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Prediction track record
How often we called Maria Cantwell's passage votes correctly, from their stated positions on each bill's tagged topics. Excludes “unclear” calls and abstentions.
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Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to ensure that only citizens are eligible to vote in Federal elections.
Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to the withdrawal of the rule relating to "Statement of Policy Regarding Prohibition on Abusive Acts or Practices".
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Crossing the aisle
No party-break passage votes recorded for Maria Cantwell. Either they've voted with Democrats on every substantive passage vote in the corpus, or their tenure overlaps few high-threshold party-line votes so far.
Cantwell: H.R. 1 Healthcare Cuts “Driving Up The Cost on All of Us” | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: Senator Cantwell opposes Medicaid cuts in H.R. 1, arguing they will raise healthcare costs, reduce services, and strain hospitals and community health centers, and she releases data projecting substantial revenue losses for Washington providers.
SEATTLE, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, joined local healthcare leaders and Diana, a stage 4 cancer patient from Lynnwood, to detail how Washingtonians will face higher healthcare costs and reduced services because of cuts to Medicaid passed as part of H.R. 1, (a.k.a. the “One Big Beautiful Bill”).
At the event, Sen. Cantwell released a report containing exclusive new data from the Washington State Hospital Association and the Washington Association for Community Health detailing the crushing financial losses expected to result from provisions in Trump’s H.R. 1 set to kick in on Jan. 1, 2027, that will kick more than 200,000 Washingtonians off their health insurance. Washington’s hospitals expect to lose $5.8 billion in revenue by 2033 and community health centers expect to lose $118 million next year alone. All because of H.R. 1’s Medicaid cuts.
"If you have private insurance, you can expect to see higher premiums because of these cuts," said Sen. Cantwell. " Already, healthcare costs for employer-sponsored insurance are set to rise at least 8.2 percent next year, and 22.2 percent for Washingtonians on the marketplace. So we all know this: When you drive down the cost of uncompensated care, you help keep healthcare costs in check. When you don't do that, you are literally driving up the cost on all of us. When hospitals are left to absorb these losses they have to make difficult decisions. Services will be cut. Hospitals will be closed."
At the event, healthcare leaders and doctors explained how these cuts will result in higher costs, longer emergency room wait times, and reduced healthcare services for ALL Washingtonians – even if they have the best health insurance possible. Hospital ERs and Community Health Centers are required by federal law to treat patients, regardless of their ability to pay.
Sommer Kleweno Walley, CEO of Harborview Medical Center, said that because of the cuts, Harborview will lose over $260 million in current revenue and coverage of up to $400 million in lost reimbursement by 2028 – 22% of the facility’s budget. “When you take hundreds of millions of dollars away from safety net hospitals like Harborview, you are not just putting care for Medicaid patients and uninsured patients at risk,” Kleweno Walley said. “You are putting Harborview's ability to serve our entire community at risk.”
Mike Glenn, CEO of Jefferson Healthcare -- which operates a hospital in Port Townsend -- noted that small, rural hospitals like theirs will feel even more harm. “Rural communities tend to be older and poorer communities than urban communities and more dependent on public payers like Medicare and Medicaid,” Glenn said. “At Jefferson for instance we are bracing for 1,000-2,000 residents losing access to Medicaid, a $6-8 million reduction in top-line revenue, and a $1-1.5 million increase in uncompensated care. In fact we are already seeing our uncompensated care number climbing, which we attribute to the reduction of insurance premium subsidies, forcing patients to abandon their coverage.”
“When a patient loses insurance their need for healthcare doesn't just disappear,” said Lisa Yohalem, CEO of HealthPoint Community Health Centers. “However, the reimbursement that supports that care does.”
Dr. Marie Vrablik, Medical Director of the Emergency Department at UW Medical Center – Montlake, noted that they are starting to see these impacts now, with a steep increase in emergency room patients in the last few months. “These cuts will not impact only folks who are covered by Medicaid, they'll impact all of us,” Dr. Vrablik said. “They'll impact any person waiting in an emergency department waiting room. Because as the ED fills up with patients needing acute unscheduled care, we'll all wait longer, our patients will get sicker, and our situation will only worsen.”
Dr. Lauren Whiteside, an Emergency Medicine physician at Harborview Medical Center, told the story of a patient who was admitted after his second fentanyl overdose in a week, started treatment, and was subsequently able to stay clean and find permanent housing. "This is what access to care can do,” said Dr. Whiteside. “The decisions we make about Medicaid and healthcare access are not abstract policy decisions. They shape when and how people get treatment."
Diana, a Stage 4 cancer patient living in Lynnwood, gave remarks via video: “I don't think there's a single chance that I would be alive today to talk to you if it hadn't been for Medicaid in Washington state. I cannot physically do the work requirements. Right now, I'm still shaking ... because I had chemotherapy yesterday. You might think 'I've got it made, I don't need Medicaid.' You are one accident, one gene that goes wrong away from no longer being able to handle your job and being unemployed and having to apply for Medicaid.”
Video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks is HERE, photos are HERE, and a transcript of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks is HERE.
Average WA Family Has Paid an Additional $5,300 for Goods & Services Since Trump Took Office, Report Finds | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: Senator Cantwell argues that policies of the Trump administration, including tariffs, the Iran conflict, and health insurance changes, have increased household costs, and that Congress should extend ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits and curb unilateral presidential tariff authority through legislation such as the Trade Review Act and End Trump's Tariffs Act.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released state-by-state data revealing how much President Donald Trump’s policies -- including his sweeping tariffs, war in Iran, and cuts to health insurance -- have cost American families. The report shows that the average U.S. household has had to pay $4,700 more for goods and services since Trump took office in January 2025, despite promises from his administration to reduce costs and inflation.
In Washington state, the number is even greater; the average family has had to spend an additional $5,300 on goods and services since January 2025. That includes an extra $1,113 on housing costs, $310 on grocery costs, and $294 on electricity. Across the state, Washingtonians have paid an additional $2 billion in gas costs, or about $580 per family.
Below is a breakdown by congressional district of the extra costs to Washington families:
In response, U.S Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement:
“Washington families are being saddled with more than $5,300 in additional costs because of the Trump Administration’s inflationary policies. Every month we see inflation grow faster than the pace of wages, making it harder to afford rent or mortgage payments and more expensive to feed your family or cover household utility bills. The failure to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits has put peoples’ lives and health at risk because they are priced out of decent health insurance plans. This is the painful reality facing every household in Washington and across this country that this Administration continues to ignore.”
Sen. Cantwell is a staunch critic of Trump’s reckless policies and has worked to reduce costs for Washingtonians.
