Editing Patty Murray (section)

==Political positions==
=== 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."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/29/politics/senate-abortion-vote/index.html|title=20-week abortion ban fails to advance in the Senate |date=January 29, 2018 |publisher=[[CNN]] |first=Ashley |last=Killough|access-date=October 16, 2020}}</ref> She also voted against restricting US funding for UN family planning programs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ontheissues.org/social/Patty_Murray_Abortion.htm |title=Patty Murray on Abortion |website=[[On the Issues]] |access-date=January 23, 2019}}</ref>

=== Agriculture ===
In March 2019, Murray was one of 38 senators to sign a letter to [[United States Secretary of Agriculture|U.S. 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".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/u-s-senator-tammy-baldwin-calls-on-trump-administration-to-implement-farm-bill-dairy-improvements-for-wisconsin-dairy-farmers/ |title=U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Calls on Trump Administration to Implement Farm Bill Dairy Improvements for Wisconsin Dairy Farmers |date=April 1, 2019 |work=Urban Milwaukee|access-date=October 16, 2020}}</ref>

In June 2019, Murray and 18 other Democratic senators sent [[United States Department of Agriculture|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".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/menendez-booker-join-call-investigation-usda-amid-reports-scientific-data-suppression/ |title=Menendez, Booker Join Call for Investigation at USDA amid Reports of Scientific Data Suppression |work=Insider NJ|date=June 26, 2019|access-date=October 16, 2020}}</ref>

=== Environmental policy ===
In October 2017, Murray was one of 19 senators to sign a letter to [[Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency|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".<ref>{{cite news |last=Manchester |first=Julia |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/357446-19-sens-question-epa-methodology-behind-clean-power-plan-repeal/ |title=19 sens question EPA methodology behind Clean Power Plan repeal |work=The Hill}}</ref>

In February 2019, in response to reports of the EPA intending to decide against setting drinking water limits for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid ([[Perfluorooctanesulfonic 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)".<ref>{{cite news |last=Cama |first=Timothy |url=https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/428102-senators-call-on-epa-to-restrict-key-drinking-water-contaminants/ |title=Senators call on EPA to restrict key drinking water contaminants |date=February 1, 2019 |work=The Hill}}</ref>

=== 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]].<ref name="positivereviewHill">{{cite news |last1=Wasson |first1=Eric |last2=Berman |first2=Russell |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/192760-gop-leaders-whip-members-on-budget-deal/ |title=Ryan deal gets positive review at closed-door GOP conference |date=December 11, 2013 |newspaper=The Hill |access-date=December 11, 2013}}</ref>

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 [[Budget sequestration|sequester]] cuts,<ref name=assessingbudgetdealPete>{{cite news |last=Kasperowicz |first=Pete |title=Wednesday: Assessing the budget deal |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/scheduling/192708-wednesday-assessing-the-budget-deal/ |access-date=December 11, 2013 |newspaper=The Hill |date=December 11, 2013}}</ref> but the ranking Democrat on the [[United States House Committee on the Budget|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.<ref name=vanhollenHill>{{cite news |last=Cusack |first=Bob |title=Van Hollen: 'Too early to say' if most Democrats will back budget deal |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/192926-van-hollen-too-early-to-say-if-most-dems-will-back-budget-deal/ |access-date=December 12, 2013 |newspaper=The Hill |date=December 12, 2013}}</ref> Van Hollen said that "it is too early to say" whether a majority of House Democrats would vote for the budget bill.<ref name="vanhollenHill"/> The deal was also unpopular with many conservatives.<ref name=ryannottarnished>{{cite news |last=Wasson |first=Erik |title=Conservatives: Ryan not tarnished by 'bad' deal |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/192787-conservatives-say-ryan-not-tarnished-by-bad-deal/ |access-date=December 11, 2013 |newspaper=The Hill |date=December 11, 2013}}</ref>

Murray put the controversial intelligence ports-data project [[Global Trade Exchange]] into the Homeland Security budget.<ref>{{cite book |last1=usa |first1=ibp |title=US Senate Health, Education, Labor, And Pensions Committee Handbook (World Strategic and Business Information Library) |date=2014 |isbn=978-1433057588 |page=14 |publisher=Lulu.com |edition=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3CuBgAAQBAJ&q=Senator+Patty+Murray+Global+Trade+Exchange+into+the+Homeland+security+budget&pg=PA36}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Frazin |first=Rachel |url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/americas/437463-more-than-30-dem-sens-ask-trump-to-reconsider-cutting-foreign/ |title=More than 30 Senate Dems ask Trump to reconsider Central American aid cuts |date=April 4, 2019 |work=The Hill}}</ref>

==== Myanmar ====
Murray condemned the [[2017–present Rohingya genocide in Myanmar|genocide]] of the [[Rohingya people|Rohingya Muslim]] minority in [[Myanmar]], and called for a stronger response to the crisis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sen. Todd Young urges action to end Muslim genocide in Myanmar |url=https://eu.indystar.com/story/news/2017/10/20/sen-todd-young-urges-action-end-muslim-genocide-myanmar/784590001/ |author=Hussein, Fatima |work=IndyStar |date=October 22, 2017}}</ref>

