Barbara A. Mikulski 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MARYLAND 

TRIBUTES 

IN THE CONGRESS OF 

THE UNITED STATES 

UNUM

E PLURIBUS


congress.#15
Barbara A. Mikulski 


73-500_mikulski.eps
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 2017

S. DOC. 114–22 

Tributes 

Delivered in Congress 

Barbara A. Mikulski 

United States Congressman 

1977–1987 

United States Senator 

1987–2017 

÷ 

Compiled under the direction 

of the 

Joint Committee on Printing 

[ iii ] 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Biography .................................................................................................. v 

Farewell Address ...................................................................................... vii 

Proceedings in the Senate: 

Tributes by Senators: 

Boozman, John, of Arkansas ..................................................... 37 

Boxer, Barbara, of California .................................................... 18, 20 

Cardin, Benjamin L., of Maryland ............................................ 11, 15 

Casey, Robert P., Jr., of Pennsylvania ..................................... 11, 36 

Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi ................................................... 24 

Collins, Susan M., of Maine ...................................................... 16 

Coons, Christopher A., of Delaware ......................................... 23 

Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois ................................................... 8 

Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming ................................................... 28 

Feinstein, Dianne, of California ................................................ 26 

Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah ........................................................... 33 

Heitkamp, Heidi, of North Dakota ........................................... 30 

Hirono, Mazie K., of Hawaii ...................................................... 35 

Klobuchar, Amy, of Minnesota .................................................. 32 

Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont ................................................... 25 

McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky ................................................. 14, 32 

Mikulski, Barbara A., of Maryland .......................................... 20, 23 

Peters, Gary C., of Michigan ..................................................... 37 

Portman, Rob, of Ohio ............................................................... 38 

Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island ...................................................... 27 

Reid, Harry, of Nevada .............................................................. 3 

Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan ................................................. 21 

Warner, Mark R., of Virginia .................................................... 33 

Proceedings in the House of Representatives: 

Tributes by Representatives: 

Cummings, Elijah E., of Maryland ........................................... 41 

Hoyer, Steny H., of Maryland ................................................... 40 

Kaptur, Marcy, of Ohio .............................................................. 42 

Ruppersberger, C.A. Dutch, of Maryland ................................. 39 

Sarbanes, John P., of Maryland ................................................ 39 

Van Hollen, Chris, of Maryland ................................................ 42 

[ v ] 

BIOGRAPHY 

The people of Maryland elected BARBARA A. MIKULSKI to 

be their U.S. Senator because she’s a fighter—looking out for 

the day-to-day needs of Marylanders and the long range 

needs of the Nation. 

Determined to make a difference in her community, BARBARA MIKULSKI became a social worker in Baltimore, helping 

at-risk children and educating seniors about the Medicare 

Program. Social work evolved into community activism when 

BARBARA MIKULSKI successfully organized communities 

against a plan to build a 16-lane highway through Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood. She helped stop the road, 

saving Fells Point and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, both thriving residential and commercial communities today. 

Senator MIKULSKI was a trailblazer. Her first election was 

a successful run for Baltimore City Council in 1971, where 

she served for 5 years. In 1976, she ran for Congress and 

won, representing Maryland’s Third District for 10 years. In 

1986, she ran for Senate and won, becoming the first Democratic woman Senator elected in her own right. She was reelected with large majorities in 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010. 

BARBARA MIKULSKI focused on the issues of civil rights, 

national security, space exploration, education, jobs, research 

and innovation, women’s health, cybersecurity, seniors, and 

veterans. She was primary sponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter 

Fair Pay Act, addressing salary discrimination against 

women; it was the first bill signed into law in 2009 by President Obama, just days after his first inauguration. 

A leader in the Senate, BARBARA MIKULSKI was the dean 

of the women—serving as a mentor to other women Senators 

when they first take office. As the dean, she built coalitions—proving that the Senate women are not solo acts, but 

work together to get things done. 

When she was sworn into office on January 5, 2011, 

BARBARA MIKULSKI became the longest serving woman Senator in U.S. history. On March 17, 2012, she became the 

longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. Congress. 

Of these milestones, she said, ‘‘It’s not about how long I 

serve, but about how well I serve my State and my Nation.’’ 

[ vi ] 

On December 20, 2012, Senator MIKULSKI became the first 

woman and first Marylander to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which she served since she arrived in 

the Senate in 1987. 

Senator MIKULSKI was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011. She was awarded the Presidential 

Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2015. 

Senator MIKULSKI’s experiences as a social worker and activist provided valuable lessons that she drew on as a U.S. 

Senator. She believed her constituents have a right to know, 

a right to be heard, and a right to be represented. She listened to her constituents and made the personal, political. 

Senator MIKULSKI retired from the U.S. Senate on January 

3, 2017. She accepted a position as Homewood professor of 

political science at Johns Hopkins University, and she participates in national speaking engagements on the topics of 

leadership, innovation, and women’s empowerment. 

[ vii ] 

Farewell to the Senate 

Wednesday, December 7, 2016 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise to take the floor for 

what I call my summing-up speech. It is not my farewell 

speech because I have the honor and privilege of being the 

ranking member and former chairman of the Appropriations 

Committee. I will speak later on this week when we move 

the continuing resolution. 

It is the practice and the tradition of the Senate that when 

a Senator is departing the Senate, they give what they call 

their farewell address. Well, mine is not going to be as memorable as when George Washington resigned his commission 

or other memorable speeches, but I do want to say words 

about how I feel today about having the great opportunity to 

serve in the Congress. 

I have spent 30 years in the Senate, 10 years in the House 

of Representatives, and, yes, 5 years in the Baltimore City 

Council. I have served in elected public office for 45 years. 

More than half of my life has been in elected public service 

but, at the same time, all of my life has been focused on 

service. 

I rise today to thank the people of Maryland. I rise to 

thank them for their vote of confidence. When people vote for 

you, it is not only that they are sending you to Washington 

or sending you to city hall. They are giving you a vote of confidence that you will be their voice, that you will be their 

vote, that you will be at their side and on their side, and 

that is what I want to be able to talk about today. 

The people of Baltimore gave me my first shot at running 

for the Baltimore City Council. When I beat the political 

bosses, when running for political office as a woman was considered a novelty, they said: ‘‘You don’t look the part.’’ But 

I said, ‘‘This is what the part looks like, and this is what the 

part is going to be like.’’ Along the way, so many people 

helped me. Behind ‘‘me’’ is a whole lot of ‘‘we.’’ 

I got started in public life because of volunteers and activists who, on their own time and on their own dime, volunteered themselves to not only help me get elected but to be 

[ viii ] 

involved in their communities, to be civically engaged, to 

make their community and their country a better place. 

These are the people who were behind me. Well, guess what. 

No, I was behind them, because they certainly have led the 

way. 

Along the way, there were people who also not only helped 

me get elected, but they helped me govern—people who, 

again, volunteered their own time. I had a wonderful service 

academy board that helped me pick the best and the brightest to serve in our military academies—people with distinguished careers in either the military or in education. I had 

a judicial appointment advisory board that made sure I 

helped nominate the best people to serve in the Federal judiciary. Also, I had a veterans advisory group that brought to 

me what was really happening to the veterans, not what was 

in the press releases from the Veterans Administration. Of 

course, I had a fabulous strategy group that functioned as a 

kitchen cabinet. It was a kitchen cabinet. We spent a lot of 

time cooking things up to try to make our country and our 

communities better places. So I thank them all for what they 

did. 

When we come here to try to serve the people who sent us 

here, we cannot do it alone. So we have a fabulous staff, both 

that serves us in Washington and serves us in our State. I 

wish to thank my current staff: my chief of staff, Shannon 

Kula; my deputy chief of staff, Rachel MacKnight; my State 

director, Nichelle Schoultz; my legislative director, Brigid 

Houton; my communications director, Matt Jorgenson; my 

scheduling director, Catie Finley; my office manager, Josh 

Yearsley; my appropriations staff director, Chuck Kieffer; 

and my appropriations deputy staff director, Jean Toal 

Eisen; and of course, all of my staff in my State office who 

helped me. 

There is also the support staff who made sure that the 

phones got answered. You didn’t get one of those ‘‘call 1, call 

2, press 7, press 184,’’ and so forth. Also, there are the people who answer the mail, whether it was snail mail, which 

so much of it was when I came, or email, because we really 

believed that we needed to be here for the people. 

I called their names, but there are also others who filled 

those jobs throughout my time in public office. They worked 

very hard to make sure that we could represent the people 

of Maryland and to be on their side. 

After 45 years, though, it is time for me to say goodbye to 

elected office, but not to service. 

[ ix ] 

I have the high privilege of being the longest serving 

woman in congressional history. But I say it is not how long 

you serve but how well you serve. For those who know me 

and have been to rallies and so on, they know that I say: ‘‘I 

am here to work on the macro issues and I am here to work 

on the macaroni and cheese issues’’—to work on the big picture, to make sure that the people’s day-to-day needs were 

converted into public policy or, while we are working on public policy, to try to help our communities. 

We also have to remember in our own States that we have 

constituent service issues. One of the things I am really 

proud of is my constituent service staff, where if you were 

a veteran and you needed help or you had a Social Security 

or Medicare problem, you could call Senator BARB and you 

didn’t feel that you had to go to a $100 fundraiser or know 

somebody who had connections. The only connection you 

needed was a phone. You didn’t even need Wi-Fi. You could 

just call me. Summer, winter, spring, or fall, they had Senator BARB. I tried to be of service because service was in my 

DNA. I was raised to think about service. 

My mother and father ran a small neighborhood grocery 

store in one of Baltimore’s famous rowhouse neighborhoods. 

Every day they would get up, and they would open that grocery store and say to their customers: ‘‘Good morning. Can 

I help you?’’ 

Now, in running that business, they also wanted to be sure 

that they were connected to the community. We weren’t a 

big-box shop. We were a shop for the little people. If anybody 

was in difficulty, my father was happy to extend credit. It 

was called: We will write your name down in a book. Pay us 

when you can. Don’t worry that you got laid off at Bethlehem 

Steel. We know that your wife had a difficult childbirth and 

needs this extra stuff. We are here to help. 

My father would say: ‘‘BARBARA, deliver those groceries. 

Take it down in that little red wagon I got for you.’’ With my 

little red wagon, I would maybe take orange juice down to 

a shut-in, but my father would say: ‘‘Don’t take a tip.’’ The 

tip he gave me was to always be of service and to treat people fair and square. 

The other place where I learned so much about service was 

from the nuns who taught me. I had the great fortune to go 

to Catholic schools. I was taught by the Sisters of Notre 

Dame and the Sisters of Mercy. These wonderful women, 

who led the consecrated life, taught us not only about reading, writing, and arithmetic, but they taught us religion and 

[ x ] 

emphasized the Beatitudes. If anybody reads the Scripture, 

if you go to Matthew 5 and you go to the Beatitudes, you 

know what has shaped us. One of them is this: Blessed are 

those who are meek at heart. I had to really work at that 

one—really, really work at that one. At the same time, there 

were those that said: Those who hunger and thirst after justice. That is what motivated me. It was focusing on the values of faith, like love your neighbor, care for the sick, and 

worry about the poor. 

I was also inspired by a motto from something called the 

Christopher Movement, where you would help carry the burden. It said: ‘‘It is better to light one candle than to curse 

the darkness.’’ That is what was motivating me to service. 

We really believed in America in my family, and we really 

believed in it in my community. When my great-grandmother came to this country from Poland in 1886, she had 

little money in her pocket, but she had big dreams in her 

heart. Women didn’t even have the right to vote. One hundred years to the year that she landed in this country, I 

landed in the Senate. That is what opportunity means in the 

United States of America. 

I never thought I would come into politics. Growing up in 

Baltimore, my family wasn’t involved in politics. My family 

was involved more in church work, philanthropy, doing good 

works in the way they did their business. In Baltimore in 

those days, there were political bosses—guys with pot bellies 

who smoked cigars and did deals, and so forth—and that 

wasn’t going to be me. I thought I would go into the field of 

social work. 

I got involved because they wanted to put a 16-lane highway through the European ethnic neighborhoods of Baltimore and not even give the people relocation benefits, and 

they were going to smash and bulldoze the first AfricanAmerican home-ownership neighborhood in Baltimore, in a 

community called Rosemont. 

I said, ‘‘Look, we can fight this. We just have to give ourselves a militant name.’’ 

I helped put together a group called SCAR, or the Southeast Council Against the Road. Our African-American neighbors were on the other side of town, and they had a group 

called RAM, or Relocation Action Movement. Then the citywide coalition had a group called MAD, or Movement 

Against Destruction. So you see, I have always had a certain 

flair about these things. 

[ xi ] 

So we did take on city hall. But the more I knocked on 

doors—and our community did—we weren’t heard. So I decided the heck with it. If I knocked on a door and I wasn’t 

going to be heard, I was going to knock on the door to get 

elected, and that is what I did—knocking on doors, putting 

together a coalition, defying the odds, defying what people 

said—You can’t win. No woman can win in an ethnic, hardhat neighborhood. No woman can win who isn’t part of the 

political machine. No woman could win who had been active 

in the civil rights movement. I said, ‘‘Guess what.’’ We defied 

the odds, and we denied the odds, and that is how I came 

into public office—a champion on behalf of the people. 

