[Senate Document 112-6]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


 
TRIBUTES TO HON. BARBARA A. MIKULSKI


                                           

                                 Barbara A. Mikulski

                       U.S. SENATOR FROM MARYLAND

                                TRIBUTES

                           IN THE CONGRESS OF

                           THE UNITED STATES



                                           
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Barbara A. Mikulski
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                                      Tributes

                                Delivered in Congress

                                 Barbara A. Mikulski

                              United States Congressman

                                      1977-1987

                                United States Senator

                                        1987-

                                          a
                                           
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                            Compiled under the direction

                                       of the

                             Joint Committee on Printing
                                      CONTENTS
             Biography.............................................
                                                                      v
             Proceedings in the Senate:
                Tributes by Senators:
                    Akaka, Daniel K., of Hawaii....................
                                                                    105
                    Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee.................
                                                                    109
                    Baucus, Max, of Montana........................
                                                                     38
                    Begich, Mark, of Alaska........................
                                                                     98
                    Bennet, Michael F., of Colorado................
                                                                     87
                    Bingaman, Jeff, of New Mexico..................
                                                                     37
                    Blumenthal, Richard, of Connecticut............
                                                                    110
                    Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
                                                                     20
                    Brown, Sherrod, of Ohio........................
                                                                     80
                    Cantwell, Maria, of Washington.................
                                                                     73
                    Cardin, Benjamin L., of Maryland...............
                                                                     17
                    Carper, Thomas R., of Delaware.................
                                                                     71
                    Casey, Robert P., Jr., of Pennsylvania.........
                                                                    103
                    Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi..................
                                                                     34
                    Collins, Susan M., of Maine....................
                                                                     33
                    Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
                                                                     94
                    Coons, Christopher A., of Delaware.............
                                                                     50
                    Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois................
                                                                  8, 82
                    Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming...................
                                                                     35
                    Feinstein, Dianne, of California...............
                                                                      4
                    Franken, Al, of Minnesota......................
                                                                     75
                    Gillibrand, Kirsten E., of New York............
                                                                     62
                    Hagan, Kay R., of North Carolina...............
                                                                 3, 100
                    Harkin, Tom, of Iowa...........................
                                                                     89
                    Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
                                                                  7, 34
                    Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
                                                                     23
                    Isakson, Johnny, of Georgia....................
                                                                     49
                    Johnson, Tim, of South Dakota..................
                                                                     95
                    Kerry, John F., of Massachusetts...............
                                                                     28
                    Klobuchar, Amy, of Minnesota...................
                                                                     69
                    Kohl, Herb, of Wisconsin.......................
                                                                    108
                    Landrieu, Mary L., of Louisiana................
                                                                     84
                    Lautenberg, Frank R., of New Jersey............
                                                                     59
                    Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
                                                                    102
                    Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
                                                                     31
                    Lieberman, Joseph I., of Connecticut...........
                                                                     87
                    Manchin, Joe, III, of West Virginia............
                                                                     58
                    McCaskill, Claire, of Missouri.................
                                                                    106
                    McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
                                                                     15
                    Menendez, Robert, of New Jersey................
                                                                     53
                    Mikulski, Barbara A., of Maryland..............
                                                                     39
                    Murkowski, Lisa, of Alaska.....................
                                                                     51
                    Murray, Patty, of Washington...................
                                                                     43
                    Nelson, Ben, of Nebraska.......................
                                                                    110
                    Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
                                                                     92
                    Pryor, Mark L., of Arkansas....................
                                                                    104
                    Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
                                                                     78
                    Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
                                                                  3, 10
                    Sanders, Bernard, of Vermont...................
                                                                     96
                    Schumer, Charles E., of New York...............
                                                                     45
                    Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama.....................
                                                                     70
                    Shaheen, Jeanne, of New Hampshire..............
                                                                     56
                    Snowe, Olympia J., of Maine 
                     ...............................................
                     ....
                                                                65, 102
                    Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan..................
                                                                     93
                    Udall, Mark, of Colorado.......................
                                                                     99
                    Udall, Tom, of New Mexico......................
                                                                     63
                    Warner, Mark R., of Virginia...................
                                                                     88
                    Webb, Jim, of Virginia.........................
                                                                     94
                    Whitehouse, Sheldon, of Rhode Island...........
                                                                     47
                    Wyden, Ron, of Oregon..........................
                                                                     82
             Proceedings in the House of Representatives:
                Tributes by Representatives:
                    Fattah, Chaka, of Pennsylvania.................
                                                                    113
                 

                                      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.
               Growing up in the Highlandtown neighborhood of East 
             Baltimore, Senator Mikulski learned the values of hard 
             work, neighbor helping neighbor, and heartfelt patriotism. 
             She often saw her father open the family grocery store 
             early so local steelworkers could buy lunch before the 
             morning shift.
               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 Senator 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 is 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.
               A leader in the Senate, Barbara Mikulski is the dean of 
             the women--serving as a mentor to other women Senators 
             when they first take office. As the dean, she builds 
             coalitions--proving that the Senate women are not solo 
             acts, but work together to get things done.
               Senator Mikulski's experiences as a social worker and 
             activist provided valuable lessons that she draws on as a 
             U.S. Senator. She believes her constituents have a right 
             to know, a right to be heard, and a right to be 
             represented. She listens to her constituents and makes the 
             personal, political.
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                                      TRIBUTES

                                         TO

                                 BARBARA A. MIKULSKI
                 
                 
                 
                 


                              Proceedings in the Senate

                                               Thursday, March 15, 2012
               Mr. REID. Mr. President, on Saturday, Senator Barbara 
             Mikulski becomes the longest serving woman in the history 
             of the U.S. Congress. We will mark that occasion on 
             Wednesday when her family and friends will be present here 
             in the Capitol. I have prepared detailed remarks for that 
             occasion, but I thought it was important that we note very 
             briefly here today this milestone in the history of our 
             country.
               Last January Barbara Mikulski surpassed Margaret Chase 
             Smith from Maine as the longest serving woman in the 
             Senate. On Saturday, March 17, she will surpass 
             Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers from Massachusetts as 
             the longest serving woman in Congress.

               Mrs. HAGAN. ... As I take the floor in support of the 
             Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, it is fitting 
             to recognize one of our fiercest advocates for women's 
             rights--my colleague and mentor Senator Barbara Mikulski, 
             who, on Saturday, will become the longest serving female 
             congressional Member in history.
               For more than 35 trailblazing years, Senator Mikulski 
             has been a strong and unwavering voice for women, 
             families, and the people of Maryland. She shepherded 
             through the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which helps ensure that 
             no matter your gender, race, religion, age, or disability, 
             one will receive equal pay for equal work. She fought 
             tenaciously for her important amendment to the health care 
             reform legislation, ensuring that women's preventive care 
             would be covered with no added out-of-pocket expense.
               I thank Senator Mikulski for her mentorship, her 
             leadership, and her fierce advocacy for women's rights. I 
             look forward to continuing to work alongside Senator 
             Mikulski and my colleagues to promote policies that 
             support our women, our children, and our families and put 
             them on a path to a brighter future. The Violence Against 
             Women Reauthorization Act is central to that goal, and I 
             urge my colleagues to take up this bill and pass it 
             without delay.
               I yield the floor.
                                              Wednesday, March 21, 2012
                                        prayer
               The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, offered the following 
             prayer:
               Let us pray.
               O God, who loves us without ceasing, we turn our 
             thoughts toward You. Remain with our Senators today so 
             that for no single instance they will be unaware of Your 
             providential power.
               We thank You for Your infinite love that permits us to 
             make mistakes yet still grow in grace and a knowledge of 
             You. Lord, save us from any evil course or idle path that 
             leads away from Your will. Today, we pray for the 
             President of the United States and for the leaders in 
             every land. Help them to bear their responsibilities with 
             honor, and, Lord, today we also thank You for the amazing 
             career of Senator Barbara Mikulski.
               We pray in Your holy Name. Amen.

               Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay 
             tribute to a public servant, a social worker, and a 
             tenacious advocate for vulnerable Americans. I rise today 
             to honor a trailblazer and a mentor for me and countless 
             others. I rise today to honor an outstanding U.S. Senator 
             from Maryland and the dean of the Senate women, my friend 
             Barbara Mikulski.
               I am privileged to have represented California in this 
             body for almost 20 years. When I first ran for the Senate, 
             back in 1992, I received a call from Barbara Mikulski, 
             personally urging me on and reaching out to provide 
             encouragement.
               I have relied on her advice, her friendship, and the 
             Mikulski brand of candor ever since. As a matter of fact, 
             one of my fondest evenings was a three-onion martini right 
             down the street.
               It is hard to believe, but when Senator Mikulski took 
             office in 1987, there was only one other woman in this 
             body, Senator Nancy Kassebaum, later Nancy Kassebaum 
             Baker, the great Republican Senator from Kansas. 
             Increasing the number of women in the Senate has been 
             painfully slow. In 1991, the ranks of women in this body 
             rose to three, then later to seven after the 1992 
             election. Today we have 17 women in this body and 76 in 
             the House. As Senator Mikulski reflected in the Washington 
             Post last year:

               Women were so rare even holding statewide political 
             office [back then] ... I was greeted with a lot of 
             skepticism from my male colleagues. Was I going to go the 
             celebrity route or the Senate route? I had to work very 
             hard.

