Patty Murray

Trump started a war he didn't have a plan to finish. We shouldn't have started it in the first place. Our troops and your wallet are paying the price.

Extinction is forever—so the work that folks like SeaDoc Society and Eba do to track and support orcas is critical. I secured federal dollars to help our endangered species recover and thrive, and make sure they don't disappear. Save the Sound. Save our Orcas. https://t.co/kTd4nTpbBp

This is the Social Security Election. Senators who get elected this fall will decide the future of Social Security. REMINDER: Top Republicans are calling Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” and a “scam.”

Protected nature preserves don't just happen. It’s a result of decades of work at all levels of government. I saw that in action at Ridgefield's Wildlife Refuge Community Nature Center—a project I fought to fund years ago, and it’s now open for families to enjoy! https://t.co/onqRsJVnNV

6,000 employees have been pushed out of the Forest Service since Trump took office. USFS Rangers. Janitors. Researchers. Trail Crews. Biologists. Want to protect our public lands? We need to rebuild the Forest Service.

This is the most corrupt President in history. He doesn't even hide it, but this Republican Congress is too afraid to even criticize him. A Democratic Congress will investigate the corruption and hold Trump accountable.

The need for federal guardrails around AI is absolutely urgent. AI should be safe, transparent, and actually benefit working people–not just billionaires. I was in Olympia to hear what WA leaders are already doing to regulate AI. https://t.co/azgFzloJM0

I am pushing legislation to make sure ALL FDA-approved forms of contraception—including birth control pills, IUDs, and more–are COVERED for patients. No fees. No hurdles. No out-of-pocket costs. https://t.co/3zHQPAQhm6

Tens of billions for Trump's war. $0 to stop your health insurance premiums from doubling. That's a choice Republicans made.

ICYMI: At HELP Hearing, Murray Grills Trump Nominees on AI Denying Seniors’ Health Care ICYMI: On Senate Floor, Murray Urges Colleagues to End Trump Administration’s AI Program that is Delaying and Denying Seniors’ Health Care ***VIDEO OF FULL ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION HERE*** ***PHOTOS HERE*** Vancouver, WA — Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Ron Wyden (D-OR), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, held a roundtable discussion with providers to discuss how the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model, a new pilot program implemented by the Trump administration that’s using artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct prior authorization in Traditional Medicare, has been overruling doctors and denying or delaying critical health care for seniors. The WISeR pilot model began on January 1, 2026, and is set to last for six years in six selected states, including Washington state. Joining Senators Murray and Wyden for the discussion at the Area Agency on Aging & Disabilities of Southwest Washington today were: Dr. Keren Rosenblum, MD, MBA, President, The Vancouver Clinic; Dr. Leon McCook, family medicine physician, PeaceHealth; and Dr. Ettore Palazzo, MD, FACP, CEO, EvergreenHealth. “Despite a lot of empty promises from Republicans to not cut Medicare—Trump’s new WISeR model is essentially a cut to Medicare. What else do you call it when seniors are getting cut off from the health care they need, for no good reason? Under this dystopian system—Washington state seniors are seeking doctor-recommended care to treat debilitating pain, only to be told by Trump’s AI system that Medicare won’t pay for it, or that they must wait weeks on end to get their treatment,” said Senator Murray. “The truth is—the WISeR model has been a complete mess. This cannot continue—and it absolutely cannot expand. That’s why I’m here to continue talking with folks on the ground—patients, doctors and more—and gathering evidence and stories we can use to make the case back in Congress. We are going to keep pushing hard to stop private companies from raiding Medicare, and cheating seniors with AI. Republicans may be sitting on their hands but a Democratic majority will be aggressive in pushing back and working to end this experiment, and save Medicare.” “Dr. Frankenstein isn’t the only one conducting dangerous experiments this Halloween season. The mad scientists given free rein in the Trump administration are quite willing to risk seniors’ access to lifesaving health care with their latest scheme grafting AI on to authorization decisions for traditional Medicare,” said Senator Wyden. “As the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee overseeing Medicare, I’m proud to stand with Senator Murray in the battle against Trump empowering unaccountable AI companies to delay and deny certain types of care in traditional Medicare.” “Physicians support innovation and efforts to reduce waste and improve value in health care. But those goals should not come at the expense of timely access to medically necessary care,” said Dr. Keren Rosenblum, MD, MBA, President, The Vancouver Clinic. “WISeR moves Traditional Medicare toward the same prior authorization system physicians already know creates administrative burdens, delays appropriate care, and creates uncertainty for patients. At a time when physicians are already facing significant administrative burdens and workforce challenges, we should be looking for ways to make health care simpler—not adding new layers of complexity. Innovation should strengthen the patient-physician relationship, not create new obstacles between patients and the care their physicians believe they need.” “After almost a full year of WISeR, it is clear how its implementation has negatively impacted our patients and staff, but we are still unsure if the program is achieving its intended purpose. As a community-owned public hospital district, EvergreenHealth supports efforts to reduce fraud, waste and the inappropriate utilization of Medicare benefits. However, we must pursue those goals in a way that does not delay care nor create unnecessary hardship for the patients we serve,” saidDr. Ettore Palazzo, MD, FACP, CEO, EvergreenHealth. “In the months following WISeR’s January implementation, we saw patients live with prolonged pain due to delayed authorizations for their treatment. Confusion and inconsistent processes have created additional workloads for our providers, making it difficult for them to support their patients effectively. Let’s continue to improve quality, value and program integrity in Medicare, but let’s focus on patient-centered implementation, timely decision-making and reducing unnecessary burdens on our care teams.” Under the WISeR model, patients on Traditional Medicare across six states—Arizona, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, and Washington—are subject to prior authorization requirements for several types of procedures or treatments, meaning that a claim needs to run through an opaque A.I.-driven system that may deny it with limited explanation. This forces starting the whole approval process over again and setting the patient back weeks in the process. Several of the procedures subject to prior authorization under the WISeR model are treatments for patients experiencing debilitating pain, who are now having to wait to receive necessary care. Before this model, patients would have been able to receive care within the same week, or even day, in most cases. Prior authorization requirements are used routinely by Medicare Advantage plans and private insurers, but rarely in Traditional Medicare—which is often one of the reasons seniors choose it for their coverage. While the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has described the model as voluntary, it is effectively mandatory for providers and their patients with Traditional Medicare in the selected states. Each participating state is operating the pilot through a different for-profit company that contracts with CMS to use AI technology to process prior authorizations and conduct reviews for the specific services subject to WISeR. These participants are compensated based on a share of “averted expenditures.” In other words, they are financially incentivized to deny prior authorization requests, as they profit from denied services. Senators Murray and Wyden have been pushing back on this harmful pilot program from the start, and for the past year and a half, Murray has been meeting with providers and patients across the state to hear about the implementation and harms of this program. In September of last year, Senators Murray, Wyden and other Senate Democrats sent a letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Director Abe Sutton, urging CMS to halt implementation of the model until a full analysis is conducted of the program’s impact on patient access—which, they argued, should include input from beneficiaries and their families, consumer and patient advocates, health care providers and suppliers. In December last year, Senators Murray and Wyden introduced the Seniors Deserve SMARTER (Streamlined Medical Approvals for Timely, Efficient Recovery) Care Act, legislation that would prohibit CMS from implementing the WISeR model that began on January 1, 2026. This July, Murray and Wyden forced a vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the WISeR program—Republicans chose to side with the Trump administration and blocked the CRA. In September, Senator Murray grilled Chris Klomp, the nominee to be Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), on the WISeR model and how the private companies conducting the prior authorization assessments are profiting from the denials. Senator Murray is also an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 to streamline and crack down on prior authorization practices in Medicare Advantage plans. ###