Immediately following President Trump’s April 2, 2025, ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, Senators Cantwell and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan Trade Review Act to reaffirm Congress’s key role in setting and approving U.S. trade policy. The Trade Review Act of 2025, modeled after the War Powers Resolution of 1973, would reestablish limits on the president’s ability to impose unilateral tariffs without the approval of Congress. She has also introduced the Tariff Refund Act of 2026, which would require refunds of Trump’s illegal tariffs, and the End Trump’s Tariffs Act to revoke the president’s global tariffs and curtail his ability to continue waging a unilateral trade war.
She also raised the alarm about how congressional Republicans’ failure to extend the ACA’s Enhanced Premium Tax Credits would hit Washingtonians’ pocketbooks hard – especially those living in rural areas. Sen. Cantwell published a case study showing that a typical Washington state middle-class married couple would see their monthly health insurance bill rise by an average of $1,049 per month.
Sen. Cantwell has also repeatedly voted for resolutions directing President Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran.
Cantwell, Rounds Urge White House to Build Strong, Coordinated Approach to AI Safety & Cyber Defense | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: The senators urge the White House to adopt a coordinated national approach to AI safety and cyber defense, including strengthened NIST standards, expanded independent testing of frontier AI models, and federal development of defensive AI tools.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Mike Rounds (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Cybersecurity sent a letter to Jay Clayton, Director of National Intelligence and Chair of the White House Task Force for Super Intelligence, and Michael Kratsios, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director, urging them to take a comprehensive approach to AI safety and the growing cybersecurity threats posed by artificial intelligence.
“AI companies and security researchers are now examining tens of thousands of incidents involving models from OpenAI and Anthropic escaping sandboxes, bypassing safeguards, evading monitoring, and taking other unexpected actions,” the senators wrote.
At the same time, the senators noted, “AI systems are becoming dramatically more capable at discovering software vulnerabilities, writing and executing code, using digital tools, and operating autonomously.”
“We therefore urge the federal government to bring its full capacities to bear on this challenge, building a coordinated national response around standards, testing, auditing, and defensive AI,” they wrote.
Politico: Bipartisan duo maps out AI safety plan as congressional action lags
Cantwell Outlines Comprehensive Governance Framework for Safe and Secure Frontier AI
The senators outlined three key priorities for a successful AI safety and defense regime:
Strengthening federal AI safety and security standards
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including its Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI), must accelerate the development of standards and risk-management frameworks for advanced AI safety and security. To accomplish this, the Administration needs to ensure that CAISSI has both the budget and the technical expertise to keep pace with the rapid development of AI frontier models.
Expanding independent testing capabilities
Ensure that CAISSI, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Laboratories, and other appropriate federal facilities have the capacity to independently test advanced AI models for serious national security risks. Federal government testing should be complemented by qualified third-party testing in order to create a testing ecosystem that can keep pace with AI’s rapid advancement. Auditing provides an additional layer of verification and enhances confidence in the safety and security of the overall AI security ecosystem.
Moving aggressively on defensive AI
The federal government should work with industry, universities, state and local government, and critical infrastructure operators to develop, validate, and deploy defensive AI tools. By establishing standards and supporting the development and deployment of defensive AI tools, we can better detect AI-enabled threats, strengthen and patch vulnerable systems, and help defenders respond more quickly and keep Americans safe from AI-enabled cyber-attacks.
“The United States has an opportunity to lead both sides of this challenge: building the standards, testing, and auditing infrastructure needed for increasingly powerful AI, while harnessing those same capabilities to make American networks harder to attack,” concluded the senators. “The Task Force for Super Intelligence and OSTP are uniquely positioned to bring these efforts together. As Congress continues to develop legislative solutions, we urge you to make them a central part of the Administration’s AI and cybersecurity strategy now.”
The text of today’s letter can be found below and HERE.
Dear Director Clayton and Director Kratsios:
We write to urge a coordinated federal response to the growing cybersecurity threats posed by artificial intelligence.
Recent AI security incidents should serve as a warning. Advanced AI agents have escaped testing environments, bypassed safeguards, and gained unauthorized access to real-world systems owned by government agencies and private organizations. AI companies and security researchers are now examining tens of thousands of incidents involving models from OpenAI and Anthropic escaping sandboxes, bypassing safeguards, evading monitoring, and taking other unexpected actions.
These incidents come as AI systems are becoming dramatically more capable at discovering software vulnerabilities, writing and executing code, using digital tools, and operating autonomously.”
We therefore urge the federal government to bring its full capacities to bear on this challenge, building a coordinated national response around standards, testing, auditing, and defensive AI.
First, strengthen federal AI safety and security standards. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including its Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI), should accelerate the development of technically grounded and measurable standards and risk-management frameworks for advanced AI safety and security. These standards should address the risks posed by advanced AI capabilities, including the potential misuse by malicious actors to conduct sophisticated cyberattacks, automate attacks at scale, and deploy autonomous agents that threaten external systems and critical infrastructure.
The standards should also address the security of the environments in which advanced AI systems are developed, trained, tested, and used internally, including protections against agents escaping testing environments, gaining unauthorized access to external systems, or taking actions beyond their intended permissions. NIST should also work with industry to establish best practices with regard to fundamental aspects of AI development, including standards related to secure testing environments and third-party data sharing and testing. Standards and risk-management frameworks should evolve as capabilities evolve and draw on expertise from across government, industry, academia, and the technical community.
The Administration should also make sure CAISSI has additional resources and the technical expertise necessary to keep pace with rapidly advancing systems, including personnel with deep backgrounds in AI, cybersecurity, model evaluation, and national security. You should look to the private sector to contribute resources and expertise to support CAISSI’s efforts in this critical time.
Second, expand independent testing capabilities. The federal government should build the capacity to independently test advanced AI models for serious national-security risks, including sophisticated cyber capabilities, biological and chemical threats, risks to critical infrastructure, the ability to evade safeguards, and increasingly autonomous behavior. CAISSI, the Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories, and other appropriate federal facilities can provide secure environments for these evaluations. The federal government capacity should be complemented by universities, independent research organizations, and qualified third-party evaluators including private sector entities, creating a broader testing ecosystem capable of keeping pace with increasingly powerful models.
A mature standards and testing environment can provide the foundation for a broader independent auditing ecosystem. Clear benchmarks and established testing methods will give auditors a common basis for assessing whether testing was conducted rigorously, results were accurately reported, vulnerabilities were addressed, and safeguards are working as intended. As standards and testing mature, independent auditing can provide an additional layer of verification and confidence in the overall system.
Third, move aggressively on defensive AI. The same advances that are making AI-enabled cyberattacks more capable can also strengthen America’s cyber defenses. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) AI Cyber Challenge has demonstrated the potential for AI to help identify and patch software vulnerabilities. The federal government should build on that progress by working with industry, universities, state and local government, and critical-infrastructure operators to develop and validate defensive AI tools, including open-source tools where possible. These tools can help detect AI-enabled threats, strengthen and patch vulnerable systems, and help defenders respond more quickly.