==== Russia ====
In December 2010, Murray voted for the ratification of [[New START]],<ref>{{cite web |first=Mark|last=Memmott |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/12/22/132262684/senate-ratifies-start |title=Senate Ratifies START |work=NPR |date=December 22, 2010 |access-date=December 22, 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/world/europe/23treaty.html |title=Senate Passes Arms Control Treaty With Russia, 71-26 |first=Peter |last=Baker |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

In December 2018, after [[United States 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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Ellen |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/421307-senate-dems-urge-trump-to-continue-nuclear-arms-control-negotiations-after/ |title=Senate Dems urge Trump to continue nuclear arms control negotiations after treaty suspension |date=December 13, 2018 |work=The Hill}}</ref>

====Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan====
[[File:Manned Ground Vehicle briefing in D.C..jpg|thumb|Major General [[Galen Jackman]] briefs Senator Patty Murray on the [[Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicles|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 [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invading Iraq]]. Quoted from her Senate speech:
<blockquote>
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 [[Thomas Friedman|Tom Friedman]] points out, there's a retail store mentality that suggests to some—if "you break it, you buy it."
</blockquote>

In December 2002, speaking to students at [[Columbia River High School]] in [[Vancouver, Washington|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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/state/washington/2004-09-29-osama-ad_x.htm |title=Nethercutt uses Osama bin Laden in ad assailing Murray |work=[[USA Today]] |date=September 29, 2004 |access-date=February 24, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.columbian.com/12192002/clark_co/345147.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021228073027/http://www.columbian.com/12192002/clark_co/345147.html |archive-date=December 28, 2002 |title=U.S. Sen. Patty Murray – Senator asks students to ponder |work=The Columbian |author=Gregg Herrington |date=December 19, 2002 |access-date=February 24, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/100835_murray20.shtml |title=Murray's remarks on bin Laden draw GOP ire |agency=Associated Press |date=December 21, 2002 |access-date=October 14, 2010 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/3422871/emergency-contraception-plan-b-morning-after-pill/ |title=Lawmakers Push Increased Access to Emergency Contraception |last=Alter |first=Charlotte |date=September 23, 2014 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=September 26, 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024082940_contraceptivesvotexml.html |title=Senate GOP blocks Patty Murray's contraception coverage bill |last=Song |first=Kyung M. |date=July 16, 2014 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |access-date=September 26, 2014}}</ref>

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".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/u-s-senator-tammy-baldwin-calls-on-trump-administration-to-stop-pushing-health-insurance-plans-that-weaken-pre-existing-condition-protections/|title=U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Calls on Trump Administration to Stop Pushing Health Insurance Plans that Weaken Pre-Existing Condition Protections|date=December 20, 2018|publisher=urbanmilwaukee.com}}</ref>

=== Labor ===
In July 2019, Murray signed a letter to [[United States Secretary of Labor|U.S. 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".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20190702/NEWS08/912329397/Democratic-senators-press-McDonalds-on-workplace-violence|title=Democratic senators press McDonald's on workplace violence|date=July 2, 2019|work=Business Insurance|first=Gloria|last=Gonzalez|access-date=October 16, 2020}}</ref>

In response to a February 2021 report by the [[Congressional Budget Office]] on the effects of a minimum wage increase,<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 2021 |title=The Budgetary Effects of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 |url=https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2021-02/56975-Minimum-Wage.pdf |access-date=December 2, 2022 |publisher=Congressional Budget Office}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/08/minimum-wage-hike-15-an-hour-by-2025-would-result-14-million-unemployed-nonpartisan-congressional-budget-office-says/|title=CBO report finds $15 minimum wage would cost jobs but lower poverty levels|first=Eli|last=Rosenberg|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 8, 2021|access-date=February 21, 2021}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Everett|first=Burgess|title=8 Democrats defect on $15 minimum wage hike|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/05/democrats-15-minimum-wage-hike-473875|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=Politico|date=March 5, 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

=== LGBTQIA+ rights ===
In 1996, Murray voted for the [[Defense of Marriage Act]] (DOMA), which banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marriage to the union of a man and a woman.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=U.S. Sen. Patty Murray's admirable change of heart on gay marriage |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/us-sen-patty-murrays-admirable-change-of-heart-on-gay-marriage/ |access-date=15 March 2023 |publisher=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The DOMA was [[Obergefell v. Hodges|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 DOMA.<ref>{{cite web |title=Senator Murray Statement On Senate Passage of Bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act |url=https://www.murray.senate.gov/senator-murray-statement-on-senate-passage-of-bipartisan-respect-for-marriage-act/ |website=Senator Patty Murray |access-date=15 March 2023 |date=29 November 2022}}</ref>

