Abortion When he was first elected to Congress, Markey opposed
abortion and supported a constitutional amendment to ban it. He described his opposition as a matter of conscience. Starting in 1983, he began moving away from his opposition, voting against measures that blocked funding for abortion for federal employees unless their life was at risk. During his 1984 Senate campaign, Markey said that while he still personally opposed abortion, he believed that it should remain legal. Since then, he has opposed restrictions on abortion. Markey wore a pin to the
2023 State of the Union Address with the word ABORTION with a heart in place of the central portion of the letter O. He attended the event with Kate Dineen, an abortion rights advocate.
Animal welfare In 2025, Markey received a score of 100 from the
Humane World Action Fund, the political arm of
Humane World for Animals, indicating support for animal protection issues. He was also awarded the organization's "Leader" designation, which is given to members of Congress who, in the organization's assessment, have led on "multiple legislative or regulatory efforts, a top-priority measure, or a requested sign-on letter related to animal protection". Markey was an endorser of a 2016 Massachusetts ballot measure,
Question 3, designed to protect the welfare of farmed animals. The measure required farmers to give
chickens,
pigs, and
calves enough room to turn around, stand up, lie down, and fully extend their limbs. It also prohibited the sale of eggs or meat from animals raised in conditions that did not meet these standards. Markey was one of only three U.S. senators to cosponsor a 2019 bill that would have placed a moratorium on building new
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, called "
factory farms" by critics, and phased out existing ones. In 2025, Markey led an effort by 28 senators opposing federal measures that would have limited states' ability to enforce animal welfare laws such as
Massachusetts Question 3 and
California Proposition 12.
Antitrust, competition and corporate regulation In June 2019, Markey was one of six Democrats led by
Amy Klobuchar who signed letters to the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the
Department of Justice recounting that many of them had "called on both the FTC and the Justice Department to investigate potential anticompetitive activity in these markets, particularly following the significant enforcement actions taken by foreign competition enforcers against these same companies" and requesting that each agency confirm whether it had opened antitrust investigations into each of the companies and pledge that it would publicly release any such investigation's findings.
Child care In 2019, Markey and 34 other senators introduced the Child Care for Working Families Act, a bill that they claim would create 770,000 new
child care jobs and ensure that families making less than 75% of the state median income would not pay for child care, with higher-earning families having to pay "their fair share for care on a sliding scale, regardless of the number of children they have." The legislation also supports universal access to high-quality preschool programs for all 3- and 4-year-olds and changes child care compensation and training.
Children's programming In 2019, after the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced changes to the Children's Television Act of 1990, Markey and eight other Democratic senators signed a letter to FCC Chairman
Ajit Pai that expressed concern that the proposed changes "would limit the reach of educational content available to children and have a particular damaging effect on youth in low-income and minority communities" and asserted that the new rules would decrease access to valuable educational content through over-the-air services.
Climate change in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in February 2019 In November 2018, Markey was among 25 Democratic senators to cosponsor a resolution in response to the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change report and National Climate Assessment findings. The resolution affirmed the senators' acceptance of the findings and support for bold action to
address climate change. In 2019, the
League of Conservation Voters, which works to elect pro-environment candidates, endorsed Markey. Markey is the Senate author of the
Green New Deal. In February 2019, Markey and Representative
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a 14-page summary of their
Green New Deal plan to address climate change. It calls for implementing the "
social cost of carbon" that was part of the Obama administration's plans to address climate change and transitioning the United States to 100% renewable, zero-emission energy sources, zero-emission vehicles, and high-speed rail systems. It also aims to provide new jobs and alleviate poverty. On March 26, in what Democrats called a "stunt", Republicans called for an early vote without allowing discussion or expert testimony. Markey said Republicans were trying to "make a mockery" of the Green New Deal debate and called the vote a "sham". In protest, Democrats, including Markey, voted "present" or against the bill, resulting in a 57–0 defeat on the Senate floor. In March 2019, Markey was one of 11 senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019, legislation to form a new group within the State Department to develop strategies to integrate climate science and data into national security operations as well as to restore the post of special envoy for the Arctic, a group that President Trump dismantled in 2017. The envoy would advise the President and the administration on the potential effects of climate on national security and be responsible for facilitating all interagency communication between federal science and security agencies. Markey was a member of the Senate Democrats' Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, which published a report of its findings in August 2020.