               And she has. Barbara has worked very hard to become an 
             outstanding legislator and a trailblazing public official. 
             Let me list a few of her firsts. She was the first female 
             Democrat to serve in both Chambers of Congress--that in 
             itself is impressive--the first female Democrat to be 
             elected to the Senate without succeeding her husband or 
             her father; the first woman to chair a Senate 
             appropriations subcommittee; the first woman to serve a 
             quarter century in the Senate; and the first woman 
             elevated to a Senate leadership position.
               She is the only current Member of Congress in the 
             National Women's Hall of Fame. And she is not done yet. 
             Just last week, Barb achieved another historic first. 
             According to the Senate Historical Office, she reached 
             12,858 days of service, becoming the longest serving 
             female Member of Congress in our Nation's history.
               Senator Mikulski was born and raised in Baltimore. 
             Determined to make a difference in her community--and you 
             know that well, Mr. President--and guided by her Catholic 
             belief and a belief in social justice, she became a social 
             worker, helping at-risk children and educating seniors 
             about Medicare. She once said, ``I feel that I am my 
             brother's keeper and my sister's keeper.'' Social work 
             evolved into community activism when Barb successfully 
             organized communities against a plan to build a highway 
             through Baltimore's Fells Point neighborhood.
               Shortly thereafter, in 1971, she was elected to the 
             Baltimore City Council where she served 5 years. That was 
             about the time I was elected to the Board of Supervisors 
             in 1970 in San Francisco. In 1976, she ran for Congress 
             and won, representing Maryland's Third District for a 
             decade. She was then elected to the Senate and has won 
             reelection in 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010 by large 
             majorities.
               As I said, Barb is an accomplished legislator. She is 
             also one of the very best. She cares passionately about 
             quality education and ensuring every student has access to 
             higher education. She is a fighter for stem cell research 
             to cure our most tragic and debilitating diseases. She is 
             a tireless advocate for the National Institutes of Health. 
             And she is a leader on women's health, writing laws 
             requiring Federal standards for mammograms, and a fearless 
             proponent of breast and cervical cancer screenings and 
             treatment for uninsured women.
               We serve together on the Intelligence Committee. She 
             asks some of the most prescient questions. I have seen her 
             commitment to the FBI, to fighting terrorism, and also to 
             cybersecurity where she headed a task force for our 
             committee that has resulted in the cybersecurity 
             legislation newly pending.
               Finally, she has led the way to strengthen pay equity 
             for women. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act is 
             the law of the land today because of Barbara Mikulski's 
             effort. As Barb said when we passed the bill:

               I believe that people should be judged solely by their 
             individual skills, competence, unique talent and nothing 
             else in the workplace. Once you get a job because of your 
             skill and talent, you better get equal pay for equal work.

               Or, in a manner that best captures Barb's candor, she 
             said, ``Women of America, square your shoulders, put on 
             your lipstick, suit up, and let's close that wage gap once 
             and for all.'' To me, that is classic Barbara Mikulski.
               Let me close with a story. Every so often at Barbara's 
             leadership, the Senate women get together for dinner. 
             There is no agenda or staff, just Republican women, 
             Democratic women, and a lot of lively conversation. We 
             talk about our families, we talk about the workplace, we 
             talk about the world, and, of course, we even talk, to 
             some extent, about this place. Sometimes we enjoy Senator 
             Mikulski's world-famous crab cakes, the best you will ever 
             taste, and second only to the Dungeness crab of the west 
             coast, I might add. If you have not, make sure you try the 
             recipe on her Web site. We talk about our families and the 
             way we can work together. It is a throwback to the 
             civility of the Senate. These dinners are when Barb really 
             stands out as the dean of Senate women.
               Women in this country have always had to fight for the 
             most basic of rights. I think young women forget that it 
             was not until 1920 that we were able to vote in this 
             country, and it was only because women fought for it. Barb 
             will be the first to say her milestones are symbols of how 
             far she has come. But she will also show us how much 
             farther women have to go.
               Today we take it for granted that a woman can be 
             Secretary of State--we have had two--or Speaker of the 
             House--we have had one--or a candidate for President. Not 
             quite yet. Oh, no, I take that back. We have had one. And 
             one day soon, a woman will sit in the Oval Office of this 
             great country. When she does, she will owe a great deal to 
             Barbara Mikulski.
               On this day, let the Congressional Record of this Senate 
             reflect and forever record that Senator Barbara Mikulski 
             is the longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. 
             Congress, and this country is forever better because of 
             it.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.

               Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I came here to talk on another 
             matter, but I wish to take a few minutes to talk about my 
             friend Barbara Mikulski. We have served a long time 
             together. When she came to this body, I think I may have 
             been chairman of what was then called the Labor and Human 
             Resources Committee, now the Health, Education, Labor, and 
             Pensions Committee.
               From the day she got on that committee, she made a 
             difference in every way, not just for women but for every 
             single American in this country. I have a tremendous 
             amount of profound respect for Senator Mikulski and what 
             she has been able to accomplish.
               Let me mention one thing. Back in the early 1990s, she 
             and I worked together on what was called the FDA 
             Revitalization Act. That act was a very important one, 
             because we had the FDA spread out all over the Greater 
             Washington, DC, area, probably 30, 35 different offices, 
             some of which were in converted chicken coops. It was 
             ridiculous to have these top scientists in anything but a 
             centralized location with top computerization and all of 
             the other scientific instruments they need to do this work 
             for the American people. I have to say that Barbara 
             Mikulski played a pivotal role in helping to develop that 
             tremendous facility. I want you to know that I do not 
             think it would have been developed without her effort and 
             her dogged work to make sure that we now have a 
             centralized--and it still needs improvement but 
             centralized--FDA campus that literally is saving the lives 
             of millions of people and making the lives of millions of 
             people better.
               I could go on. I have a lot of respect for my 
             distinguished colleague from Maryland. I would feel badly 
             if I did not get up and tell people how much I do respect 
             her. She believes in what she does. She loves this body, 
             most of the time, I think. And she cares for her fellow 
             Senators. We care for her. I want her to know that.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.

               Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues 
             in honoring our friend and colleague who is often regarded 
             as the dean of the women in the Senate, Barbara Mikulski.
               Earlier this week Senator Mikulski added to her already 
             long list of accomplishments the distinction of being the 
             longest serving female Member of Congress in the history 
             of the United States of America.
               Senator Mikulski's life is a story of the American 
             dream. Raised in a working-class immigrant family in the 
             East Baltimore neighborhood of Highlandtown, Senator 
             Mikulski learned at a young age about the struggles of 
             working families and ethnic Americans and the value of 
             paying it forward.
               She helped at her father's grocery store, which opened 
             early in the morning so that steelworkers could buy lunch 
             before their morning shift. She delivered food to seniors 
             and families when parts of her neighborhood were set on 
             fire after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. At 
             one point she even rode on the top of a tank to deliver 
             the groceries.
               Senator Mikulski's roots helped shape her role today as 
             a mentor, fighter, and true public servant. She worked as 
             a social worker for Catholic Charities, helping at-risk 
             children and counseling seniors on Medicare. She had her 
             start in politics as a community organizer and social 
             worker.
               In 1970--one side of Barbara Mikulski her colleagues 
             have certainly seen is her dogged determination--she 
             organized Marylanders to stop a 16-lane highway project 
             that would have threatened Fells Point and another 
             neighborhood in Baltimore. She got the job done. Many 
             people say that work helped to save Fells Point and the 
             Inner Harbor, two of the showcase areas in the great city 
             of Baltimore. She gave a speech at Catholic University to 
             a Catholic conference on the ethnic American. It caught 
             the attention not only of people in Baltimore but far 
             beyond its reach as she talked about her family story and 
             the story of millions just like her.
               One year later, she ran for and won a seat on the 
             Baltimore City Council--the first step in her now 41-year 
             career in public service.
               Over the course of the Senate's 223-year history, there 
             have only been 38 female Members; the first, Rebecca 
             Latimer Felton, of Georgia, was appointed for political 
             reasons to fill a vacancy, and she served only a single 
             day in 1922.
               Senator Mikulski has so many firsts in her story of 
             public service. She was the first woman elected to the 
             Senate in her own right--the first--and not because of a 
             husband or father or someone who served before her in 
             higher office. She was the first woman Democrat to serve 
             in both Chambers of Congress--the first. Last year, she 
             was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame for 
             her trailblazing political career, including, with this 
             recognition today, becoming the longest serving woman 
             Senator in the history of our Nation.
               Given her years of experience, it is no wonder other 
             Members of Congress have turned to her for guidance, men 
             and women alike.
               I can recall so many meetings of our Democratic caucus 
             when, after a long debate involving many people saying 
             many things, Barbara Mikulski would stand and, in a few 
             terse words, get it right. At the end of the day people 
             would say, ``That is what we ought to do.'' She has this 
             insight based on her life experience and her ability to 
             try to peel through the layers of the political onion and 
             get to the heart of the issue.
               Following the election of a number of esteemed women 
             into the Senate, a lot of reporters deemed 1992 as the 
             ``Year of the Woman.'' Senator Mikulski's response was so 
             typical and so right. This is what she said: ``Calling 
             1992 the `year of the woman' makes it sound like the `year 
             of the caribou,' or the `year of asparagus.' We are not a 
             fad, a fancy, or a year.''
               That was typical Barbara. Senator Mikulski rises above 
             and beyond all that. From her first days in the Senate in 
             1987, she has fought an uphill battle to address the most 
             important issues of national importance.
               First and foremost for her is her family. Next is her 
             great State of Maryland. She is a fearless advocate, and I 
             know the Presiding Officer knows that better than most as 
             her colleague from that great State.
               She has supported educational initiatives, veterans 
             causes, interstate commerce, access to health care and 
             women's health, and fair pay.
               The Chair knows the answer to this question, but some of 
             those listening to the debate might not. What was the 
             first bill that the newly elected President Barack Obama 
             signed in the White House with a public ceremony? It was a 
             bill Barbara Mikulski pushed hard for, the Lilly Ledbetter 
             Fair Pay Act, so women going to work all over the United 
             States--not just in the Senate--would get a fair shake 
             when it came to the compensation for the jobs they did. It 
             was President Obama's first bill. When he signed it, the 
             very first pen he handed over to Senator Barbara Mikulski. 
             I was there and I saw it.
               Championed by Senator Mikulski, the long-awaited and 
             much needed bill clarifies time limits for workers to file 
             unemployment discrimination lawsuits, making it easier for 
             people to get the pay they deserve regardless of race, 
             age, or gender.
               I wish to start here--but I don't know where I would 
             end--to talk about the important issues she has worked 
             for. Let me talk about health care for a minute. When we 
             set out to pass this historic Affordable Health Care Act, 
             Barbara was assigned the job to make sure it connected 
             with the families and workers across America in a very 
             real way, to make sure that at the end of the day we 
             weren't talking to ourselves or engaged in political 
             gibberish but passing a law that could literally change a 
             life for the better. She led that effort and made 
             invaluable contributions to the substance of that bill.
               We knew those provisions would be important and that 
             they would work because we knew where Barbara Mikulski 
             came from and we knew where her political heart resides. 
             While it is a milestone to celebrate Senator Mikulski's 
             distinction as the longest serving woman in the Congress, 
             there is a much greater cause for celebration; Senator 
             Mikulski's decades of service to this Nation is an 
             admirable feat for any man or woman.
               I extend my congratulations to my colleague and friend, 
             Senator Mikulski for this milestone. Thank you for what 
             you have done for the Senate, for the State of Maryland, 
             and for our great Nation.
               I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

               Mr. REID. Mr. President, the hour of 2:30 having 
             arrived, it is my honor and my pleasure to rise to honor a 
             patriot, a pioneer, and now the longest serving woman in 
             the Congress of the United States ever, and that is the 
             senior Senator from Maryland, Barbara Mikulski.
               Barbara and I served together in the House, and we came 
             to the Senate together in 1986. I remember that day so 
             well, when we had our first appearance in the Senate as 
             new Senators. It was quite a moving event for me. But one 
             of the events I remember about that day is the 
             presentation of Senator Mikulski.
               We all said a word or two, and everything we said will 
             be long forgotten. But what Barbara Mikulski said, in the 
             way she has of saying things, will not be forgotten.
               Here is this woman who is not even as tall as my wife, 
             who is 5 feet tall, but she said, ``I slam-dunked Linda 
             Chavez,'' her opponent. That said it all.
               That was the beginning of my working closely with this 
             good woman. She has been a friend, an inspiration to me in 
             so many different ways in the time we have served 
             together. When we got on the Environment and Public Works 
             Committee, she was here, and I was here. She was always 
             ahead of me in seniority because of her longer service in 
             the House. On the Appropriations Committee, for more than 
             two decades, I was here, she was here. She was always one 
             ahead of me.
               Barbara was the first Democratic woman elected to the 
             Senate in her own right. Last year, she surpassed the 
             legendary Margaret Chase Smith of Maine as the longest 
             serving woman in the history of the Senate. On Saturday, 
             she officially surpassed Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers 
             of Massachusetts, who, by the way, served in the House 
             from 1925 to 1960 as the longest serving woman in the 
             history of the Congress.
               Senator Mikulski's service--and the service of many 
             female Members of Congress--has paved the way for girls of 
             today to know they can become Senators, they can become 
             professional basketball players, and they can be engineers 
             and doctors. The sky is the place they need to go, and 
             that is where they believe they can go because of the work 
             that has been done by Barbara Mikulski.
               When I came to the Senate with her, she was the only 
             woman who served in the Senate as a Democrat. There was 
             one other woman at the time, a Republican. Now, since 
             then, Mr. President, I have watched very closely on this 
             side of the aisle. Now we have 12 Democrats, and if the 
             elections turn out the way I hope they do--and I am 
             cautiously optimistic they will--we will have 17 women who 
             are Democrats in the Senate.
               She has been truly a trailblazer. We recognize Barbara's 
             achievements today and her outstanding record as a 
             tireless advocate for the State of Maryland. She grew up 
             in the Highlandtown neighborhood of East Baltimore. She 
             learned the value of hard work by working with and 
             watching her dad, especially, open that family grocery 
             store and work from early in the morning until night. He 
             sold lunch to steelworkers and other people who came by 
             that little grocery store.
               In high school she was educated by the nuns at the 
             Institute of Notre Dame. She credits the nuns with 
             instilling in her faith and a thirst for justice. She went 
             on to study at Mount Saint Agnes College, which is now 
             part of Loyola College in Maryland. She earned her 
             master's degree in social work from the University of 
             Maryland.
               Barbara was a social worker and has always been proud of 
             the fact that she has been a social worker. She was 
             employed by Catholic Charities and the city of Baltimore's 
             Department of Social Services. I can imagine what a dynamo 
             she was--and she still is. There is no work harder than 
             being a social worker. The problems one sees and has to 
             deal with are extremely difficult.
               During her years as a social worker, she was a powerful 
             voice for children and seniors in need of an advocate. 
             Barbara Mikulski then and now is an advocate. It was there 
             the spark for service and activism was lit, but it was a 
             plan to build a 16-lane highway that fanned the flames 
             that had been lit by her activism.
               The highway would have gutted historic Fells Point, a 
             neighborhood that she believed should have been protected. 
             It would have uprooted homeowners in a majority African 
             American neighborhood. She organized the residents of 
             Fells Point and Baltimore's Inner Harbor and stopped the 
             construction of that highway.
               That is a testament to the power of democracy that she 
             believes in with all her soul. Looking back on that 
             triumph, Senator Mikulski said:

               I got into politics fighting a highway. In other 
             countries, they take dissidents and put them in jail. In 
             the United States of America, because of the First 
             Amendment, they put you in the U.S. Senate. God bless 
             America.