I wanted to come to be an advocate for people to have better lives, to have better livelihoods and better neighborhoods, 

to be able to save jobs and to do what I could to be able to 

help them. I knew that to do that I had to show up, stand 

up, and speak up for my constituents, staying close enough 

to the people so they wouldn’t fall between the cracks and 

meeting their day-to-day needs and the long-range needs of 

the Nation. 

When I came to the Senate, I was the very first woman 

elected in her own right. Though I was all by myself, I was 

never alone. When I came, there was only one other woman 

here—the wonderful and distinguished colleague from Kansas, Senator Nancy Kassebaum, a wonderful colleague. When 

I say I was by myself as the only woman in the Democratic 

caucus, I say I was never alone because of the great men 

that we could work with in the Senate. 

Now, I have had the privilege to work with two of the best 

men in America. Senator Paul Sarbanes, who was my senior 

Senator when I came and who certainly was my champion, 

helped me to get on the right committees and convinced everybody that my name was BARB MIKULSKI and not Bella 

Abzug. But I was a little bit of both. As to Senator Sarbanes 

and now, of course, Senator Ben Cardin, who also has been 

at my side, we have worked together on issues related to 

Maryland both large and small. 

But there were others who taught me, like Senator Byrd, 

Senator Kennedy, and others. What it was all about was 

being able to work for jobs and for justice. 

Though I was the first Democratic woman, I wanted to be 

the first of many. I wanted to help women get elected to the 

Senate and do what I could to be able to help them to do 

that. It has been just wonderful to see that now there are 20 

women who are currently serving in the Senate. One of the 

[ xii ] 

great joys has been to work to help empower them so that 

they can be a powerhouse. That is why we have those power 

workshops that struck fear into the hearts of the guys—not 

to worry about us but to keep an eye on us. 

I have been proud of what I have learned, taking the values that I had growing up and trying to put them in the Federal lawbooks, because, for me, no issue was too small to 

take up, and no cause was too big for me to not take on. 

I firmly believe that the best ideas come from the people. 

That is where some of my greatest accomplishments came 

from. One of the things I loved the most was being in Maryland, moving around the State, going to all of the counties 

in the State. I loved my Mondays in Maryland, where I could 

meet and go into unannounced places like diners. A lot of 

people like to do townhalls, and they are terrific, but I like 

to show up at a diner, go from table to table and not only 

eyeball the french fries but listen to what the people have to 

say. 

The other thing that I really liked was roundtables—absolutely those roundtables—where you could engage in conversation with people and listen to them, not show off how 

smart or cool you were. I really loved doing that. Out of it 

came some of my first big accomplishments. 

When I came to the U.S. Senate, my father was quite ill 

with Alzheimer’s. My father was a wonderful man. He 

worked hard for my sisters and me so that we would have 

an education. He saw his role as a protector and provider, 

and by providing us an education, we could always take care 

of ourselves. 

When he became so ill and went into a nursing home, I listened to other families who would come to visit people in 

long-term care. We saw that the very cruel rules of our own 

government were forcing people to spend down their entire 

life savings and put in their family home or their family 

farm as an asset base. Well, listening to them, BARBARA

MIKULSKI said this: ‘‘Family responsibility—yes, you need to 

take responsibility for your family, but the cruel rules of government should never push a family into family bankruptcy.’’ 

So I crafted something called the spousal anti-impoverishment rules that enable elderly couples to keep their assets 

and keep their home. AARP tells me that since that legislation passed over 20 years ago, we have helped 1 million seniors not lose their homes or their family farms because one 

becomes too ill because of that dreaded A-word or ParkinVerDate Aug 31 2005 12:18 May 15, 2017 Jkt 098900 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 H:\DOCS\BYEBYE\BYEBYE16\23051.TXT KAYNE
[ xiii ] 

son’s or others. That is what I mean about the best ideas 

coming from the people. 

Then I also listened to women who worked hard every single day yet weren’t getting equal pay for equal work. Of 

course we heard it from Lilly Ledbetter, but we heard it from 

lots of Lillies, and we heard it from lots of Roses and lots of 

Marys and lots of Otanias and lots of Marias. That is why 

we worked hard to pass the Equal Pay For Equal Work Act. 

Working together with Senator Nancy Kassebaum, Olympia Snowe, our friends over in the House, Connie Morella, 

Pat Schroeder, we also found that women were being excluded from the protocols of NIH. The famous study to take 

an aspirin and keep a heart attack away was done on 10,000 

male medical students, not 1 woman. So Olympia, Connie, 

Pat, and BARB showed up at NIH and pounded the table and 

said, ‘‘Let’s start practicing good science instead of bad 

stereotypes and make sure we are included where we should 

be in a legitimate, scientific way.’’ Out of that came the appointment of Bernadine Healy as the head of NIH; out of 

that came the Office of Research on Women’s Health at NIH; 

and out of that came the famous hormone replacement study 

that Dr. Healy championed. Then Tom Harkin and Arlen 

Specter helped us get money in the Federal checkbook. 

One study changed medical practice and lowered breast 

cancer rates in this country by 15 percent. Wow. That is 

what working together does—to try to save lives a million at 

a time. That was on women’s health. 

Then we saw growing concerns about the issue of the high 

cost of college. The first mortgage many of our kids are facing is their student loans. Working together with the other 

side of the aisle, we created AmeriCorps, making sure we enabled people to be able to be of service to our country and 

earn a voucher to pay down their student loans. 

Then there was a roundtable where I met with parents of 

special needs children, and a mother asked me to change the 

law from ‘‘retardation’’ to ‘‘intellectual disability’’ because she 

was being bullied. Well, I came back here and drafted legislation. Again, on the other side of the aisle was Mike Enzi, 

who worked with me to pass that. 

Rosa now is a member of the Special Olympics. She wins 

medals. She was Person of the Week on television. That is 

what Mondays in Maryland means. It is worth everything to 

do things like that. 

In Maryland, we worked along with Senators Sarbanes 

and Hardin to clean up the bay. We worked to make sure 

[ xiv ] 

our port was viable. We worked not only on our Port of Baltimore for ships of commerce, but also we worked on the space 

community at Goddard. I am so proud of the fact that I 

worked very hard to save the Hubble Space Telescope. That 

Hubble Space Telescope turned out to be the richest contact 

lens in world history. But again, with astronaut Senators 

Jake Garn and John Glenn working together, we did it, and 

it ensured America’s premier leadership in astronomy and in 

space for years and for several decades. 

Over the years, though, I could go through accomplishment 

after accomplishment, but one of the things I have learned 

as my lesson in life is that the best ship you could sail on 

in life is something called friendship. It is friendship that 

makes life worth living. It enables life to have the value of 

giving. That is what friendship is. When I think about the 

friends along the way whom I have met both in my hometown and my State, there are also those who are here, people 

who on both sides of the aisle are absolutely so important to 

me—and the fact that we have worked on both sides of the 

aisle. 

I spoke about Senator Cardin and Senator Sarbanes. On 

the Senate Appropriations Committee, it was Senator Shelby 

and Senator Kit Bond; we could actually work together. We 

put our heads together to try to come up with real solutions 

for real problems, and we could do that. 

The other is not to judge one another because we have a 

party label. I am so darned sick of that. In the year of the 

women, so many came—like Barbara Boxer and Patty Murray and Dianne Feinstein, also Senator Kay Bailey 

Hutchison, who came from Texas. I got a call from Senator 

Hutchison one day, and my staff said: ‘‘Ew, she wants to 

work with you on something. Ew, ew. She is a conservative 

from Texas and she wants to do something for women.’’ 

I said, ‘‘How about if we listen? Could we start with listening? Could we start with just listening?’’ 

Senator Hutchison had a fabulous idea on IRA contributions. In those days, if you were in the marketplace, you 

could put in $2,000, but if you worked full time at home, you 

could put in only $500. What Senator Hutchison wanted to 

do was to make it have parity—that old word, ‘‘parity.’’ I said 

yes. Our staffs told us not to work with each other, but we 

were going to forge ahead. 

We went out to dinner to talk over strategy, but we talked 

together about our lives, how she got her start, obstacles she 

faced. We had such a good time that we said: ‘‘Let’s invite 

[ xv ] 

other women.’’ Well, that became the famous dinners—the 

famous dinners that the women of the Senate have. We 

knew we would never be a caucus because we were not uniform in our views or the way we voted, but what we wanted 

to be was, No. 1, a zone of civility where we would treat each 

other with respect, our debates would be observed with intellectual rigor, and when the day was over, the day would be 

over. Those dinners have now stood the test of time, and I 

am so proud of them. 

I have been so proud to work with my colleague, the senior 

Senator from Maine, Ms. Collins, who has been such a friend 

and such an ally. Though we are not a caucus, we are a force 

when we can come together. We have made change, and we 

have made a difference. That doesn’t go down in the 

rollbooks, but I think it certainly should go down in the history books. 

So as I get ready to leave the Senate, what will I miss? 

Well, I will never have another job as consequential as this. 

This is pretty consequential. The fate of this country, and 

maybe even the world, lies in the hands of the Congress of 

the United States. 

I will miss the people in the Senate, the wonderful professional staff, but I am also going to miss the doorkeepers, the 

elevator operators, the cafeteria workers, the police officers 

who say: ‘‘In helping the one, we help the many.’’ We learn 

so much from them; I have learned so much from them. 

I learned a lot from the elevator operators. One was a lady 

of very modest means who every day would say to me and 

to all of us, ‘‘Have a blessed day.’’ What a great gift she gave 

us: ‘‘Have a blessed day.’’ 

Another elevator operator, who himself has recovered from 

very challenging health issues, always cheerful, asks, ‘‘How 

is your day?’’ The last thing you could do is to not return a 

smile. Those are the kinds of people whom I will always remember, all those helping hands. 

So I say to my colleagues now that I will never, ever forget 

you. Helen Keller, though she was blind, was a great visionary, and she said that all that you deeply love you never 

lose. All whom I have ever met have become a part of me; 

each and every one of you have become a part of me. Everybody I met along the way, whether it was at roundtables or 

the elevator operators, have become a part of me. You 

shaped me, and you have helped me become a better person. 

So when I wrap up and people say ‘‘Well, what do you 

think you are going to do, BARB,’’ I will say my plan is not 

[ xvi ] 

a job description but a life description. Every day I am going 

to learn something new. Every day I am going to give something back. Every day I am going to do something where I 

keep an old friend or make a new one. I want to thank God 

that I live in the United States of America, which enabled 

me to do this. 

In conclusion, George Bernard Shaw—I don’t know how he 

would have felt about me, but he wrote this, and I think it 

is pretty good. He said this: 

I am [of the opinion] that my life belongs to the [whole] community, and 

as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. 

For the harder I work, the more I live. I will rejoice in life for its own 

sake. Life is no ‘‘brief candle’’ to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I 

have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly 

as possible before handing it on to future generations. 

God bless the U.S. Senate, and God bless the United 

States of America. 

(Applause, Senators rising.) 

TRIBUTES 

TO 

BARBARA A. MIKULSKI 

[ 3 ] 

Proceedings in the Senate 

THURSDAY, December 1, 2016 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, at times it seems that Democrats and Republicans in the Senate don’t agree on very 

much, but the one thing we all agree on without any exception is this: Our colleague BARBARA MIKULSKI of Maryland 

can turn a phrase better than anyone else. It is one of her 

many gifts. Just listen to some of the memorable lines we 

have heard her utter. 

Running for her first term in the Senate, BARBARA said, ‘‘I 

might be short, but I won’t be overlooked.’’ 

Just prior to the 2013 government shutdown, she told Senate Republicans, ‘‘You can huff and puff for 21 hours, but 

you can’t be the magic dragon that blows the Affordable Care 

Act away.’’ 

Earlier this year, she spoke of the Zika virus as follows: 

The mosquitoes are coming. The mosquitoes are already here. You can’t 

build a fence to keep them out, and the mosquitoes won’t pay for it. The 

mosquitoes are here—this is not an Obama fantasy. 

My personal favorite was something she said at a welcome 

reception for the 1986 class. We gathered in the Russell 

Building, and it was a festive occasion for Democrats. We 

had many new Democrats. It was a huge class—Daschle, 

Shelby, Breaux, Graham, Conrad, and Fowler. There were 

many Democratic Senators, but the day was stolen by 

BARBARA MIKULSKI. We were all asked to say a word. About 

her opponent, she stood and said: ‘‘I may be short, but it sure 

wasn’t hard for me to slam dunk Linda Chavez.’’ 

It is safe to say that with that quip, BARBARA immediately 

hit it off with all the Members of the Senate class. 

From the moment she first set foot in the Senate, Senator 

MIKULSKI was determined to be herself—honest, disciplined, 

principled, undaunted, with an incredible wit and a fierce 

love of Maryland. 