COVID-19 vaccine equity Markey proposed that the
COVID-19 vaccine be distributed to underserved areas and communities of color as a priority for
racial justice. On February 20, 2021, he said, "Even though Black and Hispanic residents have borne the brunt of this pandemic here in Massachusetts and all across the country, these communities are not receiving the vaccine in proportion to their share of their population."
Disaster relief In April 2018, Markey was one of five Democratic senators to sign a letter to
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator
Brock Long calling on FEMA to enter an agreement with the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that would "stand up the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP) and address the medium- and longer-term housing needs" of evacuees of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of
Hurricane Maria. The senators asserted that "FEMA's refusal to use the tools at its disposal, including DHAP, to help these survivors is puzzling—and profoundly troubling" and that hundreds of hurricane survivors were susceptible to being left homeless if FEMA and HUD continued not to work together.
Drug policy In December 2016, Markey was among 17 senators to sign a letter to President-elect
Donald Trump asking him to fulfill a campaign pledge to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, stating their willingness "to advance measures to achieve this goal", and calling on Trump "to partner with Republicans and Democrats alike to take meaningful steps to address the high cost of prescription drugs through bold administrative and legislative actions." In December 2018, Markey was among 21 senators to sign a letter to
Food and Drugs Commissioner Scott Gottlieb stating their approval of the actions of the
Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to hinder youth access to e-cigarettes and urging the FDA "to take additional, stronger steps to prevent and reduce e-cigarette use among youth." In 2023, Markey introduced
legislation to expand access to
methadone for patients with
opioid use disorder.
Economy In February 2019, Markey was among eight senators to sign a letter to the
Federal Communications Commission and
Department of Justice asking that regulators prohibit a proposed $26-billion merger between
T-Mobile and
Sprint because American enforcers have understood for the last 30 years "that fostering robust competition in telecommunications markets is the best way to provide every American with access to high-quality, cutting-edge communications at a reasonable price" and the merger would result in a return "to the dark days of heavily consolidated markets and less competition, with all of the resulting harms." In March 2019, Markey was among six senators to sign a letter to the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting that it "use its rulemaking authority, along with other tools, in order to combat the scourge of non-compete clauses rigging our economy against workers" and saying that non-compete clauses "harm employees by limiting their ability to find alternate work, which leaves them with little leverage to bargain for better wages or working conditions with their immediate employer." The letter added that the FTC was responsible for protecting consumers and workers and needed to "act decisively" to address their concerns over "serious anti-competitive harms from the proliferation of non-competes in the economy."
Foreign policy in
Manila in August 2022 In December 2016, Markey and Senators
Chris Coons and
Marco Rubio suggested to the
Department of State that the U.S. curtail assistance to the
Philippines'
law enforcement units due to alleged
extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations in Philippine president
Rodrigo Duterte's
drug war, in adherence to the
Leahy Law. In April 2019, Markey and four other Democratic and Republican senators introduced a resolution urging the release of Philippine senator
Leila de Lima, a key proponent of the inquiry on the Duterte administration's reported human rights violations who has been detained since 2017 for suspected
drug trafficking; the senators believed that De Lima's detention was
politically motivated. In January 2020, Markey revealed that the Philippine government had declared him and Senators
Dick Durbin and
Patrick Leahy (principal sponsor of the Leahy Law)
persona non grata to the country. After Duterte stepped down from office in 2022, Markey visited the Philippines and met with De Lima privately. In October 2017, Markey condemned the
genocide of the
Rohingya Muslim minority in
Myanmar. In 2018, Markey cosponsored the Countering the Chinese Government and Communist Party's Political Influence Operations Act, a bill introduced by Rubio and
Catherine Cortez Masto that would give the
Secretary of State and the
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) the authority to create an interagency task force to examine Chinese attempts to influence the U.S. and key allies. In October 2018, Markey was one of eight senators to sign a letter to
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats requesting a classified briefing on what the American intelligence community knew about threats to U.S.-based
Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi so that the senators could fulfill their "oversight obligation" as members of Congress. In March 2019, Markey was one of nine Democratic senators to sign a letter to
Salman of Saudi Arabia requesting the release of human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair and writer Raif Badawi, women's rights activists Loujain al-Hathloul and Samar Badawi, and Dr. Walid Fitaih. The senators wrote, "Not only have reputable international organizations detailed the arbitrary detention of peaceful activists and dissidents without trial for long periods, but the systematic discrimination against women, religious minorities and mistreatment of migrant workers and others has also been well-documented." In November 2018, Markey, Senators Chris Coons and
