Patty Murray

I look forward to working in close partnership with you to make sure the Hanford mission is on a cost-effective trajectory.

I believe Ms. Tanden would excel and be director.

I do want to reiterate my support for Neera Tanden's nomination to be OMB Director.

This is a historic nomination, because AG Becerra would be the first Latino HHS Secretary.

If AG Becerra and his team start every day actually focused on expanding affordable health care and improving human services instead of limiting them, they'll already be doing better than the last administration.

AG Becerra is highly qualified. He has a valuable range of experience that will help him succeed in this job.

The differences of opinion should not be used as a rationale to prevent confirmation of a person like yourself who is qualified.

If confirmed, you will follow the law on women's health and all other issues that you will be responsible for as Health and Human Services Secretary.

I deeply believe--and I have had the privilege of making this statement to another committee as well--that Xavier Becerra is the right candidate to lead the Department of Health and Human Services at this time.

COVID-19 has had a disparate impact on communities of color. We know there has been a history of racism and medical mistreatment of people of color in this country.

I want to start on the topic of how we promote vaccine confidence and fight disinformation and misinformation that can lead to vaccine hesitancy.

We do not let systemic racism block people of color from getting vaccinated.

I know she will also bring a high level of energy and engagement to the role of Director that has been sorely missing.

I think she is an excellent choice for this role, and I was thrilled when then-President-elect Biden announced her as his nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

I had many complaints about Russ Vought as Director of OMB; chief among them was the complete lack of engagement and leadership shown by him at OMB during the coronavirus pandemic.

We need a Secretary of Labor we can trust to stand up for workers, not huge corporations, at this critical time.

We have to work together to hold all our schools, our school districts, and our institutions of higher education accountable for providing safe environments for all of our students.

I agree with what Dr. Cardona and Senator Baldwin have said on the importance of ensuring the rights of every student, including transgender students, are protected.

I was deeply disappointed by the way the Trump administration failed to defend the right of all of our students to feel safe and to attend school without being discriminated against.

My bill, which is the Women Veterans and Families Health Care Services Act will permanently authorize fertility treatment and counseling for veterans and their spouses and provide adoption assistance.

However, under the previous administration, regulations were imposed that limit that eligibility and remove many veterans needing assistance from that caregivers program.

I still have questions about the CDC director's communications around this.

President Trump has been more focused on fighting against the truth than fighting this virus, and American's have sadly paid the price.

I thank Senator Casey for his leadership on this important issue and agree wholeheartedly with his statement on S. 2740, the Over-the-Counter Monograph Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act of 2019.

The TPP Program is a gold-standard example of evidence-based policymaking--just the type of investment that independent experts and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have called for.