You will not find a Member of this body more devoted to 

her circumstances—and we will talk about those in a little 

bit—devoted to her constituents and her State than Senator 

[ 4 ] 

BARBARA MIKULSKI. She served the State of Maryland for 

more than 50 years. A graduate of Mount Saint Agnes College and the University of Maryland, she made her name as 

a social worker and a political activist. 

Her grandparents are well known, especially her grandmother. They ran a bakery. I have heard her talk about that 

bakery so many times, how the people in the neighborhood 

would come and wait for that bakery to open. Her grandparents went there very early, as bakers do. She speaks with 

nostalgia, warmth, and love of her grandparents. 

Her own parents ran a little grocery store next to a steel 

mill. They would get there early in the morning, and the 

steelworkers would come and get their lunches and sometimes their breakfasts in that grocery store. Her parents 

were part of her life, as were her grandparents. She is so 

proud of them. 

In 1966 the Baltimore City Council proposed building a 

large highway through the center of the city of Baltimore. 

There was a downside to the plan: It would have razed entire neighborhoods, African-American neighborhoods and especially immigrant neighborhoods. They would have to leave 

their homes. 

The city’s leaders, political bosses, and, of course, the 

wealthy real estate interests and many others—the power 

brokers of the State of Maryland, the city of Baltimore— 

knew this was a done deal, but the power brokers didn’t 

count on a young social worker named BARBARA MIKULSKI to 

fight for these families. It was her first political activism, 

and activism it was. It was her alone. Because of her magnetism, her warmth, and her ability to organize, she organized an effort to stop the highway. Everyone said it couldn’t 

be done, but no one bothered to tell BARBARA. She rallied the 

citizens of Baltimore in opposing the highway, and what a 

rally it was—not one rally, not two, but many of them until 

it was determined that she had won and the power brokers 

had lost. These people got to keep their homes, and today 

there is no superhighway towering over the center of Baltimore. People remember BARBARA MIKULSKI for that. 

BARBARA’s fight against the highway made her a hero in 

Baltimore and propelled her to the city council in 1971. In 

1976 BARBARA MIKULSKI fought her way to the Congress of 

the United States as a Member of the House of Representatives. After five terms in the House, BARBARA MIKULSKI ran 

for a seat in the Senate, in the one I just told you about. She 

slam-dunked her opponent, making her the first Democratic 

[ 5 ] 

woman in history to win seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States. Today Senator MIKULSKI is the longest serving woman to serve in the 

U.S. Congress. For more than 40 years she has served the 

people of Maryland. 

She is the first woman and first Marylander to chair the 

prestigious Senate Appropriations Committee. Her legislative record reflects her hard work for women and for equality. She worked with then-Senator Joe Biden to pass the first 

Violence Against Women Act in 1994. She was the architect 

of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. She was repeatedly in 

the forefront to fight for paycheck fairness, which determined that men and women who do the same work should 

be paid the same money. 

When so many of us were duped by misinformation about 

the Iraq war, BARBARA MIKULSKI was not duped. She voted 

against the war. 

BARBARA’s career in the Senate has been historic, but I 

would be remiss if I failed to note her impact on my life and 

my career. As I said, we came to the Senate together. We 

served together. We got the same committees. We, of course, 

served together in the House, but that is a huge body—435 

Members. Frankly, I served there two terms. I know the Presiding Officer [Mr. Rounds] served in the House. It is a huge 

body. When I left there after 4 years, I can remember a vote 

taking place. Where did these people come from? It is hard 

to get to know 435 people, but I knew BARBARA. Everybody 

knew BARBARA. But in the Senate we came together, served 

on the same committees, and we got to know each other very 

well early on. BARBARA MIKULSKI has always protected me, 

looked out for me. 

One of my first memories took place right here in the well. 

I was new, she was new, and it was a very close vote. It was 

an issue that was her issue, and I couldn’t vote her way. 

That happens here. It was a close vote. People were nudging 

me: ‘‘You have to change. You are going to upset everybody. 

You are a Democrat; you can’t do that.’’ 

In walked BARBARA MIKULSKI into this crowd. I was there. 

I was really kind of afraid, but she wasn’t. She walked in. 

People moved away. She said, ‘‘Leave him alone. It is a matter of principle.’’ People left me alone. That is who she is. 

Was she disappointed? I know she would have been disappointed had I not done what I believed in. 

I served for 10 years with John Ensign, the Senator from 

Nevada. John and I had a unique relationship. In 1998 I won 

[ 6 ] 

an election for the Senate between Ensign and Reid by 428 

votes. That was a close election. But as fate would have it, 

2 years later he came to the Senate. Senator Bryan retired, 

and he came to the Senate. 

Well, John had some personal issues. He hadn’t been here 

very long at all and had some personal issues. I called him 

at home, and he said, ‘‘Yes, I have some problems here.’’ I 

thought how I could help him. Here in the Senate we have 

the right to do what is called pair. Senator Ensign and I 

rarely voted alike anyway. So I said, ‘‘Well, John, what I will 

do, so it won’t affect your voting record, is that I will just 

pair with you and that way it won’t show you have missed 

votes.’’ So I agreed to do that, and for 2 weeks I told him I 

would do that. 

Well, it worked out fine because we voted differently on everything, except there came an issue that affected Senator 

MIKULSKI. She came to me and asked, ‘‘Why are you voting 

that way?’’ I told her, ‘‘Senator Ensign has a personal issue, 

and I told him I would pair with him.’’ She said, ‘‘If you had 

done anything else’’—and I won’t use her exact language— 

‘‘you would have been a fool.’’ I wasn’t a fool in her mind. 

Even though it was not good for her, she was supportive of 

me. She would not have been satisfied that I had done something that was wrong in her mind, and she accepted my explanation and that I had to do what I did. We have always 

had a lot of respect for each other. 

Senator David Pryor of Arkansas had a heart attack and 

became very ill. He was a wonderful Senator. Everyone liked 

him. But he announced he couldn’t serve as secretary of the 

Democratic caucus, and that was something that I was interested in. But I also heard BARBARA MIKULSKI was interested 

in it. She had been so good to me so often that I immediately 

went to BARBARA, and with the two of us together, I said, 

‘‘BARBARA, do you want this secretary’s job?’’ She said, ‘‘Yes.’’ 

I said, ‘‘You have it.’’ That was the end of that. Nobody opposed her. 

Well, surprisingly, a few years later, out of nowhere, Wendell Ford, who was the whip, decided he wasn’t going to run 

for reelection. It was a surprise to everyone. He was assistant Democratic leader, and that was something I was interested in, but again there was BARBARA MIKULSKI. I didn’t 

say a word. The word was out there that I was interested in 

it. So as fate would have it, I was walking from my office in 

the Hart Building over toward the Russell Building, and she 

was coming in the other direction. Those of us who know 

[ 7 ] 

BARBARA know that a lot of times she is a person of few 

words. She is not a gadfly. Sometimes she talks a lot, but 

sometimes she doesn’t want to talk. We were passing each 

other in the hall, and she said, ‘‘I want to talk to you for a 

minute.’’ She said, ‘‘You took care of me in the Senate; the 

whip’s job is yours.’’ That ended it. It was all over. When 

that was done, I had a clear route to be the whip of the Senate—the Democratic Senate. 

That is the relationship I have with BARBARA MIKULSKI. 

So she is as responsible as anyone for my years in Democratic leadership. Without her friendship and her loyalty my 

last 20 years in the Senate would have been much different. 

Working with BARBARA MIKULSKI is one of the highlights of 

my congressional career. Just hearing her speak is a privilege. 

I have seen and listened to good orators. When I was in 

the House—and my friend, the Democratic whip is here—we 

heard Jim Wright. Jim Wright was a great orator. He was 

the majority leader and the Speaker of the House. He was 

really good. Tom Lantos, an immigrant from Hungary, could 

speak. He was so dynamic, so good. Claude Pepper had a different style but was someone you listened to. Here in the 

Senate I have listened to some great orators. Back there was 

Dale Bumpers. I can still see him. He had a long cord here. 

He had an extra-long one, and he would walk up and down 

these aisles speaking. He was a great orator. I listened to 

him. George Mitchell, one of my predecessors, was so good, 

so articulate—and Dick Durbin, from Illinois. They are all 

terrific orators. 

But in my estimation, there is no better orator who I have 

come across in my congressional service than BARBARA

MIKULSKI. We have talked about her one liners, but I would 

like, just for a minute, to talk about a trip I took with a congressional delegation led by the very famous John Glenn— 

war hero, astronaut, and gentleman. We went to places in 

Europe. The Iron Curtain was down. We went to Poland. 

BARBARA MIKULSKI’s heritage is Polish. They called in John 

Glenn to give a speech. Ted Stevens from Alaska was also 

on that trip. I said, ‘‘We have someone here who is of Polish 

heritage. Let’s listen to her.’’ Oh, what a speech—I mean it 

was spellbinding. She talked about how she felt about who 

she was and about her grandparents and her parents. 

So I know there is no better orator than BARBARA

MIKULSKI. That is because she speaks from the heart. She is 

honest and so genuine. As the Baltimore Sun wrote: ‘‘People 

[ 8 ] 

know authenticity when they see it, and there’s nothing fake 

about BARBARA MIKULSKI, most especially her love of her 

job.’’ That is pretty good, coming from the biggest newspaper 

in the State. 

BARBARA has loved her job in the Senate, and the people 

of Maryland and the United States have loved having her as 

their advocate and defender. She leaves the Senate as she 

entered it, as a political activist and a fighter. 

So, BARBARA, thank you very much for your guidance, your 

mentoring, your friendship. It has been an honor to work 

by your side. We are forever friends. Godspeed, BARBARA

MIKULSKI. 

I yield the floor. 

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, let me just echo the comments of our Democratic leader, Senator Reid, in relation to 

Senator MIKULSKI. I will save a few moments perhaps next 

week to speak my own tribute to her and give my own 

reminiscences. But I didn’t want to abruptly change the subject without saying I am in total agreement with Senator 

Reid in terms of the quality of service and friendship that we 

have had with the senior Senator from the State of Maryland. 

TUESDAY, December 6, 2016 

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in saluting the public life of Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI. Before I do 

that, I want to thank a woman who is not here. She was a 

Catholic nun and the debate coach for Senator MIKULSKI

when she was in high school at the Institute of Notre Dame, 

an all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore, the same 

school Nancy Pelosi graduated from. 

As a young BARBARA MIKULSKI was preparing to debate a 

particularly tough opponent, this nun, her debate coach, told 

her: ‘‘You can do it, BARB—get out there and roll those Jesuit 

boys!’’ 

I went to a Jesuit college and law school, and I am proud 

and relieved to report that I never had to face BARBARA

MIKULSKI in that kind of debate. I have rarely found anybody who can stand up to her in a debate. She can still ‘‘roll 

those Jesuit boys,’’ or anyone else who tries to stand in the 

way of helping women, children, seniors, or advancing fairness. 

[ 9 ] 

BARBARA MIKULSKI has been my colleague for 20 years, my 

friend, the chairwoman of my Appropriations Committee and 

the ranking member, and so many times an inspiration. 

As most of my colleagues know, my first job was working 

in the Senate as an intern, myself, in the office of Senator 

Paul Douglas of Illinois. Like BARBARA MIKULSKI, Paul 

Douglas was a champion for the underdog, and he was a pit 

bull when it came to protecting the American taxpayers. 

Every year, the University of Illinois chooses a leader of 

uncommon decency and courage to receive the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government. This year, I was honored to present that award on behalf of the University of Illinois and in the name of Paul Douglas to BARBARA MIKULSKI

of Maryland. I know Senator Douglas would have been 

thrilled that she is carrying on that same public service tradition. 

Some day—and I hope and trust I will live to see it—the 

ultimate glass ceiling will break, and there will be a woman 

elected President of this country. When that historic day 

comes, we can be sure that Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI will 

have had a hand in bringing it about. 

Many of my colleagues have spoken about the long list of 

times she has already broken glass ceilings herself: BARBARA

MIKULSKI, first woman ever elected statewide in her beloved 

State of Maryland; BARBARA MIKULSKI, first Democrat elected to both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate; BARBARA

MIKULSKI, first woman to ever serve as head of the powerful 

Senate Appropriations Committee. 

But as BARBARA, very self-deprecating, has often said, she 

has never been interested in simply being the first. She 

wants to be ‘‘the first of many,’’ and she has been. 

When Maryland voters sent BARBARA MIKULSKI to this 

Senate in 1986, there were two women in the entire body: 

Nancy Landon Kassebaum of Kansas, a Republican, and 

BARBARA MIKULSKI of Maryland, a Democrat—2 women in 

this Chamber out of 100 Senators. Today, there are 20 

women Senators, and after they are sworn in on January 3, 

there will be 21. That is great progress, but not nearly 

enough by BARBARA MIKULSKI’s standards. 

Senator MIKULSKI also had the brainchild of making sure 

the women in the Senate became an even more powerful 

force. Her bipartisan, women Senators-only dinners were a 

rare display of bipartisanship in an institution too often divided. The discoveries of common cause, common trust, and 

[ 10 ] 

common purpose resulting from those dinners have made a 

big difference on the floor of the Senate. 

