Barbara Mikulski | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2011 | |||||||||||||
| United States Senator fromMaryland | |||||||||||||
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2017 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Charles Mathias | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Chris Van Hollen | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's3rd district | |||||||||||||
| In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1987 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Paul Sarbanes | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ben Cardin | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | Barbara Ann Mikulski (1936-07-20)July 20, 1936 (age 88) Baltimore,Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic | ||||||||||||
| Education | Mount Saint Agnes College (BA) University of Maryland, Baltimore (MSW) | ||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||
Barbara Mikulski reflects on her legislative career upon becoming the longest-serving woman in Congress Recorded March 21, 2012 | |||||||||||||
Barbara Ann Mikulski (/mɪˈkʌlski/mih-CULL-skee; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as aUnited States senator fromMaryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of theDemocratic Party, she also served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987. Mikulski is the third-longest-serving femaleUnited States Senator,[1][2] and the longest-serving U.S. Senator inMaryland history.[a]
Raised in theFells Point neighborhood of EastBaltimore, Mikulski attendedMount Saint Agnes College and theUniversity of Maryland School of Social Work.[3][4] Originally asocial worker andcommunity organizer, she was elected to theBaltimore City Council in 1971 after delivering a highly publicized address on the "ethnic movement" in America.[4] She was elected to the House of Representatives in 1976, and in 1986, she became the first woman elected to the United States Senate from Maryland.[5]
From the death of SenatorDaniel Inouye in December 2012 until 2015, Mikulski chaired theSenate Appropriations Committee. She was the first woman and first Marylander to hold the position.[6][7] At her retirement, she was the ranking minority member of the committee. She also served on theHealth, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and theSelect Committee on Intelligence.
On March 2, 2015, Mikulski announced that she would retire after five terms in the Senate and would not seek reelection in2016.[8][9] In January 2017, Mikulski joinedJohns Hopkins University as a professor of public policy and advisor to University PresidentRonald J. Daniels.[10]
Mikulski was born and raised in theFell's Point neighborhood of EastBaltimore, the eldest of the three daughters of Christine Eleanor (née Kutz) and William Mikulski.[11][12] Her parents were both ofPolish descent; herimmigrant great-grandparents had owned abakery in Baltimore. During her high school years at theInstitute of Notre Dame,[13] she worked in her parents'grocery store, delivering groceries to elderly neighbors who were unable to leave their homes.
After graduating with aBachelor of Arts inSociology fromMount Saint Agnes College (now a part ofLoyola University Maryland) in 1958,[13] she obtained hermaster's degree insocial work (MSW) from theUniversity of Maryland School of Social Work in 1965.[14] She worked as asocial worker forCatholic charities and Baltimore'sDepartment of Social Services, helping at-risk children and educating seniors about theMedicare program. Mikulski became anactivist social worker when she heard about plans to buildInterstate 95 through Baltimore'sFells Point andCanton neighborhoods. She helped organize communities on both sides of the city and successfully fought tostop the construction of the road. Her efforts to prevent the highway from running through Southeast Baltimore also resulted in the establishment of the Southeast Community Organization, a non-profit which worked to improve Baltimore neighborhoods.[15]
Mikulski first received national attention in 1970 because of her remarks at a conference atThe Catholic University of America regarding "Ethnic Americans" convened byMsgr. Geno Baroni. Her message became one of the major documents of the "ethnic movement". Mikulski's remarks included the following:
America is not amelting pot. It is a sizzling cauldron for the ethnic American who feels that he has been politically courted and legallyextorted by both government and private enterprise. The ethnic American is sick of being stereotyped as aracist and dullard by phony whiteliberals, pseudoblack militants and patronizingbureaucrats. 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 theworking 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.[16]
