualified, welcoming and safe families they deserve. In a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, the senators condemned the recent decision by H… Continue Reading

Wyden Probes Tax-Exempt Pain Group with Ties to Opioid Makers

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today raised concerns about ties between opioid manufacturers and the tax-exempt American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), an organization that advocates on pain management issues including the use of opioids. "The opioid epidemic is claiming tens of thousands of lives every year," Wyden said. "As the federal government attempts to respond to one of the greatest public health crises in the last century, it is imperati… Continue Reading

Wyden Calls for Lower Barriers to Vaccinations

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today urged the Trump administration to take additional steps to help prevent the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, in light of reports that parts of the country including Oregon have seen outbreaks of these diseases. "Preventing the spread of contagious diseases in our communities requires an all-hands-on-deck approach," Wyden said. "Too many children, including those covered by Medicaid and the Children's Heal… Continue Reading

Wyden Statement at Finance Committee Hearing on the World Trade Organization

This morning, the Finance Committee is going to take a hard look at one of the big issues facing this country with respect to jobs and trade: It is long past time to fix what's wrong with the World Trade Organization. In my view, that process begins with China. China became a member of the World Trade Organization in December 2001. Based on nearly two decades of evidence, it's clear that the agreements that allowed China to join fell far short. The rules that underpin the WTO were crafted mor… Continue Reading

Wyden, Grassley Demand Answers on CBP List Targeting Journalists

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, today requested answers about U.S. Custom and Border Protection (CBP) Agents reportedly targeting journalists for searches, in a letter to Customs Commissioner Kevin McAleenan. Media reports indicate that CBP placed at least seven American journalists covering U.S.-Mexico immigration issues on a list for additional scrutiny while crossing the border. In a bipartis… Continue Reading

Wyden Statement on Senate Floor on the Nomination of Chad Readler to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

M. President, today the Senate is considering the nomination of another unqualified, far-right judicial nominee, Chad Readler, who is up for a seat on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. And I'll be frank -- there isn't much to recommend Mr. Readler. On the other hand, there is a lot that disqualifies him. Any hint of credibility Chad Readler might have had as a judicial nominee disappeared the minute he put his name on the Trump administration's absurd legal argument that protections for pre-… Continue Reading

Wyden Statement at Finance Committee Hearing on Nursing Homes

Generations ago, with Social Security, America closed the door to the era of impoverished seniors living out their last years in almshouses and poor farms. Decades later, with Medicare and Medicaid, it guaranteed that seniors would have access to health care. To continue that hard work, one of the challenges this country faces today is ensuring that seniors in nursing homes are safe and well cared-for. Our best nursing homes meet a high standard of care, but tragically, not all do. Seniors in n… Continue Reading

Wyden Statement on Retirement of Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement today on Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson's announcement that she will retire from her position at the end of July: "With all Nina Olson's successes at identifying and helping to solve problems taxpayers face under our broken tax system, she deserves a public approval rating higher than puppies and apple pie. She is the model public servant - a straight-shooting, hardworking individual whose commitment to maki… Continue Reading

Wyden: Pharma Must Lower List Prices Under Proposed Changes

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called on the major pharmaceutical manufacturers that testified before the committee earlier this week to pledge their support for federal legislation that would lower list prices if middlemen rebates were significantly diminished. "All the happy talk from drug executives will not amount to much if the list price of prescriptions do not start to come down," Wyden said. "Big Pharma is eager to point the finger at… Continue Reading

Wyden Presses Trump Administration to Improve Access to Reproductive Health Services for Women in Medicaid

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today wrote to the Trump administration demanding answers on the lack of coverage for federally mandated health care services and drugs in a number of state Medicaid programs. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that 14 state Medicaid programs do not cover mifepristone-formally known as RU486 and currently available under brand name Mifeprex-an FDA-approved drug for ending early pregna… Continue Reading

Treasury to Americans Facing Unfair Tax Penalties: Go Pound Sand

Washington, D.C. - Responding today to a letter sent by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and 38 additional Senate Democrats, the Treasury department admitted that its implementation of the new Trump tax law increased the number of taxpayers whose taxes were under-withheld, but it declined to take further steps to waive penalties for all those who underpaid by no fault of their own. "Let's call it what it is, this is tax pe… Continue Reading