NIST, DARPA, DOE and the National Laboratories, the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Security Agency (NSA), and other appropriate agencies can help establish standards for these defensive tools, provide secure testing and validation environments, and expand access to the computing resources needed to develop and use them. Proven defensive AI capabilities should ultimately be available to critical-infrastructure operators, manufacturers, small businesses, state and local governments, and others that increasingly face AI-enabled cyber threats. The federal government should work with leading AI companies to make these capabilities available at scale, not just to a small number of agencies, companies, or governments that already have substantial cybersecurity resources. The goal should be to extend advanced defensive capabilities to these organizations that otherwise lack the expertise, computing resources, or access to protect themselves.
The recent incidents make clear that the security infrastructure surrounding advanced AI must advance as quickly as the technology itself. The United States has an opportunity to lead both sides of this challenge: building the standards, testing, and auditing infrastructure needed for increasingly powerful AI, while harnessing those same capabilities to make American networks harder to attack.
The Task Force for Super Intelligence and OSTP are uniquely positioned to bring these efforts together. As Congress continues to develop legislative solutions, we urge you to make them a central part of the Administration’s AI and cybersecurity strategy now.
We look forward to working with you.
Cantwell Helps Dedicate New Visitor Center & Plaza at Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: The release commemorates the dedication of a visitor center at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial and states that the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans was a violation of constitutional rights. It also draws a parallel to current immigration and federal policies that target people based on heritage.
BAINBRIDGE, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined survivors of Japanese American internment, members of their families, leaders of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association (BIJAEMA), and members of the National Parks Service for a dedication ceremony of a new visitor center and plaza at the memorial.
"A difficult and shameful chapter, but that is exactly why this site is so important -- it serves to acknowledge and memorialize the wrongs committed here in the name of national security, and to help educate future generations. It will stand as an enduring symbol of what should never happen again," Sen. Cantwell said.
"On this very site, March 30th, 1942, American citizens of Japanese descent were stripped of their civil liberties, stripped of their property, stripped of their community, and their freedoms, based on nothing more than their heritage and appearance. It [was] a clear violation of their constitutional rights and our values as Americans," she continued. "We see the same injustices being implied in immigration policy and federal policies that target and exclude based on heritage and appearance. So, today's [new] visitor center and the exhibition will remind all of us that exclusion is wrong. It will explain what happened here, and commit to never letting it happen again."
Bainbridge was the first internment site nationwide where Japanese Americans were forcibly removed and incarcerated under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. On March 20, 1942, 277 Japanese Americans were gathered on the Eagledale Ferry Dock to be sent to Manzanar Relocation Center in California and later Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho. In all, 12,892 residents from Washington state were sent to detainment camps.
In 2006, Sen. Cantwell and then-Representative Jay Inslee (D, WA-01) spearheaded legislation that granted National Historical Site status to the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. This legislation was signed into law in 2008.
In 2010, Sen. Cantwell and Rep. Inslee visited the memorial for a tour and to celebrate a $183,000 National Park Service grant they helped secure that year for the memorial’s education wall.
Between 2022 and 2023, Sen. Cantwell helped secure $767,102 in National Park Service funding through the Japanese American Confinement Sites grant program to help complete the Visitor Center. The new Visitor Center represents the final major phase of the Memorial’s more than two-decade development.
The center includes permanent interpretive exhibits, historic artifacts, educational space accommodating up to 75 participants, an outdoor amphitheater and plaza, and improved accessibility.
Video of today’s entire event is HERE; video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks is HERE; photos are HERE; and a transcript of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks is HERE.
Cantwell, Colleagues Urge Spirit Airlines & Google to Protect Workers’ Privacy Amid Sale of Data for AI Training | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: Senator Cantwell and colleagues urge Spirit Airlines and Google to protect former employees' privacy by withholding transfer of employee-related data for AI training until enforceable safeguards prevent workers' sensitive information from being identified, profiled, or misused, and call for an independent review.
EDMONDS, WA – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, joined her House and Senate colleagues in a letter to Spirit Airlines CEO, Dave Davis, and Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, urging the companies to protect the privacy of thousands of former Spirit employees.
The letter responds to the proposed $10 million sale of Spirit’s internal data to Google for the purpose of training artificial intelligence systems. Court findings revealed that the proposed sale would include approximately 100 million emails, 500 million Microsoft Teams messages, employee records, timecards records, payroll and tax information, and employment contracts. Workers created and provided this information as a condition of their employment, and it may contain highly sensitive details, including medical information and accommodation requests.
“This sale presents uncharted territory,” wrote the legislators. “Innovation should not come at the expense of workers’ privacy or the confidentiality of information they were required to provide as a condition of employment. The unprecedented scale and sophistication of modern artificial intelligence make it particularly important that privacy protections keep pace with the technology.”
Sen. Cantwell and her colleagues called for no employee-related information to be transferred until protections are in place to ensure that workers’ sensitive information cannot be identified, profiled, or misused.
The letter also warned that removing names, email addresses, and other direct identifiers does not necessarily make a dataset anonymous, particularly when modern AI systems can identify patterns across large datasets and connect seemingly unrelated pieces of information. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recognized that de-identified data can be re-identified in certain circumstances.
The legislators urged the companies to initiate an independent review and create enforceable restrictions governing the use of sensitive employee information.
Sen. Cantwell was joined by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and 108 House members in co-signing the letter. Several unions have also expressed their support for the letter.
The full text of the letter can be found HERE.
Cantwell Joins Bicameral Coalition in Opposing Trump Administration’s Attempt to Undermine Head Start | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: The release opposes the Trump Administration's proposed overhaul of Head Start Program Performance Standards, arguing it weakens quality evaluation and access to early learning services for children and families. It also states opposition to efforts to make it harder for eligible families to access the program.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, joined a bicameral group of lawmakers in opposing the Trump Administration’s proposed overhaul of Head Start, a federal program providing early learning and family support services in rural and low-income communities.
In August 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards that effectively eliminate the central mechanism for evaluating and ensuring the quality of early childhood education services provided through Head Start. The administration’s proposal jeopardizes access to quality early learning and childcare services for more than 14,000 children in WA and over 700,000 children across the country.
“Let us be very clear: what you are proposing seriously weakens the high-quality, comprehensive research-backed services required by law, undermines access to critical services, restricts access for children and families, and creates uncertainty for Head Start programs across the nation,” Sen. Cantwell and her colleagues wrote. “This proposed rule is a brazen attempt to dismantle Head Start without regard for the hundreds of thousands of young children and working-class families who depend on these programs and services every year.”
Sen. Cantwell previously spoke out against the Administration’s proposal, saying, “Head Start provides high-quality early learning opportunities for more than 14,000 Washington children. I oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to make it harder for eligible families to access this vital program.”