Mikulski's activism led to a seat on theBaltimore City Council in 1971. In 1973 incoming Chairperson of theDemocratic National CommitteeRobert S. Strauss appointed then Baltimore City Councilperson Mikulski to chair the Democratic Party Commission on New Delegate Selection and Party Structure. She was instrumental in solidifying democratizing reforms to the national delegate selection process.[17][18]
In 1976,Paul Sarbanes gave up his seat inMaryland's 3rd congressional district to make a successful run for the Senate. Mikulski won a crowded seven-way Democratic primary—the key election given a heavily Democratic district—and won easily in theNovember elections. She was reelected four more times, never facing substantive opposition.[citation needed]
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Mikulski first ran for the U.S. Senate in1974, winning the Democratic nomination to faceRepublican incumbentCharles Mathias. Although well known to residents in her city, Mikulski had limited name recognition in the rest of the state.[19]
As an advocate forcampaign finance reform, Mathias refused to accept any contribution over $100 to "avoid the curse of big money that has led to so much troublein the last year".[20] However, he still managed to raise over $250,000, nearly five times Mikulski's total. Ideologically, Mikulski and Mathias agreed on many issues, such as closing tax loopholes and easing taxes on themiddle class. On two issues, however, Mathias argued to reform Congress and the U.S. tax system to address inflation and corporate price fixing, contrary to Mikulski.[19] In retrospect,The Washington Post felt the election was "an intelligent discussion of state, national, and foreign affairs by two smart, well-informed people".[21]
WithMaryland voters, Mathias benefited from his frequent disagreements with theNixon administration and his liberal voting record. On November 5, 1974, he was re-elected by a 57% to 43% margin, though he lost badly in Baltimore City andBaltimore County, where Mikulski was popular.[19] This election is the only election that Mikulski has ever lost.[22]
Mathias announced his retirement before the1986 elections. At the time of this announcement, it was expected that then-GovernorHarry Hughes would be the favorite to succeed Mathias. However, Hughes became caught up in the aftermath of the Marylandsavings and loan crisis. He lost popularity with voters, opening the door for Mikulski's bid for the Senate. TheRepublican nominee wasLinda Chavez, who left her post asAssistant to the President for Public Liaison in an attempt to win the seat. The election was the second time in modern U.S. history that two women faced each other in a statewide general election. The race was covered by national media, with observers noting that Chavez was very unlikely to win.[23]
In the campaign, Chavez attacked Mikulski, a lifelong Baltimore resident, as a "San Francisco-style, George McGovern, liberal Democrat".[24] Chavez was accused of making Mikulski'ssexual orientation a central issue of thepolitical campaign.[25] Chavez wrote that the term referred toJeane Kirkpatrick's1984 Republican National Convention "Blame America First" speech, in which she coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal" in reference to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.[24] Using political advertisements and press conferences, Chavez attacked Mikulski's former aide Teresa Brennan as "anti-male" and a "radical feminist", implying that Brennan and Mikulski were radical lesbians and that "fascist feminism" was Mikulski's political philosophy.[26][27] Brennan had not been part of Mikulski's staff for five years, but Chavez implied Brennan was still working on Mikulski's campaign.[28] Mikulski did not respond in kind to the attacks. She defeated Chavez with 61% of the vote.[29] She also served alongsidePaul Sarbanes, the man she'd succeeded in the House.
Mikulski, popularly known as "Senator Barb",[30] was re-elected with large majorities in1992,1998,2004, and2010. Having won re-election in 2010, she has surpassedMargaret Chase Smith as the longest-serving female senator.[31]ABC News named Mikulski itsPerson of the Week for that milestone.[32] 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.[33]
In September 2009, the "tell-all" bookThe Clinton Tapes revealed that during the2000 presidential election, PresidentBill Clinton suggested Mikulski as a running mate forAl Gore, who instead chose his colleagueJoe Lieberman.[34] In 2007, Mikulski endorsed her colleague, Sen.Hillary Clinton (D-NY), forPresident of the United States, praising her as a leader and citing her desire to break the "glass ceiling" by electing the first woman president. Senator Mikulski nominated Hillary Clinton for President of the United States at the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016.
From 2007 to 2017, Mikulski served alongsideBen Cardin, who succeeded her in the 3rd District and held it for 20 years until succeeding Sarbanes in the Senate.
