Chair's Press

(Washington, D.C.) —Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, led Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Bob Casey (D-PA) in introducing the Child Care is Essential Act, to address the child care crisis exacerbated by...

Committee also advances nominations of Democratic nominees Lauren McFerran and Jocelyn Samuels to the NLRB and EEOC   Senator Murray: “As workers across the country face unprecedented struggles in light of the coronavirus crisis, these worker protection agencies are more important than ever before.”   (Washington, D.C.)...

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...

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,...

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...

(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...

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...

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...

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...

  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,...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...