Press Releases

*** “We are concerned that federal agencies are increasingly using guidance that appears to create new requirements without the benefit of notice and comment but with the expectation that the public comply.” – Senators’ letter to agencies  WASHINGTON, D.C., May 7 – U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)...

It’s very hard to pass a federal law in the United States, and for good reason. Our revolution was against a king; our Founders established a government of elected representatives who would reflect the voters’ will and who were expected to show restraint in making laws. In fact, the Constitution made sure that they were well...

Washington, D.C., May 6 – Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) along with 21 cosponsors, this week introduced a resolution congratulating the students, parents, teachers, and administrators of charter schools across the nation, expressing strong support for public charter schools and marking the 16th annual National...

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 6 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said that the government has done a better job of collecting information from colleges and universities than it has in sharing that information with students, and suggested that the federal government should enable its dissemination, rather than try to do it...

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 6 – After Senate Democrats yesterday blocked a simple up or down vote to override President Obama’s veto of a Congressional Review Act resolution that would stop the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ambush election rule, Senate labor committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), House Education and the...

Murray calls for clear and consistent information to help students navigate college options Murray: “Expanding access to higher education couldn’t be more important for students who want to gain a foothold into the middle class.” (Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee...

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 2015 – Senate Democrats today refused to allow the United States Senate to vote on overriding the president’s veto of a Congressional Review Act resolution that would stop the National Labor Relations Board’s ambush election rule.  A Senate majority voted to stop the rule on March 4. A House...

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) delivered remarks at a HELP Committee hearing on Continuing America’s Leadership: Realizing the Promise of Precision Medicine for Patients. In her opening statement, Murray highlighted that it is one of her...

“Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National institutes of Health, has told us that a properly functioning records system is essential both to help assemble the genomes of one million individuals and for doctors to be able to use a patient’s genetic information when they write a prescription for individual patients.”...

Following reports of violations, Murray and Democrats call on HHS to ensure ACA contraception coverage provision is fully implemented (Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) and 38 Senate Democrats sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services...

Amid reports that insurers aren’t providing women accurate information about birth- control coverage under the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray on Tuesday urged federal officials to take a stronger stance to ensure compliance with the law. In a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, Murray called for the...

If we have learned anything about the economy over the past few years, it is this: Real, sustainable and fair economic growth comes from the middle out, not the top down. If the middle class isn’t feeling secure, and if workers can’t climb their way up the ladder, it doesn’t matter how many millionaires are getting bonuses or how...

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 7 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate education committee, today released the following statement recognizing “Teacher Appreciation Week,” being celebrated this week:  “This week we honor the 3.4 million teachers who work so hard each day so our nation’s...

IF we have learned anything about the economy over the past few years, it is this: Real, sustainable and fair economic growth comes from the middle out, not the top down. If the middle class isn’t feeling secure, and if workers can’t climb their way up the ladder, it doesn’t matter how many millionaires are getting bonuses or how...

(Washington, D.C.) – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) introduced the Raise the Wage Act, legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. The Raise the Wage Act would also index the federal minimum wage to the median wage, and gradually eliminate the...

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) introduced the Raise the Wage Act, legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. The Raise the Wage Act would also index the federal minimum wage to the median wage, and gradually eliminate the...

WASHINGTON, April 30 – Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today led a group of nine Republicans on the Senate health committee in urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately finalize all guidance regarding the approval of biosimilar drugs.  Alexander was joined by Sens. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Johnny...

Top Democrats laid down their minimum-wage marker on Capitol Hill on Thursday, setting up their party's middle-class-focused economic message heading into the 2016 elections campaigns. Their pitch: "$12 by '20" — a $12 per hour federal minimum wage by 2020, which they say will give a pay raise to nearly 38 million Americans. "This is a...

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 29 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the unanimous ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission must take steps to reconcile discrimination complaints before suing employers: “The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision...

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 29 – Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today announced a bipartisan, full committee working group to identify ways to improve electronic health records (EHRs). “After $28 billion in taxpayer dollars spent subsidizing electronic health...