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.
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.