Fight to Reopen Schools Safely with Sen. Patty Murray

Patty Murray has been busy. As the ranking member on the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, the senior senator from the state of Washington is intimately involved in developing legislation to guide federal oversight of the areas of American life most impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. In the last month alone she introduced the Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act and issued a white paper calling for legislation that would assure that a vaccine be made available to all Americans. But Murray is also in the minority. At a time when so much is at stake, the Democratic lawmaker is tasked with both identifying solutions that she believes will save many lives and pushing them through a legislative process dominated by Republicans at a moment of hyper-partisanship. On this week's edition of the Crosscut Talks podcast we speak with the Senator about her efforts to shore up schools and day care providers, the deep frustration she has for the Trump administration's approach to the pandemic and how, exactly, she plans to turn her plans into action. Plus, Crosscut reporter David Kroman delivers the latest on the Seattle's efforts to rethink public safety and policing.