Ranking Member's Press
Murray Responds to Trump Administration’s Latest Backstep On COVID-19 Testing
As COVID-19 testing lags far behind what experts say is needed to safely reopen, Trump Administration announces testing "czar" to step down this month ICYMI: Murray in Seattle Times Op-Ed: "Our country isn't just facing a historic public health crisis, but also an inexcusable and unprecedented leadership crisis." Murray: "Let's be clear: this pandemic is, sadly, by no means over and neither is the federal government's obligation to lead." (Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Patty Murr… Continue Reading
05.29.20
Senator Murray Statement on President Trump’s Veto of Bipartisan Congressional Review Act Providing Relief to Defrauded Student Borrowers
Senator Murray: "The President and Secretary DeVos have shown that even in the midst of a pandemic, they don't care about helping struggling students, they care about the bottom lines of predatory for-profit colleges." (Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement on President Trump's veto of the bipartisan Congressional Review Act (CRA) overturning the Department of… Continue Reading
05.28.20
Murray, Democrats Press FDA for Transparency When Delayed Tobacco Application Deadline Finally Takes Effect
After several delays, application deadline for e-cigarettes and certain other unauthorized tobacco products currently on the market goes into effect September 9, 2020 Senators urge FDA to provide a public list of marketed products that are the subject of a marketing application submitted to FDA, emphasize transparency will promote accountability and help efforts to remove products without applications from the market Trump Administration has a long record of delaying full oversight of … Continue Reading
05.27.20
Murray, DeLauro, Scott, Members Introduce $50 Billion Child Care Stabilization Fund Legislation
(Washington, D.C.) - Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, introduced new legislation, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, introduced new legislation, the Child Care is Essential Act, to create a $50 billion Child Care Stabilization Fund… Continue Reading
05.25.20
Murray, Schumer, Pelosi, Pallone Joint Statement On The Trump Administration’s Disappointing National Testing Strategy Report
Washington, D.C. - Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor & Pensions, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee released the following statement today after the Trump administration submitted a new report to Congress outlining their national testing strategy: "After six months and nearly 100,000… Continue Reading
05.22.20
Murray, Pallone Demand More Data After Trump Administration Submits Embarrassingly Skimpy Report on COVID-19 Health Disparities
Sen. Murray and Rep. Pallone write to Trump Administration demanding more detailed comprehensive demographic data related to COVID-19 after receiving a totally inadequate report While recent law required the Trump Administration to provide comprehensive COVID-19 demographic data, it instead submitted a four-page report comprised of links to existing CDC webpages with limited data Members: "The Trump Administration must stop ignoring the disproportionate impact this crisis is having on co… Continue Reading
05.21.20
Murray, HELP Democrats Push Trump Administration to Address Mental Health Needs Amid COVID-19 Crisis
New polling shows nearly half of American adults report the coronavirus crisis has negatively impacted their mental health Murray, HELP Democrats: "While the nation already faced a mental health and suicide crisis before the pandemic, your Administration must not, through inaction or delay, allow these challenges to spiral further out of control as a result of COVID-19." (Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, a… Continue Reading
05.20.20
Murray, DeLauro Slam DeVos’ Unauthorized Decision Squandering CARES Funds Reserved for Institutions Hardest Hit by COVID-19
Secretary DeVos used crucial funds from CARES Act to unnecessarily provide at least $500,000 to institutions regardless of need, despite Congress reserving these funds for neediest institutions Murray, DeLauro slam decision as "inconsistent with the plain language of the CARES Act and Congress' intent" Murray, DeLauro to DeVos: "This decision is unacceptable and will be detrimental to students at institutions significantly impacted by COVID-19, many of which are in desperate need of reli… Continue Reading
05.19.20
Murray, Pallone Blast Trump Administration’s Paltry Report on COVID-19 Health Disparities
Sen. Murray and Rep. Pallone blast Trump Administration for producing uninformative report in response to law requiring comprehensive demographic data related to COVID-19 Instead of comprehensive data on testing and health disparities, Trump Administration submitted a four-page report comprised of links to existing CDC webpages with limited data Murray: "This wholly inadequate response tells us nothing except what we already knew: the Trump Administration would prefer to ignore the dispr… Continue Reading
05.18.20
Murray, Harris Urge DOL to Address Disparities for Workers of Color Exacerbated by COVID-19
Murray, Harris: "The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a bright light on … racial and gender disparities within our economic system that have persisted for far too long." (Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) urged Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia to address racial and gender disparities in our economic system that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 … Continue Reading
05.12.20
ROUND UP: Murray Presses Health Officials on Dangers of Reopening Before Trump Administration Addresses Need for Testing, Supplies, And More
