Patty Murray

We need to tackle this crisis now before there is more lasting damage.

We have to keep our faucets running, we have to keep our ports bustling, our farms irrigated, and our electric grid reliable...

Today's hearing marks another important step as we work to return to regular order and pass in a timely bipartisan way our funding bills to keep our families safe, our economy strong, and our Nation competitive with adversaries like China.

Effective water management is essential to keeping our families healthy, our environment thriving and our economy competitive.

I look forward to working together on this year's Appropriations Bill to make sure we are providing the Department, our veterans, and their families with the benefits, care, and support that they need.

People totally are not taking their appointments, can't get to appointments, child care is an issue.

I do support efforts to move forward only after you are confident about the safety and effectiveness of the system.

It has been almost 5 years since the VA signed a contract with Cerner to implement this new electronic health record.

We can fulfill our commitment to make sure veterans receive the care and support they earned, including veterans who experience toxic exposures.

I will do everything we can to live up to that obligation.

Every single member of this committee voted to pass the PACT Act because we know veterans who are exposed to toxins in the line of duty deserve care.

Let us be clear, anything other than a regular appropriations process will have negative impacts across the VA, and will hurt veterans back in our states who need to get their claims processed.

President Biden's budget shows he also understands that when we make a promise to our veterans our word has to be ironclad.

When it comes to our veterans, we cannot cut corners, we can't break our promises, and we can't let partisan politics get in the way of passing funding the VA needs.

Upholding our promises to our veterans isn't just critical to our country; it is really personal to me.

No one who has put their life on the line for our country should struggle to provide for their family.

I look forward to working together on this year's appropriations bills, to make sure that we provide the Department of Energy and National Security Administration the resources that you need.

We recently provided $75 million in the Inflation Reduction Act for the Tribal Loan Guarantee Program

Ensuring that our Tribes and indigenous communities have access to clean, reliable power is really critical

The Federal Government has a legal and moral obligation to clean up the Hanford Site, and protect Hanford workers.

Our adversaries are doing everything they can to get ahead.

We cannot seed ground and let countries like China get ahead of us and capitalize on the defining discoveries of the future.

We have to work in a timely, bipartisan way, and live up to our responsibility here to provide the funding our Nations needs.

If we want to stay ahead we can't just focus on defense spending, we have to invest in the many other programs that keep our country strong, and safe, and competitive.

We cannot afford to shortchange these projects.