Maria Cantwell currently serves as a United States Senator for the State of Washington. As a respected leader – both in public service and in the private sector – Maria has always embraced the values she first learned growing up in a strong working-class family. With the help of Pell Grants, Maria was the first member of her family to graduate college. Later, a successful businesswoman in Washington's hi-tech industry, she helped build a company that created hundreds of high-paying jobs from the ground up.
For Fiscal Year 2023, the Senate Appropriations Committee is accepting Congressionally Directed Spending requests. The Senate Appropriations Committee will consider senators’ requests while writing the annual spending bill. Projects listed here represent those that have been submitted as of May 20, 2022 and are not guaranteed to be funded. All projects are listed in alphabetical order by subcommittee. Between now and June 11, 2022 this page will be updated as additional subcommittee submissions are made.
This year, the Senate Appropriations Committee is accepting Congressionally Directed Spending requests. The Senate Appropriations Committee will consider senators’ requests while writing the annual spending bill. Projects listed represent those that have been submitted as of July 23th and are not guaranteed to be funded. All projects are listed in alphabetical order by subcommittee. Between now and July 23rd, the page will be updated as additional subcommittee submissions are made.
A strong and thriving agricultural sector is essential to Washington state’s economic success. Washington’s agriculture industry is worth $49 billion, employs 164,000 people and accounts for 13 percent of the state’s economy. On behalf of farmers, Maria promotes Washington agriculture by expanding fair access to foreign markets, supporting Washington crops, and investing in agriculture innovation and research.
Maria has championed efforts to ensure that every American has the opportunity to receive a quality education and gain the skills needed to compete for and seize job opportunities in a 21st century economy. With the help of Pell Grants, Maria became the first member of her family to graduate from college. She has consistently worked to open the doors to higher education, making college more affordable by expanding Pell Grants and supporting tax credits that help families offset the cost of college. Maria has fought to bolster Washington’s K-12 schools and teachers by improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs that provide students with key math and science skills.
As a senior member of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Maria has championed smarter energy policies that harness economic opportunities in clean energy to diversify America’s energy sources, grow the clean energy economy and lower costs for consumers. Maria is a Senate leader on supporting cutting-edge biofuels research and expanding clean energy tax incentives that have helped spur industry investment in clean energy jobs in Washington state and around the country. Maria led the passage of legislation to create a modern, efficient national electricity grid, and worked to pass landmark climate legislation. Maria has long worked to protect consumers from volatile energy prices and market manipulation—leading efforts to protect Northwest consumers from Enron during the Western Energy Crisis in the early 2000s.
Washington’s diverse landscape and waters have a significant economic impact on the state. National Park tourism in Washington state generates more than $264 million annually. The state’s coastal economy supports 148,000 jobs and produces $30 billion in economic activity each year, and Maria has fought to preserve Washington’s pristine waters and abundant fisheries. Maria is also the leading champion on ocean acidification science. Maria has continually worked to protect the health and livelihoods of Washington families and workers by holding polluters accountable for cleanup efforts at ASARCO in Pierce, Everett, Thurston, and King Counties. She has been an advocate for Hanford, ensuring a safe, efficient process for the toxic waste cleanup on the Hanford site, and protecting Hanford workers as they complete the world’s largest environmental cleanup project.
Maria believes it is her responsibility – not just as a Senator, but as an American – to fight for equality and policies that protect the rights of all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation, race, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability. Maria is proud to support measures that would expand federal nondiscrimination protections, ban federal contractors from engaging in employment discrimination, end law enforcement’s use of racial and religious profiling, and secure programs and positions that advance rights of the LGBTQ community around the world. Committed to stopping the rise in hate crimes across our country and make addressing this issue a national priority, she has called for a Presidential Task Force on preventing and combating hate violence to begin an important national dialogue on how best to counter hate.
Maria has led some of the toughest fights to protect consumers from market manipulation on Wall Street. As a member of the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Maria has championed legislation to rein in excessive speculation on Wall Street, shine light on the dark derivatives market, stabilize the price of oil, and reinstate vital financial safeguards from the Glass-Steagall Act.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, Maria has worked to ensure that Washingtonians have access to low-cost, high-quality health care. She has focused on rewarding providers for quality outcomes, rather than the quantity of services delivered, to encourage efficient, coordinated, patient-driven health care. Maria has also worked to increase access to care for rural and underserved areas in Washington, as well as improve access to care for Medicare enrollees.
