At Strolling Thunder Rally, Senator Murray Meets With Washington State Family, Urges Colleagues to “Think Babies” and Invest In Programs to Support Policies to Help Babies and Families Thrive

At Zero to Three’s annual Strolling Thunder Event, Senator Murray highlighted the need to invest in paid family leave, high-quality, affordable child care, and access to health care 

Families from all 50 states, including Washington state, came to Capitol Hill to advocate for programs that help babies and their families thrive

Senator Murray shared her own story of advocating for her own children, urged families to keep joining together

Senator Murray: “If someone ever tells you that you can’t make a difference, it’s probably because they’re afraid you will” 

(Washington, D.C.)  – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate health and education committee, spoke to parents, families, and advocates at the Strolling Thunder rally, urging parents to keep fighting for policies that help babies grow and thrive. Senator Murray shared her own story of fighting to save her children’s preschool program and vowed to keep fighting for programs to support families and babies, including affordable, highly quality child care, paid family leave, and access to health care. Senator Murray also met with the Perillo family from Washington state, who shared their struggles of balancing work with caring for their 11-month-old daughter Olivia.

“I’m so glad to have all of you here fighting with me. I know efforts like yours can have an impact because I’ve seen it. We mobilized thousands of parents around our state—and we won. We saved the program. So I can’t help but think of that lesson today, as I look out on this crowd of moms and dads in tennis shoes—and babies in strollers. If someone ever tells you that you can’t make a difference, it’s probably because they’re afraid you will.”

Senator Murray has long been a champion of issues to support babies, including paid family leave, child care, and access to health care. As a former preschool teacher, Senator Murray understands the difference early childhood education can make in a child’s life, and helped secure the largest increase in the Child Care Development Block Grant funding ever last year. Building on that success, Senator Murray introduced the Child Care for Working Families Act earlier this year. She’s also a supporter of paid family leave legislation, and has worked to increase access to health care for all working families.