Welcome! to Senator Murray’s website.

We’ve tried to build this site around your needs. We reviewed the comments from more than 2100 visitors who filled out our web survey, and we drew on the best practices recommended by various studies including the Congressional Management Foundation.

We welcome your comments on the site at: webmaster@murray.senate.gov

Highlights

Compared with the websites of all 100 United States Senators, Senator Murray’s new site:

• Offers the most legislative content
• Is “Section 508” compliant – making it accessible for visitors with disabilities.
  
  
  
• Offers the most useful section on applying for Federal grants (Murray’s Grants Gateway)
• Includes one of the most extensive Spanish sections in the Senate
• Features a comprehensive video gallery including an exclusive 25-minute interview with Senator Murray
• Includes an interactive map that details Senator Murray’s News in Your Neighborhood

Development: Senator Murray’s website is built around the user’s needs. The site is built based on the recommendations of more than 2,100 visitors (see survey results) and on the suggestions of website experts including the Congressional Management Foundation.

Improvements: This updated version makes major improvements to

• Content,
• Accessibility,
• Navigation and Usability.

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Content

The Most Legislative Content

Senator Murray’s site offers the most legislative content of any Senator’s official website. On every issue, we detail: The Challenge, Murray’s Work, News Releases and more. Our issue coverage is both broad and deep.

Broad Coverage

We now cover more issue areas -- from 13 topics on the old site to 39 on this site. Our coverage is now both broader and deeper. For example, if you’re interested in Homeland Security, you’ll find details in Homeland Security, Port Security, Coast Guard and Transportation. If you’re interested in Health Care, you’ll find information in Health Care, Prescription Drugs, Telehealth, Veteran's Health, Women’s Issues, Rural Health and Medicare.

More Information About Patty

Our “About Patty” section now has an updated biography and new features including:

• A 25-minute interview with Senator Murray (available only on our website). It’s a great resource for students, researchers, and anyone who wants to learn more about Senator Murray’s background and priorities. Patty Murray: In Her Own Words

• News articles featuring Patty Murray

• Awards Senator Murray has received

• Senator Murray’s official photos (downloadable).

More Help On-Line

• In our FAQ section, we provide answers to common questions on a dozen topics.

• If you’re writing to ask Senator Murray a question, you’ll find tools to get answers on-line, so you might not need to wait to get a reply.

• We’ve improved our casework section, “Get Help Dealing with a Federal Agency.” We now provide answers to 25 frequently-asked-questions -- from dealing with the passport agency to solving problems with Social Security.

Find Federal Grants

Senator Murray’s Grants Gateway gives visitors a chance to explore federal grant funding. By debunking common myths and explaining the three steps of the grant process, Senator Murray hopes to allow more Washington State residents to get support for our communities. We also include a 5-page guide in PDF format, “What Grant Funders Look For” written by a grants expert. This guide is only available on Senator Murray’s website.

News

• News In Your Neighborhood. Though an interactive map, you can find news releases, photos and speeches that show Senator Murray’s work in your part of the state.

• You can now find news releases and speeches by topic.

• You can read archives of Patty Murray’s Washington View, her weekly report to the people of Washington State.

More Multi-Media Content

• We’ve added more photos to our photo gallery and more videos to our video gallery.

• On every issue page, you’ll find photos related to that issue.

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Accessibility

Section 508 Compliant

• Our site is now more accessible to visitors with disabilities. Our site meets the federal government’s “Section 508” accessibility standards and is "Bobby Approved." It was designed to be compatible with screen-reading programs and other assistive tools.

• About Section 508: In 1998, Congress passed legislation requiring Executive Branch agencies to make their electronic data and information accessible to the disabled. Congressional websites, however, were excluded from this requirement. Senator Murray has decided to make her website Section 508 compliant to give disabled visitors full access.

Spanish Section

We’ve added a section in Spanish that includes Senator Murray's biography, news releases, examples of her work with the Latina community and quotes from community leaders. We’ll continue to develop this section over the coming months.

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Navigation & Usability

Hot Tasks Are Up Front:

• The most common tasks are available directly on the front page including our office address, phone and fax numbers. You’ll find a section to “Contact Patty” and a button on the top right to “Send an E-mail to Senator Murray”

• Our “How Do I?” list (top right of the home page) gives you a direct link to the most common requests.

• We’ve revised all of our forms so you can fill them out on your computer (flags, intern application, page application, privacy release form, etc)

Improved Navigation

• We’ve streamlined the navigation into six main functions on the left side of every page. On issue pages, we provide an additional level of navigation on the top right.

• We’ve also added a search feature powered by Google.

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Photo Credits

Masthead:

The Hanford Reach on the Columbia River.
- Photo by Joel W. Rogers

Senator Murray protected the Hanford Reach as a national monument .

	Wheat field with Barn – Photo by Randy Forbes. Courtesy Randy Forbes and the Washington Association of Wheat Growers and Wheat Life Magazine
	A Container ship at the Port of Tacoma with Mount Rainier in the background. - Photo by Joel Rogers.
	Fields of tulips in the Skagit Valley. - Photo by Joel Rogers.
	Wheat Barns in the Palouse. - Photo by Joel Rogers.
	A ferry travels near the Port of Seattle. - Photo by Joel Rogers

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Utilities

To take full advantage of our site, you’ll want to use the following utilities.

Internet Browser: Our site was designed for the latest versions of Firefox and Internet Explorer. If the pages don’t display properly, please update your browser.

Our site features downloadable, printable versions of several documents for easy distribution. These pages are in Adobe PDF format. If you do not already have it, we recommend that you download and install the latest version of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

There are also many videos on our site that are available in two formats: Real Media and QuickTime.

We recommend upgrading to the latest versions of these players for the best possible experience with our streaming video.