By Peter Cohn, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Monday, June 18, 2007

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has taken on an increasingly visible and influential role six months into her party's new majority -- one that few would have predicted when she first ran for the Senate in 1992 as "just a mom in tennis shoes."

	Patty Murray may have shaken off her soccer-mom image.

Murray is serving as the Senate Democratic Conference secretary, the No. 4 slot in the leadership. She chairs a Senate Appropriations subcommittee and has filled in for Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., when ill health has prevented the 89-year-old from performing some duties. And she has been a party spokeswoman on veterans' issues, particularly in the wake of the high-profile scandal involving the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Although Murray is sometimes underestimated, observers say that she's not afraid to play hardball when necessary. When Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., tried to eliminate a spending earmark that Murray obtained, she threatened other senators' projects should they vote against her. When the Bush administration was slow to release port security funding for her state, Murray slapped a "hold" on the nomination of Clay Johnson, a close friend of President Bush's, to be deputy director at the Office of Management and Budget. And when former Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., announced that he would run against her in 2003, one of her top aides told contributors that donations to her opponent would be viewed as a hostile act.

"On the one hand, she's the soccer mom in tennis shoes," said a Washington state GOP operative who asked for anonymity. "On the other hand, she's created a political machine that scares the heck out of everybody -- including me."

Bryan Jones, a University of Washington politics professor, agreed, saying, "Don't underestimate Patty Murray's ability to go for the jugular." Likewise, Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a budget watchdog group, called her a "bare-knuckles brawler."

On Appropriations, Murray chairs the panel with jurisdiction over transportation and housing, giving her authority over critical infrastructure programs -- from roads and bridges to urban revival -- and a vast pot of federal dollars. She has become a fierce advocate for her state's interests, and Taxpayers for Common Sense has dubbed her the "Queen of Pork" for her earmarking prowess.

Even when Republicans were in charge, Murray was effective in bringing home federal money. In fiscal 2006, Washington state ranked 17th in per capita earmarks, according to Citizens Against Government Waste, despite not having a single GOP member in a congressional leadership role.

Appropriations insiders say that Murray's tenacity could serve her well this year, as congressional Democrats and Bush are headed for a standoff over spending, perhaps unlike anything seen since the 1996 government-shutdown fight. She espouses an old-school liberal's belief in the power of government and has promised, for example, to provide bigger investments in low-income housing, which she calls "the silent epidemic in this country." Murray, who grew up as one of seven children of a disabled World War II vet, also pledges to increase funding for veterans' health care.

This spring, Democratic leaders tapped Murray to manage the Senate floor debate on the Iraq war supplemental funding bill, and Byrd deputized her to lead the conference committee talks on that measure when he could not attend. But Murray downplays her growing role on Appropriations, a committee that rewards deference to seniority. "I'm honored that [Byrd] has placed some trust in me," she said in an interview.

Veteran appropriators credit Murray for her determination to learn and work across the aisle. Sen. Christopher (Kit) Bond, R-Mo., the ranking member on her subcommittee, said that bipartisan cooperation has always been a hallmark of their relationship. "We have different views. I've accommodated hers, she's accommodated mine," Bond said. "She has taken on extra duties to assist, and obviously that shows great confidence that the majority has in her in allowing her to handle a major bill."

Opponents tried to depict Murray as a lightweight early in her Senate career, and her homespun speaking style has led some critics to question her savvy. Nevertheless, current and former Appropriations aides -- a tight-knit bunch that has little tolerance for perceived lightweights -- were generally positive about Murray's performance.

"She just kept her head down and her mouth shut and learned the process," said one former aide, who, like the others, requested anonymity. A current staffer added, "She's not running for president. She's fairly thoughtful. She's not going to do anything crazy or use it to push her own agenda. She's going to stand by the committee and try to do what's right."

Appropriations sources attributed Murray's rise in esteem in part to Peter Rogoff, a veteran committee staffer who serves as her top aide on the transportation and housing subcommittee. "Peter is formidable," said one former aide.

