WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) delivered the following remarks at this afternoon’s Senate Democratic leadership press conference. Murray reiterated the need for a comprehensive security package with aid for Ukraine, Israel, and our partners in the Indo-Pacific, and humanitarian assistance, and underscored the need to tackle the child care crisis. She also addressed the new, partisan immigration proposal offered yesterday by Senate Republicans. Video of Senator Murray’s remarks is available HERE.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:
“Thank you, Leader Schumer. A few things to make clear at the top: any partisan proposal that seeks to revive a Trump border wall, and demands sweeping, far-right immigration policies which run counter to our values as Americans is headed nowhere in the Senate as far as I’m concerned.
“If Republicans do want to have a serious conversation about the border—that is welcome.
“But that starts with keeping our focus on ideas that can actually get widespread bipartisan support like addressing the root causes of migration—something almost entirely absent from their proposal, and meeting our operational needs.
“Next, I’m very glad to see that colleagues on both sides recognize we must pass one comprehensive package: with resources to our allies in Israel, in Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, and humanitarian aid to those who are caught in the conflict.
“I spoke about this earlier today when I opposed a bill from Republicans that left far too much work undone by only funding Israel—bottom line: we cannot be pitting these priorities against each other, and telling the world we see some alliances as “urgent” and others as political leverage.
“Our allies in Ukraine can no more afford a delay than our allies in Israel—Ukraine is at a critical point in a brutal war to defend its sovereignty against Putin’s bloody invasion.
“We must not give Putin a win and throw Ukraine to the wolves for political expediency.
“After all, what sort of message does it send about our commitment to our allies if we delay Ukraine aid any further?
“Especially after we have already missed earlier opportunities to get this done?
“We can’t just do half our jobs here—leaving any of these priorities out, and we can not kick the can down the road. It would be a serious failure in American leadership.
“So I am continuing to work on a bipartisan package to meet all of these critical needs.
“And I want to say this as well: we also have to address the expiration of child care stabilization funding.
“Which is exactly why I am holding a hearing tomorrow to discuss more of the President’s supplemental funding request—particularly regarding child care, and our needs at the southern border, and more.
“Now, we cannot pretend that child care is any less urgent than any of the other challenges we face.
“For every single parent, child care is a “do it now” problem, not a “do it next” again problem.
“We need to treat it the same way: it is urgent, it is essential.
“I saw reporting just yesterday in the Washington Post that covered what the expiration of the child care stabilization funds means for families and communities all over this country.
“That reporting drew a straight line from the expiration of those federal dollars to a struggling child care provider, in business for 18 years, forced to then shut down, to a mom, with two young boy and a newborn, who then was forced to leave her job full time, she lost her child care and finally, to her employer, a dental practice in a small town that is now down a dental assistant—meaning they can only serve half her patient.
“Child care is infrastructure, it couldn’t be more clear!
“We need to start investing in child care with the same level of bipartisan commitment we showed other infrastructure when we passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“But in the meantime, we’ve got to shore up these stabilization funds to keep the child care industry—which holds up every sector of our economy—from crumbling.
“The child care crisis is more than a ticking clock—it is an alarm bell that’s ringing.
“I don’t know how many more ways I can say it, but I am going to keep saying it until it sinks in, and we take action.
“This is an issue for families, for providers, and for employers in virtually every single community—every day.
“So until we solve it, my colleagues are going to keep hearing from me about this every day as well.
“Thank you.”
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