I've heard the same thing directly from fishermen in WA state. Fuel costs so much, it's sometimes cheaper not to even leave the dock. Trump's tariffs and war with Iran are HURTING our fishermen and our local economies. https://t.co/3QgVKTyAuu

Is Social Security a "Ponzi scheme?" That's what the top Republican on the Budget Committee thinks. So I asked people in Seattle outside of the Social Security office what THEY think. https://t.co/tsxrpmNpv7

ICYMI: Murray Leads WA Delegation in Supporting Governor’s Request for Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance for Devastating Wildfires in Washington State Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee led Washington state’s entire Congressional delegation in a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to approve Governor Bob Ferguson’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance to help communities recover and repair damage due to the devastating wildfires that swept through Central and Eastern Washington from July 23 through August 31. For the first time, on August 1, the National Weather Service upgraded a Red Flag Warning for fire weather conditions to a Particularly Dangerous Situation, which is very rare and typically reserved for extreme fire weather conditions. Three massive fires broke out and tore through neighborhoods across Spokane, the Old Trails Fire burned in northwest Spokane, the Autumn Lane Fire burned near Nine-Mile Falls, and the Fairview Fire burned in Mead. The Spokane Complex Fires forced 67,000 people to evacuate, burned nearly 10,000 acres, with damages predicted to exceed $1 billion. This was one of Washington state’s worst wildfire seasons on record, with fires causing severe damage and threatening lives, property, businesses, and livestock. In Okanogan County, the Kaiser Canyon, Modrite, and Sinlahekin fires burned over 350,000 acres total. “As members of the Washington state delegation, we write in support of Washington state’s addendum to include Public Assistance to their September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance due to devastating wildfire damages incurred from July 23rd through August 31st. We implore you to approve the request for public and individual assistance as quickly as possible,” Senator Murray and other members of the delegation wrote. “Washington state suffered from a historic wildfire season, with multiple wildfires ravaging parts of Central and Eastern Washington, devastating communities in Asotin, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Okanogan, Spokane, Stevens, Whitman, and Yakima Counties, as well as the Spokane Tribe of Indians.” Joining Senator Murray in the letter to President Trump were Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and U.S. Representatives Suzan DelBene (D, WA-01), Rick Larsen (D, WA-02), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D, WA-03), Dan Newhouse (R, WA-04), Michael Baumgartner (R, WA-05), Emily Randall (D, WA-06), Pramila Jayapal (D, WA-07), Kim Schrier (D, WA-08), Adam Smith (D, WA-09), and Marilyn Strickland (D, WA-10). The lawmakers continued, “Local, Tribal, state, federal, and out-of-state firefighting crews deployed quickly, pooling resources to contain the fires and protect both life and property. Fire crews faced dangerous conditions, including hazardous terrain, high winds, and record-setting drought, which made the fires extremely difficult to contain. Many of these fires burned over the course of several weeks, and damaged public infrastructure like roads, bridges, public utility systems, and other essential public assets. Beyond the infrastructure that was completely lost to the wildfires, the prolonged exposure to fire, smoke, and extreme temperatures have left remaining infrastructure vulnerable to further damage and unsafe for the public.” “These devastating wildfires have put significant stress on Washington state’s infrastructure and emergency response resources. Throughout the crisis, local, Tribal, state, federal, and international first responders stepped up and worked tirelessly to keep our communities safe. We thank you for your timely approval of the state’s request for an Emergency Declaration which provided vital federal support for both mitigation and recovery. We reiterate our full support for the October 6th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance and thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this urgent matter,” the lawmakers concluded. The full letter is available HERE and below: Dear Mr. President: As members of the Washington state delegation, we write in support of Washington state’s addendum to include Public Assistance to their September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance due to devastating wildfire damages incurred from July 23rd through August 31st. We implore you to approve the request for public and individual assistance as quickly as possible. Washington state suffered from a historic wildfire season, with multiple wildfires ravaging parts of Central and Eastern Washington, devastating communities in Asotin, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Okanogan, Spokane, Stevens, Whitman, and Yakima Counties, as well as the Spokane Tribe of Indians. Local, Tribal, state, federal, and out-of-state firefighting crews deployed quickly, pooling resources to contain the fires and protect both life and property. Fire crews faced dangerous conditions, including hazardous terrain, high winds, and record-setting drought, which made the fires extremely difficult to contain. Many of these fires burned over the course of several weeks, and damaged public infrastructure like roads, bridges, public utility systems, and other essential public assets. Beyond the infrastructure that was completely lost to the wildfires, the prolonged exposure to fire, smoke, and extreme temperatures have left remaining infrastructure vulnerable to further damage and unsafe for the public. An initial damage assessment revealed that the state sustained an estimated $133.7 million in damages across eleven counties and the Spokane Tribe of Indians. In Spokane County, the Spokane Complex Fires, which burned nearly 10,000 acres, severely damaged electrical distribution systems, public water systems, transportation infrastructure, municipal equipment, public lands, and solid-waste infrastructure, resulting in over $70 million in damages. These devastating wildfires have put significant stress on Washington state’s infrastructure and emergency response resources. Throughout the crisis, local, Tribal, state, federal, and international first responders stepped up and worked tirelessly to keep our communities safe. We thank you for your timely approval of the state’s request for an Emergency Declaration which provided vital federal support for both mitigation and recovery. We reiterate our full support for the October 6th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance and thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this urgent matter. ###

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We can seek justice in this country without glorifying violence and turning an execution into a grotesque public spectacle. What this criminal did was abhorrent and must be punished—but we as a country cannot condone livestreaming a man’s death for entertainment. We are long past the days of public hangings in the town square. Kids watch what our leaders do and say, is this kind of bloodshed really what we want them seeing? The Pentagon must revoke this decision immediately.

He means your Social Security benefits, Medicare, and Medicaid. That's what Republicans want to cut instead of simply asking billionaires and giant corporations to pay their fair share in taxes.

