Abortion Murray supports
abortion rights. She opposed the
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill criminalizing abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, saying on the Senate floor: "I oppose the fact that we are still voting on whether women and doctors are best equipped to make health care decisions — or politicians here in D. C. She voted against a bill that banned federal funding for planned parenthood." She also voted against restricting US funding for UN family planning programs.
Agriculture In March 2019, Murray was one of 38 senators to sign a letter to
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue warning that dairy farmers "have continued to face market instability and are struggling to survive the fourth year of sustained low prices" and urging his department to "strongly encourage these farmers to consider the Dairy Margin Coverage program". In June 2019, Murray and 18 other Democratic senators sent
USDA Inspector General (IG) Phyllis K. Fong a letter requesting that the IG investigate USDA instances of retaliation and political decision-making and asserting that not to do so would mean these "actions could be perceived as a part of this administration’s broader pattern of not only discounting the value of federal employees, but suppressing, undermining, discounting, and wholesale ignoring scientific data produced by their own qualified scientists".
Environmental policy In October 2017, Murray was one of 19 senators to sign a letter to
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt questioning Pruitt's decision to repeal the
Clean Power Plan, asserting that the repeal's proposal used "mathematical sleights of hand to overstate the costs of industry compliance with the 2015 Rule and understate the benefits that will be lost if the 2017 repeal is finalized", and that denying science and fabricating math would fail to "satisfy the requirements of the law, nor will it slow the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the inexorable rise in sea levels, or the other dire effects of global warming that our planet is already experiencing". In February 2019, in response to reports of the EPA intending to decide against setting drinking water limits for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (
PFOS) and
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as part of an upcoming national strategy to manage the aforementioned class of chemicals, Murray was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Acting EPA Administrator
Andrew R. Wheeler calling on the EPA "to develop enforceable federal drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, as well as institute immediate actions to protect the public from contamination from additional
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)".
Federal budget On December 10, 2013, Murray announced that she and Republican Representative
Paul Ryan had reached a compromise agreement on a two-year, bipartisan budget bill, the
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. The deal was scheduled to be voted on first in the House and then the Senate. Some believed House Democrats would pass the deal as a way to reduce the
sequester cuts, but the ranking Democrat on the
House Budget Committee,
Chris Van Hollen, said on December 12, 2013, that members of his party were outraged that House Republicans were planning to adjourn without addressing unemployment benefits. Van Hollen said that "it is too early to say" whether a majority of House Democrats would vote for the budget bill. Murray put the controversial intelligence ports-data project
Global Trade Exchange into the Homeland Security budget.
Foreign relations Central America In April 2019, Murray was one of 34 senators to sign a letter to President Trump, encouraging him "to listen to members of your own Administration and reverse a decision that will damage our national security and aggravate conditions inside
Central America", asserting that Trump had "consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S. foreign assistance" since becoming president, and that he was "personally undermining efforts to promote U.S. national security and economic prosperity" through preventing the use of Fiscal Year 2018 national security funding. The senators argued that foreign assistance to Central American countries created less migration to the U.S., citing the funding's helping to improve conditions in those countries.
Myanmar Murray condemned the
genocide of the
Rohingya Muslim minority in
Myanmar, and called for a stronger response to the crisis.
Russia In December 2010, Murray voted for the ratification of
New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the U.S. and the
Russian Federation obliging both countries to have no more than 1,550 strategic warheads as well as 700 launchers deployed during the next seven years along with providing a continuation of on-site inspections that halted when
START I expired the previous year. It was the first arms treaty with Russia in eight years. In December 2018, after
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the Trump administration was suspending its obligations in the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 60 days in the event that Russia continued to violate the treaty, Murray was one of 26 senators to sign a letter expressing concern over the administration "now abandoning generations of bipartisan U.S. leadership around the paired goals of reducing the global role and number of nuclear weapons and ensuring
strategic stability with America's nuclear-armed adversaries" and calling on Trump to continue arms negotiations.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan briefs Senator Patty Murray on the
Manned Ground Vehicle program in Washington, D.C. In October 2002, Murray was one of 21 Democrats in the Senate to vote against the War Authorization for
invading Iraq. Quoted from her Senate speech: Mr. President, if we do take action in Iraq, there is no doubt that our armed forces will prevail. We will win a war with Iraq decisively, and, God willing, we will win it quickly. But what happens after the war? That will have as big an impact on our future peace and security. Will we be obligated to rebuild Iraq? If so, how? Our economy is reeling, our budget is in deficit, and we have no estimate of the cost of rebuilding. And with whom? As
The New York Times columnist
Tom Friedman points out, there's a retail store mentality that suggests to some—if "you break it, you buy it." In December 2002, speaking to students at
Columbia River High School in
Vancouver, Murray made a number of remarks about
Osama bin Laden as she attempted to explain why the US had such problems winning hearts and minds in the Muslim world, and how bin Laden had garnered support among some in the Middle East. Among other things, she said that bin Laden has "been out in these countries for decades, building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building daycare facilities, building health care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. He's made their lives better. We have not done that." This attracted attention from political opponents, who argued that this was inaccurate and constituted support for bin Laden.
