The contradictions are obvious, and yet they are welcome and they will serve the United States well.

As Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., settles into her new role as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, it is important to recognize and understand how she has been training for the role her entire life.

Read the rest here.

I have a lot of ideas about how our country can better honor the many sacrifices made by our veterans and their families — from cutting red tape so our veterans can receive their benefits more quickly, to improving mental health and employment services.

But I’d love to hear some of your ideas too – not just about what we can do in Congress, but what you think all Americans can do to honor our veterans, each and every day.

Click here to share your ideas about how all of us — not just Members of Congress, but each of us all across America — can better serve and honor our nation’s veterans.

As the daughter of a World War II veteran, it’s been one of my great privileges as a Senator to fight for our nation’s veterans.

That’s what I’m going to continuing doing as Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

But I’d love to hear your thoughts too.

Thanks for your help, and for your ideas.

I am so grateful to the voters of Washington state, who’ve given me the opportunity to go back to that other Washington to be their voice for another term in the U.S. Senate. I promise that you’ll be proud of the work that we’re going to do together over these next few years.

And now that the voters have spoken, it is time to get down to the critical tasks of getting our economy back on track and creating good jobs, providing help to our small businesses, passing tax cuts for our middle class, and securing that tanker contract by leveling the playing field for our workers.

And it is my great honor to work with all of you to accomplish all of that — and more.

Thank you again,

Patty Murray
U.S. Senator

But, if you’ve already mailed in your ballot for Patty, here are a couple of ways that you can help spread the word as Election Day draws near.

1. Update your Facebook profile picture or your Twitter avatar to let your social network know who you’re supporting. Click here, and upload one of these pictures as your Profile Picture or Avatar.

2. Make sure your Facebook status updates and tweets are full of support for Patty! Use our Facebook tool to automatically update your status, or use the #whyivotepatty hashtag to let us know why you voted for Senator Murray.

3. Do you miss going the the polls and getting an “I Voted” sticker? Think of this as the 21st century version. Once you’ve voted, you can get the “ivoted” twibbon to display underneath your Facebook profile picture or Twitter avatar.

4. You can spread the word about all the newspapers and organizations that have endorsed Senator Murray by visiting our endorsements page and using our Share buttons.

5. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth 100 million. Visit our YouTube channel, share the videos with your friends, or embed them on your blog or website.

On her way, Patty made several stops to small businesses to talk about ways to make it easier to get small business loans and strengthen the small shops and restaurants that make up America’s economic backbone.

MyBallard.com, Ballard’s daily news website, reported:

“The stops on the walking tour included La Tienda, Bop Street Records, Secret Garden Books, Great Harvest Bread and Cupcake Royale.”

The article continued:

“Senator Murray’s father was a small business owner and she believes the local shops are important for our economy. ‘I really believe that small businesses, just like we walked through this morning, really are the backbone of our economy.’”

The Senator made a purchase at each stop, and talked to business owners about the economy, business, health care, and their lives in general.

Watch Senator Murray outside of Cupcake Royale as she talks about her visit to Ballard below.

To read more about Senator Murray’s record on the economy and small business visit PattyMurray.com/economy.

Patty Murray has always been a strong advocate for veterans. When the Bush administration tried to close the VA Hospital in Southwest Washington, Patty fought back and made sure that we have proper care for our nation’s heroes.

Patty isn’t just improving VA care — in fact she’s worked to pass several pieces of legislation that have assisted local veterans who were affected by the economic downturn, including Wall Street Reform. Jo Brewer, a former Navy Chief who works with families facing foreclosure, said the following:

“I see firsthand every day the effect that the Wall Street crash has had on veterans in our community. Too many today are homeless, unemployed or the victims of predatory lending. It’s not right, and it’s unbelievable that Dino Rossi wants to go right back to the policies that hurt our veterans so badly. I know that Patty Murray will keep standing up to get us back on our feet. She has been a champion for veterans and for Southwest Washington, and we need to keep her fighting for us in the Senate.”

Patty’s “stand up and fight” mentality has already had an impact on the lives of Washington’s homeless veterans.

“Patty Murray has fought hard to help veterans who are struggling in this economy, sponsoring bills to help with veteran homelessness and unemployment and pushing to pass strong Wall Street reform, which includes a dedicated office to make service members get a fair deal on their financial services. She also created a HUD voucher program that is helping many veterans in the Longview area get back on their feet with housing. In fact, one veteran today came to thank Senator Murray and told her that because of her work, he was no longer homeless.”

Read more about Patty’s Stop in Longview or visit PattyMurray.com/vets to read about Patty’s record with veterans.

]]> http://blog.pattymurray.com/2010/10/27/senator-murray-knows-whats-right-for-veterans/feed/ 0 http://blog.pattymurray.com/2010/10/27/patty-murray-makes-small-business-a-personal-issue/ http://blog.pattymurray.com/2010/10/27/patty-murray-makes-small-business-a-personal-issue/#comments Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:24:39 +0000 Julie Edwards, Communications Director http://blog.pattymurray.com/?p=588 Patty has worked tirelessly to make sure small businesses in Washington can grow and prosper. On Friday, Senator Murray made a trip to Bellingham to talk with several small business owners to hear their views and stories. Patty met with owners of businesses including Brenthaven, Daylight Properties, and Moka Joe at Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro.

The Bellingham Herald reports:

“‘I was really surprised this was being set up,’ said Shelly Martin, owner of Zazen Salon Spa, [...] ‘It’s one thing to read blurbs in the paper and it’s another to get to hear the person talk,’ she said. ‘It’s just like any relationship – it’s easier to get your point across when you’re talking in person.’”

Senator Patty Murray has made the effort to ensure small businesses have adequate access to credit, particularly with the Small Business Lending Fund bill she fought to pass last month.

Murray said she hoped that a recently passed small-business lending bill would make it easier for businesses to get loans they need to maintain or expand their business. She also talked about Wall Street reform legislation to help prevent the kind of collapse that impacted so many businesses in the first place.

Read the entire article from The Bellingham Herald or read more about Patty Murray’s record on economic recovery at PattyMurray.com/economy.

President Obama and Senator Murray entered the pavilion to a roaring crowd, and they both laid out clearly the high stakes of the election – and the powerful effect the students could have if they turned out the way they did in 2008.

Watch the video and look through the pictures below. We had a fantastic day and we’re looking forward to spreading the word and getting out the vote for Patty!

“If you want America to go back to number one [in the percentage of adults with 4 year college degrees], and you don’t ever want to see another young person drop out of college because of debt, then you have to vote for Patty Murray!”

At a 3,000-strong “Get Out The Vote” rally in Everett on Monday, President Bill Clinton joined Senator Patty Murray and urged Washington’s youth to play a role in this year’s election.

Clinton “issued a plea” to young college students from institutions like Western Washington University, the University of Washington, and Washington State University to flex their political muscle this November. He added,

“If every student or prospective student in America knew about [student loan reform] it would add 2,000 to 10,000 votes in every congressional district in America, and this would be a very different election because the voters would look like America’s future.”

If you’d like to know more about Patty Murray’s work to improve our nation’s education, visit PattyMurray.com/issues.