Senator Murray: “We can’t afford to regulate AI with nothing but a pinky promise. We cannot just wait for the worst risks of this technology to become reality before we take action.” Murray has opposed the Trump administration’s efforts to stamp out state-level regulations of AI ICYMI: In Seattle, Murray Highlights Urgent Need to Deploy AI Safely, Transparently, and to Benefit Working People; Murray Says Pro-Worker, Pro-Family Policies Don’t Have to Wait ***VIDEO HERE*** Olympia, WA — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a roundtable discussion with state leaders on Washington state’s latest efforts to regulate AI and underscored the need for a strong federal floor to ensure AI is deployed safely, transparently, and benefits working people. Joining Senator Murray for the discussion today were: Beau Perschbacher, Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Bob Ferguson; Yuki Ishizuka, Senior Policy Analyst and Technology Policy Manager at the Washington State Office of the Attorney General; Gretchen Peri, Chief Technology Officer at Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech); and Rob Eleveld, Chief Executive Officer at the Transparency Coalition. “I’m not an expert in AI, I’m a former preschool teacher. But I’ll tell you what: I ran for office exactly because I believe regular people deserve a say in how their government is run—the exact same is true for the development of this technology. There are real opportunities with AI—in medicine, in discovery. But this technology will also likely mean disruption and it poses real challenges and threats. And right now regulation of AI is virtually nonexistent at the federal level. I want America to develop and deploy this technology in a way that is transparent and safe—and we have got to make sure the benefits of AI are for everyone, not just billionaires and giant corporations. And we have to stay ahead of the risks too,” said Senator Murray. “I recently spoke with the so-called godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, he made it absolutely clear that there are real safety risks that require urgent action. When the stakes are this high, we cannot take safety for granted. That’s just common sense. No one would say nuclear plants can regulate themselves—or drug companies. Why would we ignore something as powerful and potentially dangerous as AI?” “At minimum, over in Congress, we need to think about a floor of basic, bipartisan guardrails the entire country can get behind: for that to happen, we need hearings, briefings, testimony from industry leaders, markups, debate, and more. So far the Republican majority has done nothing. Trump wants to call AI risks a ‘hoax’ and call it a day. His most significant AI policies to date? He tried to rename it, and threatened states’ funding if they dare to regulate it. Trump shaking hands with billionaires and saying they can regulate themselves is not going to cut it,” continued Senator Murray. “We can’t afford to regulate AI with nothing but a pinky promise. We cannot just wait for the worst risks of this technology to become reality before we take action.” “In Congress, we need to think about a floor of basic, bipartisan guardrails the entire country can get behind. There’s no time to delay AI safety. When it comes to the economy, I absolutely want to explore big ideas. But we already know what working families need: paid leave, universal health care and child care, and stronger unions. If we’re expecting major economic disruption, we should write that safety net into law now, not after workers have already been left behind,” said Senator Murray in closing. “Washington state has been leading on these questions, and I came to Olympia to hear directly from state leaders about what they’ve done and what they’re considering next. I’m taking what I heard back to the other Washington, because the people of this state, and this country, deserve a government that is ready for what’s coming.” Senator Murray made clear that while policymakers can’t yet predict exactly how AI will change our economy and how we work, there is no reason for Congress to delay in passing so many of Murray’s longstanding legislative priorities that would benefit working people like stronger labor laws and enforcement, national paid leave, universal health care, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, affordable child care for every working family, and much more. “We need guardrails to ensure that AI development does not infringe on our rights, harm our families, or pose an existential risk to our country,” said Attorney General Nick Brown. “Congress should act swiftly to put these protections in place, and I appreciate Senator Murray’s leadership on this issue.” “Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we work and serve the public, so Washington is approaching this moment with intention,” said WaTech’s Gretchen Peri, the State Chief Technology Officer for Washington. “The statewide AI strategy we’ve developed is committed to human‑focused, trustworthy innovation, and gives state agencies the tools, guardrails, and shared platforms they need to deploy AI safely and transparently. Backed by new state laws that reinforce accountability and public trust, we’re proving that government can lead AI adoption with responsibility, foresight, humanity, and dignity.” “We at Transparency Coalition want to thank Senator Murray for pulling together the AI Safety and Transparency roundtable today. We have been honored to work closely with Attorney General Nick Brown’s office, Governor Ferguson’s office and a number of legislators starting with Representative Callan on some key AI laws passed in 2026 including protecting minors from addictive and manipulative AI chatbots,” said Rob Eleveld, CEO and Co-founder, Transparency Coalition. “Looking forward, our position across many states is the best way to hold AI companies accountable is to use existing product liability laws, the reason we all trust the brakes in our cars, to require a duty of care to not harm customers with AI products.” Earlier this year, Senator Murray met with leading AI experts in Seattle about the challenges and opportunities associated with AI to discuss how leaders can work to deploy AI safely, transparently, and in a way that benefits working people—not just giant corporations and billionaires. As vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray negotiated the Commerce‑Justice‑Science (CJS) Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2026, which is currently the largest federal investment in AI standards and testing ever passed through a CJS bill. The CJS bill includes $1.8 billion for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) overall, an increase of $690 million over last year’s funding level. This includes no less than $55 million for AI research, an increase of $20 million, and up to $10 million for NIST’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation to advance AI research, standards, and testing. Senator Murray fiercely defended science agencies from President Trump’s proposed reductions, which threatened to cut NIST by more than 28 percent. Senator Murray also played a key role in helping to pass the bipartisan Chips and Science Act which makes historic investments in American manufacturing, and research and development. The bill included AI scholarships through NSF, funding for the Department of Energy’s research and development on AI and machine learning, support for NIST’s work on AI and quantum information science, and resources for the creation of a NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships which will focus on domestic development of AI and other quantum computing. Senator Murray has called for Congress to regulate AI and been outspoken against President Trump’s efforts to ban states from regulating AI. As President Trump called AI safety concerns a “hoax” and rolled out the red carpet for Xi Jinping, Senator Murray sent a letter urging him to take the threat seriously and work out real AI safeguards with China. She recently introduced legislation to halt the A.I.-Driven Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model which is overruling doctors and delaying care for Medicare beneficiaries. ###

