This week, I was honored to be announced the new Chairman of
the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. As Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Committee, I have a trem
endous duty to the 22 million veterans across the
country who have stepped up to serve our nation and who deserve the highest
quality care, benefits, and treatment in return. I plan to work each day to
ensure that the VA is working for our veterans, not against them. Our service
members should never have to come home from fighting a war only to fight to get
the benefits and care that they deserve.
Read
my full statement.
“Sen. Murray
selected chair of Veterans Affairs panel” – The Seattle Times
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President
Obama’s State of the Union Address
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama laid out a vision for
getting our economy back on track, getting our workers back on the job, and
building a strong foundation for our country to continue leading the way in the
21st century economy. I believe that this is what Washington state families are
looking for, and I am going to continue working with the President to provide
the investments we need to help our state and nation compete.
Read
my full statement.
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Giving
Aerospace Workers the Fair Playing Field They Deserve
After President Obama called for positioning American
businesses and workers to compete in the global economy, I joined Senator Maria
Cantwell in sending a bipartisan letter to President Obama calling on him to
ensure aerospace workers have a fair playing field for competition. Currently,
American workers are competing for a contract to replace the Air Force’s
refueling tankers against an illegally subsidized foreign company.
Read
the full text of the letter.
“Senators call
on Obama, Congress to level playing field in tanker battle” – Everett Herald
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Training
our Health Care Workforce
Earlier this week, I applauded an announcement made by Health
and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that a Teaching Health Center
would be located in Yakima. The center will support an increased number of
primary care medical and dental residents, create jobs, and will further invest
in our growing health care industry.
Read
more.
“Funds to help
train medical staff” – Yakima-Herald Republic
________________________________________
Protecting Pacific Coast from Offshore
Drilling
This week, I joined Maria Cantwell, and Senators from Oregon
and California, to propose legislation that would permanently prohibit offshore
drilling on the outer continental shelf of the west coast. This
legislation would work to protect $34 billion coastal economies of the three
states, which support nearly 570,000 jobs throughout Washington, Oregon, and
California.
Read
more.
“Cantwell,
Murray: Don’t drill America’s “Left Coast”’ – The Seattle PI
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38 Years of Roe v. Wade
Last Saturday marked the 38th anniversary of the historic
decision in Roe v. Wade. On this anniversary, I not only took a moment to
reflect on the reproductive rights gained since this landmark decision, but
also to look forward to work still to be done. Ensuring women have access to
quality care and choices requires not only protecting the progress we’ve made,
but also continuing to move forward.
Read
more.
________________________________________
Supporting Washington’s Wheat Growers
Last week, I was deeply honored to be chosen as “Wheat
Leader of the Year” by the National Association of Wheat Growers. I strongly
believe that the success of wheat growers across the country is critical to our
economic recovery and I will continue working to make sure that they have the
support they need to thrive in this competitive economy.
Read
more.
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