Elizabeth Warren and a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent the Trump administration a letter raising concerns about the
People's Republic of China's undue influence on
media outlets and
academic institutions in the United States. They wrote: "In American news outlets, Beijing has used financial ties to suppress negative information about the CCP... Beijing has also sought to use relationships with American academic institutions and student groups to shape public discourse." In February 2019, ahead of the
2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit, Markey said that it was "pretty clear that
Kim wants to have a personal meeting with Trump with hopes that he can, in fact, elicit concessions from President Trump that might not otherwise be possible if it was just our diplomats talking one-on-one" and that the US "could run the risk that Kim is given concessions which are not accompanied by real concessions that the United States is receiving in return from Kim and his regime." Markey called for Trump to receive commitments on denuclearization from Kim Jong-un before making commitments in return. In April 2019, Markey was among 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" by 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. by helping to improve conditions in those countries. In October 2020, Markey accused
Turkey, a
NATO ally, of inciting
war between
Armenia and
Azerbaijan over the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh and called on the Trump administration to immediately suspend
U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan sent through the
Pentagon's "building partner assistance program". According to critics, the aid could be used in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He co-signed a letter to Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo that read: "If Turkey is unwilling to step back from active engagement in the conflict, then the State Department should immediately suspend all sales and transfers of military equipment to Ankara." In April 2025, Markey voted for a pair of resolutions Sanders proposed to cancel the
Trump administration's sales of $8.8 billion in bombs and other munitions to Israel. The proposals were defeated, 82 to 15.
Iraq War On October 10, 2002, Markey voted in favor of the
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, authorizing the use of the
United States Armed Forces against
Saddam Hussein's government in what became
Operation Iraqi Freedom. As of March 2020, Markey has said that voting for the authorization was a "mistake", and that he did so because "
George Bush lied,
Donald Rumsfeld lied,
Dick Cheney lied to the American people about the presence of nuclear weapons in Iraq. I'm still angry about that lie to the American people."
Government shutdown In March 2019, Markey was among 39 senators signed a letter to the
Appropriations Committee opining that contractor workers and, by extension, their families "should not be penalized for a government shutdown that they did nothing to cause" while noting that there were bills in both chambers of Congress that if enacted would provide back pay to compensate contractor employees for lost wages. The letter urged the Appropriations Committee "to include back pay for contractor employees in a supplemental appropriations bill for FY2019 or as part of the regular appropriations process for FY2020."
Gun law Markey supports
gun control, including improved background checks, ending illegal gun trafficking, and closing loopholes on gun purchases. In 2015, he proposed a "smart gun" bill that aimed to equip
handguns with technology, making them usable by only the purchaser. In January 2016, Markey led 18 senators in signing a letter to
Thad Cochran and
Barbara Mikulski requesting that the Labor, Health and Education subcommittee hold a hearing on whether to allow the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fund a study of gun violence and "the annual appropriations rider that some have interpreted as preventing it" with taxpayer dollars. The senators noted their support for taking steps "to fund gun-violence research, because only the United States government is in a position to establish an integrated public-health research agenda to understand the causes of gun violence and identify the most effective strategies for prevention." After the
Orlando nightclub shooting, Markey called for more gun regulations and supported the Feinstein Amendment, which would have made it illegal for suspected terrorists to buy guns. He also supports
universal background checks. In response to the
2017 Las Vegas shooting, Markey said, "This Congress has the responsibility to make sure the NRA stands for 'not relevant anymore' in American politics, and we have to begin this debate now." He co-sponsored a proposal to ban
bump stocks, which make
semi-automatic weapons act like
automatic weapons. In November 2017, Markey was a cosponsor of the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act, a bill to create a charge of domestic violence under the
Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and stipulate that convictions must be reported to federal databases to keep abusers from purchasing firearms within three days in an attempt to close a loophole in the UCMJ whereby convicted abusers retain the ability to purchase firearms. In January 2019, Markey was one of 40 senators to introduce the Background Check Expansion Act, a bill requiring background checks to sell or transfer all firearms, including unlicensed sellers. Exceptions to the bill's background check requirement included transfers between members of law enforcement, loaning firearms for either hunting or sporting events temporarily, giving firearms to members of one's immediate family, firearms being transferred as part of an inheritance, or giving a firearm to another person temporarily for immediate self-defense.
