Chair's Press

In 2007, then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta entered a non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein, accused of abusing and coercing young girls into sex acts   According to new Miami Herald investigation, Epstein was given “the deal of a lifetime”   Senate Democrats raised alarm during Acosta’s nomination process for...

HELP Committee passes five more bills to help families and communities across the country   Legislation is focused on access to maternity care services, Alzheimer’s, Traumatic Brain Injury, children’s emergency care, and museums and libraries   Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the...

Trump Administration reveals templates showing states how to apply for permission to flout patient protections under new guidance for 1332 waivers   Last month the Trump Administration issued a new guidance that warped 1332 waivers by weakening enforcement of the guardrails for the program and undermined protections for people with...

Senator Murray requests information regarding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s capabilities to respond to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.    Current outbreak includes 375 confirmed cases and 195 deaths, according to the World Health Organization's latest update   Murray: “Ensuring...

Senators Murray and Hassan, advocates, and sexual assault survivors urged Secretary DeVos to withdraw her rule, listen to students and survivors, and aggressively implement student protections   Secretary DeVos’ proposed Title IX rule would weaken protections for survivors and make it easier for schools to shirk their responsibility to...

At HELP Committee hearing, Senator Murray calls on Republicans to listen to voters, return to negotiating table to address Trump sabotage and lower health costs   Murray: “The will of the people could not be clearer—they are tired of President Trump’s broken promises, backwards steps, and blatant gimmicks. They want real...

Senators Murray, Feinstein, Wyden, and Durbin all issued statements following new report on failures of grantee entrusted to care for children in the custody of the Health Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)   Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education,...

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on Secretary DeVos’ decision to reinstate the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as a federally-recognized accreditor. ACICS lost...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued guidance that could cause serious harm to international students in the United States   Due to complex immigration law, many international students do not know they have violated terms of their visa—now could be barred from re-entering U.S. for up to 10 years   Senators: “The...

Department of Education moving forward with alarming proposal to undermine protections for students and weaken responsibility for colleges to address sexual assault   Last month, Senator Murray and other Democrats wrote a letter urging Secretary DeVos to slow down and listen to student concerns   Murray: “Today’s news is...

The Food and Drug Administration announced new plans to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars and further curb youth tobacco use by reducing youth access to some flavored e-cigarettes   Murray: “Today’s announcement is an important step, but too much is at stake to be content. We must remain vigilant about protecting kids from...

Murray vows to keep fighting Trump-Pence Administration’s backwards attempts to undermine women’s health care amid new harmful steps   Despite clear rebuke from voters, President Trump announced new rules that will undermine women’s health and make it harder for them to get the care they need   Murray: “A day after...

Senators: “We are concerned that this effort to redefine ‘sex’ is putting politics ahead of science and access to health care”   Redefinition of sex under Title IX endangers health care protections for transgender and gender nonconforming persons   Senators to Azar: Speak out against any proposal that discriminates...

Forthcoming rulemaking process on federal student aid programs could abandon key protections for students, give predatory institutions free reign to take advantage of students and taxpayers  Proposed rulemaking process excludes key stakeholders from main voting committee  Murray and Scott: “… the Department’s proposed...

New report makes recommendations, urges action to modernize outdated disability employment policy and programs  In observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), Senator Murray also introduced a resolution in the Senate recognizing its importance  Additionally, Senator Murray applauds National Institute on...

RANKING MEMBERS MURRAY, NADLER & SCOTT RELEASE BILL TO END FORCED ARBITRATION IN THE WORKPLACE, RESTORING CRITICAL RIGHTS FOR AMERICAN WORKERS  Legislation Gives Workers the Power to Take Legal Action against Employers in Court Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member on the Senate Health, Education,...

Bipartisan opioid response bill crafted by Senator Murray signed into law   Provisions championed by Senator Murray help address root causes and ripple effects of opioid epidemic   Murray emphasizes need to continue building on momentum with additional steps   Murray: “We need to build on our work in this important legislation,...

Report shows Administration has done little to make use of highly publicized emergency declaration   President Trump’s emergency declaration resulted in use of only 3 new authorities   Administration officials recently confirmed renewal of emergency declaration   Despite big talk, Administration has done little to live up to...

New guidance encourages support for junk plans that flout protections for people with pre-existing conditions   Murray: “The only thing more insistent than President Trump and Republicans’ false promises to protect pre-existing conditions, are their efforts to do the exact opposite.”   Murray: “President Trump lit...

Murray: “Now it’s up to Secretary DeVos to do the right thing and immediately begin discharging outstanding loans in full from students who were cheated, defrauded, or left in the lurch, and to stop putting lobbyists and shady for-profit colleges ahead of the students and borrowers she is supposed to work for.”   Washington,...