Chair's Press

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...

Murray: “President Trump and his team have shown little interest in taking on the tobacco industry behind this epidemic and fighting for our children.”   Since the Trump administration delayed oversight of e-cigarettes in 2017, youth e-cigarette use has doubled among high school students, tripled among middle schools...

**Watch Senator Murray’s full speech here**   Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the Senate floor vote on the nomination of Steven Menashi to serve as United States Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP)...

Without justification, EEOC stops requiring employers to collect data on pay and hours based on race, sex, ethnicity and job category   Murray, 28 Senate Democrats urge the EEOC to reconsider and take into account the impact on workers, particularly women and communities of color   Senators: “Ending the collection of Component 2...

(Washington, D.C.)—Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, along with Representatives Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), introduced the Put Patients First Act, following the Southern District of New York’s decision to block the Trump Administration’s...

Senators press Trump administration over decision to put ideology over the lives of women and children worldwide and continue withholding bipartisan funding from the UN Population Fund   Letter comes as UN Population Fund celebrates 50th anniversary, kicks off major conference in Nairobi   Senators: “The absence of these programs...

Department considers actions to override trucker protections, preempting states’ rights to set their own labor standards   WA truckers would face elimination of crucial meal and rest breaks   Democrats urge Department to follow the law and respect WA protections for truckers   Lawmakers: “We urge you to listen to workers...

Murray, Casey, and Hassan call for Health Department to ramp up suicide prevention efforts in preparing for and responding to natural disasters and public health emergencies   Senators press Department on implementation of provisions in recently passed legislation focused on helping families deal with the mental health consequences of public...

Murray: “Families across the country who count on the FDA to keep them safe should be able to trust it is being run capably and without interference from partisanship or ideology.”   Murray promises to push nominee on youth tobacco use amid youth vaping epidemic and continued delay from Trump Administration after promise to ban...

Yesterday, Senate Democrats and Republicans on the HELP Committee voted to advance eight bills out of committee to address health challenges families and communities face   Murray: “These eight bills are a testament to what’s possible when we focus on bipartisan, common sense solutions.”    Murray: “I hope we...