BARBARA ANN MIKULSKI is the proud granddaughter of 

Polish immigrants. Her parents owned a small grocery store 

in Baltimore. She, her parents, and her two younger sisters 

lived across the street in one of the famous Baltimore 

rowhouses. As a young girl, BARBARA thought about becoming a Catholic nun. She changed her mind because, as she 

put it, ‘‘that vow of obedience kind of slowed me down a bit.’’ 

So she found other ways to practice the social gospel of justice. 

She was a driving force behind the first bill signed by 

President Barack Obama, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. 

I was there that day. The President signed the bill, and he 

took the first pen from the first bill he was signing and 

handed it to BARBARA MIKULSKI because he knew that she 

had been a champion for equality in the workplace for 

women throughout her career. 

There are two stories that I always think of when I think 

of Senator MIKULSKI. 

In October 2002, the Senate voted on whether to authorize 

the war in Iraq. Only 23 of the 100 Senators then serving 

voted against the Iraq war resolution. Of those 23 Senators, 

only 8 still remain in the Senate today: Barbara Boxer, who 

is leaving at the end of this Congress, Patrick Leahy, Patty 

Murray, Jack Reed, Debbie Stabenow, Ron Wyden, BARBARA

MIKULSKI, and myself. This is a woman who has always been 

willing to risk her career to follow her conscience. 

One of her great heroes is Dorothy Day, founder of the 

Catholic Worker Movement. The reason, BARBARA MIKULSKI

says, is that Dorothy Day was always ‘‘trying to find the 

hopes of people,’’ rather than preying on people’s fear and 

anger. 

I saw BARBARA MIKULSKI’s instinctive appeal to hope on 

that infamous sad day—September 11, 2001. As dust was 

settling on that heart-wrenching, heart-breaking day, most 

of the Members of the Senate gathered on the steps of the 

Capitol. The hope was that there would be a demonstration 

by Members of both parties to the Nation and to the world 

of solidarity. Suddenly—unplanned, unscripted—BARBARA

MIKULSKI started singing ‘‘God Bless America.’’ Everyone 

joined in. In one of America’s darkest hours, BARBARA

MIKULSKI brought us together. That is what a real leader 

does. 

[ 11 ] 

I and so many in the Chamber and so many untold millions of Americans are going to miss her presence in the Senate. We take consolation in knowing that, while she is leaving the Senate, she is not leaving the fight. She will never 

leave the fight. 

Those of us who are returning in the next Congress have 

learned from Senator MIKULSKI, and we will continue to 

fight the good fight to invest in life-saving, job-creating medical breakthroughs at the National Institutes of Health—or, 

as BARBARA MIKULSKI calls it, the ‘‘National Institutes of 

Hope.’’ We will continue the good fight she has fought with 

such pithiness and passion to make our Nation safer and 

make our economy fairer for all Americans. I know that she 

will continue that fight as well. 

BARBARA MIKULSKI may be leaving the Senate, but no one 

ever has, and I doubt anyone ever will, think of Baltimore’s 

BARBARA MIKULSKI as ‘‘retiring.’’ 

I yield the floor. 

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, in the interest of time, I will 

limit my remarks. 

I rise this afternoon to commend and salute three Senators 

from the Democratic caucus who are leaving the Senate this 

year. I will have longer written statements for the Record to 

appropriately pay tribute to their service. In alphabetical 

order, Senator Boxer of California, Senator MIKULSKI of 

Maryland, and Senator Reid of Nevada. 

I will offer some specific remarks about Leader Reid, in 

the interest of time, but I do want to commend and salute 

Senator Boxer for her service to the people of California and 

to our Nation, as well as Senator MIKULSKI for her great 

work—two great advocates, two individuals whom we are 

going to miss terribly here in the Senate. As I said, I will put 

longer statements in the Record. . . . 

Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, this is a bittersweet moment as I rise to pay tribute to my esteemed colleague, dear 

friend, and fellow Senator, BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, the longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. Congress. 

Senator BARB has been more than a dedicated champion 

for the State of Maryland; she has fought tirelessly for the 

welfare of all Americans across the country but especially 

the disadvantaged—equal pay for equal work, funding for 

childcare for working families, quality health care for all 

Americans, an ambitious space exploration program, robust 

homeland security programs, and fire protection grants. 

[ 12 ] 

These are but a few of the causes Senator BARB has worked 

on for more than four decades as an outstanding public servant and legislator. 

She is rooted in the city we both call home, Baltimore, 

where her father ran a grocery store in Highlandtown. She 

earned her bachelor of science degree in sociology from 

Mount Saint Agnes College and a master of social work degree from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. 

She became a social worker and then demonstrated her formidable organizational skills and resolve when she led the 

successful opposition to a 16-lane highway that was going to 

cut through the Fells Point neighborhood in Baltimore. 

Throughout her 40 years of congressional service, she has returned to Baltimore almost every night. 

She ran for the city council in 1971, where she served for 

5 years before she was elected to the House of Representatives to represent Maryland’s Third District—a seat she held 

for 10 years. I was proud to succeed her in the House when 

she was elected to the Senate in 1986 and became the first 

female Democratic Senator elected in her own right. Here in 

the Halls of the Senate, she opened doors that had previously been closed to women. She refused to accept secondclass treatment because of her gender and fought to be recognized as an equal. Generations of young women who chose 

to participate in public life or who dreamed of joining the 

U.S. Senate have benefited from Senator BARB’s trailblazing 

legacy. 

From affordable housing and education to childcare, health 

benefits, and pensions, she has left an indelible imprint on 

the Nation’s social policies as a senior member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. It is fitting that she authored the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 

2009—the first major bill to be signed into law by the first 

African-American President. I know one of her proudest accomplishments is strengthening the social safety net for seniors by passing the Spousal Anti-Impoverishment Act, which 

helps keep seniors from going into bankruptcy while paying 

for a spouse’s nursing home care. 

Senator BARB said, ‘‘We work on macro issues and macaroni and cheese issues. . . . Our national debate reflects the 

needs and dreams of American families.’’ 

In 2012, she became the first woman and the first Marylander to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee. She 

has worked well with Senator Cochran and other Republicans on the committee to produce annual appropriations 

[ 13 ] 

bills under difficult budget constraints. I think she has 

shown how the Senate can work in a productive, bipartisan 

fashion. 

Senator MIKULSKI has served as the dean of the women 

Senators from both parties, promoting collegiality, civility, 

and consensus-building. In this capacity, again, she has been 

one of the leaders of this institution with respect to making 

it work better. 

Senator BARB has always had her feet planted firmly on 

the ground, but she has reached for the stars. No one has 

been a stronger advocate for the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, NASA; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA; the National Science 

Foundation, NSF; and for researching and understanding the 

universe to make life better here on Earth than Senator 

BARBARA MIKULSKI. 

Not only has she reached for the stars, she is a star. NASA 

named a supernova after her in 2012—Supernova Mikulski—discovered, fittingly, by the Hubble Space Telescope on 

January 25, 2012. The supernova is 7.5 billion light-years 

away and the remnants of a star more than 8 times as massive as our own Sun. 

Senator MIKULSKI has so much political energy per square 

inch of height that she has reached her own orbit in space. 

Even though her realm includes the entire universe, Senator 

BARB always kept the needs of Marylanders close to her 

heart during her tenure. Whether it is fighting for funding 

to restore the Chesapeake Bay, supporting mass transit improvements in Baltimore, standing up for Federal employees 

and retirees who work and live in our State, or posting the 

world’s best recipe for crabcakes on her Web site, I know I 

speak on behalf of each and every Marylander when I say 

how much we will miss her outstanding leadership and unwavering commitment to our State. 

I am privileged to have worked with Senator BARB for 10 

years in the Senate and for 20 years before that when I was 

in the House of Representatives. I am proud to have stood 

alongside her as two members of Team Maryland. 

On a personal basis, I have a very close friend and my 

service in the Senate is much more productive, much more 

enjoyable, and much more rewarding because of Senator 

BARBARA MIKULSKI. 

The U.S. Congress, the State of Maryland, the United 

States, and, indeed, the world are better places because of 

Senator MIKULSKI’s public service. She may not be the tallest 

[ 14 ] 

Senator, but she certainly leaves the biggest shoes to fill. I 

will miss her, but I will remain internally inspired by her 

shining example of public service at its best. 

WEDNESDAY, December 7, 2016 

Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, as each session of Congress comes to a close, both leaders traditionally pay tribute 

to the retiring Members of their own parties. This year is a 

bit different, of course, with the retirement of the Democratic 

leader. So in addition to what I will be saying about him tomorrow, I figured I might shake things up just a bit more, 

just this one time. I figured I would tell my colleagues about 

two colleagues from across the aisle who have made their 

own mark on this Chamber for many years. 

The first colleague I wish to speak about is from Maryland. Some call her Senator MIKULSKI, some call her Senator 

BARB, but everyone knows this: She is tough. It explains how 

she got here in the fist place. 

You see, BARBARA MIKULSKI had a lot of dreams growing 

up. She wanted to be a scientist. She wanted to be a nun. 

She even wanted to be an astronaut. If not for a ‘‘C’’ in 

chemistry, a vow of obedience, and the thought of wearing a 

flight suit—or so we have heard—she probably could have 

done all of those things. But Senator BARB chose a different 

path—or rather all of them at once. You see, you don’t have 

to work in a lab to champion science research; you can serve 

as the lead Democratic appropriator on the CommerceJustice-Science Subcommittee. You don’t have to put on a 

habit to look out for others; you can serve as dean of the 

Senate women and cultivate mentorship among your colleagues. And you certainly don’t have to blast into space to 

blaze a trail—something this longest serving female Member 

of Congress knows very well. It wasn’t an easy road getting 

here. It wasn’t an easy road when she got here. No Democratic woman had ever been elected to the Senate in her own 

right before BARBARA MIKULSKI. But, as she said on the 

stump, ‘‘I might be short, but I won’t be overlooked.’’ Boy, 

she hasn’t been. I doubt she ever will be. Maybe it has something to do with the mantra she follows: ‘‘Do or do not—there 

is no try.’’ No surprise that this ‘‘Star Wars’’ fan is taking advice from Master Yoda. 

She has learned a lot from others, too, like her greatgrandmother, who emigrated from Poland with hope and litVerDate Aug 31 2005 12:18 May 15, 2017 Jkt 098900 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 H:\DOCS\BYEBYE\BYEBYE16\23051.TXT KAYNE
[ 15 ] 

tle else—hope that her family might one day experience this 

country’s many freedoms and opportunities. I know she 

would be proud of her great-granddaughter today, proud of 

this crime novelist, this crabcake gourmet, this senior Senator from Maryland. 

So here is what we have come to know about Senator 

MIKULSKI: Her word is her bond, she is a passionate advocate for the causes she supports, and good luck stopping her 

once she puts her mind to something. . . . 

Let me finish with some advice BARBARA MIKULSKI gave to 

young Barbara Boxer as she contemplated her first Senate 

run. ‘‘If you run,’’ Senator MIKULSKI said, ‘‘it will be the 

toughest thing you will ever do,’’ but, she added, it will also 

be ‘‘the best thing you will ever do.’’ I think this is something 

we can all relate to regardless of which party we belong to 

and regardless of which State we come from. At the end of 

the day, we all came here to accomplish things for the people 

we represent, even if we have different ideas on how to do 

them. 

So, thankfully, there should be no disagreement over this 

next task. I ask all Senators to join me in recognizing our 

colleagues for their service and to join me in wishing them 

good luck as they begin the next chapters of their lives. 

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, yesterday I had an opportunity on the floor to talk about Senator MIKULSKI, but I just 

want to take 1 minute—because I know a lot of my colleagues want to speak—to thank her on behalf of the people 

of Maryland. 

Yesterday I was with Senator MIKULSKI at the inauguration of Catherine Pugh, our new mayor of Baltimore. As is 

the tradition on programs, the senior Senator speaks and 

then the junior Senator speaks, so I had the opportunity to 

speak after the dynamic remarks of Senator MIKULSKI. That 

has been a burden that I have had now for 10 years. As I 

pointed out to the people of Maryland, we are losing one of 

the great giants and advocates for our State, and that is 

going to be a great loss. The only benefit I can see is that 

I will not have to follow Senator MIKULSKI on the program 

in the future. 

We are living part of a legacy, and we know that. We know 

that what we do here in the U.S. Senate one day will be recorded in the history of our country. I know that Senator 

MIKULSKI will be mentioned frequently for her incredible accomplishments here in the U.S. Senate. 

[ 16 ] 

On a personal basis, I just wanted to express that my life 

in the U.S. Senate has been special. For all of us, being in 

the Senate is special, but my enjoyment, productivity, and 

life in the Senate has been made so much greater because 

of my seatmate and friend, Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Ernst). The Senator 

from Maine. 

