Barbara Mikulski

Barbara Mikulski
United States Senator from Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1987 Serving with Ben Cardin
Preceded by	Charles Mathias, Jr.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations
Incumbent
Assumed office December 17, 2012
Preceded by	Daniel Inouye
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Paul Sarbanes
Succeeded by	Ben Cardin
Member of the Baltimore City Council
In office 1971–1976
Personal details
Born	Barbara Ann Mikulski (1936-07-20) July 20, 1936 Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	None
Residence	Baltimore, Maryland
Alma mater	Mount Saint Agnes College (B.A.) University of Maryland (M.S.W.)
Profession	Social Worker
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature
Website	www.mikulski.senate.gov

Barbara Ann Mikulski (born July 20, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party, serving since 1987. Mikulski, a former United States Representative from 1977 to 1987, is the longest-serving woman in the history of the U.S. Congress.

Raised in the Highlandtown neighborhood of East Baltimore, Mikulski attended Mount Saint Agnes College and the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Originally a social worker and community organizer, she was elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1971 after delivering a highly publicized address on the "ethnic movement" in America. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, and in 1986 she became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Maryland.

Mikulski is chairwoman of the Health Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging and Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, and is a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence. Mikulski became chair of the Appropriations Committee following the death of Senator Daniel Inouye.

Early life, education and career

The great-granddaughter of Polish immigrants who owned a local bakery, Barbara Mikulski is the oldest of three daughters of Christine Eleanor (née Kutz) and William Mikulski. She was born and raised in the Highlandtown neighborhood of East Baltimore. During her high school years at the Institute of Notre Dame, she worked in her parents' grocery store, delivering groceries to seniors in her neighborhood who were unable to leave their homes.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Mount Saint Agnes College (now a part of Loyola University Maryland) in 1958, she obtained her master's degree in social work (MSW) from the University of Maryland School of Social Work in 1965. She worked as a social worker for Catholic charities and Baltimore's Department of Social Services, helping at-risk children and educating seniors about the Medicare program. Mikulski became an activist social worker when she heard about plans to build a 16-lane highway through Baltimore's Fells Point and Canton neighborhoods. She helped organize communities on both sides of the city and stopped the construction of the road, saving Fells Point and Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

At only 4 ft 11 in, Mikulski is believed to be the shortest person ever to serve in Congress.^{[citation needed]}

Early political career

Mikulski received her first national attention in 1970 as a result of her remarks at a conference at The Catholic University of America regarding “Ethnic Americans”, convened by Msgr. Geno Baroni. Her message became one of the major documents of the “ethnic movement”.

“

America is not a melting pot. It is a sizzling cauldron for the ethnic American who feels that he has been politically courted and legally extorted by both government and private enterprise. The ethnic American is sick of being stereotyped as a racist and dullard by phony white liberals, pseudo black militants and patronizing bureaucrats. He pays the bill for every major government program and gets nothing or little in the way of return. Tricked by the political rhetoric of the illusionary funding for black-oriented social programs, he turns his anger to race — when he himself is the victim of class prejudice. [He] has worked hard all his life to become a 'good American;' he and his sons have fought on every battlefield — then he is made fun of because he likes the flag. The ethnic American is overtaxed and underserved at every level of government. He does not have fancy lawyers or expensive lobbyists getting him tax breaks on his income. Being a home owner, he shoulders the rising property taxes — the major revenue source for the municipalities in which he lives. Yet he enjoys very little from these unfair and burdensome levies. ... [T]he ethnic American also feels unappreciated for the contribution he makes to society. He resents the way the working class is looked down upon. In many instances he is treated like the machine he operates or the pencil he pushes. He is tired of being treated like an object of production. The public and private institutions have made him frustrated by their lack of response to his needs. At present he feels powerless in his daily dealings with and efforts to change them. Unfortunately, because of old prejudices and new fears, anger is generated against other minority groups rather than those who have power. What is needed is an alliance of white and black, white collar, blue collar and no collar based on mutual need, interdependence and respect, an alliance to develop the strategy for new kinds of community organization and political participation.

”

Mikulski's activism led to a seat on the Baltimore City Council in 1971. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1974, losing to the Republican incumbent, Charles Mathias, Jr.. It has thus far been the only election that Mikulski ever lost.

U.S. Senate career

Mikulski speaking to a patient at a military hospital, 1980.

Senator Mikulski joins Senator Kit Bond and actor David Hyde Pierce in promoting awareness of Alzheimer's disease.

