Patty Murray

Higher education is really critical to ensuring the economic strength of our middle class, and I believe it is a critical part of building an economy that works for all of our families, not just the wealthiest few.

Senator Murray has introduced Senate Bill 1731 this term, a bill that would waive the VA's discretionary exclusion rules for the purposes of GPD program eligibility.

We need to get this legislation passed or we are going to have a huge increase in a population that really will not have any services.

But, with budget cuts, how do we grow that capacity?

That is why I actually introduced the Homeless Veterans Service Protection Act, to make sure homeless providers can continue to help those veterans.

With so many of our veterans still in need, does that cut make any sense to you?

The practice that had been followed for decades was if a veteran's discharge did not say 'dishonorable,' we could help them.

I appreciate your consideration of this request.

Government has a way of expressing its concern in laws, rules, and regulations that aren't as efficient as the concern is real.

This is an extremely important topic, and every parent who is sending a daughter or a son off to college wants to know that we are doing everything we can to make sure they are protected.

California became the first State in the country to enact a 'yes means yes' law defining sexual consent.

The status quo is completely unacceptable, and help continue the conversation about changes we absolutely need to see.

The HELP committee needs to join the debate on campus sexual assault much more fully.

We all need to do our part to keep this conversation going, and we need to make it louder.

We have to do something much more difficult, and that is to change culture.

As a mother, a grandmother, and a U.S. Senator, I certainly want to know that when a student is attacked, her school and her community will be ready to respond with compassion, respect, and accountability.

Simply put, in colleges and universities across the country, basic human rights are being violated.

There should be no question that sexual violence on campus is a widespread, growing, and unacceptable problem.

Fighting back against campus sexual assault and violence really requires coordination and input and focus at every level.

Sexual violence is a significant health problem in our country.

Thank you for that question and for your very kind words.

I really appreciate that response, and I need to go join Senator Alexander at Appropriations markup.

I believe strongly that when it comes to our country's healthcare system, we need to keep moving forward, and that means building on the progress made so far to continue expanding coverage to our families, making healthcare more…

Do you think we need some tools or protections to ensure that individuals can safely report on unfair market practices without fear of repercussions?

I regularly hear from providers about information blocking, and HHS reported to Congress in April that in many cases, they have limited tools to find out when information blocking is actually occurring.