Press Releases

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...

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...

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...

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate  Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Congresman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, led House and Senate Democrats in introducing legislation to invest $15...

Murray and 19 Democratic Senate colleagues write to Sec. Azar about concerns that political interference is hindering COVID-19 response efforts   Trump Administration reportedly removed Dr. Rick Bright as head of BARDA due to his insistence on scientifically vetted treatments   Recent reports also raise questions about whether other...

Senator Murray, Alliance for Justice hosted press call with health care experts and advocates to criticize McConnell’s plan to jam through anti-health care judges as families and communities struggle with COVID-19 pandemic   When Congress returns, Republicans want to move forward two more judicial nominees who called for the Affordable...

Press Call This Morning Detailed How Trump Administration Caused Testing Crisis in US, Why Country Needs a National Testing Strategy   Listen to Audio of Call Here   (Washington, D.C.) –   On a press call this morning, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions...

 WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, applauded an announcement from the National...

As the Trump Administration pushes to reopen economy, Senate Democrats insist that worker protections must come first   In a letter to Labor Secretary Scalia, Democrats demand that OSHA put in place standards, guidance, enforcement, and outreach to protect workers   Senators to Scalia: “In advance of states reopening, you have a...

Tyson Fresh Meat plant in Wallula, WA closed on April 23, and has more than 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19   In letter to Tyson CEO, Senator Murray expressed concern about the delayed closure, lack of PPE, and inadequate guidance from Tyson to employees   Senator Murray urges Tyson to continue paying employees, follow public health...

Murray reiterates need for clear, aggressive national strategy that Congress required the Administration to produce as part of interim COVID19 relief package   (Washington, D.C.) –  Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following...

In March 2020, the EEOC gave notice to OMB that it would no longer collect data on employees pay and hours sorted by race, sex, and more   Decision comes as coronavirus crisis exacerbates existing pay inequities for women and people of color, who are overrepresented amid essential workers   Senator Murray: “Without the transparency...

Senator Murray and Congresswoman DeLauro press Sec. Azar to ensure Administration prioritizes wellbeing of children in its care following reports the Office of Refugee Resettlement is considering aggressive anti-immigrant policies   Murray and DeLauro: “The actions of the Administration during this global pandemic should be guided be...

MARYVILLE, Tenn., April 23, 2020 – United States Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) made the following statement on the 2018 results released today from the “Nation’s Report Card:” "These results from the ‘Nation’s Report Card’ are sobering. They remind us that the worst...

Murray responds to NYT reporting BARDA Director fired for insisting on scientifically testing COVID-19 treatments pushed by Trump Administration   Senator Murray: “We need to be listening to experts and science, not pushing them aside.”   (Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the...

Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals that Department of Education data does not accurately report if the use of seclusion and restraint is excessive or discriminatory   Report: “Absent more effective rules to improve data quality … Education will continue to lack information that could help it determine whether...

Senate passes COVID-19 package including $25 billion to rapidly expand U.S. testing   Bill will also require Administration to develop plan to scale up testing and address disparities, report demographic data   Senator Murray outlined a roadmap to ramp up testing capacity last week   Senator Murray: “When you’re running...

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, April 21, 2020 — U.S. Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said that the Senate has “pulled out all the stops” to help increase COVID-19 diagnostic testing in order to contain the disease and give Americans the confidence to go back to work and back to school. Senator Alexander...

  According to recent reports, President Trump may have influenced FDA’s decision to issue an Emergency Use Authorization for hydroxychloroquine, despite lack of quality evidence   Senator Murray: “Now more than ever, it is critical that FDA shield its experts from political influence. If the agency fails to do so, it risks...