PROTECT SPECIAL EDUCATION: ALL of our kids deserve a real, quality education. I spoke with @LaneMcK about how Trump should NOT move special education from the Department of EDUCATION over to RFK Jr. https://t.co/5iwEaZZzrX

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) proposed new guidance for the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program that would increase funding for projects based on their region’s average birth and marriage rates compared to the nationwide averages. The CIG program funds infrastructure investments to expand public transit—including for bus transit and light rail and commuter rail improvements. Under the new proposal, the FTA would steer more grant funding to parts of the country where only more men and women choose to get married and more babies are born—providing an up to 10% boost. “Tying funding for transit projects to marriage rates and how many babies a woman has is the sort of bizarre and dystopian idea you’d expect in a TV show, not actual policy put forth by the U.S. government—yet here we are. President Trump wants to weaponize federal grants to wage his backward culture wars and punish Democrats, and it’s past time Republicans join us to stand against this historically corrupt administration’s efforts to rob our communities of resources they are owed—because it’s already clear as day they are holding up projects in blue states while moving ahead with projects elsewhere.” The new proposal would apply to 40 projects across the country already in the CIG program, forcing transit agencies and local and state governments that have already spent years planning and designing projects to follow a whole slew of new rating and cost-share requirements. This could force entities to re-design projects and re-do environmental reviews, which will increase costs and delay construction, and in the worst case potentially makes projects ineligible for CIG funding. The new requirements could reduce CIG funding for important transit projects below the 40% floor set by Congress in the annual funding bills, which has been in place since fiscal year 2020. These significant changes to the CIG program are another attempt by the Trump administration to penalize blue states and slow down and delay transit projects. Recently, the Trump administration advanced a CIG project in a red state while it continues to hold back two projects in blue states that have been ready for much longer. Studies conducted last year when the Department of Transportation issued an order updating its governing principles to include a general preference to communities with higher marriage and birth rates showed that such prioritization would disproportionally hurt low-income, non-white residents. ###

NEW: What comes after Trump and RFK Jr.? Public health has been decimated but what was there before wasn’t enough either. I'm launching the Public Health for America Working Group to build a public health system that can't be broken. https://t.co/A5CqRgc9WU

https://t.co/gcw2ZoXhJE

Trump is waging an idiotic trade war with Canada and making constant attacks on its sovereignty like there are no consequences. I have a bill to END Trump’s tariffs. 🇨🇦🇺🇸