Health care In 2014, Murray introduced legislation in the Senate called The Emergency Contraception Access and Education Act. The bill would require hospitals that receive federal funding to provide rape victims with emergency contraception. In July 2014, she introduced an amendment to a bill in the Senate to require health insurance plans to offer contraceptive coverage to patients regardless of employers' beliefs, religious or otherwise. Her amendment required 60 votes to move forward, and all but three Republicans voted against the measure. In December 2018, Murray was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials
Alex Azar,
Seema Verma, and
Steven Mnuchin, arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act to authorize states to "increase health care costs for millions of consumers, while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions". The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and "re-engage with stakeholders, states, and Congress".
Labor In July 2019, Murray signed a letter to
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta that advocated that the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiate a full investigation into a complaint filed on May 20 by a group of Chicago-area employees of
McDonald's that detailed workplace violence incidents, including interactions with customers such as customers throwing hot coffee and threatening employees with firearms. The senators argued that McDonald's could and must "do more to protect its employees, but employers will not take seriously their obligations to provide a safe workplace if OSHA does not enforce workers rights to a hazard-free workplace". In response to a February 2021 report by the
Congressional Budget Office on the effects of a minimum wage increase, Murray said: "Today's report makes clear what we've known all along: raising the minimum wage — which hasn't increased since 2009 — to $15 an hour isn't just the right thing to do, it's good policy." She was among the 42 Democrats to vote unsuccessfully to include a federal raise of the
minimum wage to $15 per hour in the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
LGBTQIA+ rights In 1996, Murray voted for the
Defense of Marriage Act, which banned federal recognition of
same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marriage to the union of a man and a woman. The Defense of Marriage Act was
ruled unconstitutional in 2015, and later in 2023, she reversed her previous position and spoke in support of the
Respect for Marriage Act, which officially repealed the Defense of Marriage Act. In September 2014, Murray was one of 69 members of the House and Senate to sign a letter to then-
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, requesting that the
FDA revise its policy banning donation of
corneas and other tissues by men who have had sex with another man in the preceding five years.
Opioids In March 2017, Murray was one of 21 senators to sign a letter led by
Ed Markey to Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell that noted that 12% of adult
Medicaid beneficiaries had some form of substance abuse disorder, in addition to one third of treatment for opioid and other substance-use disorders in the United States being financed through Medicaid, and opined that the
American Health Care Act could "very literally translate into a death spiral for those with opioid use disorders" due to the insurance coverage lacking adequate funds for care, often causing people to abandon treatment.
Veterans In August 2013, Murray was one of 23 Democratic senators to sign a letter to the
Department of Defense, warning of some payday lenders "offering predatory loan products to service members at exorbitant triple digit effective interest rates and loan products that do not include the additional protections envisioned by the law", and asserting that service members, along with their families, "deserve the strongest possible protections and swift action to ensure that all forms of credit offered to members of our armed forces are safe and sound". In December 2018, Murray was one of 21 senators to sign a letter to
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, calling it "appalling that the VA is not conducting oversight of its own outreach efforts", in spite of suicide prevention being the VA's highest clinical priority, and requesting Wilkie "consult with experts with proven track records of successful public and mental health outreach campaigns, with a particular emphasis on how those individuals measure success".
Gun control Murray supports
gun control. She also supports a national assault weapons ban.
Immigration Patty Murray has voted on many Immigration acts during her time in the US senate. Most recently, she voted against the Nomination of Joseph Edlow as the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Some other notable acts she had voted for include: the Border Act of 2024, and the 2019 Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act. In 2021, she voted against the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act. In 2025, Murray wrote a letter to ICE Director Todd Lyons that cites explicit concerns about the treatment of immigrants at the Tacoma detention center.
Other positions In May 2006, Murray, along with 38 of 44 Senate Democrats, voted in favor of the
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611). The bill includes provisions to improve border security, increases fines and other punishments for employers of
illegal immigrants, and creates a
guest worker program (which includes an almost doubling of the number of
H-1B visas) and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. The bill, with support from some in the GOP leadership, passed 62–36. Murray repeatedly cosponsored legislation to create the
Wild Sky Wilderness area in the Washington
Cascade Range. She eventually succeeded, with the bill signed by President
George W. Bush on May 8, 2008. Murray has also supported legislation to increase the size of the
Alpine Lakes Wilderness, also in the Washington Cascades. Murray introduced a bill in January 2014, proposing that an additional (20%) of the
Olympic National Forest's lands would be disallowed under the creation of nine new
wilderness areas and expansion of the five existing ones.
Wild and Scenic River designations would extend to 19 rivers, including those originating in the
Olympic National Park, such as the
Quinault River,
Hoh River,
Elwha River, and
Hamma Hamma River, and some that do not, like the middle fork of the
Satsop River. According to the bill, "the wilderness designation would permanently protect old growth and ancient forest habitat throughout the region. The wild and scenic rivers designation would add federal recognition to the outstanding river systems on the peninsula, protecting them as a source of clean drinking water and helping to keep Puget Sound clean for generations. This designation does not restrict private property rights." On January 30, 2008, Murray endorsed
Hillary Clinton in the
2008 Democratic presidential primaries. One month later, the
Washington Democratic caucus awarded two-thirds of its delegates to
Barack Obama and one-third to Clinton. After Clinton's June 7 concession, Murray endorsed Obama. On May 28, 2021, Murray abstained from voting on the creation of the
January 6 commission. She cited a "personal family matter" for the abstention. Murray had expressed support for the commission and had talked about her experience on the day of the demonstration. ==Electoral history==