Health care Markey supports the creation of a
single-payer federal healthcare program. In September 2017, he was one of 16 senators to cosponsor the 2017 Medicare for All Act introduced by
Bernie Sanders, which proposes establishing a federal health insurance program by expanding
Medicare coverage to all United States residents. In June 2019, Markey was one of eight senators to cosponsor the Territories Health Equity Act of 2019, legislation that would remove the cap on annual federal Medicaid funding and increase the federal matching rate for Medicaid expenditures of territories along with providing more funds for prescription drug coverage to low-income seniors in an attempt to equalize funding for American territories
Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands,
Guam,
American Samoa, and the
Northern Mariana Islands with that of U.S. states.
Housing In April 2019, Markey was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to the housing subcommittee praising the
Housing and Urban Development Department's Section 4 Capacity Building program as authorizing "HUD to partner with national nonprofit community development organizations to provide education, training, and financial support to local community development corporations (CDCs) across the country" and expressing disappointment that President Trump's budget "has slated this program for elimination after decades of successful economic and community development." The senators hoped the subcommittee would support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020.
Immigration In July 2019, following reports that the Trump administration intended to cease protecting spouses, parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation, Markey was one of 22 senators led by
Tammy Duckworth to sign a letter arguing that the protection gave service members the ability "to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse, children, or parents will be deported while they are away" and that its termination would both cause service members personal hardship and negatively affect their combat performance. Also in July 2019, Markey and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which would require, except in special circumstances, that
ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before engaging in enforcement actions at sensitive locations and that agents receive annual training in addition to reporting annually on enforcement actions in those locations.
Internet Internet security On October 27, 2006, Markey called for the arrest of security researcher
Christopher Soghoian for creating a website to generate fake boarding passes. At 2 AM on October 28, 2006,
FBI agents seized computers and other materials from Soghoian's house. On October 29, 2006, Markey issued a statement revising his previous comments, stating that the
Department of Homeland Security should instead "put him to work showing public officials how easily our security can be compromised". The statement was critical of Soghoian's disclosure method—deeming it "ill-considered"—but also said that "he should not go to jail for his bad judgment".
Net neutrality In May 2014, days before the FCC was scheduled to rewrite its net neutrality rules, Markey was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to FCC Chairman
Tom Wheeler arguing that Wheeler's proposal would destroy net neutrality and urging the FCC to "consider reclassifying Internet providers to make them more like traditional phone companies, over which the agency has clear authority to regulate more broadly." In September 2017, Markey was one of nine senators to sign a letter to
Federal Communications Commission Chairman
Ajit Pai accusing the FCC of failing "to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to comment on the tens of thousands of filed complaints that directly shed light on proposed changes to existing net neutrality protections." In March 2018, Markey was one of ten senators to sign a letter spearheaded by
Jeff Merkley lambasting Pai's proposal to cut the Lifeline program during a period when roughly 6.5 million people in poor communities relied on it for access to high-speed internet, writing that it was Pai's "obligation to the American public, as the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to improve the Lifeline program and ensure that more Americans can afford access, and have means of access, to broadband and phone service." The senators also wrote, "Lifeline reaches more Americans in need of access to communication services."
Internet privacy In February 2019, Markey,
Richard Blumenthal, and
Josh Hawley sent
Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg a letter about Project Atlas and its relevance to "longstanding concerns that Facebook has used its products to deeply intrude into personal privacy."
Labor In May 2018, Markey led 11 senators in signing a letter to the Chairman of the
Federal Labor Relations Authority Colleen Kiko urging the FLRA to end efforts to close its Boston regional office until Congress debated the matter because the closure would place staff farther away from the federal employees whose rights they protect.
