Chair's Press

Decision leaves health care and protections for millions uncertain as case is returned to judge who previously ruled to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act   Murray: “Today Republicans are closer to getting the health care plan they wanted, in the form of a court ruling that could leave millions of people without the coverage and...

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rescinds long-standing policy opposing mandatory arbitration agreements as contrary to civil rights laws and harmful to workers across the country   Murray: “The last thing an agency tasked with enforcing workers’ rights should do is weaken its stance on predatory corporate practices that...

Washington D.C.—Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement calling for continued work next year to end surprise medical billing. Murray also highlighted the need to address the effects of Republican efforts to undermine...

McFerran’s exit leaves the historically bipartisan board with three Republicans and two empty Democratic seats    Murray: “I’m deeply disappointed by the inaction of the Republicans and I implore them to return to normal process. The NLRB must not become a playing field for partisan politics.”   **WATCH...

Members call on Trump Administration to protect patients and families, uphold the law   Offering junk insurance plans on the state-based marketplace website would violate federal law   Members: “We are calling on you to do your duty and enforce this requirement to protect families who turn to the exchanges for quality, affordable...

HELP Committee advanced the reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act –which included the Adoption Opportunities Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act – with bipartisan support    Murray: “…there is more work to be done to protect vulnerable communities across this country....

Legislation now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law   Bipartisan legislation will permanently fund HBCUs and minority serving institutions, after funding lapsed at the end of September   Legislation amends Senator Jones’ FUTURE Act to include FAFSA Act, legislation that would simplify FAFSA and streamline...

Murray: “While this step is deeply concerning, unfortunately, it’s not surprising—because it is one more in a long list of examples of Secretary DeVos skirting her legal responsibilities to protect students and borrowers.”     Washington, D.C.  – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking...

Senator Murray votes in favor of bipartisan deal to permanently fund HBCUs and minority serving institutions, after funding lapsed at the end of September   Deal amends Senator Jones’ FUTURE Act to include FAFSA Act, legislation that would simplify FAFSA and streamline income-driven repayment   Senator Murray: “I’m very...

Legislation provides $255 million annually for HBCUs and Minority Serving Institutions, cuts up to 22 questions from the federal student aid application form, and eliminates bureaucratic verification nightmare for most students   Washington, D.C. — Senate Education Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chairman...

Senator Murray voted against advancing the nomination of Dr. Stephen Hahn for FDA Commissioner in HELP Committee markup   After initially promising a strong flavored e-cigarette policy amid skyrocketing youth e-cigarette use, the Trump Administration backtracked after hearing from the tobacco industry   When pushed by Murray and other...

Release of data reveals low-income students, student of color face significant barriers to accessing rights under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act   Washington, D.C – Senator Patty Murray, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), chairman of the...

  197 members of the Senate and House urge the Supreme Court to uphold constitutionally protected reproductive rights in June Medical Services LLC v. Gee   Washington, D.C.  – Today, 36 members of the U.S. Senate led by Senators Chuck Schumer, Patty Murray, Dianne Feinstein and Richard Blumenthal, along with 161...

23 Democratic Senators call out President Trump for repeatedly putting companies’ profits ahead of families’ health and abandoning strong steps to address nicotine addiction   After meeting with industry, Trump Administration backed away from recent promise to ban all non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes that had not undergone FDA...

As many as 100,000 fewer people may have signed up for coverage on the first day of Open Enrollment due to technical issues with HealthCare.gov   Democratic health leaders urge Trump Administration health officials to resolve all technical issues and ensure that families across the country can access quality, affordable health...

Government Accountability Office provides Senator Murray with new information invalidating DeVos’ claims of “significant risk” of borrower fraud   Senator Murray calls on DeVos to immediately suspend her proposal in light of new GAO information   Senator Murray: “New information provided by GAO makes clear that...

In a confirmation hearing earlier today, Senator Murray demanded Dr. Hahn, President Trump’s nominee to lead the FDA, commit to putting data, science, and families’ health first   Senator Murray expressed concerns regarding Dr. Hahn’s lack of experience or expertise to lead the agency, particularly in light of President...

  DeVos proposes significant changes to the Civil Rights Data Collection, eliminating key data related to bullying and harassment, early childhood education, teacher quality   Senators also urge the Department to address glaring gaps in data collection related to assault and harassment   Senators: “These proposed changes will...

Murray shares the story of Natasha, a mother in Washington state, to highlight the real world stakes for families as Republicans attack their health care   Murray: “Republicans’ approach to patient’s health care—making it more expensive, harder to get, and lower quality— is clearly designed to work for big...

TOMORROW: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to hold a public briefing on an outdated, discriminatory policy that allows employers to pay workers with disabilities subminimum wage   Ahead of the briefing, Murray reaffirms that the outdated policy “continues to segregate and subject workers with disabilities to discrimination” and that...