The changes come after the Trump Administration abruptly closed 5 region Head Start Offices, including Head Start’s Region 10 office in Seattle, which had supported over 70 providers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. In addition, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) terminated 40% to 50% of federal employees in the Office of Head Start (OHS) and the Office of Child Care (OCC). According to a survey of over 157 Head Start grantees nationwide, led by the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP (WSA) and Together for Head Start, these decisions resulted in over 75% of programs reporting direct operational harm to children and families. In President Donald Trump’s FY 2026 Budget request, the Administration went even further and asked Congress to eliminate Head Start; instead, Congress increased funding for Head Start in FY 2026.
Sen. Cantwell has long been a vocal advocate for Head Start programs. In April 2026, she questioned HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – who oversees Head Start – about funding delays which jeopardized a Head Start program in Walla Walla. Sen. Cantwell demanded answers, saying, “They may have to shut down their whole Head Start program. So, are you going to put out requests for proposals for funding for Head Start?”
In May 2025, she joined the entire Senate Democratic caucus in sending an open letter to the American public warning that President Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” would cut funding for safety net programs like Head Start to fund tax cuts for billionaires. In March 2024, Sen. Cantwell announced federal funding to improve Head Start facilities for the Spokane Tribe of Indians.
The letter, signed by 191 Members of Congress, is led by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA). In addition to Sen. Cantwell, it is cosigned by Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and 152 Members of the House of Representatives.
A copy of the letter can be found HERE and text is below:
We write to express our strong opposition to the proposed rule, ‘Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs,’ which seeks to illegally dismantle Head Start by removing over 90 percent of standards that ensure children receive high-quality early education and comprehensive services. This proposal is a blatant effort to gut core aspects of this longstanding, anti-poverty program and is in direct conflict with the Head Start Act.
Let us be very clear: what you are proposing seriously weakens the high-quality, comprehensive research-backed services required by law, undermines access to critical services, restricts access for children and families, and creates uncertainty for Head Start programs across the nation. Under your proposal, 80% of children in Head Start will face worse staff-to-child ratios. Nearly 1 in 10 children currently served in Head Start could become ineligible for services overnight. Key Head Start health, dental, mental health, and developmental services will be reduced nationwide. And the duration of the Head Start school day could be cut in half in many communities, leaving working families stranded and without child care. That is unacceptable.
Since 1965, Head Start has served more than 40 million young children with age-appropriate education, health care, dental care, and healthy meals. The program has also provided working-class parents with connections to job training, adult education, nutrition services, housing assistance, and other support services that strengthen families. Research shows that children who attend Head Start are more likely to be ready for kindergarten, graduate from high school, attend college, and are less likely to have adverse health outcomes than non-participants. Every year, roughly 1,600 Head Start grantees serve over 700,000 young children and their families through a unique, multi-generational and holistic approach. The scope and quality of these programs have changed the lives of millions.
Despite Head Start’s essential role, you have led the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to repeatedly undermine and disrupt Head Start services. Since the very start of this Administration, Head Start programs have had their funding illegally withheld and delayed, lost federal staff who were essential to their community-driven successes, and faced new requirements that create constant confusion. Last year, a leaked version of the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal indicated the Administration’s plan to eliminate the Head Start program. You made a commitment to Congress to ‘preserve’ Head Start, yet this proposed rule is the latest attempt by the Administration to deteriorate and ultimately eliminate the program by gutting the core standards and services that have long-defined and ensured its success.
This proposal strikes nearly all of the Head Start Program Performance Standards (‘Performance Standards’) in defiance of statutory requirements and is antithetical to the mission of Head Start, which is to provide quality early learning and comprehensive services for children and families with the highest needs. Head Start’s unique federal-to-local model relies on the Performance Standards to provide clarity to grantees, while considering evolving research, science, and community needs.
Under section 641A(a)(2)(C)(ii) of the Head Start Act, HHS cannot modify the Performance Standards in a way that will ‘result in the elimination of or any reduction in quality, scope, or types of health, educational, parental involvement, nutritional, social, or other services required to be provided under such standards as in effect on the date of enactment of the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007.’ Yet, this proposed rule does exactly that: it illegally eliminates and reduces the core components of Head Start as they currently exist.
1. Undermine quality early childhood education and services
We oppose your proposed elimination of federal standards for staff-to-child ratios, class sizes, safety practices; proposed removal of limits on suspensions and expulsions; and proposed removal of Head Start staff professional development, training, and wellness breaks. This overhaul of the Performance Standards will diminish the quality of services and jeopardize the safety and well-being of children.
Staff-to-Child Ratios and Group Sizes
Removing staff-to-child ratios and group size limits in 45 C.F.R. §1302.21(b) and deferring instead to state policies will diminish program quality and threaten children’s safety. State and local policies for child care ratios and group sizes vary widely, which is why the Performance Standards include research-informed, national baselines for high-quality settings that support child development, health, and safety. For example, in Idaho, state law and regulations allow a single educator to care for up to six infants, while in 35 other states, the required ratio is 1:4 and is aligned with the current Performance Standards. According to the Children’s Equity Project, your proposal to replace these federal regulations with state child care standards is estimated to worsen staff-to-child ratios for 80 percent of children enrolled in Early Head Start or Head Start Preschool. HHS’s own analysis of the rule expects a 16 to 32 percent increase in the average number of children per Head Start educator. These changes will make it harder for staff to provide adequate supervision of children, result in poorer quality interactions with children, increase staff burnout, hinder accommodations for children with disabilities, and diminish the delivery of complex early learning science.
We also oppose the proposed changes to essential safety standards that protect young children and give families peace of mind that their children will be well cared for in Head Start. Many of these changes are unconscionable, such as removing the prohibition on leaving children unsupervised and reducing protections against the maltreatment or endangerment of children, including restraint and seclusion practices. Disparities in discipline—including the use of restraint and seclusion—begin as early as preschool, with particularly concerning disparities involving children of color with disabilities. The elimination of these provisions would mean that young children could be subject to a higher risk of corporal punishment, abuse, neglect, shaming, and humiliation, or being left alone while enrolled in Head Start.
The proposal to remove federal disciplinary standards in 45 C.F.R. §1302.17 that prohibit or severely limit the uses of suspensions, expulsions, or unenrollment of children will push children out of programs and disrupt their social and emotional development. According to a 2016 study, as many as 250 preschoolers are suspended or expelled every day. Research has found that boys of color, children with disabilities, and children who are English language learners are disproportionately more likely to experience suspensions or other disciplinary practices in preschool. Further, these disciplinary practices have negative consequences on children and families’ mental health and children’s development, education, and health.