LGBT rights In 1996, Markey voted against the
Defense of Marriage Act. In September 2014, Markey was one of 69 members of the US House and Senate to sign a letter to then-FDA commissioner
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. In May 2017, Markey was one of 46 senators to introduce the Equality Act of 2017, described by Representative
David Cicilline as ensuring "that every LGBT person can live their lives free from the fear of discrimination. Above all, it's about honoring the values that have guided our nation since its founding. It's critical that Congress pass the Equality Act into law." In October 2018, Markey was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo urging him to reverse the rolling back of a policy that granted visas to same-sex partners of LGBT diplomats who had unions that were not recognized by their home countries, writing that too many places around the world have seen LGBT individuals "subjected to discrimination and unspeakable violence, and receive little or no protection from the law or local authorities" and that refusing to let LGBT diplomats bring their partners to the US would be equivalent of upholding "the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world." In June 2019, Markey was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Pompeo requesting an explanation of a State Department decision not to issue an official statement that year commemorating
Pride Month nor to issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month. They also asked why the LGBT special envoy position remained vacant and asserted that "preventing the official flying of rainbow flags and limiting public messages celebrating Pride Month signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority." In March 2023, Markey and Representative
Pramila Jayapal introduced the Transgender Bill of Rights, a resolution that recognizes the federal government's duty to protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary people. The bill strives to codify under law protections to ensure trans and nonbinary Americans are not discriminated against for their gender identity or gender expression.
Military In August 2013, Markey was one of 23 Democratic senators to sign a letter to the
Defense Department warning that some payday lenders were "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 and 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."
Nuclear waste In July 2019, Markey was an original cosponsor of the Sensible, Timely Relief for America's Nuclear Districts' Economic Development (STRANDED) Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by
Susan Collins and
Tammy Duckworth that would give local government entities economic impact grants to offset the economic impact of stranded
nuclear waste, form a task force to identify existing funding that could be used to benefit communities, and form a competitive innovative solutions prize competition to aid those communities in their search for alternatives to "nuclear facilities, generating sites, and waste sites."
Opioids In February 2017, Markey and 30 other senators signed a letter to Kaléo Pharmaceuticals in response to an increase of the
opioid-overdose-reversing device Evzio's price from $690 in 2014 to $4,500. They requested the detailed price structure for Evzio, the number of devices Kaléo Pharmaceuticals set aside for donation, and the total federal reimbursements Evzio received in the previous year. In March 2017, Markey led 21 senators who signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell that said that 12% of adult
Medicaid beneficiaries had some form or a substance abuse disorder, that one-third of treatment for opioid and other substance use disorders in the United States is financed by Medicaid, and that the American Health Care Act could "very literally translate into a death spiral for those with opioid use disorders" due to inadequate funding, often resulting in individuals abandoning substance use disorder treatment.
Pipelines In October 2016, Markey was one of five senators to sign a letter to President Obama requesting the administration halt work on the
Dakota Access Pipeline until the permitting process of the Army Corps was transparent and would "include public notice and participation, formal and meaningful tribal consultation, and adequate environmental review", and stating their support for the "tribes along the pipeline route in their fight against the Dakota Access pipeline project."
Public transportation (far right) promoting their "Freedom to Move" legislation. They are joined by Boston Mayor
Michelle Wu (second from left) and others Markey advocates making
public transit fare-free. In June 2020, he and Representative
Ayanna Pressley co-authored the Freedom to Move Act, which would offer $5 billion in annual competitive grants to
transit agencies that offer fare-free transit access. Markey argues that fare-free public transportation would help "provide low-income workers, families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities with improved access to jobs, education, medical care, and other critical services." Markey and Pressley reintroduced the bill in April 2023.
Railroad safety In June 2019, Markey was one of ten senators to cosponsor the Safe Freight Act, a bill requiring freight trains to have one or more certified conductors and a certified engineer on board who can collaborate on how to protect the train and people living near the tracks. The legislation was meant to correct a
Federal Railroad Administration rollback of a proposed rule to establish safety standards.
State Department In September 2018, Markey was one of five senators who signed a letter to then-
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to employ more multifactor authentication measures to secure the State Department's information systems and seeking answers on how the department would boost its security following the
Office of Management and Budget's designation of the department's cyber readiness as "high risk", what the department would do to address the lack of multifactor authentication required by law and statistics on the department's cyber incidents over the last three years.
Supreme Court In April 2021, Markey sponsored a bill in the Senate to expand the
Supreme Court of the United States from nine to 13 justices. == Personal life ==