Ronald Lee Wyden (born May 3, 1949) is an American politician. He is currently the U.S. state of Oregon's senior United States Senator. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

After initially attending college on a basketball scholarship, Wyden earned a bachelor's degree and a law degree. He later taught gerontology at several Oregon universities. He won a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1980, and then in the U.S. Senate in 1996.

Early career and personal life

Wyden was born in Wichita, Kansas to Edith Rosenow and Peter H. Wyden, both of whom were Jewish and had fled Nazi Germany a few years earlier.^[1] Wyden attended the University of California, Santa Barbara on a basketball scholarship before receiving his B.A. with distinction from Stanford University. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Oregon School of Law and taught gerontology at several Oregon universities. During this time he was the founder of the Oregon chapter of the Gray Panthers. He led this organization from 1974 to 1980. Wyden is also the former director of the Oregon Legal Services Center for Elderly, a nonprofit law service.

Senator Wyden's home is in Portland, and he has an apartment in Washington, DC. He has two grown children, Adam (24) and Lilly (19), by his first wife, Laurie. Wyden married his current wife, Nancy Wyden (née Bass), the owner of New York's Strand Bookstore, on September 24, 2005, in a ceremony performed by Rabbi Ariel Stone of Portland. On October 26, 2007, Nancy gave birth to twins, Ava Rose Wyden and William Peter Wyden.^[2]

Congressional career

In the 1980 Democratic primary, Wyden, who was just 30 years old at the time, upset incumbent Representative Bob Duncan in . Later that fall, Wyden easily defeated his Republican opponent, Darrell Conger. Wyden was re-elected to the House in each of the following seven elections.

In January 1996, Wyden narrowly defeated state senate president Gordon Smith in a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Bob Packwood. (Smith was elected later that year to Oregon's other Senate seat.) Wyden now holds the Senate seat once held by his mentor, the late Wayne Morse?the last Democratic Senator from Oregon before Wyden's election. Wyden was elected to a full term in 1998, and in 2004, was re-elected to another full term, receiving 64% of the vote compared to 31% for his main opponent, Republican Al King.

In the Senate, Wyden serves on the following Committees: Finance; Intelligence; Energy and Natural Resources; Budget and the Special Committee on Aging.

He chairs the Energy Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests.

As of August 2007, Wyden has an approval rating of 58%, with 33% disapproving.^[3]

Voting record

Ron Wyden and wife Nancy in New York City

War, peace, and foreign policy

Wyden voted against authorization of the military force in Iraq, but voted for use of military force in Kosovo. He has also voted in favor of expanding NATO into Eastern European former Soviet Bloc countries. ^[5]

Social issues

Wyden has opposed most limits on abortion. He has voted against proposals to ban partial birth abortion, prevent abortions from occuring on military bases, and prohibit minors from crosing state lines to obtain abortions. He has been rated 100% by the pro-choice NARAL.^[6] He has also been an advocate of gun control. He voted against limiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers and has voted in favor of increasing background checks.

Wyden has consistently opposed a constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration. He has also publicly announced support for same-sex marriage and was one of only 14 Senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. ^[7] He also voted against the 2006 proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage, and he has cast votes in favor of legislation designed to prevent job descrimination and hate crimes against homosexuals.

Wyden has stated personal opposition to physician assisted suicide,^[8] but has also stated a commitment to defending the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, which was twice passed by voter referendum. Wyden successfully blocked US Senate attempts to pass legislation interfering with the Act by threatening a filibuster.^[9] Wyden has also consistently voted against limitations on the use of the death penalty.^[5]

The senator has recently voted against restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba and also to end anti-Castro broadcasting to the country. However, in 1998, he supported a proposal that would uphold the status quo of American-Cuban relations.http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/ron_wyden.htm

Wyden has sponsored the Healthy Americans Act that would institute a national system of universal health care through market based private insurance. He has collected a voting record that shows he is in favor of public health care. Wyden has shown support for increasing Medicare funding, enrolling more of the uninsured in federal programs, importing lower priced perscriptions from Canada, and negotiating bulk drug purchases for Medicare in order to lower costs http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/ron_wyden.htm.

In June 2007, Wyden was among the minority of Democrats to vote in favor of declaring English the official language of the United States http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id=13888&can_id=27036.

Trade and business

Wyden mostly supports free trade. While still in the House, he voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and has subsequently supported many trade deals in the Senate being one of the very few Democrats to vote in favor of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). He has however voted against free trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, and Oman. He was also one of the few Democrats to vote in favor of the Bush-Administration-proposed prescription drug plan passed in 2003. In 1996, he voted against the majority of his party to phase out many farm subsidy programs and also to implement welfare reform policies.

Civil liberty and law

Ron Wyden

Wyden has been an outspoken opponent of the Patriot Act. On March 2, 2006, he was one of only 10 senators to vote against renewing the bill.^[10], citing concerns about privacy protections.^[11]

Wyden voted against the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, a Republican effort to restrict the number of class actions suits against businesses and the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, a bipartisan change in bankruptcy law designed to make if more difficult to file for bankruptcy and to make those in bankruptcy pay more of their debts.

Wyden wrote the Stop Arming Iran Act to ban the Defense Department from selling surplus F-14 parts and prohibit buyers who have already acquired surplus Tomcat part from exporting them. Iran is the only nation other than the U.S. to fly the F-14.^[12]

Tax policy

Wyden is critical of the estate tax, which he feels is inefficient, and has voted repeatedly to abolish it. He has also voted with Republicans to lower the capital gains tax, to encourage the study of the flat tax, and to require a 3/5 majority to raise taxes. However, Wyden voted against the Bush tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003. He has also voted against the balanced-budget amendment.

Environment

Wyden is a strong supporter of environmental protection measures, and was among the minority of senators to vote against confirming the appointment of Gale Norton as Secretary of the Interior. In May 2007, Wyden also opposed the appointment of Lyle Laverty as assistant interior secretary for fish, wildlife and parks (this time on ethical grounds.)^[13]

Committee assignments

Wyden serves on the following committees and subcommittees:

• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth
• Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
• Committee on the Budget
• Select Committee on Intelligence
• Special Committee on Aging

Electoral history