Standards for Teaching and Learning, Staff Qualifications, Trainings, and Wellness
The proposed rule eliminates standards for best practices for teaching and learning (currently regulated in 45 C.F.R. §1302.30-1302.36), erodes staff qualifications, limits access to training and professional development, and reduces wellness services (required under 45 C.F.R. §1302.90-93), which will worsen conditions for the Head Start workforce and their capacity to provide children with high-quality early learning. The proposed rule removes clear guidelines on individualizing instruction that integrates early learning standards into curriculum and teacher training. The proposed rule effectively prohibits postsecondary education credentials—which runs counter to section 648A of the law that outlines Head Start staff qualifications. At a time when 59 percent of the Head Start programs report challenging classroom conditions as among the top reasons for staff vacancies, the proposed rule also seek to remove coaching, some teacher training, developmental screenings for children, wellness breaks, and mental health information for Head Start staff. This elimination of professional and supportive services will worsen environments for the Head Start workforce, who are already underpaid and turning over at a rate that limits the capacity to serve more eligible children and families. Even worse, this comes at a time when HHS is in the process of finalizing another rule, ‘Restoring Flexibility to Support Head Start Program Access,’ that rolls back provisions that would have increased wages and required benefits for Head Start staff. Together, these changes will exacerbate staff stress and burnout and compound recruitment and retention challenges, making it harder to serve more children and disrupting the continuity of care.
2. Deteriorates critical comprehensive services for children and families
Under section 636 of the Head Start Act, one of the stated purposes of Head Start is to provide ‘health, educational, nutritional, social, and other services’ to low-income children and their families across the country. The proposal guts regulatory provisions (45 C.F.R. §§ 1302.40-46) that are critical to promoting healthy child development and school readiness, and ensuring families receive comprehensive services and are equipped to build nurturing and responsive relationships with their children. Research has proven that developmental and mental health screenings, nutrition counseling, oral health programs, and parent education and support services enhance children’s outcomes and prevent long-term health issues, and Head Start has a long history of successfully providing these services for families. For example, during the 2025 program year, Head Start grantees across the country provided nearly 373,000 families (52 percent) with education on preventative medical and oral health, over 102,000 families (14 percent) with mental health services, and over 347,000 families (48 percent) with nutrition education. We oppose the proposal to roll back decades of progress and remove provisions that are central to the quality, frequency, and coordination of comprehensive services that are important for children’s development and learning and family economic stability and well-being.
The proposed elimination of 45 C.F.R. §1302.42 will result in fewer available physical, dental, and mental health services for children. Under the proposed rule, Head Start programs would no longer have to ensure children receive developmental, vision, and hearing screenings; check for a source of health insurance; and check the status of age-appropriate medical, mental health, and dental care. Current standards not only require these services but also establish timelines for doing so to ensure children receive medical and dental care without delay and requirements to refer children to follow up services and track progress to ensure children receive intervention or treatment for any identified issues. Further, the proposed rule strikes standards for family collaboration and education about their child’s healthy development (45 C.F.R.§1302.41 and §1302.46) and the frequency and coordination of mental health services (45 C.F.R.§1302.45)
The law requires HHS to have standards for health services (section 641A(a)(1)) and for Head Start grantees to have goals and measurable objectives for health services (section 642(f)). Notably, section 657C of the Head Start Act defines the term “health” to include services or care provided to enrolled children, their parents, or their siblings for both physical and mental health. However, the plan to eliminate almost all health, dental, and mental health standards, in addition to health and developmental screenings, service timelines, and ongoing care obligations will serve to deteriorate preventative and continuous health services for young children.
Early screenings and services are fundamental to the mission of Head Start which recognizes children’s learning, health, and development are inextricably linked, and your proposed changes will have long-term consequences for children. Head Start plays a critical role in ensuring that children with disabilities and their families are connected with providers of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Without these screenings, children who are at-risk for, or are suspected of having, a disability could be diagnosed later and miss the opportunity to receive early intervention services, increasing their risk of falling behind in elementary school and force their families to pay out-of-pocket for screenings and services traditionally offered by Head Start.
Additionally, we object to the removal of 45 C.F.R. §1302.42(e), which explicitly requires Early Head Start programs to use funds to provide diapers and formula during the program day, as well as the provision that allows Head Start programs to use program funds to pay for professional medical and oral health services if no other funding source is available. These guidance and authorities are crucial to ensuring every Head Start child receives early, preventative, and ongoing care – regardless of their family’s ability to pay for and access these services on their own.
Services for Expecting Families
We also oppose the proposal to eliminate most of the dedicated services for more than 10,000 expecting Head Start families. Currently 45 C.F.R. §1302.80-82 of the rule requires grantees to check enrolled pregnant women’s prenatal care or insurance within 30 days, facilitate access to comprehensive services, and provide prenatal services to reduce barriers to healthy maternal and birthing outcomes. Prenatal and postpartum referrals and education are critical to the healthy development of infants, maternal health, and fostering nurturing and responsive caregiving environments.
The culmination of striking these research-based regulations will undermine Head Start’s current, proactive scope and the comprehensiveness of health, nutrition, and early intervention screenings and services for hundreds of thousands of Head Start children and families.
3. Restrict access for children and working families
The proposed rule makes it harder for children and families to qualify for and be served by Head Start in a manner that meets their needs. We strongly object to the plans to shorten Head Start’s hours of operation, remove enrollment requirements for children with disabilities, require English-only instruction, and remove self-attestation and excessive housing costs considerations for eligibility, particularly for families experiencing homelessness.
The proposal to shorten the Head Start day is taking the program in exactly the wrong direction and is out of step with research on early childhood education. The proposed rule reverts Head Start centers program operations to the statutory minimum of 3 hours a day. To be clear, the current duration minimums that you seek to eliminate were designed to align Head Start with state pre-kindergarten successes in making gains in language, literacy, math, and social skills. The proposal also “acknowledges that families may need to secure alternative child care arrangements or may miss work time” in response to this new rule. Head Start is often the only licensed child care option in rural communities, and an estimated 4.2 million children lack access to a formal child care slot in their local community. In many states, depending on the age of the child and child care setting, the cost of child care exceeds annual, average in-state cost of college tuition, rent payments, or even mortgage payments. It is simply unrealistic and shameful to diminish Head Start services at a time when high-quality child care is unaffordable for working families and hard to find. We urge you to abandon this provision.
We oppose the prohibition on self-attestation in the proposed §1301.02(c)(4). This prohibition will exclude families with extremely low incomes, those who are self-employed, or those experiencing homelessness from Head Start programs. These are individuals who do not have the same access to tax documents, pay stubs, and proof of income from employers as individuals with more financial stability. HHS’s own analysis of the rule estimates that this change alone will make 8 percent of Head Start children, about 54,000 children, ineligible. It is abhorrent to remove some of the children and families with the greatest needs from Head Start.
Current Performance Standards in §1301.12(i)(1)(ii) allow Head Start programs to adjust for excessive housing expenses when verifying income eligibility. As wages increase to respond to rising costs of living, many families earning low wages have seen their incomes rise above Head Start’s federal poverty level eligibility threshold but still struggle to make ends meet and afford the high costs of necessities like housing, food, utilities, and child care. Striking this consideration will make it harder for families who face high costs of living and would benefit from Head Start’s services to qualify for the program.