A working group of leading national experts and Washington state public health leaders will develop a blueprint to build America’s public health system stronger, more resilient, and insulated from political interference The efforts of the working group—listening sessions, roundtables, direct outreach to key stakeholders, and more—will inform new legislative proposals to help build and improve public health in America Murray: “We can’t just put back what was there before… We have to build something that can’t be broken the next time someone decides science is inconvenient.” NYT: A Public Health-Minded Senator Asks: What Comes After Trump and Kennedy? Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced the launch of the Public Health for America Working Group: an initiative to develop the ideas, safeguards, and legislation needed to build and improve the nation’s public health system after nearly two years of unprecedented attacks on the agencies, scientists, and institutions that save lives and keep Americans safe and healthy. Since taking office, President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have taken unprecedented steps to politicize public health agencies, overrule experts, promote misinformation, and undermine trust in the nation’s public health infrastructure. Secretary Kennedy has fired thousands of federal public health experts–including a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director who refused to go along with his anti-vaccine views. Under Secretary Kennedy, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has halted promising research, taken down data for deadly diseases, refused to accurately report measles deaths, promoted false anti-vaccine information, and more. These steps have severely undermined public trust–with polls showing trust in CDC recommendations dropping from 77% to 50% over Trump’s first year in office this term. The working group brings together some of the nation’s and Washington state’s most respected public health leaders to respond to these challenges. The mission of Murray’s working group is not simply to restore what existed before January 2025, but to design a public health system that is stronger, more resilient, and structurally protected from political interference—no matter who holds the White House or controls Congress. Senator Murray on the announcement of the working group: “In public health, we say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That’s not just true of disease, it’s also true of corruption, incompetence, and political interference—threats it is clear our system was simply not adequately prepared for. “Right now, Trump and RFK Jr. have put our public health system on life support. The tragic evidence of their failures is overwhelming—foodborne outbreaks met by a sluggish response that resulted in fatalities, measles cases surging to new records, and causes of death scrubbed from agency data to try and mislead the public. “As someone who has led the charge to strengthen our public health system, learn the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, and stop Trump and RFK Jr.’s sabotage—it is clear to me we have a big undertaking ahead. All of us who care about the future of public health need to come to grips with a hard reality—the system was underfunded, already stretched thin, and far too vulnerable to politics. And now, that system, and the public’s trust in it, is broken far beyond a simple repair. “We can’t just put back what was there before. We need to make sure our future public health system is immune to political interference. We have to build something that can’t be broken the next time someone decides science is inconvenient. Public health policy can’t become a political football—it can’t shift drastically every four years based on political ideology, it has to be reliably grounded in science and facts. “That’s why I’m bringing together some of the best minds in the country in this Working Group to help me chart a course for how Congress can build trust, protect science, and safeguard the health of all Americans. I am sincerely determined to talk to anyone and everyone about what comes next to rebuild public health in America.” The Working Group will convene roundtables with researchers, providers, state, local, and Tribal health officials, and former career federal scientists; host public conversations on the future of public health; engage directly with communities and trusted messengers; and respond in real time as key public health decisions unfold. Its findings will inform nonpartisan policy proposals as Murray works to build consensus around legislation to build stronger public health infrastructure in America. Members of the Working Group Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein – Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; former Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; former Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; former Commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department. “Successful public health efforts help families to thrive, communities to flourish, and the nation to grow stronger,” said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein. “I very much look forward to developing a blueprint for a public health system that protects every American — and I thank Senator Murray for her leadership.” Patty Hayes, RN, MN –Chair of the Washington State Board of Health; former Director of Public Health – Seattle & King County from 2014 to 2021, where she led the response to the nation’s first COVID-19 outbreak; former Assistant Secretary at the Washington State Department of Health. “I am delighted to serve on this important working group with my colleagues,” said Patty Hayes. “Public Health must be there every day to address critical health issues alongside the health care system. As Chair of the WA State Board of Health, I see the impact of the politicization of public health and cuts to funding. Everyone counts on clean water, safe food, and a strong public health response when a crisis occurs. I want to thank Senator Murray’s for her continued leadership and willingness take on this critical issue.” Dr. Jeffrey Levi – Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health; former Executive Director of Trust for America’s Health; former Chair of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health; former Deputy Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy under the White House Domestic Policy Council. “I am honored to work with Senator Murray and my colleagues on this critically important project,” said Dr. Jeffrey Levi. “Senator Murray