{"id":"W000779","bioguide_id":"W000779","first_name":"Ron","last_name":"Wyden","full_name":"Ron Wyden","party":"D","state":"OR","chamber":"senate","district":null,"title":"Senator","photo_url":null,"twitter_handle":"RonWyden","official_website":"https://www.wyden.senate.gov","fec_candidate_ids":["S6OR00110","H0OR03026"],"lis_id":"S247","is_active":true,"term_start":"2025-01-03","term_end":"2029-01-03","created_at":"2026-09-08T22:51:51.014Z","updated_at":"2026-09-09T02:08:13.531Z","url":"https://whovotedwhy.com/politicians/W000779","score":{"id":"W000779","politician_id":"W000779","consistency_score":null,"influence_score":null,"conflict_index":null,"total_ai_votes":6,"total_statements":3,"total_donations_ai":2000,"top_donor_industries":[{"industry":"Meta PAC","amount":2000,"vote_alignment":null}],"said_did_pairs":[],"computed_at":"2026-09-11T15:05:27.382Z"},"votes":[{"id":"730202f25663ddaa","roll_call_id":"bca10742d0876330","bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","politician_id":"W000779","position":"nay","voted_at":"2025-12-17","roll_call":{"id":"bca10742d0876330","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"procedural","congress":119,"session":1,"number":648,"date":"2025-12-17","question":"On the Motion","description":"Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1071; A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas, and for other purposes.","legislation":"S. 1071","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","result":"Agreed to","yeas":77,"nays":20,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00648.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"872f0547a01c7487","roll_call_id":"47dfb73a82b0a2ce","bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","politician_id":"W000779","position":"nay","voted_at":"2025-12-15","roll_call":{"id":"47dfb73a82b0a2ce","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"cloture","congress":119,"session":1,"number":647,"date":"2025-12-15","question":"On the Cloture Motion","description":"Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1071; A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas, and for other purposes.","legislation":"S. 1071","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","result":"Agreed to","yeas":76,"nays":20,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00647.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"195a151095295a6b","roll_call_id":"dd1489dacf44112f","bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","politician_id":"W000779","position":"nay","voted_at":"2025-12-11","roll_call":{"id":"dd1489dacf44112f","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"motion-to-proceed","congress":119,"session":1,"number":646,"date":"2025-12-11","question":"On the Motion to Proceed","description":"Motion to Proceed to the House Message to Accompany S. 1071; A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas, and for other purposes.","legislation":"S. 1071","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","result":"Agreed to","yeas":75,"nays":22,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00646.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"b4f53f922c206e1d","roll_call_id":"5759c87e484cf21b","bill_id":null,"politician_id":"W000779","position":"yea","voted_at":"2025-07-01","roll_call":{"id":"5759c87e484cf21b","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"amendment","congress":119,"session":1,"number":363,"date":"2025-07-01","question":"On the Amendment","description":"To strike the section relating to support for artificial intelligence.","legislation":"H.R. 1","amendment":"S.Amdt. 2814","committee":null,"bill_id":null,"result":"Agreed to","yeas":99,"nays":1,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00363.xml","ai_match":"keyword","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"b909871b084d2ff5","roll_call_id":"de7744646acadb2c","bill_id":"fe01c2d25c573f9b","politician_id":"W000779","position":"yea","voted_at":"2026-07-16","roll_call":{"id":"de7744646acadb2c","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"motion-to-proceed","congress":119,"session":2,"number":199,"date":"2026-07-16","question":"On the Motion to Proceed","description":"Motion to Proceed to S.J. Res. 198; A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to \"Medicare Program; Implementation of Prior Authorization for Select Services for the Wasteful and Inappropriate Services Reduction (WISeR) Model\".","legislation":"S.J.Res. 198","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"fe01c2d25c573f9b","result":"Rejected","yeas":46,"nays":50,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00199.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"e9e34f3e5c75b9a4","roll_call_id":"1582c6eb48e4c5fc","bill_id":"c3a830c9118e3ee4","politician_id":"W000779","position":"nay","voted_at":"2026-07-14","roll_call":{"id":"1582c6eb48e4c5fc","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"cloture","congress":119,"session":2,"number":195,"date":"2026-07-14","question":"On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed","description":"Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Proceed to S. 4784; An original bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.","legislation":"S. 4784","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"c3a830c9118e3ee4","result":"Rejected","yeas":50,"nays":46,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00195.