Ranking Member's News
Wyden and Davis Introduce Legislation to Bring More Americans Into the Workforce, Reduce Barriers to Employment
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Representative Danny Davis, D-Ill., today introduced the ELEVATE Act to boost job prospects for Americans struggling to find work and help them maintain employment. Despite the low unemployment rate in the United States, millions of workers are being left behind in today's economy, and employers across the country are having trouble finding workers to fill current job openings. The ELEVATE Act puts employers and w… Continue Reading
01.14.19
Democratic Health Leaders Raise Threat of Premium Increases, Coverage Losses Due to Trump Shutdown
Washington, D.C. - Top Democrats from health care committees in the House and Senate today called on the Trump administration to ensure there are no premium increases or coverage losses due to the president's reckless, unnecessary ongoing shutdown. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department have been left unfunded by the shutdown and are responsible for paying Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTCs) and other matters that make health care more affordable for American families. "Fam… Continue Reading
01.11.19
Wyden Urges Labor Department to Ensure Furloughed Workers Have Access to Unemployment Benefits
WASHINGTON - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called on the Department of Labor to ensure state unemployment insurance (UI) programs are responding to the needs of furloughed federal workers facing financial uncertainty as the Trump shutdown continues. Reports indicate that some federal workers are being denied unemployment insurance benefits because some state agencies are requiring documentation that workers are unable to access due to the shutdown. In a lette… Continue Reading
01.11.19
Wyden Urges Treasury, IRS to Protect Taxpayers from Consequences of Trump Shutdown
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today asked Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig for details on how the Trump shutdown is impacting taxpayer assistance, cybersecurity practices and IRS operations overall. Treasury and IRS have informed the Senate Finance Committee that a shutdown contingency plan outlining IRS' operating procedures will be released soon. A bipartisan briefing for Senate Finance Committee staff with s… Continue Reading
01.08.19
Wyden Decries Medicare Cuts Resulting From Trump Shutdown
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today sounded the alarm on imminent cuts to Medicare if Congress does not take action to pass a bill to end the Trump Shutdown. "Medicare is set to be the latest casualty of the Trump shutdown," Wyden said. "Instead of focusing on seniors' health care, doctors and hospitals will be forced to contend with across-the-board cuts to their Medicare payments. On top of all the other misery of the Trump shutdown, the preside… Continue Reading
01.04.19
Wyden Statement on Consultations with Peru to Address Illegal Logging
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement on the U.S. Trade Representative's announcement it will request consultations with Peru, after the Peruvian government stripped independence from the agency that oversees Peru's logging industry. "With this action, Peru is taking a step back in the battle against illegal timber trafficking by reducing transparency, accountability and independence of the agency tasked with monitoring the sector. It is in… Continue Reading
01.03.19
Ahead of Upcoming Filing Season, Wyden asks IRS to Drop Penalties for Unexpected Tax Bills Due To Trump Tax Scam
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today urged the IRS to waive fees associated with surprise tax bills expected to hit millions of workers and families when they go to file their taxes this year. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that nearly 30 million taxpayers could be under-withheld following the passage of Trump's tax law. In a letter to IRS Commissioner Rettig, Wyden asked how the IRS plans to respond to taxpayers who have been… Continue Reading
01.03.19
Wyden Reintroduces Bill Requiring President Trump to Publicly Release His Tax Returns
WASHINGTON - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced a bill requiring sitting presidents and presidential nominees to release their tax returns to the public. Wyden first introduced this legislation in May 2016 after then-presidential candidate Trump broke his promise to release his tax returns. Revelations about Trump's own financial ties and his associates' ties to Russia have come to light since he took office, and last year it was reported that Trump and h… Continue Reading
12.20.18
Wyden: “Only People Celebrating Trump Tax Law Birthday are Fortunate Few”
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released a Senate Finance Committee Democratic Staff report detailing threats to America's safety net, broken middle-class promises and record-breaking windfalls for the wealthy as consequences of Trump's tax law. Republicans muscled their deficit-exploding corporate handout through Congress on a strict party line basis one year ago today. Trump signed that bill into law two days later. "It's Trump tax law's fir… Continue Reading
12.19.18
Wyden Demands Answers from Pfizer Over Lyrica Price Increases
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on drug maker Pfizer to justify to the public the continuous price increases it has taken on its drug Lyrica, which is taken by millions of Americans and costs Medicare $2.1 billion every year. "Seniors are paying too much for prescription drugs, threatening their quality of life and financial security," Wyden said. "As seniors and taxpayers continue to foot the bill for Big Pharma's profiteering, the public ha… Continue Reading
12.19.18
Wyden Reveals Opioid Industry Ties on HHS Task Force, Probes Advocacy Group's Finances
In Separate Letter to U.S. Pain Foundation, Wyden Questions Ties Between Group's Patient Assistance Program and Embattled Opioid Maker Insys Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today renewed his efforts to shine a light on financial ties between opioid manufacturers, third-party advocacy groups, and government panels that provide outside expertise on pain management policy. In one letter, Wyden calls on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Az… Continue Reading
12.18.18
Wyden Measure Ensures Student Loan Debt Won’t Keep Recent Graduates From Saving for Retirement
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today rolled out legislation to give working Americans the flexibility to save for the future while having enough money to make their student loan repayments. Wyden's introduction is in preparation for next year when it is expected that broader conversations on how to improve retirement policies will be debated in the 116th Congress. Wyden's bill, the Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act, allows employers to make … Continue Reading
12.14.18
Wyden Statement on Ruling that Affordable Care Act is Unconstitutional
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued a statement after a Texas District Court judge ruled against the Affordable Care Act, threatening core parts of the law like pre-existing condition protections, tax credits for health care and the Medicaid expansion: "Today's ruling is an assault on all Americans' basic health care rights and judicial overreach at its worst," Wyden said. "Trump and Republicans in Congress will achieve their long-sought goals if this ruling … Continue Reading
12.12.18
Wyden Statement on Vote to Overturn Treasury’s Pro-Dark Money Rule
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today delivered a statement on the Senate floor ahead of a vote on his resolution with Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont., to overturn a Treasury ruling that shields the identities of large dark money donors from U.S. tax authorities. "The Trump administration's dark money rule made it easier for foreigners and special interests to corrupt and interfere in our elections. Senator Tester and I want to make it harder," Wyden sa… Continue Reading
12.11.18
Wyden Statement at Finance Committee Hearing to Consider the Nomination of Courtney Dunbar Jones to Serve as a Judge on the United States Tax Court
Before we get to the subject of this morning's hearing, I'd like to briefly touch on another matter. As this is likely our last committee hearing before the end of this Congress, let me begin by saying that it has been a privilege to work closely with Chairman Hatch on this committee over the past five years. He has always been a gentleman. He's always been passionate about representing the people of Utah and the work this committee does. And as a former boxer, he knows a thing or two about endu… Continue Reading
