Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

Murray has been nicknamed the "Queen of Pork" by Taxpayers for Common Sense, but it's a title she accepts proudly, arguing that it's up to lawmakers to use their leadership roles to make funding decisions that will help their home districts. As chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Transportation subcommittee, Murray brings millions of dollars to Washington state ever year.

Her father's struggles, coupled with her time as an intern at the Seattle Veterans' Hospital, made Murray a staunch advocate for improving veterans' quality of life. Murray has lobbied for spending increases at VA hospitals and crafted bills aimed at improving medical technology and treatment of former service members. She even hired a psychiatrist to help craft legislation on post-traumatic stress dDisorder.

Murray once told former President George W. Bush that he was not taking advantage of the extraordinary opportunity he has to "do the right things for veterans." She said she was not invited to the Bush White House thereafter.

The Economy

The failure of the Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc. brought the 2008-2009 financial crisis home for local politicians. Murray worked with JPMorgan Chase & Co., who bought WaMu, to make sure that its banking services remained stable during the transfer.

Murray said that the bank's collapse, coupled with Wall Street's tumble, convinced her to vote for the fall 2008 bailout package. "This is not the legislation I would have written," she said in a statement. "But this is not the time to tell America's families, 'Sorry, you're on your own.'"

Pork-Barrel Politics

Murray was one of the top-ten earmarking senators in 2007, bringing home $247 million in local projects, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.

She has also continuously promoted Microsoft and Boeing, the state's two largest companies. She repeatedly denounced the federal government's antitrust suits against Microsoft, even though the suit was supported by most Democrats.

She also lobbied the Air Force to choose Boeing to build its next line of refueling tankers and was furious that the government also considered Airbus, a French company, for the contract.

Iraq and Veterans Affairs

Murray was the first woman named to the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee and received an A+ rating from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America in October 2008.

She was an early, vocal critic of the Iraq war, opposing the use of force in 2002 because of the lack of a rebuilding plan.

When Democrats faced accusations that a troop withdrawal timeline would imperil troop safety, Murray wrote and passed a resolution stating that the Senate would not pass any legislation that would endanger troops.

Murray has pushed for more money for veterans and the U.S. National Guard and prevented the closure of some veterans hospitals. She has also worked to improve the technology available to ailing vets, pushing the Defense Department to create a computer system that would enable them to track the complete medical history of veterans, even when they transfer between hospitals.

In 2007, Murray tried to add an additional $1 billion to a bill for veterans' health care. Jim Nicholson, then the secretary of the Veterans Administration, testified that it was unnecessary. Republicans cut the measure from the bill.

Several months later, the department announced it needed an additional $1.5 billion for operating expenses, prompting then-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) to announce that "Murray was right." Nicholson resigned soon after.

Show less