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}}],"statements":[{"id":"7a1166114583325b","politician_id":"W000779","type":"press_release","content":"Wyden, Cornyn, Welch, Harrigan, Jacobs and McCaul Urge Secretary Lutnick to Implement Rules Passed by Congress in 2022 to Stop American Companies and Citizens from Supporting Intelligence Agencies in Foreign Countries of Concern\n\nWashington, D.C. –Bipartisan members of Congress today called on the Commerce Department to stop American companies and citizens from aiding Russian and Chinese civilian intelligence agencies, by implementing a 2022 bipartisan law that the executive branch has never fully enforced.\n\nU.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sen. Peter Welch, Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to close loopholes in U.S. export control rules that currently allow Americans to work with civilian intelligence agencies in China, Russia and other countries of concern. Without new controls against helping adversary nations, U.S. national security could be at risk.\n\n“As a result, foreign intelligence agencies in many countries can still legally hire consultants in the United States and buy advanced U.S. surveillance, cyber, and artificial intelligence technology, for use in their intelligence operations to target Americans, and operate against American national security and foreign policy interests,” the members wrote.\n\nThe Trump Administration imposed export controls on U.S. persons doing business with military intelligence agencies in China, Russia, and other countries of concern in 2021. But the law at the time only allowed such restrictions to be applied to military intelligence agencies. In 2022, Congress closed the civilian intelligence loophole in a 2022 law, allowing the government to impose export controls on foreign civilian intelligence and security agencies too. While the Biden Administration proposed draft regulations imposing export controls in 2024, those regulations were never finalized.\n\n“Implementing these crucial enhancements to fully close this loophole is vital to preventing foreign adversaries from leveraging American tools and expertise against the U.S. government, our citizens and strategic interests,” the members wrote.\n\nThe members urged the administration to include recommendations by Wyden, national security and human rights experts, including:\n\nExtending export controls to cover all serial human rights abusers and espionage threats. The country lists proposed by the last administration omitted numerous repressive regimes and nations that conduct espionage against the United States. BIS should establish a “trusted countries list” composed of nations with strong track records of respecting human rights and that do not surveil the United States. A license should be required for U.S. persons to do business with intelligence and security agencies in all countries not on that list\n\nClose due diligence loopholes for private surveillance contractors. Private spyware and cyber-surveillance firms frequently mask their client lists to bypass regulations. BIS must close this loophole by explicitly applying export restrictions to all foreign surveillance technology companies unless they provide their U.S. suppliers with a sworn attestation confirming that their clients do not include any intelligence or security end-users outside the trusted countries list.\n\nControl the export of all biometric surveillance and classification technologies: Although the 2024 draft rule proposed adding facial recognition to the EAR’s Commerce Control List (CCL), oppressive regimes rely on a wider array of digital tracking tools. The final regulations must expand this category to include broader biometric identification technologies—such as gait or cardiac signature recognition—as well as biometric classification technologies used to sort individuals by demographic traits such as race, sex, or ethnicity.\n\nA copy of the full letter sent to the GAO is available here.\n\n###","url":"https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/bipartisan-members-of-congress-call-on-commerce-department-to-block-americans-from-working-for-russian-and-chinese-intelligence-agencies","published_at":"2026-08-25","ai_topics":["national_security","regulation","privacy","chips"],"ai_stance":"support","ai_summary":"Wyden and colleagues urge Commerce to impose export controls on AI, surveillance, and biometric technologies sold to hostile foreign intelligence agencies.","ai_processed":true,"bill_ids":[],"ai_relevance_score":null,"bill_refs":[],"classifier":null},{"id":"fbf297bdc05d6992","politician_id":"W000779","type":"press_release","content":"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he has joined Senate colleagues to urge the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to reject X’s petition to end the company’s privacy responsibilities under a unanimously approved 2022 order.\n\nIn its petition, X makes the extraordinary and baseless claim that rebranding Twitter as X frees the company from the privacy obligations it inherited. Beyond this claim, X’s other arguments that the order’s compliance is too costly, the company should be trusted to self-regulate, and ending the obligations under this order would serve the public interest in the American AI race are similarly frivolous. The senators therefore call for the FTC to reject X’s self-serving attempt to evade its legal responsibilities.