After Trump Admin Refuses to Allow VA to Host Discussion on Women Veterans’ Health Care, Senator Murray Meets with Women Veterans and Advocates In Seattle

ICYMI: Senator Murray Demands Answers from Secretary Collins Over VA's Unprecedented Refusal to Allow VA Puget Sound to Participate in Women Veterans Roundtable

ICYMI: REPORT: Trump's Mass Firings at VA Hurt WA Veterans

ICYMI: Murray Statement on Trump & Elon Plans to Decimate the VA, Firing 80,000 Employees and Putting Veterans' Care in Grave Danger

***AUDIO HERE; PHOTOS and B-ROLL HERE***

Seattle, WA - Today,U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, hosted a roundtable discussion at the Ballard-Eagleston VFW Post 3063 with women veterans and veteran advocates to discuss the challenges women veterans face in receiving quality care at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and how the Trump administration's steep cuts across the federal workforce-including at VA-are affecting veterans. Senator Murray's roundtable at the VFW took place only after the Trump administration refused to allow VA Puget Sound to host or participate in a discussion about the current state of women veterans' health care. Audio of the full roundtable discussion is available HERE.

Senator Murray has been outspoken in calling attention to how Trump and Elon's indiscriminate mass layoffs are hurting people-especially veterans-across the country and will undermine services Americans everywhere rely on. She has hosted multiple press conferences with veterans and VA employees in Washington state who are being laid off by Trump and Elon for no reason and through no fault of their own.

Participating in the discussion with Senator Murray today were: Minnette Mason, Veterans Training Support Center Program Manager at the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA); Alyson Teeter, Commander of VFW Post 3063; Barbara Heston-Moore, President of VFW Post 2289 Auxiliary; Sarah Rubin with VFW Post 3063; Dr. Samantha Powers, Director of UW Veteran Student Life; and Shellie Willis, Chair of the WDVA Women's Veterans Advisory Committee.

"I'm furious that under Trump, VA leadership is barring VA Puget Sound from participating in or hosting this important discussion on women veterans' issues. Throughout my time in Congress, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, I have been able to have open and honest conversations with VA and engage with my veteran constituents in Washington state-but this administration has proven to be vastly different," Senator Murray said. Yesterday, Senator Murray sent a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins expressing concern and dismay over the unprecedented refusal-with no justification-by VA to allow VA Puget Sound to participate in today's roundtable. In the hearing on his nomination to lead VA, his meeting with Senator Murray ahead of the Senate vote on his nomination, and in his own public statements, Doug Collins promised to be maximally transparent with Congress if confirmed.

"Even though women are more likely to seek care through VA, and are more likely to be dealing with depression, anxiety, or sexual trauma-women are also more likely to face barriers to getting the care they need," Senator Murray said. "And it's been deeply frustrating to see the Trump administration undermine VA care, fire researchers, and push out other crucial workers who help veterans get care over the past few months, to say nothing of the disrespect they have shown female veterans-literally erasing the history of some women in uniform and denigrating the service of women in combat. I'm going to push every day to make sure you get the respect you deserve, and the care you were promised-whether that's making sure VA is implementing women's health care laws I worked to pass, fighting to expand access to IVF services and menopause research, and providing the federal resources we need for VA to improve care for women veterans."

Senator Murray was the first woman to join the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and the first woman to chair the Committee-as the daughter of a WWII veteran, supporting veterans and their families has always been an important priority for Murray. Advocating for women veterans in particular has been a longtime focus for Senator Murray. As Chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee in 2010, Senator Murray passed her landmark Women Veterans Health Improvement Act into law. Murray has worked to permanently authorize the VA child care pilot program to increase access to free, quality child care for veterans during their appointments, make much-needed improvements to the women veterans call center, and fix a loophole that left veterans footing the bill for medically-necessary emergency newborn transportation that VA should be covering. Murray introduced and helped pass the Deborah Sampson Act, legislation to address gender disparities at VA that established a dedicated Office of Women's Health at VA and required every VA health facility to have a dedicated women's health primary care provider, among other things. Murray also helped to pass the MAMMO Act to expand access to high-quality breast cancer screening and treatment services for veterans.

Last year as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray delivered a record $900 million investment in women veterans' health care. Earlier this month, Senator Murray introduced bipartisan legislation to require VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) to research and study the effects of menopause on women servicemembers and women veterans.

Senator Murray has also been a leading voice in the Senate in speaking out forcefully against President Trump and Elon Musk's mass firing of VA employees and VA researchers across the country and Elon Musk and DOGE's infiltration of the VA, including accessing veterans' sensitive personal information. In recent weeks, Senator Murray and her colleagues sent letters to VA Secretary Doug Collins demanding that the VA swiftly reverse moves to cut VA researchers, as well as multiple letters pressing Secretary Collins to sever Elon Musk and DOGE's access to any VA or other government system with information about veterans, and protect veterans, their families, and VA staff from unprecedented access to sensitive information. Senator Murray grilled Trump's nominee for VA Deputy Secretary, Dr. Paul Lawrence, on the mass firings of VA employees and VA researchers, and voted against Doug Collins's nomination to be VA Secretary in early February, sounding the alarm over reports of DOGE at the VA and making clear that the Trump administration's lawlessness was putting our national security and our veterans at risk.

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