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, it is with deep affection, 

admiration, and appreciation that I rise today to offer my 

heartfelt congratulations to our colleague and my dear 

friend, Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI, as her service in the 

Senate comes to a close. As the longest serving woman in the 

history of the U.S. Congress—30 years in this Chamber, in 

addition to 10 years in the House—she has earned the gratitude of the people of her beloved Maryland and of the entire 

Nation. That gratitude is based on much more than simple 

arithmetic, much more than just how many years she has 

served here, impressive though that is. In reflecting on her 

service, it is difficult to decide where to begin—her accomplishments, her vision, or her complete dedication to the people she serves, the dedication that began in that neighborhood in Baltimore that she describes so passionately today. 

No matter where we begin, we end up in the same place— 

it is all about her character. 

Perhaps the best way to describe Senator MIKULSKI’s character is by noting that she is not only officially the longest 

serving woman in the history of the Congress, but she is also 

unofficially the dean of the women in the Senate. That title 

perfectly demonstrates the trust and respect she has earned 

from her colleagues. As a brandnew Senator in 1997, I was 

one of those tutored by this accomplished and experienced 

dean. At that time, Senator MIKULSKI had already been in 

the House and the Senate for a combined 20 years. She 

didn’t know me from Adam—or perhaps I should say from 

Eve—yet, despite the difference in our seniority, our States, 

and our parties, she took me under her wing. She was one 

of the first people who called me after I was sworn in as a 

new Senator. I was so grateful for her kindness and her wisdom. She invited me to a power workshop in her office, along 

with Mary Landrieu, the other woman who was elected that 

year. She taught me the ropes of the appropriations process 

and instituted regular bipartisan dinners for the women of 

the Senate. 

[ 17 ] 

In the years since then, I have come to know her as a 

fighter, a trailblazer, and a person of such integrity. 

Maybe it is all those years with the nuns that taught you 

that. 

It has been a privilege to work with her on such vital 

issues as home health care, maritime issues, higher education, pay equality, and an issue near and dear to both of 

us, Alzheimer’s research. Serving with her on the Appropriations Committee, I have witnessed first hand what an extraordinary leader she is—fair, openminded, yet with firm 

expectations and a clear sense of direction. 

Senator MIKULSKI is, above all, a hard worker. Growing up 

in east Baltimore, she learned the value of hard work in her 

family’s grocery store, as we have heard today. Her commitment to making a difference in her neighborhood led her to 

become a social worker, helping at-risk children and our seniors. The statement she made sums up her approach to serving in Congress: ‘‘I was a social worker for Baltimore families. Now I’m a social worker building opportunities for families throughout America.’’ 

Two years ago, I was honored to stand alongside Senator 

BARB to accept the Allegheny College Prize for Civility in 

Public Life. We were representing all of the women of the 

Senate for our leadership in bringing an end to the devastating government shutdown of 2013 and working together 

on so many other issues. 

With our dean setting the example, we have always rejected the idea of a women’s caucus because we, like the men 

in the Senate, span the ideological spectrum. Who would expect otherwise? We have worked together across party lines 

to serve all Americans. As Senator MIKULSKI puts it ‘‘It’s not 

about gender, it’s about the agenda.’’ In fact, all of us have 

our favorite sayings that the Senator from Maryland has 

taught us, and we will miss her way with words so much. 

When Senator MIKULSKI reached her Senate longevity 

milestone 5 years ago, she surpassed my personal role model 

in public service, the legendary Senator from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith. Just as the great lady from Maine inspired me and countless other young women of my generation to serve, the great lady from Maryland inspires the 

young women of today, always encouraging them to go for it. 

Throughout her life in public service, she has lived by one 

guiding principle: to help our people meet the needs of today 

as she helps our Nation prepare for the challenges of tomorrow. 

[ 18 ] 

What an honor it has been to serve alongside Senator 

BARBARA MIKULSKI. I have learned so much from her. I will 

never forget the day she told me I had the soul of an appropriator, which I knew was the highest compliment she could 

give me. She was right. We have worked on that committee 

to get so much done. 

I wish her many more years of health, happiness, and, 

most of all, that most important ‘‘ship,’’ friendship. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California. 

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, before Senator Collins 

leaves the floor, I want to thank Senator Collins for her 

beautiful remarks about BARBARA MIKULSKI. As I leave here, 

I have said publicly—the press has asked: ‘‘What is your 

hope?’’ 

I often say, ‘‘My hope is with the Senator from Maine, Senator Collins, to bridge some of the partisan divides.’’ 

It has been an honor to serve with you. I know you have 

a lot on your shoulders as we move forward. 

Senator MIKULSKI, I want to take a few minutes to talk 

about you. Some Senators have focus and drive. Some have 

compassion. Some have empathy. Some have sharp negotiating skills. Some have a quick wit. Some are great students 

of history. Some are champions for the least among us. Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI, you are all of these things. You are 

everything a Senator should be and more. As my mentor, as 

my treasured friend, you have been a major influence in my 

career. Honestly, I can say I would not be here as a U.S. 

Senator without your guidance. 

One of my favorite things about BARBARA is her wonderful 

sense of humor. It is legendary. She is hilarious when she 

wants to be. 

When I was in the House of Representatives, I was fighting to integrate the all-male House gym. The room to which 

they had assigned the women was about 6 by 6, and it had 

showers and hair dryers. You know the big hair dryers that 

come over your head like that? It had no exercise equipment. 

It had no space. It was the size of a shoebox. We women decided we needed some exercise, so we packed into the tiny 

room. 

There was then-Congresswoman MIKULSKI, Congresswoman Ferraro, Congresswoman Schroeder, Barbara Kennelly, Olympia Snowe, who looked like she had just stepped 

out of Vogue magazine. I was in my sweat suit, and so was 

BARB. The teacher was leading us in an aerobics class, and 

[ 19 ] 

she said, ‘‘Put your hands above your head.’’ We did it. She 

said, ‘‘Put your hands out to the side.’’ We did it. Then she 

said, ‘‘Put your hands on your hips and bend at the waist.’’ 

With that, BARBARA yelled, ‘‘Look, if I had a waist, I 

wouldn’t be here.’’ That is my BARB. She can use laughter to 

defuse any situation. I will always love her for it. 

When I started thinking about my own long shot bid for 

the Senate—and it was worse than a long shot—the first 

person I went to after my family was BARB. It was a few 

years after she had made history by becoming the first 

Democratic woman ever elected in her own right to the U.S. 

Senate. She got right to the point: ‘‘How old are you, 

Babs?’’—using the nickname she calls me to this day. I told 

her I was almost 50. 

God, that sounds so young, BARBARA. 

I told her I was almost 50. I explained it was going to be 

a tough fight. I was up against two powerful male opponents 

in the Democratic primary, and I was an asterisk in the 

polls. What was her response? She looked at me and she 

said, ‘‘Go for it. It’s worth the fight you’ll have to wage to get 

here. And it will be a fight.’’ And it was. 

In 1992, four new women came to the Senate, and who 

was waiting for us with open arms? Senator MIKULSKI. This 

is what she said: ‘‘Some women stare out the window waiting 

for Prince Charming. I stared out the window waiting for 

more women Senators—and it is finally happening!’’ That is 

who BARBARA is. She never set out to make a name for herself. She wanted to blaze a trail that was wide enough for 

all of us to follow. 

Just days after I won that first Senate race, she sent all 

the new women Senators a guidebook she herself had written about how to get started in the Senate, how to get on 

committees. She invited us to her office for lessons on Senate 

procedure and how to set up our offices. She had covered everything. 

In the years since, as you have heard, she has hosted regular dinners for all the women in the Senate—Democratic 

and Republican alike. We reach across party lines and come 

together because of her. We talk about our work, our families. We share our struggles and our triumphs. What is said 

there stays there. 

Senator MIKULSKI has led us by example, showing us how 

to build coalitions, how to bridge the partisan divide, which 

includes strong partnership with our male colleagues, whom 

she calls ‘‘Sir Galahads.’’ She has also shown us how to stand 

[ 20 ] 

up and make our voices heard. As she says, go ‘‘earring to 

earring’’ with our opponents and ‘‘put on our lipstick, square 

our shoulders, suit up and fight.’’ Legendary Mikulski words. 

To me, Senator MIKULSKI is the whole package—a skilled, 

intelligent negotiator, a Senator who fights for the people, 

and a woman who helps other women. She is our cherished 

leader, and that is why she will always be known as the 

dean of the Senate women. 

When BARBARA announced she would be leaving the Senate, I wrote her a rhyme. I love to write rhymes and lyrics. 

I wrote her the following rhyme: 

Before MIKULSKI won the day, 

A guy would have to pass away, 

And then his wife would take his place. 

Finally, a woman in a Senate space. 

But BARB she got there in her own right. 

First Democratic gal to win that fight. 

She won the race and joined the misters. 

But finally NOW she has 19 sisters! 

BARBARA, next year, because of what you started, because 

of the people you encouraged, there will be 21 women in the 

Senate—a record. Sitting here in my chair, my seat, will be 

an incredible woman. 

Senator MIKULSKI, BARB, my treasured mentor, my dear 

friend, thank you for everything. We have been through battles together. I am forever grateful to you, and I will always 

treasure our friendship. 

I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland. 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I thank the gentlelady 

from California. 

Mrs. BOXER. I like ‘‘gentlelady.’’ 

Ms. MIKULSKI. That is the way we talk here. I thank the 

gentlelady from California for her kind words. We have been 

together through thick, thin, and the attempt to get thin, 

and that story about bending at the waist is a true one. 

I am not the person with the best hairdo or sleek or chic, 

but one of the things I have so admired about my friend is 

her authenticity. We first got to know each other in the 

House, and then I encouraged you to come to the Senate, 

which certainly was the right thing to do. You are yourself. 

You are true to yourself, you are true to your beliefs. You are 

true to your constituents, and you are true to the Constitution. You are such a true blue person. There are many words 

[ 21 ] 

to describe you, such as outspoken, feisty, and all of that, but 

I would say the word that describes you best is ‘‘authentic.’’ 

You are who you are. The people of California have loved you 

for it and sent you to the Congress. 

We started out together basically in city council roles, 

sometimes called the pothole parliament. It has been a pleasure to serve with the Senator from California. I have 

watched you stand up for your beliefs, and along the way, as 

you stood up for your beliefs, you made believers of us all. 

Godspeed to you, Barbara. We are friends forever. 

Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I wish to speak about 

Senator MIKULSKI and then also Senator Boxer, the two 

great Senator BARBARAs who have been such giants in the 

Senate. We are so grateful to both of them. 

Madam President, I do have to say that among the many 

things with which I have been honored and have appreciated 

was when Senator MIKULSKI accepted my offer to stay at the 

Stabenow bed and breakfast after long session nights and 

days when the Appropriations Committee was negotiating 

and doing the incredible work that had to be done. I had the 

honor of being able to put up a plaque in my home that says: 

‘‘Senator BARB slept here.’’ I will always be honored to have 

had that opportunity on top of all of the other ways we have 

worked together. 

It really is an honor to stand here. I can’t imagine the Senate without Senator MIKULSKI and Senator Boxer. I can’t 

imagine the Senate without the incredible service of my dear 

friend and colleague, who is our dean in every sense of the 

word—the senior Senator from the State of Maryland. For 

over 30 years she has worked tirelessly. We know that. We 

hear it every day. We know what the people in Baltimore, 

the Chesapeake Bay area, and all of Maryland care about. 

She has been fighting and standing up for them every single 

moment of every single day. I so admire that, and I am so 

grateful. She has been a wonderful inspiration and mentor 

to me. We have all heard about our dinners and the power 

briefings on appropriations. She has been a continual source 

of inspiration and a mentor to me. 

She reached out to me, as she does to all of our colleagues, 

when I was first elected. She welcomed me and showed me 

what it meant to be a good Senator representing my State 

of Michigan and how to get things done. Senator MIKULSKI

has always been willing to lend a helping hand and has 

never given up when it comes to fighting for the people she 

represents and being a trailblazer. 

[ 22 ] 

I came into the Senate with a master’s degree in social 

work. Senator MIKULSKI has often said that we are the two 

official do-gooders in the Senate. We have taken our interest 

from helping people individually to another level by becoming policymakers, thereby giving us the opportunity to touch 

more lives by using our skills and our background in education as well. 

We all know—but I think it is important to remind ourselves—that she was only 26 when Senator MIKULSKI talked 

about the highway proposal that would have destroyed a 

neighborhood full of working people. She spoke up. She was 

noticed, and she wasn’t afraid to say exactly what she was 

thinking. She was and is absolutely fearless in every good 

sense of that word. She brought that fearlessness to the Senate. That fearlessness made her the first woman to serve as 

chair of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate. It 

doesn’t get more important than that in setting policy and 

having an impact on people’s lives in our country by 

prioritizing the interests of the American people in every 

funding decision. That fearlessness was on display when she 

helped bring us closer to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 

2009, making it closer to having equal pay for equal work 

than it has ever been before. 

Senator MIKULSKI fought for health care. I was proud to 

join her in making sure that women could receive preventive 

care without a copay. She made sure that women were truly 

represented and that our needs were met in health care reform, and that will continue to impact all of the lives of 

women across the country. 

When she turned her eyes to the stars, wondering what 

was up there, she made sure that the Goddard Space Flight 

Center was a leader in exploring the unknown. Like the 

supernova named after her, she has absolutely astonished us 

with her brilliance, and nothing will be quite the same after 

she leaves here. 

