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.
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.