\n\n“The 2022 order defines ‘Respondent’ to include Twitter’s ‘successors and assigns,’ and its carve-out for genuinely distinct businesses applies only to entities that do not ‘collect, maintain, use, disclose, access, or provide access to’ data that previously enabled Twitter’s services — a condition X plainly does not meet,” the lawmakers wrote FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson. “A name change and new leadership do not undo that legal continuity. If they did, any company could escape an FTC order simply by merging with a new entity or changing its name. The Commission should require X to comply with the 2022 order it inherited.”\n\nThe lawmakers continued, “X’s claim that compliance with the 2022 order is too costly rings hollow given the company’s scale … Musk, the company’s owner, is the richest person in the world, with sufficient personal wealth to support the company. More importantly, independent privacy and security oversight is not an optional expense to be cut when it becomes inconvenient. A company cannot earn early release from a privacy order simply by saying that compliance costs money.”\n\nThe letter was led by U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey, D-Mass. In addition to Wyden, the letter was signed by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.","url":"https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-colleagues-demand-ftc-reject-xs-petition-to-evade-privacy-obligations","published_at":"2026-07-24","ai_topics":["privacy","regulation"],"ai_stance":"support","ai_summary":"Wyden urges the FTC to reject X's bid to escape its privacy order, dismissing as frivolous the claim that relief would serve the American AI race.","ai_processed":true,"bill_ids":[],"ai_relevance_score":null,"bill_refs":[],"classifier":null},{"id":"96dbd5da87a0cf02","politician_id":"W000779","type":"press_release","content":"Oregon senators: “Several issues have been raised by constituents regarding responsible data center development with our offices, ranging from local to state to federal jurisdiction.”\n\nWashington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today wrote Gov. Tina Kotek’s data center advisory committee to convey concerns both senators have heard from Oregonians as the state panel works on solutions that balance data centers’ economic benefits with their financial impacts on utility consumers and environmental impacts on entire communities.\n\n“Thank you for coming together to tackle the challenges posed by the rapid expansion of data centers in Oregon,” Wyden and Merkley wrote committee members. While we acknowledge that data centers are critical to American national security, can help ensure technological advancement, and create good union jobs, your work to strike a balance between pursuing economic development opportunities in alignment with sustainable utility costs and environmental impacts is critical for Oregon and the Northwest. Several issues have been raised by constituents regarding responsible data center development with our offices, ranging from local to state to federal jurisdiction.”\n\nThe Oregon senators asked the state data center advisory committee to consider the following concerns that accompany the growth of data centers around the state:\n\nIncreasing energy demand to power and cool equipment.\n\nIncreasing electricity costs for consumers because of increased demand.\n\nWater quality and quantity issues because of data centers’ use of large water volumes from surface, ground, municipal or reclaimed water sources to cool servers and prevent overheating.\n\nVisibility issues from steam, and noise pollution from cooling systems and fans.\n\nLand use decisions dealing with the rezoning of productive agricultural land.\n\nTribal rights and consultation that respect treaty rights, including rights to hunt, fish, and gather food and medicine.\n\nTransparency and public accountability that reflect community concerns about environmental and infrastructure impacts that data centers can present for future energy and water needs, as well as impacts to utilities and municipal services.\n\nWyden is a cosponsor of the AI Environmental Impacts Act and has pressed Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon for answers about the impact of their data centers on water usage. He is also developing legislation to ensure that data centers pay their fair share in taxes to address the various stresses they create on local infrastructure.\n\n“We are grateful for your work to embody the ‘Oregon way’ to hear from all perspectives and chart a path forward,” Wyden and Merkley wrote the data center advisory committee. “We stand ready to partner with you on data center policies best for Oregon.”\n\nThe entire letter is here.\n\nRelated Files","url":"https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-ask-state-data-center-advisory-committee-to-consider-multiple-issues-raised-by-oregonians","published_at":"2026-07-02","ai_topics":["data_centers","transparency"],"ai_stance":"support","ai_summary":"Wyden presses for responsible data center development, citing his AI Environmental Impacts Act cosponsorship and planned legislation to make data centers pay their fair share.","ai_processed":true,"bill_ids":[],"ai_relevance_score":null,"bill_refs":[],"classifier":null}],"donations":[{"id":"4071820261534773926","politician_id":"W000779","donor_name":"META PLATFORMS, INC. 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