is uniquely positioned to help bring about the transformational policies and investments along with the community engagement and partnership that will strengthen our nation’s public health system and restore the public’s trust.” Dr. Helen Chu – Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine of Public Health; led the Seattle Flu Study, which identified the first known case of community-spread COVID-19 in the United States in February 2020; served on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) untilSecretary Kennedy dismissed the committee’s entire membership in June 2025. “I am honored to serve as part of this committee. As a physician and a scientist who has spent my career ensuring people have access to safe and effective vaccines, it has been a challenging few years to watch the public health systems that keep Americans safe be dismantled,” said Dr. Helen Chu. “I am very much looking forward to contributing expertise on vaccines, pandemic preparedness, and academic research to this committee, and helping to rebuild our public health systems for a better future.” Dr. Vin Gupta –Pulmonologist and critical care physician; Distinguished Scholar at the University of Washington, Evans School; Senior Medical Analyst for MS NOW; Managing Director at Manatt Health; National Board Member of the American Lung Association; and Major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Medical Corps. “Public health works best when people can trust that the guidance they receive is grounded in evidence, communicated honestly, and protected from political interference,” said Dr. Vin Gupta. “This is an opportunity not simply to rebuild what has been lost, but to design a stronger and more durable system—one that earns public trust, prioritizes prevention, and is ready to protect every community when the next threat emerges. I’m grateful to Senator Murray for bringing together this group and honored to contribute to that work.” Guiding Principles of the Working Group The Working Group’s work will be organized around six principles: Building a System the Public Trusts: Building public confidence in science and medicine through transparency, rigorous and unbiased data, honest communication, robust opportunities for public engagement, trusted local messengers, and real partnership to ensure public health serves all communities. Science That Can’t Be Silenced: Building durable, enforceable guardrails so that decisions are based on high-quality evidence, expert advice, transparent processes, and public input — not political interference —no matter who controls the White House or Congress. Prevention at the Core: Investing in prevention saves lives, and it saves money. The federal public health system should focus on prevention and work so all individuals and families have the opportunity to thrive by providing resources, education, and communication about preventing infectious and chronic disease. Strong Public Health Everywhere: Modernizing federal public health agencies so they are stable, expert-driven, and accountable institutions that the American people can rely on. That includes supporting responsibilities uniquely suited to the federal government’s ability to solve complex challenges, while ensuring the federal government is a valuable partner by rebuilding local institutions and infrastructure through dedicated, stable funding tied to a core set of capabilities for state, local, Tribal, and territorial health departments, as well as reinstating the United States as a leader in global health security. Ready for the Next Threat: Strengthening the systems that detect and respond to emergencies to make sure America is never caught flat-footed again—modern data and laboratory infrastructure that is interoperable, a surge-ready workforce, a resilient medical supply chain, strong global partnerships, and a cutting-edge biomedical research enterprise. Health for All, Not Just Some: Guaranteeing that where you live and who you are doesn’t determine whether your health department can protect you. Public health communication and resources should work in cities, rural areas, Tribal nations, and every community in every part of America to ensure every person—no matter their race, income, or gender—has the same access to health information and services. Background: Senator Murray’s Record on Public Health Senator Murray has been one of Congress’s leading champions of public health for three decades, and has led the fight against the Trump administration’s dismantling of the nation’s health agencies from the start, including through his disastrous mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic to his unprecedented elevation of RFK Jr., a well-known anti-vax conspiracy theorist who has decimated America’s public health infrastructure. Standing up to Trump and RFK Jr.: Senator Murray forcefully opposed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead HHS and has been one of the leading voices in Congress holding him accountable ever since. She has fought back against his purge of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, his mass firings of career scientists and public health experts, his cancellation of lifesaving research, and his sidelining of independent expert panels that Americans rely on for sound, evidence-based guidance. She has confronted Kennedy directly in multiple Senate HELP and Appropriations Committee hearings, led her colleagues in demanding he reverse actions that have left the nation less prepared for emerging outbreaks, and called for his firing multiple times after he ousted the CDC Director and drove the agency’s senior leadership to resign—a call she continues to reiterate loudly and consistently. Following RFK Jr.’s campaign of destruction at CDC, Senator Murray was supportive of many states, including Washington state, standing up for public health and forming their own regional health authorities—but emphasized that diseases don’t recognize borders, and there must be functioning and trustworthy leadership at the federal level. Protecting public health funding as Appropriations Vice Chair: As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and former longtime top Democrat on the subcommittee that funds public health and medical research, Senator Murray successfully fought to ensure the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills rejected President Trump’s proposal to cut CDC funding by more than half and slash medical research at NIH by nearly 40 percent, and she continues to push for robust funding of public health and infectious disease programs across all government funding bills. In fiscal year 