On June 3, 2013, Mikulski introduced theChild Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2013 (S. 1086; 113th Congress), which passed in the Senate.[35] The bill wouldreauthorize theChild Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provideblock grants to the states to help low-income parents find child care for their children.[36] In addition to reauthorizing the program, it also makes amendments to the law to try to improve it. Some of those improvements include required background checks on grant recipients and annual inspections.[36] Mikulski argued that "this bill ensures that all children get the care they need and deserve."[36]
On April 1, 2014, Mikulski introduced thePaycheck Fairness Act (S. 2199; 113th Congress),[37] a measure that aims to strengthen the Fair Labor Standards Act's protections against pay inequalities based on gender. It is a bill that "punishes employers for retaliating against workers who share wage information, puts the justification burden on employers as to why someone is paid less and allows workers to sue for punitive damages of wage discrimination".[38] Mikulski said that "it brings tears to my eyes to know women are working so hard and being paid less" and that "it makes me emotional when I hear that... I get angry, I get outraged and I get volcanic".[38]
In the 114th Congress, Mikulski served on the followingSenate committees (standing committees in bold):
Women were not allowed to wear pants on the U.S. Senate floor until 1993.[39][40] In 1993, Senators Mikulski andCarol Moseley Braun wore pants onto the floor in defiance of the rule, and female support staff followed soon after, with the rule being amended later that year by Senate Sergeant-at-ArmsMartha Pope to allow women to wear pants on the floor so long as they also wore a jacket.[39][40]
In 2014, Mikulski was voted the "meanest senator" inWashingtonian's survey of congressional staffers.[41]
Mikulski was one of 11 senators to vote against both the1991 and2002resolutions authorizing the use of force inIraq.[42][43]
Mikulski has opposedpredatory lending, and has been an outspoken opponent of Fairbanks Capital (nowSelect Portfolio Servicing), alleged to have illegallyforeclosed on over 100 homes in Maryland.[44]
Mikulski has been an outspoken advocate for theEqual Rights Amendment.[45] She has also spoken in support ofabortion rights and has stated she does not view the opposition to this issue asmisogynistic.[46]
On October 1, 2008, Mikulski voted in favor ofHR1424, the Senate version of theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which provided a $700 billionbailout to the United States financial market.
In October 2013, Mikulski sponsored a bill honoringnaturopathic medicine.[47]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Charles Mathias (inc.) | 503,223 | 57.3 | |
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski | 374,663 | 42.7 | |
| Invalid or blank votes | ||||
| Total votes | 877,886 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski | 307,876 | 49.50% | |
| Democratic | Michael D. Barnes | 195,086 | 31.37% | |
| Democratic | Harry Hughes | 88,908 | 14.30% | |
| Democratic | Debra Hanania Freeman | 9,350 | 1.50% | |
| Democratic | Edward M. Olszewski | 7,877 | 1.27% | |
| Democratic | A. Robert Kaufman | 6,505 | 1.05% | |
| Democratic | Boyd E. Sweatt | 3,580 | 0.58% | |
| Democratic | Leonard E. Trout, Jr. | 2,742 | 0.44% | |
| Total votes | 621,924 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski | 675,225 | 60.69% | +26.85% | |
| Republican | Linda Chavez | 437,411 | 39.31% | −26.85% | |
| Majority | 237,814 | 21.37% | −10.96% | ||
| Total votes | 1,017,151 | 100.00% | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 376,444 | 76.75% | |
| Democratic | Thomas M. Wheatley | 31,214 | 6.36% | |
| Democratic | Walter Boyd | 26,467 | 5.40% | |
| Democratic | Don Allensworth | 19,731 | 4.02% | |
| Democratic | Scott David Britt | 13,001 | 2.65% | |
| Democratic | James Leonard White | 12,470 | 2.54% | |
| Democratic | B. Emerson Sweatt | 11,150 | 2.27% | |
| Total votes | 490,477 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 1,307,610 | 71.02% | +10.33% | |
| Republican | Alan L. Keyes | 533,688 | 28.98% | −10.33% | |
| Majority | 773,922 | 42.03% | +20.66% | ||
| Total votes | 1,841,298 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 349,382 | 84.36% | |
| Democratic | Ann L. Mallory | 43,120 | 10.41% | |
| Democratic | Kauko H. Kokkonen | 21,658 | 5.23% | |
| Total votes | 414,160 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 1,062,810 | 70.50% | −0.51% | |
| Republican | Ross Z. Pierpont | 444,637 | 29.50% | +0.51% | |
| Majority | 618,173 | 41.01% | −1.02% | ||
| Total votes | 1,507,447 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 408,848 | 89.88% | |
| Democratic | A. Robert Kaufman | 32,127 | 7.06% | |