Her work in the Senate has made it possible for so many 

women and girls across America to put their hat in the ring 

and say: ‘‘I want to run for office, and I can do it.’’ 

Senator MIKULSKI said it best—there are so many wonderful quotes I will always use—when she said: ‘‘Put your lipstick on, square your shoulders, and suit up. Go into the 

fight and get things done.’’ That has become a mantra for us 

in working together. 

I thank Senator BARB. You will be greatly missed, but I 

know you have so much more to give. I know you will always 

[ 23 ] 

make a difference in people’s lives in every single thing you 

do every single day, and we will be forever grateful. 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, again, I thank the 

gentlelady from Michigan. We both have master’s degrees in 

social work. I joke, but I am actually serious when I say we 

are certified do-gooders. When people hear about social work, 

they sometimes think it is about giving money away, but it 

is really about trying to help people build lives, build families, and therefore build the Nation. The Senator from Michigan’s championship in that area has been amazing to me. 

I am so glad my friend from Michigan is here in the Senate, whether she is standing up for the people in Flint, MI, 

so they have safe drinking water, or standing up for those 

who need help in the area of food and nutrition so there 

aren’t food deserts in communities. That is one of the biggest 

public health initiatives. If you are a diabetic, you can’t comply if all you can get is fast food and french fries. If you are 

a child, you need good food and good nutrition. My friend 

knows more than anybody that you need to feed the body, 

the mind, and the spirit, and she has certainly done that. It 

has been great being your pal and partner. 

Many people don’t know this, but Senator Cardin and I 

commute every day. When those appropriation cycles got 

pretty late, after midnight, the gentlelady from Michigan offered her home to me. We had a saying: ‘‘Stop whining and 

have a glass of wine.’’ There was nothing like being able to 

talk about your day with a colleague who will offer inspiration and encouragement at the end of the day. My friend offered her home, but she has really fought for so many people 

to have a home and a community in order to have what they 

need so they can learn and prosper in this country. 

I just wish you so much and wish you all the best. 

Thank you very much. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware. 

Mr. COONS. Madam President, I wish to offer a few brief 

comments, if I might, so I may thank and congratulate Senator MIKULSKI for her tireless contributions to the State of 

Maryland and the whole country. 

As many know, she is a passionate, capable, effective 

champion for people of all backgrounds, and she got her start 

in local government. One of the things we have in common 

is that I, too, started in a very humble office as a county 

council member in my home community of New Castle County, DE. 

[ 24 ] 

The way I first met BARBARA MIKULSKI and first saw her 

toughness, grit, passion, and determination was in a fight 

over a program she helped give life to, the national service 

program known as AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps is a fantastic 

national program that partners with the Federal Government, State, and local governments, the private sector, and 

nonprofit volunteers. She has been a tireless champion for 

AmeriCorps over many years and has made a lasting difference in its areas of focus and work. 

During my short 6 years here, she has been a great friend 

and a mentor to me and to so many others on both sides of 

the aisle. Joe Biden, our Vice President, has often said: 

‘‘Show me your budget, and I will show you your values.’’ As 

leader of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator 

MIKULSKI helped to lift up our values and helped to make 

sure we invested in effective programs that made sure we 

fed the hungry, housed the homeless, fought for manufacturing, and ensured that Federal workers who lived in Maryland and Federal agencies that were rooted, not just in 

Maryland but around the country, had the resources, support, and capacity to make a lasting difference here in our 

region and for the entire country. 

I just wanted to add my voice to colleagues who stood here 

on the floor and said: We are so grateful to Senator BARBARA

MIKULSKI for her decades of service to Baltimore, to Maryland, and to our country, and for all she has done to lift us 

up together. 

Thank you. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Capito). The Senator 

from Mississippi. 

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I rise to compliment 

and congratulate my good friend and colleague, the senior 

Senator from Maryland, BARBARA MIKULSKI, on her decision 

to retire from the U.S. Senate. We are going to miss her very 

much. She has been a very effective Senator in speaking not 

only as a representative for the State of Maryland but also 

for the entire country on so many different issues and Federal responsibilities of our government. She has been very 

successful in every way—serving as chair of the Committee 

on Appropriations, where it has been my pleasure to work 

closely with her as the vice chair when the Republicans were 

in the minority, and then coming to chair the committee, 

with her as the ranking Democratic member during other periods. 

[ 25 ] 

It has been a distinct honor to serve with her on the Appropriations Committee. In 2012, she became the first 

woman to chair the committee. She has also served as vice 

chairwoman for the past 2 years. I am pleased that we have 

been able to work together to report bills that reflect our 

shared commitment to national security, scientific research, 

education, and economic development. Senator MIKULSKI has 

been a very valuable partner throughout. Her approach to 

funding decisions as chairwoman and vice chairwoman highlights the importance of the constitutional role of Congress 

to be good stewards of taxpayer money. 

I congratulate BARBARA MIKULSKI on her distinguished career representing the people of Maryland which reflects 

great credit on our U.S. Senate. Best wishes to her. 

I yield the floor. 

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, history is dotted with the stories of trailblazers, people who shape the public discourse at 

a pivotal moment in time or change the direction of the debate. One of those trailblazers is BARBARA MIKULSKI, the 

longest serving woman in Senate history, the first woman to 

represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate, and the first woman 

to chair the Senate’s Appropriations Committee. She is 

tough. She is direct. She is dedicated. She is a fighter. She 

is a leader. 

BARBARA MIKULSKI has always fought for our families and 

our children. From her roots as a social worker and community activist to the levels of leadership in the Senate, she has 

held firm to her adage that she is not just the Senator from 

Maryland, she is the Senator for Maryland. From her first 

years in the Senate until now, she has promoted education, 

nutrition, health care, and gender equality in the Senate. 

She led our historic efforts to pass the Lily Ledbetter Fair 

Pay Act—shouting from the rooftops the simple principle 

that women deserve equal pay for equal work. She continued 

that legacy with the Paycheck Fairness Act. Wouldn’t it be 

a fitting tribute if the Senate considered and approved that 

commonsense legislation before she retires? 

Like others in this Chamber, she was a vocal and steadfast 

supporter of the Violence Against Women Act and our most 

recent efforts to reauthorize and expand those life-saving 

programs. She led the efforts to ensure that the Affordable 

Care Act made clear that no one should be discriminated 

against in preventive care. Who can forget her fierce advocacy to make the letter of the law clear that being a woman 

is not a preexisting condition? 

[ 26 ] 

When BARBARA assumed the mantle chairing the Appropriations Committee, she brought with her the tough but fair 

grit that has been her hallmark in the Senate. When asked 

about earmarks, her retort was simple: ‘‘I’ve told Senators 

that if you’re opposed to earmarks, I’ll honor that and won’t 

include any for your State.’’ You always know where you 

stand with BARBARA MIKULSKI. 

Thirty years ago, when she first came to the Senate, 

women filled just two seats in this body. When the Senate 

convenes next year, there will be 21. I hope it won’t be another 30 years for the Senate to be truly representative of 

the country we serve. 

A lifelong Baltimore resident, ‘‘Senator BARB’’ has never 

forgotten her roots, probably because she never left. She remains a Marylander through and through, dedicated to her 

State and never forgetting that listening to your constituents 

is the most important job of all. When Senator MIKULSKI announced her retirement, she told her constituents that the 

question came down to whether she wanted to spend her 

time ‘‘raising money or raising hell to meet your day-to-day 

needs?’’ That is BARBARA. This rang through in her farewell 

speech today to the Senate. 

We often talk of the lions of the Senate. BARBARA MIKULSKI ranks among them. I will miss her fierce advocacy, her 

counsel, her commitment, her tenacity, and her grit. I value 

her friendship, and we will miss her. 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today I wish to honor 

our colleagues who are leaving us at the end of this Congress, six individuals who have done a lot to shape how the 

Senate operates today. 

First I would like to thank my three Republican colleagues 

who are departing. Thank you not only for your service to 

our country but your willingness to work with me and other 

members of my party on a number of issues. . . . 

I would also like to speak to three of my closest colleagues 

on our side of the aisle. 

Over the past 24 years, I have had the pleasure of serving 

in the Senate with Harry Reid, BARBARA MIKULSKI, and Barbara Boxer, and I am grateful not just for our working relationships but for the close friendships I have formed with 

each of them. . . . 

Mr. President, BARBARA MIKULSKI is another fearless leader whom I admire. 

When I first came to the Senate in November 1992, there 

were only three female Senators: Jocelyn Burdick of North 

[ 27 ] 

Dakota, who retired a month later; Nancy Kassebaum of 

Kansas; and, of course, Senator BARB. 

Senator MIKULSKI often quips, ‘‘I may be short, but I won’t 

be overlooked.’’ History certainly will not overlook the contributions she has made. 

Rising to become the first woman to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator MIKULSKI is often described 

as a trailblazer. To the women in the Senate, she is a mentor, the dean of the Senate women. 

From 3 women in 1992 to 20 women Senators today—and 

21 in the next Congress, much of that progress can be attributed to the leadership of the longest serving woman in Congress, Senator MIKULSKI. . . . 

THURSDAY, December 8, 2016 

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I want to take an opportunity 

to salute and thank and commend my colleagues who are departing. . . . 

We also have other colleagues departing: Senator Ayotte 

from New Hampshire; Senator Boxer of California, Senator 

Coats of Indiana; as I mentioned, Senator Kirk of Illinois; 

Senator MIKULSKI of Maryland; Senator Reid of Nevada; and 

Senator Vitter of Louisiana. Each has brought passion in 

their work to best serve their constituents, and the institution of the Senate and the Nation are better for this service. 

I am better for knowing them, working with them, and having the opportunity to share with them, and I want to thank 

them for their service. Let me mention a few words with respect to all of these distinguished Senators. . . . 

Mr. President, BARBARA MIKULSKI—what an extraordinary 

individual. She is a pioneer. She was the first Democratic 

woman Senator elected in her own right. She is the longest 

serving woman in the history of the Congress. BARBARA

MIKULSKI and history are one and the same. She has made 

it. She came from very modest roots in Baltimore. She talked 

yesterday on the floor about her father and mother running 

a small grocery store in her neighborhood. She took that 

sense of community, that sense of dedication, and that sense 

of selfless service to others. As she said, she was inspired by 

the nuns that taught her, and that inspiration was extraordinary and fully realized in her life. There are a lot of Sisters 

of Mercy and Sisters of Notre Dame who are sitting back 

today thinking: I knew that young lady had it in her. 

[ 28 ] 

She certainly did. She led us on the Appropriations Committee, the first woman to chair the committee. She has done 

so much to assist me on issues that are so important to 

Rhode Island. I must say that she and Kit Bond, one of her 

colleagues, were extraordinary in recognizing the problems of 

lead exposure in children and providing needed resources. I 

thank her for that. 

She has assisted the fishermen in communities in Rhode 

Island with real assistance and real aid. She has done it over 

and over. She has given me profound advice, counsel, and 

kindness. 

She said yesterday on the floor: ‘‘The best ship in the 

world is friendship.’’ I agree, but ultimately the measure of 

our service and of our days is kindness. I must say that by 

that measure, she is a very towering figure in the Senate, in 

the history of the United States, and I thank her. . . . 

I have been very fortunate. I have had the privilege to 

serve with these ladies and gentlemen, and I want to thank 

them for their service. 

Mr. ENZI. . . . Mr. President, I also want to take some time 

today to speak about the senior Senator from Maryland, 

BARBARA MIKULSKI. In the years to come, Senator MIKULSKI

will be known for a lot of things that made her years of service to the people of Maryland quite remarkable. It will always be mentioned that she has been the longest serving 

woman in the history of the U.S. Congress. 

Although that is important, Senator MIKULSKI did not 

come to Washington to see how long she could stay. She 

came here to see how much of a difference she could make. 

In the end, she served for so many years because of what she 

was able to do with her time in the House and then in the 

Senate. The people of Maryland have such a strong affection 

for Senator MIKULSKI because they always felt like she was 

one of them. She never lost touch with the people back home. 

Her family name was well known to the people in her 

neighborhood because her parents ran a grocery store. Every 

morning they opened their store early so people could stop 

by to pick up something before they headed off to work. 

In that, and so many other ways, her family played an important role in the day-to-day life of their neighborhood and 

her neighbors never forgot that. When the opportunity came 

for Senator MIKULSKI to run for a seat in the House representing Baltimore, she didn’t hesitate. She took her case to 

the people and they liked what they heard. She won what 

[ 29 ] 

was to be the first of a long series of elections, each of which 

she won easily and impressively. 

Senator MIKULSKI has a number of interests, and one of 

the things I am sure she enjoyed about Congress has been 

her ability to take up a number of those issues to make a 

difference in people’s lives. In everything she has done, she 

has always found a way to help the people back home. A key 

example of that is her fight over ‘‘the road.’’ The battle dates 

back to 1966 when BARBARA was a social worker in Baltimore. The city council proposed building a highway to 

connect downtown Baltimore to its suburbs, a plan that 

BARBARA worried would cause Polish-Americans, AfricanAmericans, and lower income residents to lose their homes. 

