Ranking Member's News
Democrats Call on Republicans to Drop Harmful Plan Discriminating Against Potential Foster or Adoptive Parents and Youth in Foster Care
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, today led 39 Senate Democrats in an effort to stop congressional Republicans from promoting discrimination against LGBTQ Americans seeking to be foster or adoptive parents. In a letter to Senate appropriators, the senators slammed a House Republican proposal passed earlier this month that would shield taxpayer funded adoption and child welfare agencies that refuse to provide services to children and pare… Continue Reading
07.24.18
Wyden Statement on House Republican Tax Framework
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement regarding the release of the Ways and Means Committee's tax framework: "The House Republican framework doubles down on massive breaks for the rich and sweeteners for high fliers while trying to cover up the broken middle-class promises from their first tax law." Wyden said. "Wages are falling as the cost of living climbs higher and higher. Instead of working across the aisle on ways to boost paycheck… Continue Reading
07.23.18
Finance Committee Democrats Seek Financial Information on NRA-Linked Maria Butina
Washington, D.C. - Following the arrest of NRA-linked Russian national Maria Butina, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore, along with Senate Finance Committee members Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., requested financial information from the Treasury Department as it relates to the NRA, Alexander Torshin and Butina. Butina was charged last week with infiltrating domestic political organizations to undermine and influence U.S. elections. She served as Torsh… Continue Reading
07.19.18
Wyden Statement on IRS Commissioner Nomination and the Trump Administration's Pro-Dark Money Policy
The Trump administration has taken a qualified nominee and dumped him right in the middle of a dark-money political firestorm of their own creation. And a radical change in tax law regarding transparency and disclosure has dragged the IRS and Treasury into a swirling set of questions about the president's foreign financial ties and motivations. As a result, this nomination is no longer an isolated debate that can begin without context. On Monday morning, news broke that a Russian national with … Continue Reading
07.18.18
Wyden Report Details Truth Behind Republican, Trump Claims that Tax Scam Helps Workers, Increases Investment in U.S.
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released a Senate Finance Committee report that explores how Trump's tax scam rewards multinational corporations, not workers, which will lead to fewer jobs here at home. The report debunks false claims made by Republicans and Trump, and lists tactics multinational corporations will use to artificially lower their tax bills and shift profits overseas. "Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans continue to pedd… Continue Reading
07.17.18
Wyden Statement on Treasury Department Announcement to Protect Dark Money Donors
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement regarding the Treasury Department's announcement late Monday to allow nonprofits to keep the identities of their donors from U.S. tax authorities: "Trump's Treasury Department made it easier for anonymous foreign donors to funnel dark money into nonprofits the same day a Russian national linked to the NRA was arrested for attempting to influence our elections," Wyden said. "It's the latest attempt by… Continue Reading
07.17.18
Wyden Statement on Treasury Department Announcement to Protect Dark Money Donors
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement regarding the Treasury Department's announcement late Monday to allow nonprofits to keep the identities of their donors from U.S. tax authorities: "Trump's Treasury Department made it easier for anonymous foreign donors to funnel dark money into nonprofits the same day a Russian national linked to the NRA was arrested for attempting to influence our elections," Wyden said. "It's the latest attempt by… Continue Reading
07.16.18
Wyden Highlights Trump's Lack of Action to Lower Drug Prices as Blueprint Comment Period Ends
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued a statement as the comment period for the Trump Administration's drug pricing "blueprint" comes to a close. "Trump has spent nearly half of his presidency making empty promises on drug prices while Big Pharma continues to raise prices on Americans unabated," Wyden said. "Democrats have solutions that could be signed into law today to bring down costs for families immediately, but the Trump Administration … Continue Reading
07.16.18
Wyden Refers Questionable Ross Stock Trades to Justice Department for Investigation
WASHINGTON - Following serious concerns raised by federal ethics officials about questionable stock trades by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today formally requested a Justice Department investigation whether the trades violated federal law. The Office of Government Ethics wrote late last week that Ross's violations of his ethics agreement - including failing to sell stocks and opening new short sale positions of other stocks "created … Continue Reading
07.13.18
Wyden Statement on Tom Price HHS Inspector General Report
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued a statement following the release of a report by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General which found that former HHS Secretary Tom Price badly misused taxpayer dollars during his tenure: "This report confirms Tom Price's role as the poster child for the rampant waste of taxpayer dollars that has occurred on Trump's watch - all while he was pursuing dangerous policies that increase f… Continue Reading
07.13.18
Wyden, Murray, Blumenthal, Warren Report Reveals Cohen Attempts to Seek Investments for Russian-Linked Columbus Nova, New Details on Cohen-Novartis Business Dealings
Washington, D.C. -Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray, D-Wash., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today issued a report revealing how Michael Cohen, the president's then-personal lawyer, was pressing Novartis' then-CEO to take up an investment opportunity that would benefit Russian-linked Columbus Nova. The report also shows that Cohen's agreement with Novar… Continue Reading
07.11.18
Wyden: Trump Must Prove Pfizer Price Hike Delay is More than Theatrics
Letters Come as Trump Administration "Blueprint" Falls Short of the President's Promises and Other Companies Continue to Enact Double Digit Price Hikes Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today demanded additional details on the hastily-announced agreement between Pfizer, the president, and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, in which Pfizer pronounced they would delay price increases, "as soon as technically possible," … Continue Reading
07.10.18
Wyden Statement on Cuts to Navigator Funding That Further Sabotages Americans’ Health Care
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued a statement following an announcement by the Trump Administration that it is further slashing funding for the navigator program and pushing those who apply for navigator grants to advocate for junk plans that hurt people with pre-existing conditions: "This move amounts to federally-funded fraud: paying groups to sell unsuspecting Americans on junk plans that allow insurance companies to deny care on a whim and charge whatev… Continue Reading
07.09.18
Wyden Statement on Trump Supreme Court Nominee
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., tonight expressed grave concerns about the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court: "Tonight the president begins a forced march back to the days when women's health care choices were made by government. There can be no mistaking Trump's Supreme Court nomination for anything but what it is: a direct attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade. American women could lose the right to chart the course… Continue Reading
07.02.18
Wyden Statement on Court Ruling on Harmful State Medicaid Waivers
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued a statement following a decision in U.S. District court to block Kentucky's Medicaid waiver, approved by the Trump administration, which contains policies that make it harder for Americans to get health care: "Today's decision is good news for Americans who think health care is a right, not a prize to be won after enduring piles of bureaucratic busy work designed to make life harder for people already walking an economic ti… Continue Reading