2026, this included a $415 million increase for NIH research, including targeted increases for cancer research, Alzheimer’s disease, women’s health, and ALS, among others. Since Murray became the top appropriator of public health and medical research funds in 2015, she increased NIH funding by roughly $18 billion, or 60%. Within CDC, the fiscal year 2026 bill increased funding for the Public Health Infrastructure grant program by $10 million and also included a $10 million increase to data modernization to continue to help build state public health departments and their data infrastructure. It also included a $60 million increase for key programs supported by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) focused on increasing the nation’s stockpile of medical countermeasures and bolstering advanced research and development of select treatments and cures to ensure our health system is prepared to respond when disaster strikes. Building the nation’s public health infrastructure: Senator Murray first introduced the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act (PHISLA)in 2019 and has reintroduced it most recently in July 2023. PHISLA would establish a dedicated program, ramping up to $4.5 billion annually, to fund a core set of capabilities at state, local, Tribal, and territorial health departments and end the “cycle of crisis and complacency” in public health funding. Murray’s bill represents the most comprehensive legislation to build up America’s public health infrastructure in Congress so far. While Murray continues to push for a landmark investment in public health infrastructure, in fiscal year 2022 she established the Public Health Infrastructure grant program at CDC with annual funding of $200 million, which Murray has since increased to $360 million in fiscal year 2026. Strengthening pandemic preparedness: As Chair of the HELP Committee, Senator Murray authored and passed into law the bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act in 2022, which strengthened the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems, authorized ARPA-H, and, among other provisions, required for the first time that the CDC Director be confirmed by the Senate. She previously helped lead reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act and fought for emergency funding to respond to Ebola in 2014 and Zika in 2016. Leading the response to COVID-19: When Washington state became the first epicenter of COVID-19, Senator Murray was among the first, and most insistent, in Congress to demand widespread testing and to introduce emergency paid sick leave legislation so workers could stay home without losing a paycheck—a provision later enacted in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Throughout the pandemic, she pressed the Trump Administration and its officials about the issues with their COVID-19 response from her position as HELP Ranking Member, later as HELP Chair, in addition to her bipartisan work on pandemic preparedness, she helped deliver the American Rescue Plan Act’s historic investments in public health, including $7.66 billion to hire and train public health workers. Fighting political interference in science: During the first Trump administration, Senator Murray launched the “Save Our Science” Political Interference Tracker to document interference in the COVID-19 response, introduced the STOP Act to investigate political meddling at HHS’s scientific agencies, and joined Senators Warren and Peters in securing a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into political interference at CDC and FDA. That GAO review found in 2022 that CDC, FDA, NIH, and ASPR had no procedures to define, report, or address political interference in scientific decision-making. Most recently, Murray secured language to prevent the Trump administration from implementing the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed grants rule to politicize all federal grants, especially health and science grants, through the duration of the current continuing resolution. Murray also helped pressure the administration to back off its plan to draft an executive order that would give Russ Vought a veto over medical research grants. Responding to public health threats in a bipartisan way: Murray has worked successfully for decades to fund and authorize key public health programs with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle. In recent years, bipartisan public health efforts were frequent and noncontroversial–as Ranking Member of the HELP Committee, Senator Murray co-led a bipartisan hearing on vaccine hesitancy and spoke about the importance of addressing vaccine skepticism and getting people the facts they need to keep their families and communities safe and healthy. Ahead of the hearing, as multiple states were facing measles outbreaks in under-vaccinated areas, Murray sent a bipartisan letter with former HELP Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) pressing the CDC Director and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health on their efforts to promote vaccination and vaccine confidence. Senator Murray will continue to work to build broad-based consensus around any and all public health policies she champions. Advancing prevention and biomedical research: As HELP Ranking Member, Senator Murray negotiated and passed the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act in 2016, which delivered a major federal investment in biomedical research and clinical trials at the FDA and NIH. In 2018, Murray negotiated and helped pass the largest legislative response to the opioid crisis to date. In 2019, as the top Senate appropriator of public health funds, Murray helped secure the first dedicated federal funding for gun violence prevention research at CDC and NIH since the Dickey Amendment was enacted in 1996. Strengthening global health response: Senator Murray is a leading voice on global health issues, emphasizing the importance of continuing the United States’ record of strong investments in global health security. Murray participated as a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission following its establishment in 2018, recognizing how global health security impacts families in Washington state, across the country, and across the world. Murray has consistently fought to promote global health programs and American leadership abroad, understanding that disease does not recognize borders. In 2025, Murray was vocal in her opposition to the decimation of USAID and American-funded global health programs that not only benefit our partners around the world, but also keep Americans safe.