In September 2014, Murray was one of 69 members of the House and Senate to sign a letter to then-[[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|Health and Human Services Secretary]] [[Sylvia Burwell]], requesting that the [[Food and Drug Administration|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=9.8.14 Bicameral Letter to HHS on MSM Policies |url=https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/9.8.14%20Bicameral%20Letter%20to%20HHS%20on%20MSM%20Policies.pdf |access-date=8 October 2023 |website=www.baldwin.senate.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/biologics-guidances/tissue-guidances|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319073505/https://www.fda.gov/Cber/gdlns/tissdonor.htm#iv|title=Tissue Guidances|first=Center for Biologics Evaluation and|last=Research|date=December 4, 2020|archive-date=March 19, 2008|journal=FDA|via=www.fda.gov}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/baldwin-democratic-senators-call-trumpcare-disastrous-for-battle-against-opioid-crisis/ |title=Baldwin, Democratic Senators Call TrumpCare Disastrous for Battle Against Opioid Crisis |date=March 21, 2017 |publisher=urbanmilwaukee.com}}</ref>

=== Veterans ===
In August 2013, Murray was one of 23 Democratic senators to sign a letter to the Defense Department, 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".<ref>{{cite news |last=Cox |first=Ramsey |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/159307-senate-dems-ask-dod-to-protect-service-members-from-predatory-lenders/ |title=Senate Dems ask DOD to protect service members from predatory lenders |date=August 15, 2013 |work=The Hill}}</ref>

In December 2018, Murray was one of 21 senators to sign a letter to [[United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs|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".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/u-s-senator-tammy-baldwin-presses-va-for-answers-on-misuse-of-suicide-prevention-funds/ |title=U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Presses VA for Answers on Misuse Of Suicide Prevention Funds |date=January 4, 2019 |publisher=urbanmilwaukee.com}}</ref>

=== Gun control ===
Murray supports gun control. She supports a national assault weapons ban.<ref name="weapons ban">{{cite web |title=Blumenthal, Murphy join other Democratic senators to introduce assault weapons ban |date=November 8, 2017 |url=https://www.wtnh.com/news/politics/blumenthal-murphy-join-other-democratic-senators-to-introduce-assault-weapons-ban/ |access-date=8 November 2017 |ref=45}}</ref>

===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).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00157 |title=Roll Call Vote 109th Congress - 2nd Session: On Passage of the Bill (S. 2611 As Amended)|website=senate.gov |publisher=United States Senate |date=May 25, 2006 |access-date=February 24, 2007}}</ref> The bill includes provisions to improve border security, increases fines and other punishments for employers of [[illegal immigrant]]s, and creates a [[guest worker program]] (which includes an almost doubling of the number of [[H-1B visa]]s)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/05/30/78772_HNsenateh1b_1.html |title=Senate immigration bill raises H-1B limit |work=[[InfoWorld]]|first=Grant|last=Gross |date=May 25, 2006 |access-date=February 24, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427120849/http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/05/30/78772_HNsenateh1b_1.html |archive-date=April 27, 2007 }}</ref> and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02611:@@@D&summ2=m& |title=S.2611 |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=February 24, 2007 |date=May 25, 2006 |archive-date=November 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127205953/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02611:@@@D&summ2=m& |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wild-sky-wilderness-bill-back-in-congress/ |title=Wild Sky wilderness bill back in Congress |work=The Seattle Times |first=Sam|last=Goldfarb |date=February 7, 2007 |access-date=October 17, 2020}}</ref> She eventually succeeded, with the bill signed by President [[George W. Bush]] on May 8, 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/bush-signs-bill-for-wild-sky-wilderness/ |title=Bush signs bill for Wild Sky Wilderness |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=October 17, 2020 |first=Matthew |last=Daly |date=May 8, 2008}}</ref> Murray has also supported legislation to increase the size of the [[Alpine Lakes Wilderness]], also in the Washington Cascades.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/more-land-sought-for-alpine-lakes-wilderness/ |title=More land sought for Alpine Lakes Wilderness |work=The Seattle Times |first=Lynda V.|last=Mapes |date=March 27, 2009 |access-date=October 16, 2020}}</ref>

On January 30, 2008, Murray endorsed [[Hillary Clinton]] in the [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008|2008 Democratic presidential primaries]].<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=5605 |title=Washington Senator Patty Murray Endorses Clinton |website=hillaryclinton.com |date=January 30, 2008 |access-date=February 29, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227220642/http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=5605 |archive-date=February 27, 2008 }}</ref> One month later, the [[2008 Washington Democratic caucuses|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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/06/06092008_Murray-gets-behind-Obama.cfm |title=Murray Gets Behind Obama |work=The Columbian |date=June 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613011541/http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/06/06092008_Murray-gets-behind-Obama.cfm |archive-date=June 13, 2008 }}</ref>

On May 28, 2021, Murray abstained from voting on the creation of the [[January 6 commission]].<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Washington Post |date=May 28, 2021 |title=Which senators supported a Jan. 6 Capitol riot commission |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/january6-commission-senators-vote/}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brunner |first1=Jim |title=Sen. Patty Murray misses vote on Jan. 6 commission, citing 'personal family matter' |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/sen-patty-murray-misses-vote-on-jan-6-commission-citing-personal-family-matter/ |website=The Seattle Times |date=May 28, 2021 |access-date=May 30, 2021}}</ref>