Washington state has a long history of welcoming immigrants, and we know that diversity is an asset both in our communities and in our economy. Maria supports comprehensive immigration reform to fix our broken immigration system. In the Senate, she has worked to ensure humane and responsible immigration policy and believes that Congress should provide strong oversight of any abuses at the border.
Maria shares the view of many Washingtonians that the abhorrent conditions at detention facilities along the southern border are unacceptable and contrary to our American values. She believes in an end to family separations and has fought to establish health and safety standards for children and families at detention facilities. She has opposed harmful attempts to limit the ability of asylum-seekers to seek refuge in the United States and has fought to hold accountable the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol.
As one of the original cosponsors of the DREAM Act, Maria believes in the promise of young immigrants and is a strong advocate for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We must work together to make sure the promise of America endures for everyone.
Small businesses drive job growth on Main Streets all across America. In Washington state, more than 500,000 small businesses employ 1.3 million workers, which is why Maria has worked to expand access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Washington is one of the most-trade dependent states in the nation, and Maria consistently pushes for new trade opportunities for local companies.
Washington is also home to the second highest concentration of aerospace engineers in the country and nearly 375,000 technology jobs. Maria fights for investments in the job-training programs that give workers the skills they need to seize these 21st century jobs.
Maria is committed to ensuring that every community in Washington has the resources and tools it needs to keep families safe. She has been a champion of the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which help equip and enable local law enforcement to address drug offenders and gangs. She led on groundbreaking legislation to fight the epidemic of methamphetamines. She has consistently fought to improve first responders’ ability to communicate with each other and the public in emergencies. Maria secured a critical investment to build a Doppler radar in Grays Harbor, closing a blind spot in weather coverage to protect Washingtonians from deadly storms.
Washington’s skilled aerospace, science and technology workers are central to the state’s economy. Washington ranks among the top ten states in the nation for high-tech jobs, and Seattle is the fifth most innovative city in the nation, according to Forbes magazine. Maria has consistently supported boosting higher education to prepare the next generation of high-tech workers for careers in science, technology, math, aerospace, and engineering.
Washington state’s airports, roads, ports, ferries and railroads support thousands of Washington businesses and create countless jobs across the state. Maria has worked to ensure that Washington has a modern, efficient and reliable transportation network that supports future economic growth. Maria fought for a national policy—including the nation’s first-ever multimodal freight grant program—to prioritize freight mobility and to provide Washington exporters, producers and manufacturers with an efficient freight network across which to move their goods. Maria has also worked to modernize the national commercial aviation system, and she has spearheaded efforts to improve aerospace workforce training and ensure that Washington remains a hub for the commercial aviation industry in the 21st century.
As a senior member and former chair of the Indian Affairs Committee, Maria has worked to promote economic growth in Indian Country and promote the sovereignty of Tribal Nations. Maria has twice brought the Indian Affairs Committee to Washington to learn more about economic development in tribal communities. Consisting of 29 federally recognized tribes and nearly 165,000 people, the Native Americans in Washington contribute greatly to the state’s cultural diversity, heritage, and economy. Maria has led Senate efforts to give tribal governments greater flexibility to lease land, create new business opportunities on reservations, and grow regional economies. She has consistently fought to restore vital salmon habitats that support thousands of tribal and nontribal jobs on and off reservations, and worked to pass landmark legislation that strengthens the Indian Health System in Washington. She also passed legislation to provide greater protections to native women who are the victims of domestic abuse.
As a border and coastal state, a leader in defense innovation, and a home to the tenth largest military population in the country, Washington plays a crucial role in defending America. From Joint Base Lewis-McChord to Fairchild Air Force Base, troops stationed in Washington protect our nation every day. Maria has worked to ensure that Washington state active duty military personnel and veterans have the support they need -- from first-class equipment, improved medical care, expanded veterans services, investments in military schools, and family benefits including paid family leave. As more veterans enter the civilian workforce, Maria focuses on helping them excel in the private sector.
Maria recognizes the vital role that military bases and cutting-edge defense technology play in Washington’s economy and identity. Defense-related jobs play a key role in the state’s economy—generating nearly $10.5 billion of labor income in the state while providing a sound business environment that helps Washington stay ahead of the curve. Military bases alone support close to 104,000 jobs and serve as the center of numerous Washington communities. Maria works to support the state’s defense-related economy and the thousands of Washington troops who make our nation proud.