               She has always been an advocate for the disenfranchised 
             and disadvantaged in this country, but she has also been 
             an advocate for dissidents in other countries, of whom she 
             has spoken so eloquently on so many occasions. Her family 
             was Polish. She has heard all the Polish jokes, and she 
             has withstood a little of the ``barbs'' when neighborhoods 
             were different than they are now. But she took special 
             pleasure and was so proud of her heritage.
               Barbara took a special interest in the plight of Polish 
             people oppressed under communism. We know in 1980 the 
             people of Poland started a fledgling little group called 
             Solidarity--a movement to engage in nonviolent resistance 
             against communism and in support of social change.
               Senator Mikulski and I had the wonderful pleasure of 
             traveling under the guidance of a trip led by John Glenn--
             a world-famous man then and now. It was a wonderful trip 
             for a couple of new Senators. The Iron Curtain was down, 
             and it was down hard, but we went to Poland on a codel. I 
             can remember we had the opportunity to meet with members 
             of the Solidarity movement. We met in secret with them, in 
             a secret location, and Senator Glenn talked, Senator 
             Stevens, then a senior Member of the Senate at the time 
             spoke, and I said I would like to hear from Senator 
             Mikulski.
               Now, Mr. President, I am not articulate enough to 
             explain the presentation she made extemporaneously, but 
             this powerful woman stood and talked about her heritage 
             and her religion and what that meant to the people of 
             America and what it should mean to the people of Poland. 
             It was truly--and I have told her this personally over the 
             years on several occasions to remind her--one of the most 
             heart-warming, stirring speeches I have ever been present 
             to listen to. She spoke to the people assembled there--
             there weren't many of them--as a fellow activist. She 
             spoke as an American of Polish descent and a fellow 
             Catholic. She spoke as one of them. When that presentation 
             was completed, everyone knew she was one of them.
               It took almost a decade for the Solidarity movement to 
             strike victory in Poland, and I know Senator Mikulski's 
             speech was not the reason, but I guarantee you it was one 
             of the reasons they had the audacity and the courage to 
             proceed as they did.
               Remember, Poland was the only country behind the Iron 
             Curtain where the Communists could not destroy their 
             educational system, and that was because of the strength 
             of the Catholic Church in Poland at that time. 
             Solidarity's victory in Poland inspired a stream of 
             peaceful anti-Communist revolutions that eventually caused 
             the fall of communism entirely all over Eastern Europe.
               Barbara's Polish ancestry and the Polish community in 
             which she grew up in Baltimore were very important to her, 
             but I never knew it until that moment in Warsaw with those 
             few members of Solidarity who were assembled to honor us.
               Her great-grandmother had come here from Poland with 
             just a few pennies in her pocket--literally--but she had a 
             dream of a better life for her and her family. This is 
             what Barbara Mikulski said about her great-grandmother: 
             ``She didn't even have the right to vote, and in this 
             great country of ours, in three generations, I joined the 
             U.S. Senate.''
               It was a remarkable feat for her. But, more important, 
             it was a confirmation of the American dream. For Barbara, 
             what began as community activism, a fight against a 
             highway, grew into a successful career in public service.
               I want to add a sidenote, Mr. President, and talk about 
             something very personal to me. When Senator David Pryor 
             got sick, he was the Democratic conference secretary in 
             the Senate. That opened up a spot in the Senate 
             leadership. That was something I thought would be 
             interesting to me. It was known who was interested in 
             filling that spot, and I knew Barbara was interested.
               I went to Barbara and said, ``Barbara, if you want it, 
             it is yours.'' Two years later, Wendell Ford decided he 
             was going to retire. He was the whip. I can still remember 
             that morning walking from the Hart Building over to the 
             Russell Building, in that long walkway there, and I saw 
             Barbara Mikulski. I didn't say a word to her.
               She said, ``I want to talk to you. You supported me when 
             I wanted to be the conference secretary. You want to be 
             the whip, I am supporting you.'' But for Barbara Mikulski, 
             I would not have had that leadership position. Once the 
             Democratic caucus knew Barbara Mikulski supported me, it 
             was all over. I won. And I won because she came to me, as 
             she did that morning.
               So, Mr. President, my respect, admiration, and love for 
             this woman is difficult for me to describe, but it is 
             there. Barbara Mikulski ran for Congress and won after 
             serving on the city council of Baltimore for 5 years. She 
             represented Maryland's Third District for 10 years before 
             winning the seat in the Senate she now holds.
               Again, I appreciate all she has done for me--so many 
             different things she has done for me. As a very able 
             member of the Appropriations Committee and somebody who 
             loves this institution, I am in awe of the legislative 
             record of this amazing woman.
               She has been a dedicated representative not only for the 
             State of Maryland but the State of Nevada. One thing she 
             did for me--and there have been a lot of them--when we 
             were new Senators and she was on one of the subcommittees 
             of the Appropriations Committee concerning veterans 
             benefits and affairs, as a favor to me she traveled to 
             Reno, NV, to look at an old veterans hospital. She went 
             through it and said, ``This is not the way a veterans 
             hospital should be, and I, Barbara Mikulski, am going to 
             change it.'' And she did.
               Through the appropriations process we renovated and 
             improved that hospital so it was one of the better 
             hospitals at the time. So I am grateful for this good 
             woman, an advocate for parity for women on everything from 
             salary to health care access. But for Barbara Mikulski the 
             National Institutes of Health would not have a center for 
             women. She got a little upset when she learned they had 
             done a study of the effect of aspirin on people's hearts 
             and she realized they had tested 10,000 people and they 
             were all men.
               I had a situation that arose in Nevada at about the same 
             time where three women came to me who had something called 
             interstitial cystitis, a devastating, debilitating, 
             painful disease that is described as running slivers of 
             glass up and down your bladder. It was said to be a 
             psychosomatic disease. These women had nowhere to go. I 
             talked to Barbara Mikulski about this, and now 40 percent 
             of these women have medicine that takes away their 
             symptoms totally.
               I could go on here a long time, as everyone can see. But 
             I do it because I congratulate Barbara on this milestone, 
             which is so important to me and the Senate, and to tell 
             her how much Nevada appreciates her. It is not just for 
             Maryland. She has done things for the entire country.
               I wish her well for years to come.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader is 
             recognized.

               Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, it is my honor to be here 
             this afternoon to extend, on behalf of the Republican 
             Conference of the U.S. Senate, our respect and admiration 
             for the senior Senator from Maryland on achieving this 
             important milestone.
               I am sure she would be the first to tell you that 
             becoming the longest serving woman in the Congress wasn't 
             easy. A life in public service is filled with many highs 
             and lows. But Barbara is nothing if not both tough and 
             resilient.
               Barbara would point to her upbringing as the daughter of 
             a Baltimore grocer, where she learned first hand how hard 
             work, honesty, and determination can lead to a successful 
             and rewarding life. She later learned, while fighting a 
             freeway that would have destroyed several Baltimore 
             communities, including her own, that if you fought hard 
             enough for something you believed in, you too can make a 
             difference. So if you knew Barbara back then, it wouldn't 
             surprise you we are honoring her today.
               Last year, when Senator Mikulski became the longest 
             serving female Senator, she said she never saw herself as 
             a historical figure. To me, Barbara said, ``History is 
             powdered wigs and Jane Adams and Abigail Adams, both 
             pioneers in their own right.''
               However, Barbara is a pioneer. She is only the second 
             woman to be elected to both the Senate and the House. When 
             first elected in 1986, she was only the 16th woman to 
             serve. Today, in Congress, there are 76 women in the House 
             and 17 in the Senate. As dean of the Senate women, she 
             served as a role model and a mentor to many of these 
             women. To put this in perspective: When she first arrived 
             in the Senate, there weren't any natural mentors to teach 
             her the ways of the Senate. At the time, even the Senate 
             gym was off limits. A lot has changed since then, and 
             Barbara had a lot to do with it.
               Later, as more women were elected to the Senate, Barbara 
             worked with them to help them understand the Senate and 
             how best to be an effective Senator, both here and back 
             home. She wanted to give back.
               Most important, regardless of party or issue, Barbara 
             would push her female colleagues in the Senate to think 
             differently, encouraging them to think of themselves as a 
             force--a force of good and, ofttimes, a force for change. 
             I know many are grateful not only for Barbara's leadership 
             and courage but for her willingness to take the time to 
             share her experiences with them. ``I don't want to just be 
             a first,'' Barbara once said. ``I want to be the first of 
             many.''
               In 35 years, nearly 13,000 days as a Member of Congress, 
             Barbara has been a champion of the space program, science 
             research, welfare reform, major transportation, homeland 
             security, and environmental issues in Maryland.
               I wish to recognize Barbara not only for the tremendous 
             accomplishment as the longest serving female in the 
             history of the United States in Congress but also for all 
             of her many accomplishments in the House and the Senate. 
             As she once said herself, ``It is not how long you serve, 
             but it is how well you serve.''
               I wish to recognize Barbara for the pioneering model she 
             has been to so many women in her distinguished career.
               Congratulations, Senator Mikulski.

