Patty in the News
Murray meets with vets at stand-down
Aug 12 2015
James Cook was waiting in line for military surplus clothing when a United States senator walked up and introduced herself.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., asked Cook how the veterans’ system was treating him. Cook told Murray about his problems getting timely shipments of prescription medications.
“It’s supposed to take three to five days,” Cook told Murray. “It can be seven to 10 days.”
From his perspective, Cook said, part of the problem is that the distribution center is east of the Mississippi River.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., asked Cook how the veterans’ system was treating him. Cook told Murray about his problems getting timely shipments of prescription medications.
“It’s supposed to take three to five days,” Cook told Murray. “It can be seven to 10 days.”
From his perspective, Cook said, part of the problem is that the distribution center is east of the Mississippi River.
Joined by 37th District State Senator Pramila Jayapal, the visit to the seafood restaurant capped the South Seattle leg of Murray’s day-long tour of the district. The United States Senate’s highest-ranking woman made stops at an Othello neighborhood daycare center and Hillman City cornerstone Tin Umbrella Coffee earlier in the day after breakfast with the Sound Cities Association in Renton.
Ryan and Murray: Together Again, With Data
Jul 30 2015
Ryan and Murray's proposal is a major step forward in figuring out what works, and what doesn’t, in government. The legislation would establish a commission charged with reviewing the inventory of federal data related to programs and tax expenditures and developing recommendations for making the data more available for the evaluation of programs’ effectiveness.
It took some doing to make it happen, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., reminded listeners. For more than a decade, Murray worked with veterans, community leaders and federal VA officials to push for funding for a veterans home in Eastern Washington. In 2014, she helped secure $23 million in federal funding to help the project keep moving.
In 2004, the Veterans Affairs put the entire VA hospital on the chopping block, which would have forced veterans to go to Spokane or Seattle for care. But because community members spoke up by writing to their elected officials, attended committee hearings Senator Murray chaired, and joined her in countless meetings making their voices heard, they not only saved the facility from closure, they helped prove that it was worth expanding.
“If you served our country, then we will serve you. No questions asked about length of service or how you left,” said Murray, a Democrat and former chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
Murray no longer an underdog in D.C.
Apr 27 2015
The Washington state Democrat, once famously dubbed “just a mom in tennis shoes,” is the reason behind an uncomfortable power standoff between two men who intend to lead the Democrats after Minority Leader Harry Reid retires. Murray, her quiet style and her clout amassed more than 22 years in the Senate, poses a challenge to the way things work in Washington. She’s poised to be the first woman in the Senate’s top-tier leadership. And she’s outgrown her image as the ultimate underdog, if not the mom in storied footwear.
Sen. Murray aims to tackle No Child Left Behind
Dec 16 2014
If former preschool teacher U.S. Sen. Patty Murray has her say, the so-called No Child Left Behind Law will be rescued from limbo in the near future. Murray says her new role as ranking Democrat on the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee is the assignment that will help her meet the rest of her education goals. Murray will replace Sen. Tom Harkin, the committee's current chairman, as the committee's Democratic leader. She has accomplished other education goals in Congress in recent years, including worker retraining, Head Start and federal college grants. But no one in Congress has succeeded in reauthorizing the federal framework for the nation's schools.
- AP
- AP
Patty Murray and Paul Ryan’s teamwork is a model for Congress
The bipartisan Murray-Ryan proposal is a collaborative template for a dysfunctional Congress.
Dec 15 2014
Seattle Times Editorial
): OUT of what is likely the least productive and most dysfunctional Congress in American history, a sliver of good governance has sometimes escaped. One such ray comes in the bipartisan proposal put forth by respective budget chairs Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Their Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act would create a 15-member commission to study the effectiveness of federal programs and tax expenditures via data analysis. It would also explore how to best protect the privacy rights and confidentiality of people interacting with federal agencies. Debate on the proposal, let alone passage, can’t come until the new GOP-controlled Congress is seated early next year. But Murray, who will then be in the Senate minority, and Ryan, who is expected to retain his powerful House perch, both intend to reintroduce the measure then and push for ratification.- Seattle Times
Brian Teegarden
The senator said she wrote the language into the bill to make sure that communities like Yakima will get the federal help they need to fight gang activity. The language, which was first written by Senator Murray earlier this year, will require the Department of Justice to review the criteria by which it awards grants relating to gang violence and prevention. In recent months, community and law enforcement leaders in the Yakima area have raised concerns to Senator Murray that they are not getting the federal funding they need to address gang-related violence. The bill is expected to pass the House of Representatives and the Senate in the coming days and be signed into law
