Wyden is Coming

Biography:  Senator Ron Wyden is a democrat from Wichita, Kansas. He was born there on May 3, 1949 but now calls Portland his hometown. Wyden is also a family man. He has a loving wife, Nancy, and 5 children: Adam, Lily, William Peter, Ava Rose, and Scarlett Willa.

After attending UC Santa Barbara to play basketball, Wyden transferred to Stanford where he earned his BA. Wyden then got his JD from U of O. He went on to teach gerontology in various Oregon schools and then found a nonprofit legal organization. Ron later joined the house and then became a senator as he is today.

Committees:
Energy and Natural Resources
Finance
Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
Budget
Select Committee on Intelligence
Special Committee on Aging
Joint Committee on Taxation

Issues: Ron Wyden is a strong supporter of seniors. He sponsored the bill, Independence at Home, which gives a small group of seniors on Medicare the ability to receive in-home medical care for their chronic illness. Usually these seniors are cared for by family or moved into a home. To avoid both of these strenuous situations seniors can get quality care from a trained professional while still staying in their homes. This hopefully lowers medical bills and hospital visits in the future.  The bill is supported under the new health care reform, Obamacare, and should be available to seniors in need soon.

On the topic of education, Wyden has made some progress for those looking to attend college. He authored the College Tuition Savings Act which eliminates taxes on college tuition savings accounts. He also is currently co-sponsoring the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act where students can see reliable, predicted income levels for the field they plan on entering so that they can plan accordingly. The goal of this bill is to make higher education a calculated investment with a higher chance of paying off after graduation.


Questions: What are your thoughts on/how do you plan to decrease the cost of tuition for college students?

You advocate for a lot of spending on seniors. Where does this money come from?

On the topic of your Student Right to Know Act, if students presumably choose career paths that cost the least in in college and have the highest expected salaries, what will happen to the numerous other professions that are necessary but may not be as desirable based on this philosophy?