The aide said that Rogoff's legislative know-how and political acumen complement Murray's roll-up-her-sleeves persona. "He's political, there's no question, but he also knows the business very well, and you put somebody like those two together, it can be very effective," said the former aide, who is a Republican.

Another former aide was less effusive. "I think the knock on her is, she's always been reliant on staff. Maybe that's become less so as she's been around longer," the aide said. "I think you can probably make a case that, with probably relatively low expectations, she's clearly exceeded what everybody expected of her."

Murray has gotten herself into trouble on occasion, notably in 2002, when she made comments suggesting that Osama Bin Laden was more popular in some parts of the world than in the United States because of his efforts to build local infrastructure. Republicans, including her 2004 opponent Nethercutt, excoriated her, without much impact. "George Nethercutt tried to make a campaign issue out of it and he lost by 12 points," said Todd Webster, Murray's former communications director.

As one of only 16 women in her chamber, and one of diminutive stature (she is barely 5 feet tall), Murray does not cut what some might see as the traditional senatorial figure. A former teacher, she also ranks toward the bottom in personal wealth in what is often referred to as a "millionaire's club."

Murray's 2005 financial disclosure statement lists assets between $350,000 and $953,000, ranking her 73rd among senators, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. "In an institution that is rife with old white guys and lawyers, she brings a valuable perspective," Webster said.

During the 2002 election cycle, Murray served as chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. With her party's majority hanging by a thread, she helped to raise record amounts of campaign cash, but Republicans wound up gaining two seats and control of the chamber.

Detractors criticize her record at the DSCC. "It's often overlooked that she did run the senatorial committee in an off year, which history would have suggested that the president's party would have lost seats," said another Washington state GOP operative. "There was very little discussion given to what her role was in all that."

Murray acknowledged that the 2002 election outcome was frustrating, but she said that her stint as campaign chief seasoned her to play an important role in what has been her primary focus: appropriations. "I got a chance to truly understand the states that were up for election at that time, and what their needs are," she said. "Working, for example, with Louisiana was a very different constituency from mine. But when [Democratic Sen.] Mary Landrieu comes to me and talks about a road project in southern Louisiana, I understand what her state's needs are."

Murray is an unabashed defender of Congress's power of the purse, which has earned her kudos from appropriators but enmity from earmark foes such as Coburn. In October 2005, Murray took to the floor not only to defend her own $500,000 Seattle sculpture garden project from Coburn's attacks but also the infamous $223 million "Bridge to Nowhere" backed by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska -- the former Appropriations chairman with whom she often works on issues important to the Pacific Northwest. "I tell my colleagues, if we start cutting funding for individual projects, your project may be next," Murray said.

Coburn lost on both counts. To him, the showdown represented the sort of legislative logrolling and intimidation that Congress had become notorious for. "My problem is with the philosophy around here, it's not just her," Coburn said. "That's the way the good ol' boy game is played. I get my pork, you get yours." He and other conservatives are promising to make earmarks a minefield this year for Democrats, who are trying to complete the appropriations process in an orderly fashion.

Murray has a different take on the incident with Coburn and on earmarks in general. "When you make a deal you make a deal," she said. "If somebody offers an amendment for a road project, for example, and they work hard and get a majority of the members of the committee to agree with them, then they've done their homework, everybody knows what it is, they've agreed on it, and that should not be undone at the end of the day."

Although an advocate of "sunshine" in the process, Murray said that earmarks have been unfairly disparaged and that as a senator it is her "job" to advocate for her constituents. The opposite of earmarks, Murray says, is a White House "bureaucracy that determines where all of the money goes in the nation."

At 56, Murray is young enough to move high up the chain on Appropriations. She is also in line to one day become the first woman to chair the Veterans' Affairs Committee. But this "mom in tennis shoes" does not plan on being a senator for life. "I have a daughter who will make sure that I am not here when I am no longer capable of being here," she said.