               Mr. CARDIN. ... Let me first thank all of our colleagues 
             who are here to pay honor to the senior Senator from 
             Maryland, Senator Mikulski.
               This is March Madness in basketball. Sweet 16 is 
             starting. We are very proud in Maryland of our Lady Terps. 
             They are in the Sweet 16. But I want you to know that we 
             are all getting our fantasy teams, and I want Senator 
             Mikulski on my fantasy basketball team because she is a 
             true leader, she understands the importance of working 
             together, and she is a winner.
               We are proud of her roots in Maryland. She is the great-
             granddaughter of Polish immigrants who owned a bakery. She 
             began her public service in high school, where she helped 
             deliver groceries to seniors who were homebound in their 
             apartments and she helped the seniors get the food they 
             needed. She went to the University of Maryland School of 
             Social Work because she wanted to be a social worker. She 
             wanted to help other people. She knew that she was good at 
             that and she could make a difference in people's lives. 
             She worked for Catholic Charities and dealt with children 
             at risk and helped seniors with Medicare.
               As you have heard from several of my colleagues already, 
             she gained her reputation by taking on a highway that was 
             scheduled to be built that would have gone through Canton 
             and Fells Point, disrupting a neighborhood in Baltimore. 
             This was a 16-lane highway. It was considered to be a done 
             deal; it was going to happen. The powers that be said we 
             are going to have a highway coming through downtown 
             Baltimore. The powers to be did not know Barbara Mikulski. 
             That highway never happened. Senator Mikulski stopped that 
             highway from being built.
               She then went on to serve in the Baltimore City Council 
             with great distinction. Then in 1976 she was elected to 
             the Congress for the Third Congressional District, a seat 
             that was vacated by our esteemed colleague Paul Sarbanes, 
             who then came into the Senate, and Barbara Mikulski 
             followed in the great tradition of Senator Paul Sarbanes. 
             In 1986, when Senator ``Mac'' Mathias' seat became vacant, 
             Senator Barbara Mikulski was elected to the Senate.
               She has many firsts: The first female Democrat elected 
             in her own right to serve the U.S. Senate. At the time she 
             was elected to the Senate, she was only one of two female 
             Senators. Today, we have 17 female Senators in large part 
             because of Senator Barbara Mikulski. I know the Presiding 
             Officer was part of that expansion. You will hear how 
             Senator Mikulski was not only a role model and an 
             inspiration but an incredible help to get more women 
             elected to the Senate.
               Last year we joined in this body to celebrate Senator 
             Mikulski becoming the longest serving woman in the history 
             of the Senate, surpassing Margaret Chase Smith from the 
             State of Maine. Then on this past Saturday, on St. 
             Patrick's Day, she became the longest serving woman in the 
             history of the Congress, replacing Edith Nourse Rogers 
             from Massachusetts who served, as the majority leader 
             pointed out, from 1925 to 1960.
               Marylanders understand longevity records. We are very 
             proud of Cal Ripken and the record he held in baseball. 
             Senator Mikulski's, like Cal Ripken's, legacy is what she 
             has done in office to make a difference, not the length of 
             her service. She is a fierce and effective advocate for so 
             many causes. We have heard about her accomplishments in 
             education and health care, what she has done to advance 
             sensible health care to improve quality for the people of 
             this country. That was her mission in the Affordable Care 
             Act, to make sure that we had the delivery systems in 
             place that would deliver quality health care, and Senator 
             Mikulski's leadership was critical in that regard.
               She has been a leader in women's health care issues. I 
             will never forget her reminder to all of us in the caucus: 
             ``Don't forget women's health care issues when you bring 
             that bill to the floor.'' And we didn't. We put that in 
             under Senator Mikulski's leadership. We talked about 
             breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings. Senator 
             Mikulski has been in the leadership on all those issues.
               We in Maryland are proud to be where the National 
             Institutes of Health is headquartered. Its growth in large 
             measure has been the result of Senator Barbara Mikulski. 
             We are proud of HOPE VI and housing. Senator Mikulski has 
             been in the forefront of that program, making it possible 
             for many people in our community to have decent, 
             affordable, and safe housing.
               Senator Mikulski has been critically important to 
             America's space program. I have been with her many times 
             at Goddard and seen first hand the results of her advocacy 
             and what it has meant. The Hubble space telescope is 
             another legacy of which Senator Mikulski can be rightly 
             proud.
               We in Maryland are also proud to house NSA, the National 
             Security Agency, with its new mission with the 
             cybercommand located in Maryland. Senator Mikulski, as 
             Senator Feinstein pointed out, has been one of the real 
             leaders on national security issues. We can't issue press 
             releases on this. She is a member of the intelligence 
             committee. She works behind closed doors to keep us safe. 
             But we all know that she is one of the key leaders in this 
             Nation on national security issues.
               We know about pay equity and the Lilly Ledbetter law, 
             the first bill signed by President Obama. It was Senator 
             Mikulski's leadership that got that bill to the 
             President's desk, recognizing that we are still not where 
             we need to be on gender pay equity in America.
               In our region, the Chesapeake Bay is central to our way 
             of life and our economy. Senator Mikulski has been one of 
             the real champions on water quality and the Chesapeake 
             Bay. She understands the respect for State and local 
             government, that we have to work together as a team. I 
             know the Governor of Maryland, Governor O'Malley, would 
             agree with me that there is no better friend to the people 
             of Maryland working with the State than Senator Barbara 
             Mikulski, getting the Federal Government on the same page 
             as the State and local governments to get things done for 
             the people of Maryland. That is true with what she has 
             been able to do for all of us working across the Nation.
               I think the Baltimore Sun put it best when it said:

               There is nobody more feisty, more willing to take on big 
             business, big government, or anyone when it is time to 
             look out for the interests of her constituents.

               I think all of us would agree.
               On a personal note, I thank Senator Mikulski for her 
             friendship, I thank her for being my buddy and my adviser. 
             Whether she is with Presidents or Kings or the patrons at 
             Jimmy's Restaurant in Fells Point, you get the same 
             commonsense, the same down-to-earth person--you get 
             Senator Barb. We are so proud of her.
               Thank you, Senator Barb, for what you have done to make 
             this Nation a better place to live. Thank you for being 
             such a role model for young people, especially young 
             women, to get involved, to make a difference. Thank you on 
             behalf of my two granddaughters. Their future is much 
             brighter, their opportunities are much greater because of 
             you, Senator Barb.
               Congratulations. Your colleagues here want to express 
             our love and respect and admiration for your incredible 
             service.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). The Senator from 
             California.

               Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, what an incredible milestone 
             Senator Mikulski has reached. The words of her colleagues 
             and the love they feel for her are coming through. It is a 
             wonderful thing for me to be part of this tribute. I don't 
             know how many Senators would have the Governor of their 
             State here--Your Honor; and the former distinguished, 
             incredible Senator Paul Sarbanes is here. That in itself, 
             Senator Mikulski, is testimony to your status among all of 
             us.
               So many of us are here in the Senate because Barbara 
             Mikulski knocked down the barriers one by one--the first 
             Democratic woman ever elected to the Senate in her own 
             right, the first woman to serve in both Chambers, the 
             longest serving woman in the Senate. Now she has made 
             history once again. This past Saturday, after 12,858 
             distinguished days of service, no other woman in history 
             has served in Congress longer than Senator Mikulski--ever.
               Some trailblazers make history, and they are content to 
             stand proudly alone. ``Aren't I great? I did it.'' But not 
             Senator Mikulski. She always made clear that she was 
             honored to be the first Democratic woman, but she never 
             wanted to be the last.
               I will never forget her saying, ``Some women stare out 
             the window waiting for Prince Charming. I stare out the 
             window waiting for more women Senators.''
               Well, 17 women, Republicans and Democrats, now serve in 
             the Senate. I know all of us have stories to tell about 
             how Senator Mikulski helped us along the way, reaching out 
             to mentor us, encourage us, lead us, and organize our 
             regular meetings filled with folders and pens and pencils, 
             and organizing dinners. She and Senator Hutchison teamed 
             up. We are so fortunate to have them working together. We 
             get together now and then. Just in the heat of debate, we 
             sit down and break bread together.
               When I considered running for the Senate in 1992, 
             Senator Mikulski was the very first person I went to see, 
             after my husband. I was conflicted. I had a good House 
             seat. I was told I could hold it for as long as I wanted, 
             and I was not sure I should give it up for the Senate. I 
             was considered a long shot. Senator Mikulski told me the 
             following: ``If you run, and I want you to run,'' she 
             said, ``it will be the toughest thing you will ever do and 
             the best thing you will ever do.'' And she was right.
               Those of us of a certain age have probably seen the play 
             or the movie ``A Man for All Seasons.'' Today we celebrate 
             a woman who is truly a Senator for all seasons. Some 
             Members have passion, others have policy skills, some are 
             brilliant negotiators, others great advocates for the 
             least among us, some are very serious students of history, 
             and others are flatout hilarious. But I do not think our 
             country has ever seen so many incredible traits combined 
             in one Senator. Whatever the issue, she will address it. 
             Whatever the problem, she will solve it. Whatever the 
             wrong, she will fix it. Whatever the need, she will meet 
             it. Whenever and wherever people without a voice need a 
             champion with a keen mind, a sharp wit, and an 
             unparalleled ability to speak from the heart and get 
             things done, Barbara Mikulski is there. A lot of us have 
             been there with her, and we have watched her and we love 
             it and we marvel at her. And she does it with a sense of 
             humor that is unparalleled. Anyone who has ever listened 
             to a speech or interview with Senator Mikulski has heard 
             her utter these incredible quips, which I fondly called 
             ``Mikulski-isms.''
               She has called us women into battle by asking us to go 
             ``earring to earring'' with our opponents. She has 
             challenged us to square our shoulders, suit up, put our 
             lipstick on, and fight. She has said often that women do 
             not want to talk about gender but an agenda that helps 
             America's families.
               When asked by Glamour magazine how she felt about being 
             named Glamour's Woman of the Year along with singer 
             Madonna, Senator Mikulski replied, ``She's got her assets, 
             I have mine, and we both make the best of what God has 
             given us.''
               When asked about the different perspective women bring, 
             she often says, ``Women, we are not so much about macro-
             issues but, rather, the macaroni and cheese issues.'' Who 
             else could say that better?
               When discussing the challenges women face in politics 
             with a group of female parliamentarians from around the 
             world, this is what Barbara Mikulski explained to them 
             when they asked, ``What is it like and is it tough?'' She 
             said:

               Let's put it this way. In an election, if you are 
             married, you are neglecting him; if you are single, you 
             couldn't get him; if you are divorced, you couldn't keep 
             him; and if you are widowed, you killed him.

               Then there was one of my favorite Mikulski moments. This 
             is a treasured moment. The women of the House still hadn't 
             managed to integrate the House gym, so we were relegated 
             to this tiny room with old-fashioned, hooded hair dryers 
             and hardly any room to move. There were very few of us, 
             and we decided to make the most of it by having an 
             aerobics class. Of course, coming from California, I 
             organized it.
               In came Geraldine Ferraro, Barbara Kennelly, Olympia 
             Snowe, Barbara Mikulski, and me. Our instructor started 
             the class by asking us to stretch our arms way up, and we 
             do.
               Groans.
               ``Put your hands on your hips.''
               More groans.
               Now she says, ``Bend from the waist.''
               Suddenly, a voice bellows from the back of the room: 
             ``If I had a waist, I wouldn't be here.''
               We all turned around to see Senator Mikulski, and we 
             just cracked up. Needless to say, that was the end of the 
             aerobics class.
               As funny as she can be, I can't think of anyone more 
             resilient than Barbara Mikulski. I remember when she was 
             mugged a few years back, one evening outside her home in 
             Baltimore. A man pushed her to the ground and grabbed her 
             purse. It was terrifying--for the mugger. He had no idea 
             whom he was dealing with. At 4 feet 11 inches, Senator 
             Mikulski fought back and defended herself, just like she 
             defends the people she represents, just like she defends 
             women and families, just like she defends equal pay and 
             equal rights and civil rights and the health care of our 
             citizens and the dignity of our seniors.
               The truth is, the Senate used to be a very lonely place 
             for women, but Senator Mikulski changed that. From the day 
             she was first sworn in, she has carried the challenges, 
             the hopes, and the dreams of millions of women with her. 
             Barbara Mikulski has inspired generations of young women 
             everywhere. She has given them the confidence that they 
             can do it, too, because even as we celebrate this 
             incredible milestone, I know Senator Mikulski's greatest 
             hope is that a young girl growing up today will be 
             inspired to follow in her footsteps and one day to break 
             her record. When that happens, it will be because Barbara 
             Mikulski--our dean, our cherished leader, our Senator for 
             all seasons--opened the doors of the Senate wide enough to 
             let the women of America walk in.
               Thank you, Barbara Mikulski.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.

               Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I am pleased to stand and 
             add my experiences with and admiration for Senator Barbara 
             Mikulski. It is fitting that she is now the longest 
             serving woman in the U.S. Congress.
               When I first got here--I was elected in 1993--Barbara 
             Mikulski, as the dean of the women in the Senate, had a 
             workshop the previous year for the newly elected 
             Democratic women Senators. When I arrived in 1993, she 
             expanded it to include all new women Senators, and her 
             sort of opening comment was, civility starts with us.
               Surely, she has carried through as the dean of the women 
             of the Senate to ensure that all the new women get their 
             bearings in the Senate, that they get the advice of the 
             ones who have been here before. It has been a huge help 
             and really a fun opportunity for us to get to know each 
             other on a personal level as we have our women Senators' 
             dinners.
               From this came a book Senator Mikulski and I worked on 
             together. The genesis of the book--which became ``Nine and 
             Counting,'' the nine women Senators who were here in the 
             year 2000--came from a meeting called by Senator Mikulski 
             to meet with the women of Northern Ireland, along with the 
             women of Ireland, when there was so much strife in that 
             country. Barbara Mikulski called all of the women Senators 
             together, our nine, to give encouragement and advice to 
             the women who were trying to bring the people of Ireland 
             and Northern Ireland together so that there could be a 
             peaceful conclusion to the conflicts in Northern Ireland. 
             From that, as we were sharing our stories to show the 
             women of Northern Ireland how much they could do, from our 
             experiences and our overcoming of obstacles, Barbara 
             Mikulski and I sat down and said:

               You know, I think we have a book here. If each of the 
             nine women Senators could write a chapter about our 
             obstacles and our beginnings in politics and help 
             encourage other young women and girls to aspire to and be 
             able to succeed in politics, then we ought to do it.

