WASHINGTON — Social Security, Medicare and education reform may be grabbing the headlines, but Congress also is considering dozens of other issues with special importance for Maine.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced more than 40 bills that, among other things, would give millions of dollars to improve the state’s airports, prohibit new oil exploration within 100 miles of the coastline, allow for new dredging in Bass Harbor, and rescind congressional approval of the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact, a bill written by a Wisconsin congressman.

The state’s elected representatives — Democratic Reps. John Baldacci and Tom Allen and Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins — already have introduced more than three dozen bills and plan to introduce many more later in the session.

Some of their bills are specific to Maine, such as Allen’s legislation to make a Maine woman eligible for widow benefits from Social Security. Others are of broader significance, such as Snowe’s bill to direct the State Department to work to improve human rights for people living in occupied parts of Cyprus. But if past is prologue, only a handful of the bills will become law during the current session of Congress.

In the last session, senators introduced 2,658 bills, of which only 292 passed on their own. It is no easier for House members to get attention for their bills, because that chamber has more than fourtimes the members as the Senate.

Together, the Maine delegation introduced 92 bills in the last session of Congress. Only one of those was approved as a stand-alone bill, but dozens were included as amendments to other pieces of legislation that eventually were signed by the president. Snowe and Collins have slightly better records than the House members, because they have the advantages of greater seniority and membership in the majority party.

Many bills never arrive on the floor for a vote, and some are introduced just for show. But even legislation that is serious and smart faces obstacles and delays, according to Senate Historian Richard Baker.

“It is a long, clogged and tortuous process from introduction to enactment, and so many things can happen along the way,” Baker said. “There is a rule of thumb that the gestation period for a bill, if it contains a new proposal or idea, is six to eight years. That means it takes three or four Congresses just to go through the hearing process and build the support you need.”

That may be happening to a bill Allen introduced that would require prescription drug makers to sell their products to pharmacies at discounted prices, to help older Americans pay their drug bills. The bill had been introduced in prior sessions of Congress but never made it to the floor for a vote.

This year, things could be different. In light of congressional promises to reform the Medicare system, the Allen prescription drug bill has attracted the attention of the mainstream media and Democratic leaders, who showcased the legislation at a party caucus Tuesday. Most Democrats are now ready to support the plan as a way to cut costs.

But even if lawmakers cannot convince party leaders to push their bill, there is still hope the measure will become law. Many bills are eventually combined with other legislation as amendments.

For example, three bills written by Snowe that would allow for the dredging of federally owned harbor bottoms in Bass Harbor, East Boothbay Harbor and Wells Harbor have been attached to a big omnibus water projects bill by U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., that is likely to pass this month.

Of the bills that concern Maine, a handful are likely to be approved outright, a few more will be attached to other measures for passage, but most will bide their time in committee, at least for now.