Ron Lee Wyden was born on May 3rd in 1949. He has been serving as the senior United States Senator for Oregon since 1996. Wyden served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981-1996.
Before his involvement in politics, Wyden attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he played basketball. He later transferred to Stanford University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971. The University of Oregon School of Law was the last school he attended. There he received a Juris Doctor degree. Wyden was very involved in his community and founded the Gray Panthers, an organization supporting a single prayer healthcare system, an increase in welfare payments, pacifism, lifelong public education, the rights of workers, reproductive rights, abolition of the death penalty, legalization of same-sex marriage, the legalization of medical marijuana and environmentalism. Wyden led this group from 1974 to 1980. Another example of Wyden's involvement is the Oregon Legal Services Center for Elderly, a nonprofit law service.
Committees:
Committee on the Budget
Committee on Finance
-Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
-Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
-Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness (Chairman)
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Chairman)
Select Committee on Intelligence
Special Committee on Aging
Joint Committee on Taxation
Issues:
Environment: Wyden's involvement in environmental issues has an overall focus of seeking a greater mutual respect for Oregon's wilderness and wildlife. Another main focus is saving endangered species and Oregon's special places. Some of these protection areas include Mount Hood, the Columbia River Gorge, the Oregon Badlands, Spring Basin, and the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument.
Wyden is also well known for his protection of old growth forests. Part of his reform policy includes the idea that coal and oil industries should pay for the costs they impose on public lands. In 2008, Wyden won passage of the Combat Illegal Logging Law. This made a huge impact on marketing for illegal timber and will save many forests.
Education: Wyden has also taken a large role in helping students prepare for college and further education. By co-founding the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act which provides potential college students with information that will help choose the correct job for them based on the amount they can make in the workplace while pursuing that career.
Wyden also authored the College Tuition Savings Act in 2001 which eliminated taxes on College Tuition Savings funds. This became a law as part of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act.
Questions:
1. What are some of the areas in which you believe we are spending wastefully?
2. What strategies have you found most effective when adressing human trafficking?
3. On a scale of importance for your agenda, where would you place environmental protection?