As is her way, BARBARA sprung to action by forming a community group of opposition. The road was blocked. BARBARA

wound up on the city council, and the area where the road 

was supposed to be built is now one of Baltimore’s biggest 

draws. 

As far as her work in the Senate goes, one of her many 

legislative victories that I will long remember is work she 

did on something that came to be known as Rosa’s Law. 

Rosa was a 9-year-old young lady who was diagnosed with 

Down syndrome. Her mother was well aware of what a hurtful label things like ‘‘mental retardation’’ and ‘‘mentally retarded’’ were to those who saw them in the Federal laws that 

were written to help them. BARBARA knew there was only 

one solution to this problem and that was to eliminate those 

terms from Federal law. 

I was pleased to be able to help in the effort to pass that 

bill, seeing how much it meant not only to Rosa and her family but to Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI. Our work on that bill 

will stay with me and will be a reminder of the reason we 

work so hard to pass legislation and answer the needs of the 

people back home. 

In the end, it is all about making lives better. That is 

something BARBARA has done every day of her service in 

Congress. As the longest serving woman in Congress, she 

has continued to earn the title of ‘‘Dean of Senate Women.’’ 

She has been a mentor and source of good advice to her colleagues who appreciated being able to ask for her opinion 

and her guidance on their work on the Senate. 

She certainly helped me when I was a new Senator and 

was advocating for low-income housing in Jackson, one of the 

rich areas of our State. With her support, we got that done 

[ 30 ] 

and made sure there was a mix in the community of different occupations and people. 

Her reputation has been to not only help the Members of 

the Senate with whom she has served, it also helped serve 

to encourage the women of Maryland to get active and involved in the work that must be done to make her home 

State and our Nation better places to live. In a very real 

sense, her leadership skills have inspired the next generation of Maryland’s leaders. 

Now Senator MIKULSKI is leaving the Senate after having 

made a difference and leaving her mark on the history of 

Congress. One of the key things she will be remembered for 

is her tireless support of NIH. I know they will miss her and 

her commitment to the principles and values that guided her 

through her career, from her service on the Baltimore City 

Council to her work in the House of Representatives and 

then the Senate. She made a difference everywhere she 

served. For that reason and for many more, she will never 

be forgotten. 

My wife Diana and I join in sending our best wishes to 

Senator MIKULSKI for her years of service. Now that her Senate adventure has come to an end, she will undoubtedly 

come up with more challenges to pursue in the years to 

come. I am hoping these plans might include a followup to 

her mystery novel that was set in the Senate. We are looking 

forward to seeing what the next chapter of her life may include. 

Good luck to these fellow Senators. 

Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, today I wish to honor my 

friend, colleague, and mentor from Maryland, Senator 

BARBARA MIKULSKI, who is retiring at the end of this year. 

BARBARA has an impressively long and distinguished career 

in public service, representing her home State of Maryland 

in Congress for nearly 40 years. 

Since I came to the Senate in 2013, it has been a pleasure 

to serve alongside titans like Senator MIKULSKI. As a matter 

of fact, my first official Senate office was tucked in between 

hers and then-Senator Rockefeller’s on the fifth floor of Hart. 

As neighbors we formed a friendly bond, and I oftentimes 

would stop by to chat with her or sometimes just Mrs. 

O’Malley, who runs a tight ship. On occasion, Senator Rockefeller and I would overstay our welcome, and Mrs. O’Malley 

would kick us out and send us back to our offices. For those 

of you who don’t know, Mrs. O’Malley has played a critical 

role in Senator MIKULSKI’s office for nearly 30 years and has 

[ 31 ] 

helped instill the values of hard work and dedication to a 

generation of Hill staffers. 

As the longest serving woman in Congress, Senator 

MIKULSKI has inspired a generation of women to pursue careers in public service and run for higher office. As dean of 

the women Senators, BARBARA worked to mentor new women 

Senators on how to be effective legislators and build coalitions across party lines to advance landmark legislation. The 

bipartisan women’s group has met regularly under her leadership, helping bridge partisan divides that so often plague 

this Chamber by getting Senators to know each other on a 

personal level over her homemade Maryland crabcakes. 

One cannot mention Senator MIKULSKI without also mentioning her fierce advocacy and determination to make Maryland and our country a better place to live, work, and raise 

a family. One of the first bills I cosponsored when I came to 

the Senate was the Violence Against Women Reauthorization 

Act, VAWA, which BARBARA played a critical role in originally passing. Since its passage in 1994, VAWA has been effective in responding to domestic violence. Additionally, she 

has worked tirelessly in the fight to close the pay gap for 

women, who currently earn about three-quarters of what 

men earn, by advancing the Paycheck Fairness Act, which I 

have proudly cosponsored twice now. Women shouldn’t make 

77 percent of what men earn for the same job. This hurts 

families who are just looking to take care of their kids, put 

food on their table, and keep a roof over their heads. 

Just as Senator MIKULSKI has been an advocate for families, she also understands the critical role science, research, 

and innovation play in creating economic growth in the 

United States. Maryland is home to several great institutions, such as the Goddard Space Flight Center, which I had 

the pleasure of visiting last fall, that are at the forefront of 

their respective fields. When I was at Goddard, the Director 

showed me the fascinating work their researchers and engineers are engaged in and how NASA’s various missions help 

us enhance crop production and be better stewards of our 

planet. Her work on the Senate Appropriations Committee 

has helped keep the United States at the forefront of scientific discovery and technological innovation. 

Senator MIKULSKI is the best of American public service. 

She is smart, honest, empathetic, and outrageously funny. 

She has earned her reputation as a force to be reckoned 

with. On her next chapter, I wish her Godspeed—and may 

the force be with her. 

[ 32 ] 

FRIDAY, December 9, 2016 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. . . . Madam President, I will close my 

remarks by turning to some of our retiring Senators and 

speaking briefly on each one of them. . . . 

So there are two other Senators who are retiring this 

week, and one of them is Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI. She 

has been, as the Presiding Officer [Mrs. Capito] knows, the 

dean of the women in the Senate for a very long time. She 

is the queen of one liners, and one of my favorite ones is one 

she uses when she talks about women elected officials. She 

always says: ‘‘We see things not just at the macro level but 

at the macaroni-and-cheese level.’’ 

After a few years when I had been in the Senate, she 

called us into the President’s Room—a number of the women 

Senators—to gear up for a debate that mattered to the 

women of this country. She, literally—being short, as she 

is—stood on the couch in that room and said, ‘‘Gear up. 

Square your shoulders. Put your lipstick on. Get ready for 

the revolution.’’ 

Now, at the time, I was not even sure what the revolution 

was. I was thinking all the time that she had probably used 

that line for maybe much weightier things. But that is her 

life. She is an advocate. She is a leader. She is someone who 

has championed the women of the Senate and all women in 

elected office. She is the one who was here first, of her own 

making. She is not someone who took over a seat after a 

husband or father had died. She ran, and she ran on her 

own merit, and she leaves on her own merit. She leaves on 

the merit of passing incredibly important bills for Maryland, 

incredibly important legislation for this country. I will miss 

her as a mentor, and we will always miss her dearly. . . . 

So we are going to miss Senator Reid, Senator MIKULSKI, 

and, also, Senator Boxer. 

Mr. MCCONNELL. . . . It goes without saying that keeping 

the Capitol running is a vast undertaking. It requires a passion for service, round-the-clock work, and great sacrifice by 

everyone employed. The legislative process simply wouldn’t 

be possible without the dedicated work of so many. On behalf 

of the Senate, I would like to acknowledge their efforts and 

say thank you to the following: 

To my leadership team for their wise counsel; to our committee chairs and ranking members for so much great work 

over the past 2 years; to the many colleagues in both parties 

for working so hard to make this Senate a success; and, to 

[ 33 ] 

those we are saying farewell to—Senators Coats, Boxer, 

MIKULSKI, Reid, Vitter, Kirk, and Ayotte—for your service to 

our country, I say thank you. . . . 

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to 

BARBARA MIKULSKI, who is retiring from the Senate this 

year, having spent 40 years serving the people of Maryland 

in Congress. 

Senator MIKULSKI has been a trailblazer all her life. She 

grew up in east Baltimore and attended Mount Saint Agnes 

College and the University of Maryland School of Social 

Work. She began her career as a social worker and community organizer before being elected to the Baltimore City 

Council in 1971. In 1976, Senator MIKULSKI won election to 

the U.S. House of Representatives, where she served for 10 

years before winning election to the Senate in 1986. 

At the time Senator MIKULSKI began her Senate service, 

she was one of only two female Senators. Today there are 20 

female Senators. Next Congress there will be 21. Senator 

MIKULSKI has served as a role model and mentor for many 

of these leaders. She is the longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. Congress and retires as an icon for many 

young women who dream of serving their country in elected 

office. 

Senator MIKULSKI has been a leader for many years on 

health care, education, and veterans issues. She is the first 

woman and first Marylander to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee, one of the most influential committees in 

Congress. Senator MIKULSKI has been a strong supporter of 

our Nation’s space program throughout her time in Congress 

and was instrumental in the creation and launch of the 

Hubble and Webb space telescopes. She even has a 

supernova named after her—Supernova Mikulski. 

Senator MIKULSKI has fought long and hard for the people 

of Maryland and for the issues she believes in. She is tenacious and dedicated and knows how to get things done. I 

wish her the very best as she moves on to her next endeavor. 

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute 

to a dear friend and colleague, Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI, 

as she retires after three decades in the U.S. Senate. 

Senator MIKULSKI has been serving the people of Maryland in one form or another for more than 50 years. 

From her time as a social worker helping at-risk children 

and seniors, to the Baltimore City Council, to her four decades of service in the U.S. Congress, Senator MIKULSKI has 

[ 34 ] 

always been a strong champion for women, for working families, and for Maryland. 

On the rare occasion I have found myself on the other side 

of an issue from Senator MIKULSKI, as we in Virginia occasionally have been, I actually find myself wishing Maryland 

had a little bit less of a tenacious advocate in the Senate 

than BARBARA MIKULSKI. 

But luckily for me, I have much more often had the good 

fortune to be standing side by side with Senator MIKULSKI. 

I have been proud to work with her and learn from her on 

a great many issues which will remain her legacies even 

after she leaves the Senate. 

In her position on the Senate Appropriations Committee, 

for instance, Senator MIKULSKI has been instrumental in 

making sure the Federal Government abides by its commitments to Metro, and we have worked together to improve 

oversight of the system’s safety. 

In an environment where they are more often treated as 

political punching bags than like the dedicated public servants they are, Federal employees have always known that 

they can count on Senator MIKULSKI to have their backs. 

Senator MIKULSKI might occasionally have trouble reaching the microphones—but when it comes to the issues affecting women, children, working families, and Maryland, Senator MIKULSKI’s voice is nearly always the loudest voice in 

the room. 

Today there are more students in school, more women in 

the workforce, and fewer seniors living in poverty as a result 

of her determination and her leadership. 

It is well known in this body that Senator MIKULSKI is a 

force of nature, with a wit to match. 

Her signature one liners aren’t just funny—though they 

usually are—but she also has a way of cutting to the heart 

of the issue and speaking directly to people that I know will 

be greatly missed by both her colleagues and her constituents. 

It is no surprise that the people of Maryland have chosen, 

over and over again, to send this extraordinary leader back 

to the Senate on their behalf. 

Today there are 20 women Senators, but when BARBARA

MIKULSKI first decided to ‘‘suit up’’ and run for the Senate, 

women in public office at any level were a rarity indeed— 

rarer still in this body. 

Thirty years after President Reagan, campaigning for her 

opponent in that first Senate race, predicted that BARBARA

[ 35 ] 

MIKULSKI would go the way of other short-lived fads like the 

‘‘Edsel, the hula hoop, and the all-asparagus diet,’’ Senator 

MIKULSKI retires from the Senate as the longest serving 

woman in congressional history. 

So while she may be leaving us here in the Senate, one of 

Senator BARB’s greatest legacies may be inspiring generations of American women to follow in her footsteps. 

Senator MIKULSKI, thank you for your service and your 

friendship. 

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the many 

accomplishments of my colleague Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI, the dean of the Senate women. When she took office 

during the 100th Congress in 1987, BARBARA was the first 

Democratic woman Senator elected in her own right. There 

were only two women Senators at the time, BARBARA and 

Nancy Kassebaum. Certain expectations that we could consider arcane, such as women were expected to wear skirts or 

dresses on the floor, were still in place. In 1993, BARBARA, 

Nancy, and their staffs mounted a simple protest—they wore 

trousers on the Senate floor. 

‘‘The Senate parliamentarian had looked at the rules to 

see if it was OK,’’ she recounted. ‘‘So, I walk on that day and 

you would have thought I was walking on the Moon. It 

caused a big stir.’’ 

As someone who rarely wears skirts and only wears 

pantsuits on the Senate floor, I and many others are grateful. This simple act of commonsense defiance, if you will, in 

a body steeped in tradition, exemplifies BARBARA’s approach 

to getting things done and getting on with the important 

matters of the day. That she is a trailblazer goes without 

saying. 

