Shawn Bills, State Director for Senator Patty Murray, provided a view into her legislative activities.
She was first elected in 1992. He has been with her for the past 12 years. He mentioned the fact that she commutes to D.C. from WA every week, and does not stay there to participate in talk shows. The speaker pointed to the Senator’s bipartisan efforts at compromise, which have been effective, to wit:
- In 2013, when the government headed toward shutdown, she and Rep. Paul Ryan, in a spirit of mutual trust, worked out a compromise to defuse the crisis. It is to be noted that in this, as in other endeavors, Sen. Murray worked with legislators from the opposite party.
- A similar cooperation occurred with a Georgia Republican.
- She and Ryan, on the Budget Committee, created a commission to review federal policy, which led to data-driven methods.
- As head Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee, she has jurisdiction over many of these issues.
- With Senator Lamar Alexander, she helped to right the K-12, No-Child-Left-Behind issue.
- As was reiterated, Sen. Murray continues to work with people of different views both at home and across the aisle in Congress.
- The NIH funding has been a project of Murray, Blount, and Alexander. The House has passed it and it is before the Senate.
- Alexander and Murray have campaigned for funding for research and response vis a vis the Zika virus. As a result, an amount of $1.1 billion has been allocated.
- Her interest in veterans’ affairs has been active. She is the first female chair of the Veterans’ Committee. Having met resistance in her effort to aid injured veterans begin anew and start their families, she got it through.
- Her other interests include clean energy, climate change, wildfire control, recreational access, and bringing business to the state.
- She decries the gridlock that has denied Judge Garland a Senate hearing.
In summary: A comprehensive, if slightly partisan, summary of his employer’s activities.