Sen. Patty Murray
President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Senator for Washington
pronounced PA-tee // MER-ee
Murray is the senior senator from Washington and is a Democrat. She has served since Jan 5, 1993. Murray is next up for reelection in 2028 and serves until Jan 3, 2029. She is 73 years old.
She is also President Pro Tempore of the Senate, a party leadership role. Party leaders focus more on setting their party’s legislative priorties than on introducing legislation.
![Photo of Sen. Patty Murray [D-WA]](/https/www.govtrack.us/static/legislator-photos/300076-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Murray is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Murray has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Aug 1, 2024. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Patty Murray sits on the following committees:
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Senate Committee on Appropriations
Chair
- Energy and Water Development subcommittee Chair
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, Legislative Branch, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittees - Senate Committee on the Budget
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Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Children and Families, Primary Health and Retirement Security subcommittees
- Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Enacted Legislation
Murray was the primary sponsor of 39 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- S. 2127: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
- S. 4659 (117th): Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023
- S. 4087 (117th): INFORM Act
- S. 3799 (117th): PREVENT Pandemics Act
- S. 3062 (117th): Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022
- S. 1965 (117th): Planning for Aging Veterans Act of 2021
- S.J.Res. 13 (117th): A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission relating …
Does 39 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Murray sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (25%) Labor and Employment (24%) Armed Forces and National Security (20%) Education (16%) Families (5%) Agriculture and Food (3%) Economics and Public Finance (3%) Transportation and Public Works (3%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Murray recently introduced the following legislation:
- S. 4927: Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025
- S. 4902: A bill to prevent discrimination, including harassment, in employment.
- S. 4579: Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2024
- S. 4554: Reproductive Freedom for Women Act
- S. 4502: Restoring Justice for Workers Act
- S. 4396: Purple Heart Veterans Education Act of 2024
- S. 4351: Poison Control Centers Reauthorization Act of 2024
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
As President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Murray may be focused on her responsibilities other than introducing legislation, such as setting the chamber’s agenda, uniting her party, and brokering deals.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Feb 1993 to Aug 2024, Murray missed 250 of 10,716 roll call votes, which is 2.3%. This is on par with the median of 3.0% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