Throughout her time in the Senate, BARBARA has fought 

for equal pay for equal work. The gender pay gap costs 

women hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetime. 

She led the charge in the Senate to pass the Lilly Ledbetter 

Fair Pay Act, and I am proud to stand with her in calling 

for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act and other equal 

pay proposals. 

As our dean, usually over dinner, we get to know each 

other on a personal level. In a body where these opportunities are rare, it matters. During summer 2014, it was my 

turn to host our gathering. I greeted each Senator with a lei, 

served local food from Hawaii, and hosted a hula performance. The aloha spirit was definitely present. 

[ 36 ] 

The next day, BARBARA told me that the dinner was very 

special and gave her a better understanding about what 

it must be like to be in Hawaii. It meant a lot to me for 

BARBARA to make that observation because Hawaii truly is 

a special place where embracing and caring for others, our 

ohana, is how we aspire to live. 

BARBARA has shown her aloha spirit to me and so many 

others throughout her time in public service. I will miss her 

wit, leadership, drive, and compassion. 

Aloha, BARBARA, and a hui hou, ‘‘until we meet again.’’ 

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, today I want to pay tribute to 

two colleagues who are retiring at the end of this year, Senator Boxer and Senator MIKULSKI, two remarkable Democratic women Senators leaving the Senate as four new 

women come in. . . . 

Mr. President, this year we are also saying farewell to our 

colleague, BARBARA MIKULSKI, the senior Senator from 

Maryland. 

Senator MIKULSKI first entered politics almost 50 years 

ago when she was elected to the Baltimore City Council in 

1971. Five years later, she was elected to the U.S. House of 

Representatives and, a decade after that, she was elected to 

the U.S. Senate. 

Senator MIKULSKI is the longest serving woman in the history of Congress and is the first woman Senator to be elected 

in her own right. 

These achievements are notable, but they are not what inspired BARBARA to come to work every day. 

Senator MIKULSKI once remarked that, ‘‘Each one of us can 

make a difference. Together, we make change.’’ That is what 

BARBARA MIKULSKI sought to do every day. 

As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Senator MIKULSKI has championed education, workers’ rights, and health care. She has stood up for 

our children and our seniors. 

As a member of the Appropriations Committee since she 

arrived in the Senate, BARBARA MIKULSKI has worked tirelessly to ensure that the programs that advance those priorities receive the funding they need to be successful. 

Margaret Chase Smith once said, ‘‘Public service must be 

more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a 

complete dedication to the people and the nation.’’ 

Senator MIKULSKI dedicated her life to the people of Maryland and the country. We will miss her in this Chamber and 

wish her well. 

[ 37 ] 

Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, as this eventful 114th Congress draws to a close, today I wish to honor a number of our 

colleagues who will be ending their service in the Senate. I 

was a newcomer to the Senate at the beginning of this Congress and the only Democrat in the freshman Senate class 

of 2014. I am eternally grateful for the guidance and wisdom 

of my fellow Senators, particularly those with decades of experience fighting for the American people. Constituents, colleagues, and historians will recount their accomplishments 

for years to come, but I will take a few minutes now to convey some brief words of praise and gratitude. . . . 

Mr. President, I would also like to honor Senator BARBARA

MIKULSKI, who blazed a trail for women in the Senate and 

always looks out for the members of our communities no 

matter their gender, race, or identity. As the father of two 

daughters, as well as a son, I greatly admire Senator MIKULSKI’s work to break barriers for women. She has fiercely 

fought to ensure that all women have access to essential 

health care services, is a champion for equal pay, and passed 

legislation that expanded childcare access for all families. 

A daughter of Baltimore and a former social worker, Senator MIKULSKI also knows the challenges that our communities face. She has been dedicated to supporting our older 

industrial communities like Baltimore and Detroit so that 

they can compete in the new economy. I would also like to 

recognize her leadership as vice chairwoman on the Appropriations Committee. We owe her a debt of gratitude for her 

eagle eye and unrelenting spirit in defending essential programs in areas including health care, education, job creation, 

infrastructure, and national security. Our work on breaking 

down barriers and advancing these priorities is not yet done, 

but I thank Senator MIKULSKI for leading the way. . . . 

It has been a privilege to work with such talented and 

committed colleagues. I wish them all the best in this next 

chapter of their lives and thank them for their work. Thank 

you. 

ORDER FOR PRINTING OF SENATE DOCUMENTS 

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 

that there be printed as a Senate document a compilation of 

materials from the Congressional Record in tribute to retiring Members of the 114th Congress, and an additional Senate document a compilation of materials from the Congressional Record in tribute to the President of the Senate, Joe 

[ 38 ] 

Biden, and that Members have until Tuesday, December 20, 

to submit such tributes. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. 

ORDER FOR PRINTING 

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 

that any tributes submitted by December 20, 2016, as authorized by the order of December 10, 2016, be printed in the 

January 3, 2017, Congressional Record of the 114th Congress. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. 

[ 39 ] 

Proceedings in the House of 

Representatives 

THURSDAY, December 8, 2016 

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today and join with 

my colleagues from Maryland in congratulating and saluting 

Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI on her amazing and outstanding 

career. 

They often say of people that, once they start their career, 

they never look back. Well, in Senator MIKULSKI’s case, she 

always looked back. She always remembered where she came 

from, and she fought for the people of east Baltimore every 

step of the way. 

I had the pleasure over the years, as I attended events 

with Senator MIKULSKI, of gathering what I call Mikulskiisms, these golden nuggets of wisdom that you can live by. 

I wanted to mention a few. 

She used to talk about the need to cooperate. She used to 

say: ‘‘I am not into finger-pointing; I am into pinpointing.’’ 

She said, ‘‘When others are wringing their hands, we need 

to come with a helping hand.’’ 

She talked about the fact that, behind every me, is a ‘‘we.’’ 

She talked about how people have three shifts every day: 

they work at their job, they come home and they work for 

their family, and they serve in their community. 

I remember her once referring to a particularly futile effort 

as ‘‘spitting off the Bay Bridge to raise the tide.’’ 

We love to remember Senator MIKULSKI’s voice. We are 

going to miss her in this place, but we are going to remember that voice that fought for Baltimore, for Maryland, and 

for America. 

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute Senator BARBARA MIKULSKI, the longtime quarterback of Team 

Maryland, on the occasion of her well-deserved retirement 

after nearly four decades in Congress. 

Senator MIKULSKI has truly made history, both by her extraordinary longevity and her tenacious leadership. She is 

[ 40 ] 

the longest serving woman in the Senate, and the first 

Democratic woman elected to the Chamber in her own right. 

BARBARA and I bonded over our shared passion for local 

government. We both know it is where the rubber meets the 

road, and we both believe that all politics is local. That is 

what has made her so popular and so effective. 

We have both worked hand in hand as appropriators, Senator MIKULSKI as the ranking member of her respective committee. She has worked tirelessly for critical resources to improve our roads, schools, and police, to create jobs, and create opportunities. 

There are two things about Senator MIKULSKI that have 

always impressed me in her public service. 

First, she always relates to her father’s corner store on 

South Eden Street in Baltimore City. When he opened his 

doors each day, he would say, ‘‘How may I help you?’’ Senator MIKULSKI often quotes that mantra and, more important, lives by it every day of her life for the people of the 

State of Maryland. 

The second thing that impresses me is a saying she always 

says, ‘‘It is not about the building.’’ Senator MIKULSKI has 

never cared about the bricks and mortar. She cares about 

the people who work inside the building, what they can do, 

how they help the citizens, and how she can help them. 

BARBARA, for all you have done for Baltimore, for Maryland, and for the country, the words ‘‘thank you’’ just don’t 

seem enough. I am very proud to call you my friend and 

mentor, and I wish you all the best in the days ahead. 

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to someone 

whom I have known and called a friend for many years— 

over three decades, perhaps four—BARBARA MIKULSKI—the 

tallest short person I have ever met. She fills a room. Everybody knows when BARBARA MIKULSKI is in the Chamber or 

in the room or in the auditorium. 

BARBARA MIKULSKI, as you have heard, will retire at the 

end of this Congress after having served Maryland in the 

House and Senate since 1977. I had the opportunity to serve 

with her in this House for some 6 years. 

For 40 years, she has been a voice for the people of our 

State, not just a voice for all people, but, in particular, for 

those people whose voices needed amplifying: the poor, the 

sick, the overworked, the underpaid, the Baltimore dockworkers worried for their jobs, the women earning less than 

their male colleagues for the same work, the children in fosVerDate Aug 31 2005 12:18 May 15, 2017 Jkt 098900 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 H:\DOCS\BYEBYE\BYEBYE16\23051.TXT KAYNE
[ 41 ] 

ter care or in homeless shelters. All of them have come to see 

BARBARA MIKULSKI as their champion. 

In many ways, she began her career as a social worker and 

brought that work to Congress. She returns as one of the 

most successful social workers in history. She has worked 

hard to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, to support America’s 

first responders, and to broaden our exploration of space and 

science. What a giant she has been for NASA. She has 

helped seniors afford health care and keep America’s promise to its veterans. She passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay 

Act, introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act to end the wage 

gap once and for all, and has fought continuously to raise the 

minimum wage. 

Senator MIKULSKI blazed the trail as the longest serving 

woman in the history of Congress; was the first woman to be 

elected without a relative as a predecessor; and was the first 

woman and first Marylander to chair the Appropriations 

Committee. She has left an indelible mark on millions across 

Maryland and across America. 

I have been proud to serve alongside her and I will miss 

her in the Capitol as I know so many others will as well. My 

colleagues and I rise. We will lament the loss of Senator MIKULSKI as our colleague in the Congress, but we will be so 

proud that we have been able to call her colleague and 

friend. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity 

to reflect, once again, on Senator MIKULSKI’s vision for 

America and upon all that she has achieved in public life. 

On a personal note, I am deeply grateful that God has 

given me the opportunity to know and work with a woman 

who all would agree is a remarkable human being and a person I am honored to call my friend. 

BARBARA MIKULSKI’s progressive values are solid, and they 

are clear, and we have always known that she would fight 

for all of us every single day. Less well known, however, is 

BARBARA MIKULSKI’s lifetime vision of bringing all of America’s working families together in support of progressive 

change. Here is a dream that ties together her roots in 

Highlandtown, in Baltimore, with my own heritage from 

south Baltimore and west Baltimore. 

She is, indeed, a very special woman. She has never forgotten from whence she has come. One of the things I also love 

about BARBARA MIKULSKI is that she consistently synchronizes her conduct with her conscience. 

[ 42 ] 

We will miss her, but we know that BARBARA will always 

be fighting for the people of our great city, for the great people of the State of Maryland, and for the people of these 

great United States. 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, long before the last 

‘‘Star Wars’’ movie came out, I said, ‘‘When Senator MIKULSKI is with you, the Force is with you.’’ 

Senator MIKULSKI has been a powerful force for good in 

Maryland and throughout the Nation. She has been a fierce 

fighter for American workers, for our veterans, for our seniors, and for people from all walks of life. Her leadership on 

the Appropriations Committee brought vital investments to 

the thriving Port of Baltimore and to the Social Security Administration. She has supported security missions in places 

like Fort Meade, investments in life-saving research at the 

NIH, and discoveries at NASA. She authored the very first 

bill that was signed by President Obama, the Lilly Ledbetter 

law, to give women who faced pay discrimination their day 

in court. 

BARBARA MIKULSKI started in politics by fighting a plan to 

build a highway through her beloved neighborhood of Fells 

Point. She won that fight, and, 40 years later, she is still 

waging and winning fights for working families. 

A few years back, when NASA’s scientists discovered a 

new supernova, they named it Supernova Mikulski, and I 

know her legacy will always burn bright for Maryland and 

for our country. 

Thank you, Senator BARB. 

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, as a Representative from Ohio 

and as the senior woman in the House, I join my remarks 

to those of former Congresswoman and now U.S. Senator 

from Maryland, BARBARA MIKULSKI, in tribute to her incredible service. 

When I first arrived, she was a Member of this House, and 

I remember how gracious she was to me. Her background 

from working class, blue collar America—from a steel town 

like Baltimore, which has transformed since then—brought 

the concerns and the passion of someone from the working 

class. She continued on that road every single day whether 

she was here on the House side or went to the other body 

as the longest serving woman in U.S. history. Imagine that. 

Baltimore is famous for having little steps that people go 

into their bungalows from, and she took a giant leap. Even 

though she was probably still one of the shortest Members 

[ 43 ] 

of Congress physically, she remains one of the tallest women 

in American history. I think of her when I look at the dome 

of the Capitol, and I see the woman facing east—the symbol 

of liberty. She held aloft high not just the flag, but the vision 

for an America inclusive of all. 

We wish her Godspeed in the years ahead. I maintain my 

fond memories of her and of her incredible leadership on 

every subcommittee on which she served and of the honorable service that she provided not just to the citizens of 

Maryland, but to our entire country. 

God bless you, Senator MIKULSKI, your family, your 

friends, and those who value your service beyond measure. 

Æ