WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate health committee, helped lead 46 Senators in a letter to the Trump Administration urging President Trump to direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to protect the law of the land, which provides health care coverage protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The Administration’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year continues to fund DOJ’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act—which protects access to affordable health care for millions of people with pre-existing conditions—while providing no mention of a replacement should DOJ prevail in court.
“While President Trump has repeatedly tried to undermine health care and protections for people with pre-existing conditions, I’m going to do everything in my power to stand up for the over one hundred million patients in our country who rely on these protections to get the quality, affordable health coverage they need,” said Senator Murray. “My Democratic colleagues and I have repeatedly urged President Trump and Republicans to listen to patients and drop this partisan and deeply harmful attack on families’ health care – and we’re not going to let up until they do.”
As the top Democrat on the Senate health committee, Senator Murray has been a leader in the fight against President Trump and Republicans’ numerous attempts to undermine health care and pre-existing condition protections for over one hundred million patients. In addition to being a vocal and persistent opponent of Republican attempts to overturn vital health care protections through the courts, Senator Murray has held Republicans accountable for their attacks on Americans’ health care by helping to force a vote on legislation to reverse the Trump administration’s rule encouraging states to promote junk health insurance plans and threaten pre-existing condition protections. This past summer, Senator Murray also unveiled a resolution to protect the 130 million American who rely on the critical pre-existing condition protections the Trump Administration is trying to eliminate.
One Year After PFAS Commitment, Murray, Cantwell Call on EPA to Deliver on Promises Made.
press release issued 2/ 18/ 20WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined a number of their Democratic colleagues last week to call on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide an updated timeline for when it will implement commitments made in the agency’s plan to combat exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The EPA released its plan – the PFAS Action Plan – one year ago, but it still hasn’t implemented many of the commitments outlined in the strategy.
“As you are aware, communities across the country are struggling to respond to the widespread issue of PFAS contamination,” the senators wrote in a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “The human health risks from this class of chemicals, which include birth defects, various forms of cancer, and immune system dysfunction, are still being examined, and the uncertainty has caused great concern among our constituents.”
In their letter, the lawmakers emphasized that the PFAS Action Plan alone is insufficient to address the full scope and urgency of the problems associated with PFAS exposure. They also highlighted the EPA’s failure to follow through on its pledge to establish federal drinking water standards for two of the most prevalent PFAS chemicals.
The senators went on to address other parts of the plan that have not been prioritized, including important remediation efforts to help expedite cleanup of PFAS contamination. They requested that the EPA provide an update on the status of every commitment made in the PFAS Action Plan, as well as an update on the timeline for executing the priorities included in the strategy.
“The health and environmental threats posed by PFAS are significant,” the senators concluded. “Communities across America demand that the EPA help protect them from PFAS exposure. They deserve the confidence that their water is safe and free of harmful levels of PFAS contamination.”
Senator Murray has been consistent in her oversight of PFAS contamination, pressing DoD and EPA for answers on reports of efforts to weaken contamination standards and pushing for federal resources to address water contamination near military bases. Senator Murray also fought to include firefighters in studies on the effects on workers exposed to PFAS on the job, and has demanded that the Navy take every step necessary to address PFAS contamination in Kitsap County.
Senator Cantwell has led efforts in Congress to address water contamination due to PFAS, and just last month she called on the U.S. Navy to continue to address potential PFAS contamination in Kitsap County. Last year, she introduced the bipartisan PFAS Accountability Act to hold federal agencies accountable for addressing PFAS contamination at military bases around the country. Cantwell has also called for the inclusion of firefighters in studies on the health effects of occupational exposure to PFAS, and in 2018 she helped secure $62 million in additional resources to clean up contamination caused by the chemicals.
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President Trump held a campaign rally in Las Vegas. During the rally, he addressed reports that Russia is meddling to help his re-reelection campaign saying, “they’re trying to start a rumor, it’s disinformation… Wouldn’t he rather have, let’s say, Bernie, who honeymooned in Moscow.”
