WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release: VALLEJO, Calif. MedMark Treatment Centers, a subsidiary of BayMark Health Services which provides treatment for opioid addiction and substance use disorders, agreed to provide $55,000 to a former employee following an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. According to the EEOC, a counselor at MedMark's treatment center in   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration has released the following public communication dated Dec. 16, 2024, from the Oregon Department of Transportation: * * * To: US Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE West Building Ground Floor Room W12-140 Washington, DC, 20590 Subject: Docket No. FHWA-2019-0036 Procedures for Abatement of Highway Traffic Noise and Construction Noise * * * The Oregon Department of Transportation   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Today, Representatives Ro Khanna (CA-17), Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (GA-01), along with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), were joined by Paris Hilton in celebrating the passage of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act in the House. The legislation, which passed the Senate last week by unanimous consent, will head to the President's desk to be signed into law. Paris  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) today led the reintroduction of the Keep It in the Ground Act--comprehensive legislation to stop new fossil fuel extraction on public lands and in public waters. "Climate chaos is the most significant risk humanity faces. The earth is telling us how much trouble we're in," Merkley said. "The last five years were the hottest on reco  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service is funding projects that will assist Tribes, nonprofits, and private forest landowners in Oregon with their efforts to manage forests sustainably and permanently conserve private forests in partnership with the state. "Oregon's forestlands--public and private--need investments to remain healthy, an  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey issued the following news release: The work was done as part of the USGS 3D Elevation Program, known as 3DEP, which uses a next-generation mapping technology to obtain highly detailed three-dimensional elevation information about the natural and constructed landscapes of the Nation, including surfaces under rivers and other inland waterbodies. Known as topobathymetric lidar, the technology uses laser pulses that  more

SALEM, Oregon, Dec. 19 -- Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum issued the following news release on Dec. 18, 2024: * * * New websites offer information and resources for those seeking to understand Oregon's sanctuary laws and immigration rights, as well as brochures, PSAs, and more for reporting possible Oregon sanctuary law violations * * * Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is rolling out a new Sanctuary Promise Community Toolkit in English and Spanish to help Oregonians familiariz  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, Dec. 18 -- Oregon Wild issued the following commentary on Dec. 17, 2024: * * * Trouble in Our Backyard Forests By Arran Robertson When most people think of public forest lands, they picture the Forest Service. But in Oregon, 2.4 million acres of forests are managed by a different agency: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Many of these BLM "backyard forests" are found at lower elevations, scattered across the landscape in a checkerboard pattern alongside private industria  more

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Dec. 19 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued the following news release on Dec. 18, 2024: A Ghanaian national pleaded guilty in federal court to violating federal money laundering laws and has been sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on David Kakra Mensah, 31, of Accra, Ghana. According to  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: The legislation would amend the Commodity Exchange Act(link is external)--a law that regulates the trading of commodities and futures in the U.S.--to prohibit political election wagering of any kind. "Elections betting sets a dangerous precedent, incentivizing bad actors to try and influence or interfere with our elections systems. We cannot play roulette with our democracy by allowing this kind of wagerin  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on Dec. 18, 2024: * * * U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement after voting against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA): "This bill gives our military servicemembers a needed raise. And I support efforts to bolster our democratic allies and partners in Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine. "But I cannot greenlight wasteful defense spending that will do more harm than good. "While the Pen  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on Dec. 18, 2024: * * * Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued a statement after legislative text was released for year-end spending legislation, which includes several health care policies championed by Wyden and the Finance Committee. "Health care is far and away the leading political issue for many American families, and it's the reason I went in  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following remarks on Dec. 18, 2024: * * * This morning the Senate Finance Committee meets to consider three nominees to serve on the International Trade Commission: James Bernard Coughlan, of Illinois, and Halie L. Craig, of Pennsylvania. There is one piece of Committee business I'd like to address before I get to these nominations. Today is Senator Kim's first hearing since joining the Finan  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) wrote today to two organizations seeking information about the involvement of former Congressman Billy Long, Trump nominee for IRS Commissioner, in the sale of advice related to the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), a fraud-ridden program that has cost taxpayers hundreds of   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 18, 2024: Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senator Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Senator Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., urged the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the costs of implementing the Georgia Pathways to Coverage program, which the state has used to limit access to Medicaid coverage. Only 4,231 Georgians have enrolled through this  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Bill Text (PDF) | Section By Section (PDF) Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, along with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02), today introduced the Nautical Oversight Safety and Protection of Inflammable Liquids by Law in the Sea (NO SPILLS) Act, which would strengthen the review process by which the Mari  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service is funding projects that will assist Tribes, nonprofits, and private forest landowners in Oregon with their efforts to manage forests sustainably and permanently conserve private forests in partnership with the state. "Oregon's forestlands--public and private--need investments to remain healthy, and t  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to swiftly release its proposed rule to upgrade the security of electronic cards used by low-income families to receive food benefits at grocery stores. The USDA has not made any security upgrades to these cards since 2010. With older and more insecure magnetic strips remaining in Supplemental Nutrition   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 17, 2024: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Columbia Gorge Education Service District and Columbia Gorge Community College Foundation have been selected to receive a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to create the Columbia Gorge Early Learning and Resilience Center in The Dalles. "Early education, childcare, workforce development, and places for communities to ga  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release on Dec. 18, 2024: U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo today celebrated the passage of their bipartisan bill designating U.S. Highway 20 between Newport, Ore. and New England as the "National Medal of Honor Highway." "It's fitting that our country's longest continuous highway, stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic, is now dedicated to our veterans who have continuously served and protected our country fr  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: Federal grant funds will be used to create Early Learning and Resilience Center in The Dalles Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the Columbia Gorge Education Service District and Columbia Gorge Community College Foundation have been selected to receive a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to create the Columbia Gorge Early Learning and Resilience Center in The Dalles. "Early   more