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Transportation

Murray's Work

Senator Murray serves as Chairman of the Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee. In this capacity she is responsible for writing the Senate’s version of the federal transportation budget which sets forth where federal dollars are spent throughout the nation each year. This funding helps to maintain the interstate highway system, improve our airports, expand public transit service in urban and rural areas, and invest in transportation research and safety programs.

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Roads and Highways

Over the course of her career, Senator Murray has secured hundreds of millions of federal dollars for Washington State to improve its roads and highway systems. Keeping our roads and highways properly maintained is critical to enhancing safety, efficient movement of people and commerce, and expanding public transit service in urban and rural areas.

Senator Murray has consistently fought for increased funding for our nation’s highways. In fiscal year 2008, she pushed for an additional $630 million over the President’s request to improve road conditions and bring an additional 30,000 new jobs into the economy.

Murray is committed to improving highway safety, boosting funding for educational programs and campaigns- to increase seat-belt use and reduce drunk driving. Murray has received the “Congressional Difference Maker Award” from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the “Highway Safety Leader Award” from Advocates For Highway and Auto Safety.

She has worked to ensure that foreign trucks entering our country meet strict safety standards, including requiring that foreign drivers know driving laws and operate safe vehicles.

Washington State is a global gateway, providing access to foreign markets around the world. With one in every three jobs in the state dependent on international trade, ensuring that freight moves quickly and efficiently through our ports is critical to Washington State’s economy. At the federal level Senator Murray is working to increase investment in the nation’s trade corridors, including road and railroad improvements.

Reducing congestion in Washington State is a top priority for Senator Murray and she has worked to secure funding for hundreds of state projects to allow for more efficient movement on our roads and highways.

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Rail

Senator Murray has been a leading advocate for maintaining and improving passenger rail service in America. She has opposed attempts to eliminate funding for Amtrak and force a shut down or reduce its service, and has lead several successful efforts in Congress to restore its funding. In addition to increasing ridership and promoting rail as an alternative to automobiles, Senator Murray is committed to ensuring our railways are safe and rail infrastructure is well-maintained.

Throughout her Senate career, Senator Murray has been a strong supporter of Amtrak and improving its services throughout the nation. As Chairman of the Senate Transportation and Housing Appropriation Subcommittee, Senator Murray provides Amtrak funding and has continually fought for increased investment in its rail systems, despite efforts by some in Congress to make budget cuts which would push Amtrak into bankruptcy. In addition, Senator Murray has fought for Washington State, which has provided substantial subsidies for its Amtrak services. Senator Murray has also closely monitored Amtrak’s finances to ensure Amtrak’s solvency and investment needs are being considered when making funding decisions. She will continue her work to support this vital transportation system and its services throughout the country.      

In fiscal year 2007, Amtrak’s ridership increased by more than 1.5 million individuals compared to the previous year and it set a new record for total ridership. In addition, Amtrak Cascades, which serves Eugene, OR-Seattle-Vancouver, B.C., has seen ridership grow by 30 percent over the last decade. As fuel prices remain high, Senator Murray is dedicated to ensuring passenger rail service in the Pacific Northwest remains a transportation option for both rural and urban areas.

Murray firmly believes the federal government must be a strong partner to state and local governments in their shared goal to improve rail systems and increase ridership. In fiscal year 2008, she included $100 million in the Senate Transportation Appropriations bill for a new grant program that would match state contributions for intercity passenger rail operations and infrastructure investment.

In the fiscal year 2008 Senate Transportation Appropriations bill, Senator Murray fought to include $187.4 million for national railroad safety inspection and enforcement efforts, including $3 million in funding to improve the safety of rail operations.

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Transit

Transit is a critical component of our nation’s transportation system. In communities across the nation, transit agencies are providing a reliable, affordable, and environmentally friendly alternative for millions of commuters. Using her leadership role on the Senate Transportation and Housing Appropriation Subcommittee, Senator Murray has secured millions of federal dollars to transit agencies throughout Washington State to help increase their service frequency, modernize transit fleets, and expand service to rural, underserved areas.

Senator Murray has a been a strong supporter of Sound Transit and its goal of increasing mass transit services in the Puget Sound region. She is a key leader at the federal level in helping to secure funding for Sound Transit projects, including pushing for a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) in 2003 which secured $500 million for the Airport Link Light Rail project. 

Murray is committed to helping improve the environment, and she has long supported efforts by local agencies to decrease the carbon footprint of their systems. She has secured federal funding to help local agencies, purchase new buses that use clean, renewable fuels to reduce pollution, develop multi-modal stations, and support transit-oriented development that encourages greater transit use.

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Ferries

Senator Murray has long been a champion for Washington State Ferries and other publicly-operated ferry systems throughout the state.

Washington State is home to the largest publicly-operated ferry system in the nation. More than 26 million passengers and 11 million vehicles travel by ferry to work, to school, or to visit family and friends each year. It is estimated that ridership will soon grow to 30 million passengers and nearly 13 millions vehicles. As ridership increases, Senator Murray is dedicated to ensuring the Washington State ferry system has the resources it needs to stay on schedule and ensure rider safety.

Despite the critical importance of our ferries, federal investment in ferries pales in comparison to other forms of mass transit. Senator Murray is working to increase federal investment in improving our ferry systems, and successfully worked to secure $5 million in annual funding for Washington State Ferries. In addition, she secured $3 million for ferry research and maintenance.

Senator Murray has been a key leader in the development of a multi-year wake impact study to advanced ferry technology and help mitigate the environmental impact associated with wakes and coastal erosion. The study's results will help shape a plan to address the challenges related to passenger-only fast ferry service through Rich Passage but will be applicable to ferry service routes throughout Washington State. Eventually, these research efforts will culminate into a viable high speed passenger-only fast ferry option that will link Bremerton and downtown Seattle in approximately 30 minutes.

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Aviation

Senator Murray is dedicated to improving the nation’s aviation industry, including modernizing air traffic control, enhancing airport security, and improving the quality of passenger service.  

Senator Murray has worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to improve airport and aviation security since September 11, 2001. While Senator Murray is a strong supporter of thorough security screening to prevent potential acts of terrorism, she firmly believes security must not unduly infringe on personal privacy rights. Senator Murray will continue working with the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security to ensure aviation security is as strong as possible while also ensuring the protection of civil liberties. 

Murray is a strong supporter of maintaining air service in rural communities. She has worked to secure federal funding for airports in rural communities throughout Washington State to help them modernize their infrastructure and improve service.

As the airline industry continues to face hard times, mergers and consolidations among airlines may become more prevalent. While air service providers consider ways to mitigate declining revenues, Senator Murray firmly believes in the need to maintain service to rural areas, include all employees in labor and compensation discussions, and ensure the quality of service to passengers. She will work to ensure that future merger and consolidation measures in the aviation industry are monitored to make certain the needs of airline passengers are being considered.

America’s air traffic control system is in need of reform and modernization. Senator Murray is dedicated to ensuring our air traffic control system becomes safer and more efficient, including reducing flight delays and having modern equipment. In fiscal year 2008, Senator Murray fought for an additional $55 million above the President’s budget to expedite deployment of the next generation air traffic control system.