| Democratic | Sid Altman | 13,901 | 3.06% | |
| Total votes | 454,876 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 1,504,691 | 64.80% | −5.70% | |
| Republican | E. J. Pipkin | 783,055 | 33.72% | +4.23% | |
| Green | Maria Allwine | 24,816 | 1.07% | ||
| Constitution | Thomas Trump | 9,009 | 0.39% | ||
| Write-ins | 360 | 0.02% | |||
| Majority | 721,636 | 31.08% | −9.93% | ||
| Total votes | 2,321,931 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara Mikulski (Incumbent) | 388,868 | 82.32% | |
| Democratic | Christopher J. Garner | 35,579 | 7.53% | |
| Democratic | A. Billy Bob Jaworski | 15,131 | 3.20% | |
| Democratic | Blaine Taylor | 10,787 | 2.28% | |
| Democratic | Theresa C. Scaldaferri | 7,913 | 1.68% | |
| Democratic | Sanquetta Taylor | 7,365 | 1.56% | |
| Democratic | Lih Young | 6,733 | 1.43% | |
| Total votes | 472,376 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara Mikulski (Incumbent) | 1,140,531 | 62.19% | −2.61% | |
| Republican | Eric Wargotz | 655,666 | 35.75% | +2.05% | |
| Green | Kenniss Henry | 20,717 | 1.13% | +0.06% | |
| Constitution | Richard Shawver | 14,746 | 0.80% | +0.42% | |
| Write-ins | 2,213 | 0.11% | +0.05% | ||
| Majority | 484,865 | 26.44% | |||
| Total votes | 1,833,873 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
In 1979, theSupersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Mikulski's name and picture.[60]
The NASA-fundedSpace Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore named one of the world's largest astronomy databases after Mikulski (Barbara A.Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes), as she was a long time champion of the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.[61]
In 2011, Mikulski was inducted into theNational Women's Hall of Fame.[62]
In 2012, whenNASA discovered anexploding star, they named it "Supernova Mikulski" in her honor.[63] Also in 2012, Mikulski was presented theHarriet Ross Tubman Lifetime Achievement Award by the Maryland African American Tourism Council.[64]
On August 22, 2013 thePresident of PolandBronisław Komorowski honored Mikulski with a Commander's Cross with Star of theOrder of Polonia Restituta for "outstanding achievements in the development of Polish-American cooperation and activity for Poles living in the United States".[65]
In November 2015, Mikulski was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom byPresidentBarack Obama at a ceremony in theWhite House.[66][67]
In 2020, the Senator Barbara A. Mikulski Room, with mementos and Mikulski’sPresidential Medal of Freedom, was opened in theEnoch Pratt Free Library.[68][69]
On June 8, 2022, a room in theUnited States Capitol was named after Mikulski. It is the Barbara Mikulski room, S-115, located on the first floor of the side of the Capitol where the Senate is. It is one of the first two rooms in the Capitol to be named after women who were senators, the other being theMargaret Chase Smith room, which was named on the same day.[68][70]
Barbara Mikulski never married and has no children.[71] She is only 4 ft 11 in (150 cm) tall and often jokingly said: "I may be short, but I won't be overlooked".[72] She is a Roman Catholic.[72] Raised in a Polish-American and devoutly Catholic family, Mikulski attended theMount Saint Agnes College inBaltimore and considered joiningSisters of Mercy, but ultimately decided against it. Discussing her decision to remain a laywoman, she stated: "The vow of obedience did not have great appeal for me. Poverty was one thing, and I could go along with chastity. But it was obedience. I thought, 'My God, all my life there could be someone telling me what to do and where to go!' And inside me beats the heart of a protestor."[72]
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| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromMaryland (Class 3) 1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Edward Conroy | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromMaryland (Class 3) 1986,1992,1998,2004,2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference 1995–2005 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's 3rd congressional district 1977–1987 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Maryland 1987–2017 Served alongside:Paul Sarbanes, Ben Cardin | Succeeded by Chris Van Hollen |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Appropriations Committee 2012–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Appropriations Committee 2015–2017 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Senator | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Senator | Succeeded byas Former US Senator |
Chairs of theUnited States Senate Committee on Appropriations | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Class 1 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
