Senator Murray’s Statement on Bipartisan Budget Deal

Senator Murray on deal: This “cannot be the end of our bipartisan work…I am going to keep fighting to protect DREAMers and their families” 

(Washington, D.C.)  – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement after passage of a bipartisan deal that paves the way for a long-term federal funding bill, funds community health centers and increases investments to combat the opioid crisis.

“While I don’t agree with every aspect of this sweeping bipartisan bill, I believe it moves us in the right direction and will help Washington state families and communities in a number of important ways.

“By increasing investments in education, health care, infrastructure, and other middle class and national security priorities, this deal is a step away from the constant crises we’ve seen far too much of in this Republican Congress, and it should hopefully allow us to work together on a long-term government funding bill that works for workers, families, and the economy. I am unhappy that Republicans insisted on deep and harmful cuts to a critical prevention and public health fund and that the disaster relief portion of this bill didn’t include a much-needed fix to help prevent and fight wildfires, but this bill is an important step forward in this Republican Congress to invest in and protect families, patients, and the economy.

“I am particularly glad that Republicans have agreed to extend funding for community health centers, take an important step toward addressing the opioid crisis with actual resources, provide more years of certainty for children’s health care, and dramatically expand access to child care for working families. I am also looking forward to continued bipartisan efforts to protect workers’ hard-earned pensions and make college more affordable as a result of this agreement.

“I want to be very clear: this is a good step, but cannot be the end of our bipartisan work. Republicans control the White House, the Senate, and the House—but they have committed to working with us to finally pass immigration legislation, and I am going to keep fighting to protect DREAMers and their families and to hold Republicans accountable until this gets done.”