I am very alarmed by the suicide rate of our service members and our veterans. New analysis shows that every day in 2012 one of our service members committed suicide. In our veteran population, we know a veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes. It is clear the Pentagon and VA are losing the battle on mental and behavioral health conditions that are confronting many of our service members and loved ones. That is why last week I urged Secretary Panetta to conduct a system-wide review on diagnoses for the invisible wounds of war dating back to 2001. This has been a problem for soldiers at Madigan, where to date over 100 soldiers and counting have had their correct PTSD diagnosis restored.
Understandably, many of our service members’ trust and confidence in the disability evaluation system has been seriously shaken in the wake of these events. I will continue to raise concerns about the consistency and accuracy of behavioral health evaluations and diagnosis within the entire disability evaluation system, and I am so glad Secretary Panetta has taken some critically important steps forward and is beginning to address these concerns.
“Sen. Murray presses Panetta for review of mental health diagnoses”
– KING5
“Defense secretary announces military-wide review of mental health diagnoses”
– Q13
Equal Pay for Equal Work
Last week, I was extremely disappointed when my Republican colleagues once again said no to a common-sense bill to make sure women were given equal pay for equal work. The Paycheck Fairness Act would have ensured that women received fair compensation for their work, at a time when women in Washington state are still making only 77 cents for every dollar paid to men. This is simply unacceptable. The Paycheck Fairness Act isn’t just about women. It’s not just about fairness. It’s about the economy as well. When women aren’t paid what they deserve, middle class families and communities pay the price. I am going to keep fighting for this critical legislation, and I urge my Republican colleagues to put partisanship aside and work with us to get this done for women and girls across America.
“Paycheck Fairness Act fail to pass Senate”
– Q13
“Senate GOP blocks Democrats equal pay bill”
– The Seattle Times
Ending Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity
All Americans deserve to feel secure in their workplace. Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity simply cannot be tolerated. I am proud to say that in 2006, the Washington state legislature enacted a bill called the Washington Law Against Discrimination. This law added protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to the state civil rights law, and was a giant step forward for the civil rights of Washington workers.
While state laws such as these provide important protections and should be commended, employers in a majority of states can still fire, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is time to put a stop to this kind of discrimination once and for all. That’s why I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which will demand employers evaluate the performance of an employee on the basis of their work, not their sexual orientation. This legislation has bipartisan support, and there is no reason it cannot be passed quickly through this committee. I will continue to work with my colleagues to strengthen protections for our workers, and to ensure an environment of equality at workplaces across America.
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