Children Experiencing Homelessness
We are greatly concerned about the undue burden for children and families experiencing homelessness to be served by Head Start programs under your proposal. Section 640(m) of the Head Start Act requires the HHS Secretary to issue rules to ‘remove barriers to the enrollment and participation of homeless children in Head Start programs’, including ensuring children experiencing homelessness are identified and prioritized for enrollment, allowing their families to provide required documents within a reasonable time frame, offering continuity of services when housing is unstable, and coordinating with McKinney-Vento liaisons in local school districts. These legally required policies and procedures and the self-attestation pathway are critical for Head Start to carry out eligibility verification for children experiencing homelessness, allow enrollment of these children before records arrive, and hold slots for them if families relocate during the program year. In the 2024-2025 program year, Head Start served more than 60,000 children experiencing homelessness – the highest number on record. We urge you to follow the law to ensure Head Start identifies, enrolls, and coordinates services for children and families experiencing homelessness.
Under the proposed rule, requirements pertaining to services for children with disabilities are eliminated, exposing children and their families to increased discrimination and greater barriers to necessary supports and services. While the underlying statutory requirements remain in place, the proposal no longer mandates that children receive services while they await an IDEA evaluation, and it removes the explicit directive that programs cannot reject a child based on disability-status. We oppose the proposed rule’s removal of standards that require Head Start programs to provide early intervention or special education services consistent with IDEA, support parent participation in this process, and prohibit denying enrollment or services based on disability status. While federal disability civil rights laws remain in effect, removing the detailed Performance Standards removes the mechanism that makes those legal rights operational day to day. Without clear federal requirements, whether a child with a disability receives an assessment, an accommodation, or coordinated services would depend far more on what an individual local program happens to know about disability, what resources it has, and how effectively a family can navigate complex systems on its own. That is likely to produce significant disparities across states and communities — the opposite of the consistency Head Start’s standards were designed to guarantee. If finalized, this proposal threatens to unravel decades of progress toward inclusion for more than 100,000 children with disabilities currently served by Head Start.
The proposed extreme provision to impose English-only instruction in Head Start is a drastic shift from current learning and teaching science and practices to create educational access to all children. In 2024, nearly 30 percent of Head Start children’s primary, home language was not English, and nearly 10 percent of children whose families primarily speak English were acquiring or learning another language. Head Start supports dual language learner children in the acquisition of the English language and provides educational services and parent engagement in home languages. For example, programs are directed statutorily to use funds on literacy training ‘in a developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate manner and support children’s development in their native language’ and include ‘specific methods to best address the needs of children who are limited English proficient’ in section 648(d)(2) of the Head Start Act. While section 641A(a)(1)(B)(x) of the law requires the Secretary to issue standards to ensure ‘progress toward acquisition of the English language’, your proposal to require English-only instruction may conflict with the statutory requirement that ‘progress [be] made through the use of culturally and linguistically appropriate instructional services.’ We ask that you withdraw this provision and maintain inclusive instruction for Head Start children, particularly dual language learners. Research is clear that your provision will slow English acquisition and can be harmful to child development and academic achievement.
4. Intentional ambiguity and misleading promises
We are concerned that removing nearly all the Performance Standards will create a great deal of ambiguity for Head Start grantees to implement the law with fidelity. The removal of regulatory details and reduction in administrative spending places greater burdens and uncertainties for community-driven programs in fulfilling their statutory obligations. For over six decades, Head Start has been a successful federal-to-local program, but this proposal to defer to state administration will undermine the consistency and quality of the program.
The intentional lack of clarity for administering a complex, high-quality early childhood education and comprehensive services leaves every Head Start program susceptible to being out of compliance and possibly losing their grants. Section 641A(c) of the Head Start Act requires the Secretary to monitor programs, and HHS holds the authority to issue deficiencies when the monitoring process identifies a systematic or substantial failure to meet program requirements. The proposed rule strikes some details under §1304.11 related to the conditions that result in a grant being designated for competition and adds a vague provision for HHS to determine and re-compete a grant if the grantee is ‘determined not to be delivering classroom quality’. The proposal puts all Head Start grantees in a vulnerable position to face arbitrary monitoring processes without adequate guidance.
The proposal in §1301.14 to reduce maximum administrative spending from 15 percent to 5 percent for Head Start grantees expressly contradicts section 644(b) of the Head Start Act, which allows a cap of 15 percent with the option of a waiver. Funds set aside for administrative spending allow grantees to develop and operate Head Start programs, including fiscal management, human resources, information technology, data systems, and facilities management. To continue these required functions under a 5 percent limit is untenable and many programs will be forced to have staff share functions or eliminate functions or reduce operations. Some grantees have suggested they will have to relinquish their grants altogether because they will be unable to maintain operations. HHS’s own analysis of this rule estimates that only 3.7 percent of Head Start grantees operate at or below this 5 percent threshold. To put it simply, this reduction will pose greater challenges for Head Start programs to deliver high-quality services or to expand services to serve more children, particularly for smaller and rural programs that already face limited administrative capacity.
This proposed rule is a brazen attempt to dismantle Head Start without regard for the hundreds of thousands of young children and working-class families who depend on these programs and services every year. Under your proposal, Head Start children could be subject to corporal punishment; left unsupervised; have larger class sizes; have less qualified teachers; and no longer receive preventative and continuous health services, including oral health and mental health services. Families might have to find alternative child care options and struggle to meet eligibility requirements, particularly for those with little to no incomes, those experiencing homelessness, and those already facing high costs of living. The Head Start workforce will lose professional development, training, and be expected to teach and supervise more children without any additional pay or support.
We strongly urge you to withdraw the proposed rule, obey the law, and protect the legacy of Head Start.
Cantwell Calls for Federal Assistance in Aftermath of Devastating Wildfires | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: Senator Cantwell joined the Washington congressional delegation in urging the President to approve the governor's request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance to fund recovery from the 2026 wildfires.
EDMONDS, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, joined Washington state’s entire congressional delegation in a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to approve Governor Bob Ferguson’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance.
The declaration would unlock federal dollars to help state, local, and tribal governments recover and repair damage from the devastating wildfires that swept through Central and Eastern Washington from July 23 through August 31.
“We implore you to approve the request for public and individual assistance as quickly as possible,” Sen. Cantwell and other members of the delegation wrote. “Washington state suffered from a historic wildfire season, with multiple wildfires ravaging parts of Central and Eastern Washington, devastating communities in Asotin, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Okanogan, Spokane, Stevens, Whitman, and Yakima Counties, as well as the Spokane Tribe of Indians.”