Seattle PI: Dr. Fauci to Washington Sen. Murray: 'Pretty dire' consequences in reopening too early NPR: "Patty Murray, who's the ranking Democrat, noted that what's needed is 'dramatically more testing,' and yet, she said, there's no comprehensive plan to ramp it up and make it free." WSJ: "Sen. Patty Murray (D. Wash.), the panel's ranking Democrat, pressed the need for more testing, wearing masks and adhering to detailed public-health guidance before job sites and schools can safely reo… Continue Reading
05.12.20
Murray: Experts Have Made Clear, U.S. Not Ready to Safely Reopen as Trump Administration Fails to Chart Path Forward on Tests, Supplies, and More
Murray slams President Trump for preparing nation to reopen without adequate testing, personal protective equipment, or guidance for communities to keep people safe Murray: "The Trump Administration's response to this public health emergency so far, has been a disaster all of its own." Murray: "The fact of the matter is, President Trump has been more focused on fighting against the truth, than fighting this virus-and Americans have sadly paid the price." Last week the Trump Administr… Continue Reading
05.08.20
Murray, HELP Democrats Demand Transparency from Key Trump Official In COVID-19 Response After Reports of Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest
Recent reporting and a whistleblower complaint raise concerns that HHS Assistant Secretary Kadlec has undisclosed connections to business receiving HHS contracts Murray, Democrats: "All work by the Department, particularly during the COVID-19 response, must be done based on scientific and public health need and be in no way influenced by political, financial, or personal ties." (Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, a… Continue Reading
05.07.20
Murray On Trump Administration’s COVID-19 Response: President Trump “Failed And Continues to Fail”
Murray slams President Trump for working harder to hide the truth and silence experts than to ramp up testing, respond to COVID-19 crisis Murray: "The President is afraid of the truth, because here it is: he failed-and continues to fail-to protect lives, our economy, and our way of life." Murray: "The problem isn't a lack of innovation-it's a lack of national leadership, and a plan from the White House." At HELP hearing on improving testing, Senator Murray lays out issues Trump Admi… Continue Reading
05.07.20
Murray Digs Into Political Pressure Surrounding Trump Administration Plan to Push Unproven COVID-19 Treatment
Murray demands answers from Sec. Azar regarding political pressure to push untested COVID-19 treatment and retaliation against those who voiced concerns Letter comes as new whistleblower complaint increases scrutiny of Trump Administration efforts to hype hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as COVID-19 treatments despite lack of evidence Murray: "It has become clear that the process was driven mainly - if not solely - by politics, and may have placed some COVID-19 patients in danger." … Continue Reading
05.06.20
Senator Murray Slams Secretary DeVos’ Title IX Rule, Calls on the Department to Focus on COVID-19 Response
Final rule released despite call from Senator Murray for Secretary DeVos to focus on helping schools and institutions of higher education deal with the coronavirus crisis Senator Murray: "Right now, the Department of Education needs to be using every resource available to implement the more than $30 billion of education funding Congress allocated with the urgency, consistency and equity it requires-not issuing regulations that are not only completely unrelated to combating coronavirus, but w… Continue Reading
05.05.20
Murray Urges HHS and DOL to Work Together to Shift Unemployed Workers Into a Public Health Workforce Focused on COVID-19 Contact Tracing
Public health experts agree we need a nationwide program to identify, trace, and isolate cases of COVID-19 Strategy will require vast expansion of public health workforce Senator Murray: "This public health strategy will require the recruitment, training, and deployment of potentially hundreds of thousands of new public health workers across the country." (Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) … Continue Reading
05.04.20
Sens. Murray, Shaheen, and Reps. Speier, Lee, DeGette, Engel, and Lowey Lead Call to Overturn Ideological Trump Administration Policies That Undermine Global Health and COVID-19 Response
Senators: "Ideology is no excuse for hampering the international response to COVID-19, jeopardizing hard-won progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, or failing to act as access to contraceptive care decreases and gender-based violence increases." House Members: "Now more than ever, we must prioritize people's health over politics and remove these ideological policies that undermine health care access and global coordination." Washington, DC - Today, Senator Patty Murray, Ranking Member of t… Continue Reading
05.02.20
Murray Slams Trump Move to Replace Independent Government Watchdog With COVID-19 Investigations Underway
President Trump moves to replace Acting HHS Inspector General after agency looks into supply shortages, announces investigation on testing rollout issues Murray: "We all know the President hasn't told people the truth about this virus or his Administration's response, and late last night, he moved to replace an independent government official who did." (Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP)… Continue Reading
05.01.20
Murray, DeLauro Urge DeVos to Reverse Unauthorized Guidance Excluding 7.5 Million Students From Emergency Financial Aid
Murray, DeLauro: "The extreme eligibility restrictions… were added by the Department without any directive from Congress and without any statutory basis" (Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, urged Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to reverse her… Continue Reading
