Chair's Press

Murray: The Senate must “pass the bipartisan FUTURE Act instead of playing politics with valuable and under-resourced institutions.”   Murray: The FUTURE Act will “give us time to work out a permanent fix for funding for HBCUs, tribal colleges, and minority-serving institutions through a comprehensive HEA...

Murray: “Instead of nominating a Secretary of Labor, President Trump has nominated a Secretary of Corporate Interests.”   Murray highlights Scalia’s long, troubling record attacking workers’ rights and protecting corporations   Scalia has fought to overturn and undermine laws protecting workers’ health and...

  In a letter, 5 Democrats urge Trump-Pence Administration to withdraw rule allowing for federal contractors and subcontractors to discriminate on ideological grounds   Senators: “The government cannot use religious exemptions as a pretext to permit discrimination against or harm others, and we demand the Department immediately...

Media reports show that women seeking information on abortion care can be misled by Google Maps and Google searches and are sometimes directed to non-existent or fraudulent providers   Senators Murray and Blumenthal urge Google to verify top search results for users seeking care   Senators: “During this time of unprecedented attacks...

Murray: “I believe holding a confirmation hearing next week would significantly undermine our ability to meet our committee’s responsibilities.”   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...

Report finds that many colleges do not provide student parents with information about options to increase financial aid to pay for child care, recommends that Department of Education work with schools to inform students of their options   One in five undergraduate students are parents, and many are struggling to find and afford child...

Led by Trump appointees, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced it will stop collecting crucial wage data   Move undermines transparency and protects companies committing wage discrimination   Murray: “President Trump’s appointees are using an agency charged with protecting workers’ rights to protect companies...

New census data shows 2 million more people uninsured from 2017 to 2018   Last year, as President Trump called Republicans “the party of health care,” the nationwide uninsured rate jumped from 7.9 to 8.5 percent   Millions more at risk of losing health care if Republicans win their lawsuit to strike down families’...

Secretary DeVos’ borrower defense rule would deny virtually all debt relief to students cheated or defrauded by predatory colleges   Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on the U.S. Department...

In letter, 45 Senators urge Department to reconsider proposed rule and extend comment period   Senators: “The Department’s proposal is yet one more attempt to undermine the Nation’s registered apprenticeship system, which has existed for 80 years and enjoys broad support from Congress, workers, and industry...

After years of pressure from Senate Democrats, Secretary DeVos will finally automatically cancel student loans of veterans disabled from service   Under federal law, veterans who have been “permanently and totally” disabled are eligible for student loan discharges   Senate Democrats have spent years urging Secretary DeVos to...

Murray: “It’s time for every elected official to make clear whether they will join us to stop President Trump and Vice President Pence from attacking women’s health or whether they will join them in putting ideology ahead of patients’ wellbeing.”   Trump-Pence Administration’s gag rule undermines bipartisan...

Murray and 35 other Senate Democrats condemned the Trump-Pence Administration’s proposed rule to weaken protections against health care discrimination   Proposed rule would undermine health care protections for LGBTQ people, women, people with disabilities, and people whose primary language is not English   Senators: “In...

After collapse of three for-profit colleges, Department of Education does little to help affected students   In letter, 30 Senators demand that Department fulfill its duty and provide assistance   Senators: “The Department must fulfill its obligations to assist students in the aftermath of a traumatic event such as a sudden school...

As Republicans fight to strike down health care and protections for millions of people, they have absolutely no plan for the families who would suffer if they win   Murray: “Republicans are going to go full steam ahead with this reckless lawsuit to strike down health care for millions, and without any plan for what to do if they...

Disturbing study finds that only 12 percent of school districts inspect for lead-based paint and of those, roughly half discovered dangerous traces of lead in school buildings   Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator...

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on President Trump’s announcement that he is nominating Eugene Scalia to be the Secretary of Labor. Senator Murray opposed Scalia’s nomination to be Solicitor...

Senators Murray and Brown demanded DeVos cooperate with the CFPB and reverse her efforts to dismantle Obama-era protections against predatory student loan companies   Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Sherrod Brown...

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the statement below following the House of Representatives vote on the Raise the Wage Act today, which would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Senator Murray is a cosponsor of the...

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on the resignation of Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. Senator Murray previously called on Secretary Acosta to resign following the arrest of serial sex abuser Jeffrey...