“Many of these fires burned over the course of several weeks, and damaged public infrastructure like roads, bridges, public utility systems, and other essential public assets,” the lawmakers continued. “Beyond the infrastructure that was completely lost to the wildfires, the prolonged exposure to fire, smoke, and extreme temperatures have left remaining infrastructure vulnerable to further damage and unsafe for the public.”
“We thank you for your timely approval of the state’s request for an Emergency Declaration which provided vital federal support for both mitigation and recovery. We reiterate our full support for the October 6th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance and thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this urgent matter,” the lawmakers concluded.
This was one of Washington state’s worst wildfire seasons on record, with fires causing severe damage and threatening lives, property, businesses, and livestock. Statewide, more than 900,000 acres burned, well above historical averages.
For the first time, on August 1, the National Weather Service upgraded a Red Flag Warning for fire weather conditions to a Particularly Dangerous Situation, which is very rare and typically reserved for extreme fire weather conditions. The Spokane Complex Fires – consisting of three major fires – forced 67,000 people to evacuate, destroyed or damaged more than 900 structures, and burned nearly 10,000 acres, with damages predicted to exceed $1 billion. In Okanogan County, the Kaiser Canyon, Modrite, and Sinlahekin fires burned over 350,000 acres total.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) led the letter. Joining Sen. Cantwell as cosigners were U.S. Representatives Suzan DelBene (D, WA-01), Rick Larsen (D, WA-02), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D, WA-03), Dan Newhouse (R, WA-04), Michael Baumgartner (R, WA-05), Emily Randall (D, WA-06), Pramila Jayapal (D, WA-07), Kim Schrier (D, WA-08), Adam Smith (D, WA-09), and Marilyn Strickland (D, WA-10).
A background document detailing Sen. Cantwell’s work to bolster wildfire preparedness is available HERE.
The full letter is available HERE and below:
As members of the Washington state delegation, we write in support of Washington state’s addendum to include Public Assistance to their September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance due to devastating wildfire damages incurred from July 23rd through August 31st. We implore you to approve the request for public and individual assistance as quickly as possible.
Washington state suffered from a historic wildfire season, with multiple wildfires ravaging parts of Central and Eastern Washington, devastating communities in Asotin, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Okanogan, Spokane, Stevens, Whitman, and Yakima Counties, as well as the Spokane Tribe of Indians.
Local, Tribal, state, federal, and out-of-state firefighting crews deployed quickly, pooling resources to contain the fires and protect both life and property. Fire crews faced dangerous conditions, including hazardous terrain, high winds, and record-setting drought, which made the fires extremely difficult to contain. Many of these fires burned over the course of several weeks, and damaged public infrastructure like roads, bridges, public utility systems, and other essential public assets. Beyond the infrastructure that was completely lost to the wildfires, the prolonged exposure to fire, smoke, and extreme temperatures have left remaining infrastructure vulnerable to further damage and unsafe for the public.
An initial damage assessment revealed that the state sustained an estimated $133.7 million in damages across eleven counties and the Spokane Tribe of Indians. In Spokane County, the Spokane Complex Fires, which burned nearly 10,000 acres, severely damaged electrical distribution systems, public water systems, transportation infrastructure, municipal equipment, public lands, and solid-waste infrastructure, resulting in over $70 million in damages.
These devastating wildfires have put significant stress on Washington state’s infrastructure and emergency response resources. Throughout the crisis, local, Tribal, state, federal, and international first responders stepped up and worked tirelessly to keep our communities safe.
We thank you for your timely approval of the state’s request for an Emergency Declaration which provided vital federal support for both mitigation and recovery. We reiterate our full support for the October 6th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance and thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.
Cantwell Outlines Comprehensive Governance Framework for Safe and Secure Frontier AI | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: Sen. Cantwell outlines a six-principle AI governance framework calling for enforceable federal safety standards developed by NIST, independent audits before frontier model release, continuous oversight, and reporting of serious failures.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, outlined a comprehensive AI governance framework built upon six principles that must drive the legislative and executive actions needed to address catastrophic risks and other AI harms.
“To manage risks from advanced AI systems we need clear safety standards, continuous testing, and reporting of serious failures,” Sen. Cantwell said. “America can lead the world in AI by building systems that are not only more capable, but safer and more secure.”
Frontier AI systems require constant oversight and vigilance at home and abroad. The United States should establish clear, transparent, enforceable safety standards, developed by federal experts at NIST in coordination with other relevant federal agencies. Covered models should not be released until they have undergone an independent audit confirming that they meet these safeguards and standards.
Sen. Cantwell’s framework is built around six principles, many of which she has promoted for years as Ranking Member and former Chair of the Commerce Committee:
Set standards for safe AI development and deployment
Verify AI safety through continual review, constant oversight
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Safety requires disclosure, oversight, and consequences
Get the best experts working for the public good
Make AI work for people, not against them
Lead global adoption of trusted American AI
Additional information about Sen. Cantwell’s leadership on AI policy and legislation can be found HERE.
Cantwell Celebrates Pinehurst Light Rail Opening | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: The release celebrates the opening of the Pinehurst light rail station in north Seattle and highlights federal investment in transit, including prior funding for the station and the Lynnwood and Federal Way light rail extensions.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, issued a statement celebrating the opening of the newest light rail station in north Seattle.
“This new station gives more north Seattle riders access to fast and affordable public transportation, with service every few minutes to UW, SeaTac Airport, and beyond,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Federal investment in our light rail system pays dividends in driving local economies and helping residents reach jobs, education, healthcare, and other essential services across the region.”
Pinehurst Station is an infill station along the Lynnwood Link Extension light rail corridor. From Pinehurst Station, riders can reach the University of Washington and Downtown Seattle in under 15 minutes, with trips to SeaTac Airport taking less than an hour. The station is expected to serve up to 4,200 daily riders with service every 4-6 minutes during peak hours. It is opening to riders years ahead of the originally scheduled target of 2031.
Sen. Cantwell is a longtime champion of ongoing investments in Washington state’s light rail system. In March 2023, Sen. Cantwell announced a $79.3 million federal loan for Pinehurst station, also called the NE 130th Street Infill Station. The project included bus and paratransit transfer facilities, as well as sidewalks and bike infrastructure.
After finalization of the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill, Sen. Cantwell celebrated the inclusion of $254 million for the Lynnwood Light Rail Extension – which fully funded the project three years ahead of schedule – and $329.14 million for the Federal Way Link Light Rail Extension.
As Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee chair from 2021 to 2024, Sen. Cantwell worked to increase funding for transit programs by 50% to $89.9 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including $8 billion for the Capital Investment Grant program to fund transit expansion projects across the country.
