As we rapidly approach the holidays, I wanted to once again
reach out to all of you to update you on the very latest on my work for the
people of our state. As all of you know, the health care debate is currently in
full swing here in the Senate. Each day, I am voting on amendments and working
to mold a bill that best addresses the skyrocketing health care costs that are
breaking the backs of American families and small businesses. We are now closer
than ever to health care reform that will bring relief to families, seniors,
businesses and our economy.
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Health
Care: A Real Story, A Real Solution
Yesterday on the floor of the Senate, I highlighted the benefits
of the health insurance reform bill for Washington state families and small
business owners. I also told the story of Doreen Kelsey from Spokane to help
demonstrate the urgent need for health insurance reform that will bring
families stable, affordable health insurance coverage. I talked about Doreen’s
two-year fight with her insurance company, and then detailed the ways that the
reform plan would help Doreen, her family, and the millions of Americans facing
similar struggles.
Community
Banks: Boosting Lending to our Small Businesses
Last Thursday, I unveiled a major new legislative initiative to
assist community banks in increasing lending to small businesses and families
in an effort to create jobs and boost economic recovery efforts. My bill, The
Main Street Lending Restoration Act, will direct TARP funding to the community
banks on Main Street instead of the big banks on Wall Street. This will help
small businesses, our country’s biggest job creators, access the loans they
need to expand, pay their bills, and hire workers. – Details
Read
more about the difficulties community banks face and how this bill
helps.
“Murray seeks
federal help for state’s struggling community banks”
– Bellingham Herald, Tacoma News Tribune
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MILITARY:
Getting Answers for Troops Whose Combat Records Were Left Off Critical Forms
Last Thursday, I sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates
and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki calling on them to provide
information on how their departments are tracking combat experiences among our
support troops, and how tracking can be improved to ensure these men and women
are getting the care and benefits they deserve. My letter is an effort to get
answers for support troops, including many women servicemembers, who have noted
that their combat experiences were never included on their military discharge
papers. Because of these omissions, many support troops have had difficulty
accessing care and benefits for combat related conditions, including Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Read
my letter to Secretaries Gates and Shinseki.
“Female soldiers
wounded in combat, but denied benefits”
– KING-5 TV
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Environment:
Bill Protecting Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area Passes Key Senate Committee
On Wednesday, bills that I introduced to expand the Alpine Lakes
Wilderness area and designate both the Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers
as Wild and Scenic passed the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
My bill, the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork
Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act, will expand the existing wilderness by over
22,000 acres to include important lower-elevation lands and watersheds. – Details
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Returning
Federal Investment to Our States
Last week, I worked to pass many of the Senate’s annual
appropriations bills for the upcoming year. I worked hard to ensure that these
bills invest where we need help the most right now – in jobs and our
communities. Whether it is building new roads, expanding health research, or
supporting law enforcement, the projects I worked to fund in our state help us
to meet many of the challenges facing Washington state families. Particularly
now, as our state budget continues to struggle, I have worked to ensure that
our federal tax dollars are returned to fund projects in our own backyard.
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