Ron Wyden Wikipedia. Ron Wyden. United States Senatorfrom Oregon. Assumed office. February 5, 1. Serving with Jeff Merkley. Preceded by. Bob Packwood. Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. Assumed office. January 3, 2. Preceded by. Orrin Hatch. Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. In office. February 1. January 3, 2. 01. Preceded by. Max Baucus. Succeeded by. Orrin Hatch. Chair of the Senate Energy Committee. In office. January 3, 2. Melendez is currently running for U. S. Senate from California against incumbent Dianne Feinstein. Personal life. After moving to California in 2004 to work on The. February 1. 2, 2. Preceded by. Jeff Bingaman. Succeeded by. Mary Landrieu. Member of the U. S. House of Representativesfrom Oregons 3rd district. In office. January 3, 1. February 5, 1. 99. Preceded by. Robert Duncan. Succeeded by. Earl Blumenauer. Personal details. Born. Ronald Lee Wyden1. May 3, 1. 94. 9 age 6. Wichita, Kansas, U. S. Political party. Democratic. SpousesLaurie Oseran divorcedNancy Bass 2. Children. 5Education. University of California, Santa Barbara. Stanford UniversityBAUniversity of OregonJDWebsite. Senate website. Ronald Lee Wyden born May 3, 1. United States Senator for Oregon, serving since 1. DISCLAIMER The Oh Law Firm and its Lawyers are not responsible for reliance by the reader on this information as each individual situation may be. Dianne Feinstein Internship Program' title='Dianne Feinstein Internship Program' />Amazon is an unstoppable beast, consuming all industries that are ripe for disruption and unfortunate enough to cross its path. On Monday, its latest victim was the. The Texarkana Gazette is the premier source for local news and sports in Texarkana and the surrounding Arklatex areas. X Hide this sidebar About Us. Just Security is an online forum for the rigorous analysis of U. S. national security law and policy. We aim to promote principled and. Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1. He is the current dean of Oregons Congressional Delegation. Early life, education, and early careereditWyden was born Ronald Lee Wyden in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Edith ne Rosenow and Peter H. Wyden originally Weidenreich, 1. Jewish and had fled Nazi Germany. Wyden grew up in Palo Alto, California, where he played basketball for Palo Alto High School. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, on a basketball scholarship,4 and later transferred to Stanford University where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1. He received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1. While teaching gerontology at several Oregon universities, Wyden founded the Oregon chapter of the Gray Panthers, which he led from 1. Wyden also served as the director of the Oregon Legal Services Center for Elderly, a nonprofit law service. U. S. House of RepresentativeseditWyden ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1. During the Democratic primary, Wyden, who was just 3. Representative Bob Duncan in Oregons 3rd congressional district, which includes most of Portland. Later that fall, Wyden easily defeated his Republican opponent, Darrell Conger, with 7. The 3rd has long been the most Democratic district in Oregon, and Wyden was reelected seven times from this district, never dropping below 7. U. S. SenateeditElectionseditIn January 1. Wyden narrowly defeated Oregon State Senate President Gordon Smith in a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Bob Packwood. Smith won a separate November 1. Senate election to succeed the retiring Mark Hatfield, and Smith and Wyden served together until Smiths defeat in 2. Democrat Jeff Merkley. Wyden holds the Senate seat that was once held by the late Wayne Morse, a man whom Wyden worked for in the summer of 1. Morses driver,7 and whom Wyden calls his mentor. Wyden was elected to a full term in 1. Republican Al King. In 2. 01. 0, he was re elected with 5. Jim Huffman, who garnered 3. In 2. 01. 6, he was re elected again with 5. Republican opponent Mark Callahan, who earned 3. Wyden characterizes himself as an independent voice for Oregonians and the nation and emphasizes his positions on health care reform, national security, consumer protection, and government transparency. On the Issues characterizes him as a Hard Core Liberal. On March 6, 2. 01. Wyden crossed party lines to join Republican Senator Rand Paul who was engaged in a talking filibuster to block voting on the nomination of John O. Brennan as the Director of the CIA. Wyden joined in, questioning the use of drones. Wyden in Portland, Oregon, February 2. During the filibuster, Wyden, addressing the presiding officer, said Mr. President, what it comes down to is every American has the right to know when their government believes that it is allowed to kill them. Politico reported that Wydens ascent to Chair of the Senate Finance Committee would vault him into the ranks of the Chambers most influential. He was praised for his ability to defuse partisan tensions and encourage bipartisan cooperation. Committee assignmentseditCaucus membershipseditPolitical positionseditDefense and foreign policyeditOn November 1. Wyden was one of five Senate Democrats who joined 4. Doorhan Manual'>Doorhan Manual. Republicans in voting yes on Amendment no. Republican senator Lindsey Graham, which ruled that enemy combatants did not have the right to Habeas Corpus. Iraq. Wyden was one of 2. Senators to vote against the authorization of military force in Iraq in 2. In 2. 00. 3, Wyden voted to bar excessive overseas deployments of members of the National Guard and Reserves. In 2. 00. 6, Wyden was one of 1. Senators to vote to require the redeployment of U. S. forces from Iraq by July 2. Senators to vote to call on the President to begin withdrawing forces from Iraq and establish a timeline for withdrawal. Wyden also voted many other times for withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq, against funding for the war without binding timelines, and against the establishment of permanent military bases in Iraq. Wyden also opposed President Obamas plan for a troop surge in Afghanistan in 2. Iran. In 2. 00. 7 Wyden sponsored with Representative Gabrielle Giffords in the House, the Stop Arming Iran Act, which would have barred the Defense Department from selling surplus F 1. Tomcat parts from exporting them in order to prevent Iran from acquiring the parts. Libya. In 2. 01. 1, Wyden supported the no fly zone and military intervention in Libya in order to protect civilians, stating that The violence of Colonel Gaddafi against his own people is a humanitarian crisis. I support the international effort to protect the civilians of Libya. However, Wyden also stressed that his support was not unlimited and that he expected that the military action would be completed quickly. Wyden, along with fellow Senator Merkley and President Obama, agreed that U. S. forces should not be on the ground in Libya. Syria. Wydens office has questioned the CIA led Timber Sycamore covert operation to train and arm Syrian rebels, releasing a statement that the US is trying to build up the battlefield capabilities of the anti Assad opposition, but they havent provided the public with details about how this is being done, which US agencies are involved, or which foreign partners those agencies are working with. HealthcareeditIn 2. Wyden sponsored the Healthy Americans Act, an act that would institute a national system of market based private insurance. Wyden was attacked by union interests for advocating replacement of the employer tax exclusion with a tax deduction that would apply to all Americans. Wyden supported increasing Medicare funding, enrolling more of the uninsured in federal programs although his Healthy Americans Act would eliminate many of these programs including Medicaid and SCHIP and replace them with private insurance, importing lower priced prescriptions from Canada, and negotiating bulk drug purchases for Medicare in order to lower costs. Are Potatoes Okay When They Are Soft more. In 2. 00. 3 Wyden joined with Senators Lindsey Graham R SC and Trent Lott R MS to help pass the Bush Administrations. Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act.