Cantwell Joins WA Delegation in Supporting Governor’s Request for Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance for Devastating Wildfires in Washington State | U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington
Position: Senator Cantwell joined the Washington state congressional delegation in a letter urging the President to approve the Governor's request for a Major Disaster Declaration with Individual Assistance for the 2026 wildfires.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined Washington state’s Congressional delegation in a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to approve Governor Bob Ferguson’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance to help families recover and repair damage due to the devastating wildfires that swept through Central and Eastern Washington from July 23 through August 31.
For the first time, on August 1, the National Weather Service upgraded a Red Flag Warning for fire weather conditions to a Particularly Dangerous Situation, which is very rare and typically reserved for extreme fire weather conditions. Three massive fires broke out and tore through neighborhoods across Spokane, the Old Trails Fire burned in northwest Spokane, the Autumn Lane Fire burned near Nine-Mile Falls, and the Fairview Fire burned in Mead. The Spokane Complex Fires forced 67,000 people to evacuate, burned nearly 10,000 acres, with damages predicted to exceed $1 billion.
This was one of Washington state’s worst wildfire seasons on record, with fires causing severe damage and threatening lives, property, businesses, and livestock. In Okanogan County, the Kaiser Canyon, Modrite, and Sinlahekin fires burned over 350,000 acres total.
“As members of the Washington state delegation, we write in support of Washington state’s September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance due to devastating wildfire damages incurred from July 23 through August 31. We implore you to approve the request for assistance as quickly as possible,” Sen. Cantwell and other members of the delegation wrote. “A record-setting drought and an unusually small snowpack contributed to numerous large and fast-moving wildfires in Central and Eastern Washington, devastating communities in Benton, Spokane, Stevens, and Okanogan Counties, as well as on the Spokane Indian Reservation. These fires spread rapidly, jumping roads and rivers, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate quickly, with many escaping with little more than they could carry.”
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) led the letter. Joining Sen. Cantwell as cosigners were U.S. Representatives Suzan DelBene (D, WA-01), Rick Larsen (D, WA-02), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D, WA-03), Dan Newhouse (R, WA-04), Michael Baumgartner (R, WA-05), Emily Randall (D, WA-06), Pramila Jayapal (D, WA-07), Kim Schrier (D, WA-08), Adam Smith (D, WA-09), and Marilyn Strickland (D, WA-10).
The lawmakers continued, “Local, state, and federal resources responded quickly to the wildfires. Firefighting crews from around the country, as well as international firefighting forces and the National Guard, deployed to Washington state to assist local first responders with evacuations and firefighting. While their heroic efforts helped to contain these devastating fires, federal assistance is required to support communities as they begin to rebuild. The fires destroyed over 2,500 structures, including entire neighborhoods, and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. Ultimately, over 650 primary residences were destroyed by these fast-moving wildfires, leaving hundreds of Washingtonians displaced.”
“Throughout this crisis, state, local, Tribal, and federal first responders have stepped up and worked tirelessly to keep our communities secure. We are incredibly grateful for their diligent work and careful coordination to keep Washingtonians safe and informed throughout this disaster, as well as for your prompt approval of the state’s Emergency Declaration request submitted on August 2nd, which allowed for critical federal assistance that supported fire suppression, emergency shelter operations, and other vital needs. We reiterate our full support for the September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance,” Senator Murray and the delegation concluded.
On Aug. 2, the day after the fires broke out, Sen. Cantwell visited county and city command centers in Spokane and took part in a press briefing about the devastating fires. On Aug. 12, Sen. Cantwell joined U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at a briefing about response to and recovery from the fires.
On September 2025, Sen. Cantwell’s Fire Ready Nation Act passed the U.S. Senate unanimously. The bipartisan Fire Ready Nation Act would formally establish a permanent Fire Weather Services program within NOAA and authorize funding for new technologies to forecast weather conditions that cause and impact wildfires.
A background document detailing Sen. Cantwell’s work to bolster wildfire preparedness is available HERE.
The full letter is available HERE and below:
As members of the Washington state delegation, we write in support of Washington state’s September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance due to devastating wildfire damages incurred from July 23 through August 31. We implore you to approve the request for assistance as quickly as possible. A record-setting drought and an unusually small snowpack contributed to numerous large and fast-moving wildfires in Central and Eastern Washington, devastating communities in Benton, Spokane, Stevens, and Okanogan Counties, as well as on the Spokane Indian Reservation. These fires spread rapidly, jumping roads and rivers, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate quickly, with many escaping with little more than they could carry.
Local, state, and federal resources responded quickly to the wildfires. Firefighting crews from around the country, as well as international firefighting forces and the National Guard, deployed to Washington state to assist local first responders with evacuations and firefighting. While their heroic efforts helped to contain these devastating fires, federal assistance is required to support communities as they begin to rebuild. The fires destroyed over 2,500 structures, including entire neighborhoods, and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. Ultimately, over 650 primary residences were destroyed by these fast-moving wildfires, leaving hundreds of Washingtonians displaced.
Throughout this crisis, state, local, Tribal, and federal first responders have stepped up and worked tirelessly to keep our communities secure. We are incredibly grateful for their diligent work and careful coordination to keep Washingtonians safe and informed throughout this disaster, as well as for your prompt approval of the state’s Emergency Declaration request submitted on August 2nd, which allowed for critical federal assistance that supported fire suppression, emergency shelter operations, and other vital needs. We reiterate our full support for the September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance. We appreciate you in advance for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.
Source: GDELT 2.0 GKG, filtered to a curated list of national outlets. Inclusion is not endorsement; opinion pieces and reported news are mixed.
Recent stock activity
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No disclosed trades on record.
Source: open-data mirrors of the Senate eFD and House Clerk financial-disclosure systems. Disclosure within 30 days of trade is required by law (45 for spouse/dependent trades).
Top PAC donors · 2026 cycle
Political action committees that gave the most to this rep's principal campaign committee this cycle. PAC giving is direct organizational support — industry, ideological, or leadership.
No PAC contributions ranked for the 2026 cycle yet.
Source: OpenFEC (api.open.fec.gov) Schedule A receipts where contributor type is “committee.” Aggregated by contributing committee. Self-transfers from joint-fundraising / victory committees are excluded.
Top individual contributors · 2026 cycle
Itemized individual contributions over $200 to this rep's campaign committee, aggregated by donor employer. PAC giving is shown above; this section is people, not organizations.
1.SV ANGEL LLC$7,000
2.BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK LLP$6,000
3.UNESCO WASHINGTON$4,500
4.SIERRA NEVADA CORP.$3,500
5.INCITE.ORG$3,500
6.ARCH VENTURE PARTNERS$3,300
7.PISCES INC$3,300
8.CHARLIES PRODUCE$2,900
9.VALLEY VISTA COLLECTIVE LLC$2,500
10.PENN AVENUE PARTNERS$2,000
Source: OpenFEC Schedule A receipts where contributor type is “individual,” aggregated by the donor's self-reported employer. This is a geographic / industry correlation, not a corporate endorsement.