Mikulski speaks at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

In September 2009, the "tell-all" book The Clinton Tapes revealed that during the 2000 presidential election, President Bill Clinton suggested Mikulski as a running mate for Al Gore, who instead chose her colleague Joe Lieberman. In 2007, Mikulski endorsed her colleague, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), for President of the United States, praising her as a leader and citing her desire to break the "glass ceiling" by electing the first woman president.

Committee assignments

Mikulski serves on the following Senate committees (standing committees in bold):

• Committee on Appropriations (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
  • Subcommittee on Children and Families (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging
• Select Committee on Intelligence

Political positions

Mikulski was one of 11 senators to vote against both the 1991 and 2002 resolutions authorizing the use of force in Iraq.

Mikulski has opposed predatory lending, and has had been an outspoken opponent of Fairbanks Capital (now Select Portfolio Servicing), alleged to have illegally foreclosed on over 100 homes in Maryland.

Mikulski voted in favor of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which granted immunity to the telecom companies that cooperated with the NSA in warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens.

On October 1, 2008, Mikulski voted in favor of HR1424, the Senate version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which provided a $700 billion bailout to the United States financial market.

Political campaigns

See also: United States Senate election in Maryland, 2010

In 1976, she was elected to represent Maryland's 3rd congressional district from 1977 to 1987, never facing substantive opposition in the heavily Democratic district.

Mathias announced his retirement before the 1986 elections. At the time of this announcement, it was expected that then-Governor Harry Hughes would be the favorite to succeed Mathias. However, Hughes became caught up in the aftermath of the Maryland savings and loan crisis. He lost popularity with voters, opening the door for Mikulski's bid for the Senate. During the campaign, her Republican opponent, Linda Chavez, made comments that Mikulski's supporters interpreted as an attempt to draw attention to the issue of Mikulski's sexual orientation. Mikulski never directly responded to the issue and eventually won the race with 61 percent of the vote.^{[citation needed]} She was the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).

Mikulski, popularly known as "Senator Barb," was reelected with large majorities in 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010. Having won reelection in 2010, she has surpassed Margaret Chase Smith as the longest-serving female senator. ABC News named Mikulski its Person of the Week for that milestone. On March 17, 2012, she became the longest-serving female member of Congress in the history of the United States, surpassing the previous record-holder, Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts, who served from 1925 to 1960.

Electoral history

Year	Office	Election		Subject	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%
1974	MD Senator, Class 3	General		Charles Mathias	Republican	503,223	57.3%		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	374,563	42.7%
1976	Congress, MD 3rd district	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	143,461	74.59%		Samuel Culotta	Republican	36,447	25.41%
1978	Congress, MD 3rd district	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	91,189	100%		Unopposed
1980	Congress, MD 3rd district	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	134,367	76.13%		Russell Schaffer	Republican	32,074	23.87%
1982	Congress, MD 3rd district	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	110,042	74.2%		Robert Scherr	Republican	38,259	25.8%
1984	Congress, MD 3rd district	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	133,189	68.21%		Ross Pierpont	Republican	59,493	30.47%
1986	MD Senator, Class 3	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	675,225	60.69%		Linda Chavez	Republican	437,411	39.31%
1992	MD Senator, Class 3	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	1,307,610	71%		Alan Keyes	Republican	533,688	28.98%
1998	MD Senator, Class 3	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	1,062,810	70.5%		Ross Pierpont	Republican	444,637	29.5%
2004	MD Senator, Class 3	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	1,504,691	64.77%		E. J. Pipkin	Republican	783,055	33.71%
2010	MD Senator, Class 3	General		Barbara Mikulski	Democratic	1,093,646	61.82%		Eric Wargotz	Republican	639,155	36.13%

External links

• Senator Barbara Mikulski official U.S. Senate website
• Barbara Mikulski for U.S. Senate official campaign website
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Profile at Ballotpedia
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance (federal office) at LegiStorm.com
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Voting record at The Washington Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Collected news and commentary at The Washington Post

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Paul Sarbanes	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd congressional district 1977-1987	Succeeded by Ben Cardin
United States Senate
Preceded by Charles Mathias, Jr.	United States Senator (Class 3) from Maryland 1987–present Served alongside: Paul Sarbanes, Benjamin Cardin	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by David Pryor	Secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference 1995–2005	Succeeded by Debbie Stabenow
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Jay Rockefeller D-West Virginia	United States Senators by seniority 10th	Succeeded by Richard Shelby R-Alabama