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision issued today, which concludes that President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. illegally impounded fiscal year 2025 funding for health research conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in violation of the Impoundment Control Act (ICA): “This decision confirms what we’ve long known: President Trump lit health research funding on fire last year, and it’s clear as day he’s just done the same again this year. In fact, President Trump announced to the world just a few days ago that he was illegally cutting nearly $30 million more, and HHS has failed to detail to the Committee exactly how it has spent down AHRQ funding for fiscal year 2026. “This is research that has saved tens of thousands of lives and saved billions of dollars in health care costs—but President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are intent on breaking the law to cut it off, and Republicans in Congress have all but let them do it. It’s past time Congress imposes real consequences on this administration for killing lifesaving health research—I’ll keep fighting to do just that.” In its decision today, GAO concluded: “Congress appropriated lump-sum amounts to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to carry out various research initiatives for fiscal year 2025. .… We conclude that HHS withheld funds when it declined to obligate or expend more than $78 million of its FY 2025 appropriation before the close of the fiscal year. We further conclude that this withholding constituted an impoundment under the ICA rather than a programmatic delay. Because HHS did not submit a special message proposing to rescind AHRQ funds, HHS’s actions violated the ICA.” GAO’s decision examines how the Trump administration illegally impounded fiscal year 2025 funding provided to AHRQ for health research after the Trump administration sabotaged the agency, pushing out 80% of all staff and cancelling grants en masse. It’s clear, however, that this administration has once again illegally withheld and misspent AHRQ funding provided by Congress for fiscal year 2026, as well. Senator Murray and Senator Tammy Baldwin, Ranking Member of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee, raised alarm bells about the fate of fiscal year 2026 AHRQ funds several weeks ago. Then, just days after HHS Deputy Secretary Nominee Chris Klomp vowed to senators that virtually all of the agency’s funding would be spent—while failing to provide details to back up that assertion—President Trump moved to permanently impound nearly $30 million in AHRQ funding in his “pocket rescission.” Republicans have repeatedly blocked Democrats’ efforts to prevent presidents from attempting to use “pocket rescissions.” ###

Want light rail in your community? Better get married and start having kids. That's not a joke. Trump actually wants to award more transit funding based on marriage and birth rates. I'm fighting to STOP this outrageous and dystopian policy.