               So we worked with a publisher. We got together and 
             decided how we would lay it out. We then decided as a 
             group that we would give all of the proceeds to the Girl 
             Scouts of America because almost all of us had been a Girl 
             Scout at one point.
               So from that we put a book out, which is still being 
             sold here in the Senate bookshop called ``Nine and 
             Counting.'' It has given a lot of money to the Girl Scouts 
             of America, to a leadership fund so that they can continue 
             to create girls who will be leaders in our country. That 
             started with the meeting Barbara put together for those of 
             us who could maybe give advice and help these women of 
             Northern Ireland.
               When I came into the Senate in 1993, the first thing I 
             wanted to do was give equal treatment to women who work at 
             home in their ability to save for retirement as those who 
             work outside the home. I had the experience, as a single 
             working woman, of putting aside some money for my IRA, and 
             then when I married my husband Ray, I found out I could 
             put aside only $250 in an IRA. I said, ``Wait a minute. 
             Why would someone working inside the home--a woman who is 
             probably going to need retirement security more than any 
             of us--not be able to save for her own retirement security 
             if she is a married woman?
               So I authored the Homemaker IRA, and of course I wanted 
             to have a Democrat lead because we had a Democratic 
             Congress. So I asked Senator Mikulski, and she said she 
             would absolutely sign on--as she always does--when it is 
             something that is going to benefit women. So it became the 
             Hutchison-Mikulski bill. I said to Barbara, ``I want this 
             bill to pass. I don't care if my name is first. I would 
             love to put your name first if you think that will help us 
             get it through.'' She said, ``Absolutely not. I would not 
             take your name off that bill for anything because it was 
             your idea.'' There are not very many people in this body 
             who would make that gesture and also put her weight behind 
             the passage of the bill.
               Of all the things I have done and that we have done 
             together, Barbara, and of all the things that bill is 
             going to do to affect the most people in our country, now 
             we have the Homemaker IRA that passed in 1996. That law 
             allows women--whether they are married and working at home 
             or outside the home and single or married--to set aside 
             the same amount. Fortunately, that amount has grown, and 
             so it is not $2,000, but it can be $2,500 or $3,000 or 
             $5,000, depending on their age. It is a wonderful thing we 
             were able to do together.
               Senator Mikulski and I also worked on behalf of Afghan 
             women. When we started hearing the atrocities that were 
             happening to the women of Afghanistan that were brought 
             back by great women's organizations, such as Vital Voices, 
             that told stories of not only unequal treatment of women 
             in Afghanistan but inhumane treatment of women in 
             Afghanistan, Senator Mikulski, Senator Clinton, and I 
             introduced the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act, which 
             was signed into law in December 2001, which authorized 
             funding for women in Afghanistan and Afghan refugee women. 
             Political participation was supported for Afghan women, 
             and we followed up with appropriations. I have to say our 
             Republican President, President Bush, and our Democratic 
             President, President Obama, have always said American 
             money will go into Afghanistan or Iraq or anywhere else to 
             support equally the education of girls and boys; that we 
             would support women where they are not being treated as 
             equals on a human rights basis. So our Presidents have 
             stood and, of course, our bipartisanship in Congress has 
             done the right thing. Again, Senator Mikulski is a leader 
             in that area.
               I cannot think of a stronger supporter in this Senate 
             than Barbara Mikulski in the area of NASA. I wish to say 
             Senator Bill Nelson also has been such a strong supporter, 
             as well as Senator Lamar Alexander, but Senator Mikulski 
             is the chairman and I am the ranking Republican on the 
             committee that is appropriating for NASA. We are also 
             fortunate to have Chairman Jay Rockefeller on the 
             authorizing and oversight committee for NASA. He, too, has 
             been such a strong leader in assuring that we continue 
             America's preeminence in space.
               When the rubber hits the road in appropriations, Senator 
             Mikulski has been there to say: ``We are going to have the 
             science in the Hubble telescope, which has given us so 
             much information, as well as the James Webb telescope.'' 
             Now, of course, we have the human space flight issues and 
             Barbara Mikulski has been right there saying, of course we 
             are going to utilize the International Space Station, of 
             course we are going to keep America's priorities in space 
             because it has done so much for our economy and our jobs 
             and our technology and our health care improvements, but 
             it has also been a national security issue that Barbara 
             Mikulski recognizes, first and foremost.
               I cannot match a lot of the stories about Barbara 
             Mikulski and her personality, but I can tell you I took 
             Barbara Mikulski to tour the Johnson Space Center in 2001, 
             and we did a wonderful event at Baylor College of Medicine 
             to talk about the research that is being done in the 
             biomedical sciences and on the space station. I thought, I 
             am going to bring Barbara where we can show her a little 
             bit of Texas.
               We know Texas has a lot of personality and sometimes we 
             are thought to have a little too much fun, but I will tell 
             you what, Barbara is one of us. I brought her to the 
             Houston rodeo. During the month of the Houston rodeo, 
             everybody is ``Go Texas,'' and everybody dresses Texan, 
             which means cowboy, and we have a great time. So I took 
             Barbara Mikulski into the steer auction, where just this 
             past Saturday a steer was sold for $460,000.
               It is a grand champion steer, I might say. All of that 
             money goes for scholarships for our young people to attend 
             college.
               Barbara came into the steer auction, and she looked 
             around. There were 2,000 people at the breakfast before 
             all these people are going to go and bid on the steers so 
             we can fund scholarships. We were all dressed 
             appropriately for Texas, and she reached over to my ear 
             and she whispered: ``Now, Kay, if we were here on Monday 
             morning and we went to a chamber of commerce meeting, do 
             these people look like this?'' I love to tell that story 
             in Houston because it gets huge laughs. She won over 
             everybody in Houston. They adored her from the beginning. 
             She put on her cowboy hat, she rode in the grand entry on 
             a buckboard and she became an honorary Texan in our 
             hearts. So Barbara Mikulski knows how to win over others.
               Let me mention one of my early experiences when I first 
             came into the Senate. There was an effort to have health 
             care reform. A program was put forward and this particular 
             program had some things that were good, but one of the 
             things in it was that no health insurance coverage would 
             be required for women to have mammograms if they were 40 
             or below. I will tell you something, the biggest eruption 
             in the Senate was Barbara Mikulski saying: ``Are you 
             kidding? I will not let this go by me in the Senate. We 
             are not going to say that a woman who is 40 or under is 
             not going to be eligible for insurance coverage for a 
             mammogram. It is not going to happen.'' Barbara Mikulski 
             took the lead, and I am going to tell you, the first thing 
             that was removed from that plan was that provision, and it 
             will never be in a plan as long as Barbara Mikulski is in 
             the Senate. So I am just going to tell anybody who is 
             looking at health care reform, take a little advice, don't 
             mess with Barbara Mikulski because we are going to have 
             mammograms.
               Not only that, Barbara Mikulski came forward in the next 
             month and passed unanimously in the Senate a mammogram 
             standards bill. During this process she learned that there 
             were varying degrees of standards of mammography. She was 
             going to make sure there were standards that every clinic 
             would have, that every piece of equipment would have and 
             she led the effort. It is law today.
               I will end with yet another accomplishment; that is, 
             single-sex education in public schools. Senator Jack 
             Danforth of Missouri started looking at the issue and 
             said, ``We need to allow our public schools to offer 
             single-sex education--meaning girl schools and boy 
             schools--because so many of us have seen that we have to 
             adapt education for the needs of each individual child to 
             the best of our ability.'' We know there are so many 
             wonderful private schools for boys and girls, but we could 
             hardly have a public school that would be single sex in 
             this country in the 1990s.
               So Jack Danforth started the effort, and when he left 
             the Senate, I picked it up. The more I looked at it, the 
             more I saw the benefits to boys and to girls--particularly 
             in the middle and high school grades--were palpable. 
             Senators Clinton, Barbara Mikulski, Susan Collins, the 
             three of them, had gone to all-girls schools. I had not, 
             but they knew the benefits first hand of single-sex 
             education. Barbara was the product of single-sex 
             education, having gone to a parochial school.
               I first introduced the amendment in 1998, but it was in 
             2001--when the four of us came together--that we actually 
             got the bill passed through an amendment and that 
             amendment then not only made public single-sex education 
             an option and legal, it also made it eligible for Federal 
             funding grants similar to all our public schools.
               I wish to say it has been one of the joys of my time in 
             the Senate to work with Senator Barbara Mikulski, and I 
             think this 4-foot-11-inch mighty-might has 10 times the 
             impact. She has made an impact on Congress and an impact 
             on America because she is relentless, she is reasonable, 
             she understands an issue, and she understands the 
             importance of listening as well as talking. She is 
             effective and she is respected. If there is anyone in the 
             Senate who doesn't like her, respect her, and work well 
             with her, I have not met them. When one is the longest 
             serving woman in the Senate and Congress, they have worked 
             with a lot of people. She is unanimously so well regarded, 
             I have never met an enemy of hers.
               I will close by saying the people who know her best love 
             her most, and I cannot think of a finer thing to say about 
             any person.
               Thank you.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.

               Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, first of all, I wish to say 
             what a pleasure it is to welcome Senator Sarbanes back. I 
             had the pleasure of sitting beside him on the Foreign 
             Relations Committee for 24 years. We miss his judgment and 
             wisdom. We could use it these days.
               I wish to welcome Governor O'Malley. I can't think of a 
             time, when people have stood up to laud a fellow Senator, 
             that a Governor of their State is sitting and listening. 
             All of the comments to this moment and beyond will 
             undoubtedly echo the remarkable affection that everybody 
             has for Barbara Mikulski and particularly the high regard 
             in which she is held.
               This is a very special celebration for the longest 
             serving woman in the history of the Congress, 12,858 days 
             today and counting. In that time--I recall when I first 
             came here there was one woman serving, and that was 
             Senator Nancy Kassebaum--it is fair to say Barbara 
             Mikulski has been one of the pivotal forces in creating 
             and assembling what I would call a true ``band of 
             sisters''--the women with whom she has served in the 
             Senate, each of whom makes extraordinary contributions to 
             this institution.
               We have heard from other colleagues that her career is 
             filled with milestones, and it is. She is the first 
             Democratic woman to serve in both Houses of Congress. She 
             is the first Democratic woman elected to Senate 
             leadership. She is the first woman elected to statewide 
             office in Maryland. These are just a few.
               When Barbara came to the Senate in 1987 after 10 years 
             in the House of Representatives, women were still, as she 
             describes it--these are her words--``a bit of a novelty'' 
             in the Senate. Indeed, then, it was only Barbara and 
             Senator Nancy Kassebaum. But now Barbara says, ``We're not 
             viewed as novelties. We're not viewed as celebrities. 
             We're viewed as U.S. Senators.''
               One of the reasons for that is that Barbara Mikulski has 
             demonstrated a seriousness of purpose, an ability to 
             legislate, and an ability to make friends and bring people 
             together that has defined her role as the dean of the 
             women in the Senate.
               Some of her women colleagues in the Senate call her 
             Dean. Others call her Coach Barb. But no matter what they 
             call her, she has brought them together in this bipartisan 
             sisterhood, as we just heard from the Senator from Texas. 
             She holds workshops and serves as a mentor to all 
             newcomers and organizes regular monthly dinners. They 
             don't always agree on everything, but the dinners are what 
             some of them have called a ``zone of civility,'' which is 
             something the Senate could use a little more of these 
             days. Again, it is Barbara Mikulski's example that helps 
             point us in that direction.
               But for all of her firsts, I would say to my colleagues 
             that Barbara Mikulski's career has never been about gender 
             as much as it has been about agenda. I have had the 
             privilege of working with her enough on different issues 
             of being what she calls one of her Galahads. I have seen 
             her laser focus on what is right, on her conscience, on 
             her gut, on her sense of what the people of Maryland want, 
             and what she thinks is her duty as a Senator. That is why 
             I wanted her on the Speaker's platform in 2004 in Boston 
             at the convention, and she delivered just the right 
             message in her forceful and commanding way. She stood up 
             there and declared, ``When women seek power, we don't seek 
             it for ourselves; we seek it to make a difference in the 
             lives of other people.''
               There is no arguing, as we heard from a number of 
             colleagues, about what an extraordinary difference Barbara 
             Mikulski has made in the lives of other people, not just 
             Marylanders but all Americans. She has been an 
             extraordinary advocate for the Goddard Space Center, for 
             the Wallops Flight Facility, and for Johns Hopkins Applied 
             Science Lab in Maryland, as well as the Port of Baltimore 
             and Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts.
               For decades, she proudly worked beside my colleague of 
             26 years Ted Kennedy. She loved Ted Kennedy and Ted 
             Kennedy loved her. Together, on the Health Committee, they 
             worked to make universal health care a reality. Her role 
             when Senator Kennedy was sick was an extraordinary role of 
             picking up that baton and helping to bring it across the 
             finish line.
               Along the way she became a leader on women's health, 
             fighting for equality in health research and making sure 
             women get the quality of care they deserve. She was one of 
             the chief sponsors of Medicaid financing of mammograms and 
             Pap smears.
               Personally, I will never forget how Barbara reacted when 
             the National Institutes of Health said it would not 
             include women in trials of aspirin as a preventive for 
             heart attacks because ``their hormones present too many 
             biological variables.'' Barbara fired back: ``My hormones 
             rage because of comments like that.''
               Her proudest accomplishment, she says, is the Spousal 
             Anti-Impoverishment Act, which helps to keep seniors from 
             going bankrupt while paying for a spouse's nursing home 
             care. Throughout her career, Barbara Mikulski has fought 
             to strengthen the safety net for children, for seniors, 
             and for anyone who needed somebody to stand for them or 
             push open a door for them.
               That fight started in East Baltimore where her Polish 
             immigrant grandparents ran a bakery and her father a 
             grocery store. She says she often watched her father open 
             the doors to his grocery store for local steelworkers so 
             they could buy their lunches before the morning shift. She 
             got it in her head at that time that she would rather be 
             opening doors for others on the inside than knocking on 
             doors from the outside.
               So no surprise, after college she got a job as a social 
             worker helping at-risk children and educating seniors 
             about Medicare. She got involved in politics by organizing 
             community groups to stop a highway from going through the 
             Highlandtown neighborhood where she grew up. Let me tell 
             my colleagues, nobody had ever seen anything like her. At 
             one rally, she jumped up on a table and cried:

               The British couldn't take Fells Point, the termites 
             couldn't take Fells Point, and God damn if we'll let the 
             State Roads Commission take Fells Point.

               As they say on ESPN, the crowd went nuts, and the roads 
             commission never knew what hit them. And I assure my 
             colleagues, that was a nonprofane use of our Lord's name.
               Again, no surprise, that led to her election to the 
             Baltimore City Council. I think that explains a lot about 
             just how good a politician she is--how well she knows the 
             street. I think every one of her colleagues, all of us, 
             are in awe of Barbara's ability to focus on the street 
             emotion, on the simplicity of an argument, and to be able 
             to sum it up in a razor-like comment that just cuts to the 
             quick and makes the rest of us who search around for the 
             words seem pretty inept in the process. Whether it is at 
             Camden Yards, Fells Point, the Eastern Shore, the 
             Washington suburbs, or up along the Mason Dixon Line, 
             Barbara has her finger on the political pulse of 
             Marylanders. She understands their concerns, shares their 
             aspirations, and sums up their hopes and their dreams in a 
             few short sentences that nobody else can parallel.
               If anyone expected Barbara Mikulski to accept being just 
             a novelty or a celebrity in Congress, they obviously had 
             no understanding of her deep roots as an immigrant, being 
             an American, and the values she learned about hard work in 
             her family.
               If anyone expects her to slow down just because she is 
             now the longest serving woman in the history of Congress, 
             they don't know Barbara Mikulski. A couple of years ago, 
             Barbara and I talked--I think it was at one of our 
             retreats--about how similar Maryland and Massachusetts are 
             in certain ways, especially their rural and fishing 
             histories which we actually both have.
               She told me she wasn't much of a fisherman, but she 
             liked to hunt. The only problem she cited was the recoil 
             of the rifle given that she stands 4 feet 11 inches tall.
               Well, it is clear from the record, clear from the 
             comments of all of her colleagues, and clear from this 
             extraordinary longest serving record in the Congress and 
             all that she has accomplished that she stands as one of 
             the tallest Senators and packs a punch way beyond her 4 
             feet 11 inches.
               We are proud to have her as a colleague, and we are in 
             awe of her ability to galvanize action, which is what this 
             institution should be all about.

               Mr. LEVIN. When you read over the long list of Senator 
             Barbara Mikulski's accomplishments, one word keeps coming 
             up, ``first.'' First woman to be elected to the Senate 
             from Maryland, first woman of her party to serve in both 
             the House of Representatives and in the Senate, first 
             woman to serve in the Senate leadership. Today we gather 
             to honor Senator Mikulski, who in addition to her many 
             firsts, now stands as the longest serving woman in the 
             history of the Congress.
               Senator Mikulski began her service in Congress in 1977, 
             and in all her time here since, she has championed the 
             causes dearest to her--causes dear to the needs of her 
             constituents and to our Nation's most vulnerable citizens.
               As chairwoman of the Children and Families Subcommittee, 
             Senator Mikulski has been a determined champion of the 
             young, the old, and the sick. She has fought for access to 
             higher education for every child because she believes ours 
             is a nation where every young boy and girl should have the 
             chance to reach his or her true potential. She has fought 
             for secure pensions for seniors because she believes ours 
             is a nation where, after a lifetime of work, every person 
             should have the chance to enjoy their retirement. And she 
             has fought for preventive screening and treatment for 
             every woman because she believes ours is a nation where no 
             one should lose a mother, daughter, or wife from a 
             preventable illness.
               As chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and 
             Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator 
             Mikulski has led the charge to promote economic 
             development, equip our first responders, and invest in 
             science and research. Senator Mikulski understands the 
             importance of the private sector, particularly small 
             businesses, in creating job opportunities. That is why she 
             has fought for legislation making it easier for businesses 
             to make investments and hire new workers. No one has 
             fought harder to support our emergency first responders 
             than Barbara Mikulski, who said, ``We must protect our 
             protectors with more than just words--we must protect them 
             with the best equipment, training and resources.''
               Senator Mikulski is also committed to the promotion of 
             scientific research and laying the groundwork for 
             maintaining U.S. leadership in the area. She has advanced 
             legislation to substantially increase the number of 
             students earning degrees in science, technology, 
             engineering, and math.
               As a Senator from Maryland, Senator Mikulski understands 
             the importance of the Federal workforce. Many of her 
             constituents are responsible for the high quality of life 
             many of us take for granted every day. Whether it's food 
             inspectors, air traffic controllers, or medical 
             researchers, many Marylanders who make up the Federal 
             workforce contribute to our Nation's health and safety. 
             Fortunately for them, and the rest of us, they have a 
             powerful advocate in the Senate. Senator Mikulski said, 
             ``I want every Federal employee to know I am on their 
             side.'' Indeed she is--not only because it is in the 
             interests of her State, but because she knows well that an 
             effective Federal workforce is in the interests of every 
             citizen in every State. Throughout her career, Senator 
             Mikulski has fought off misguided efforts to privatize 
             essential functions of the Federal workforce, and fought 
             for fair pay and benefits for these committed public 
             servants.
               Fair pay has been a focus for Senator Mikulski, and 
             women across the country can be grateful for that. In 
             2007, the Supreme Court considered the case of Lilly 
             Ledbetter, a woman who for nearly 20 years had been paid 
             less than her male coworkers for equal work. In its 
             decision, the Court ruled that Ms. Ledbetter could not 
             proceed with her case, not because it had no merit, it 
             did; but because of a technicality. Once the Supreme Court 
             rules against you, where can you turn? Just ask Ms. 
             Ledbetter; she will tell you. Senator Barbara Mikulski 
             introduced the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act to 
             address the flawed Supreme Court decision; and on January 
             29, 2009, it was signed into law.
               In the Book of Genesis, the first question asked of God 
             is ``Am I my brother's keeper?'' Senator Barbara Mikulski 
             has spent a lifetime and built a career in answer of that 
             question. She said:

               I feel that I am my brother's keeper and my sister's 
             keeper. I think that's why I am shaped by the words of 
             Jesus himself: ``Love thy neighbor.'' And I took it 
             seriously.

               The Senate is better off because she did. The people of 
             Maryland are better off. Our Nation is better off. I am 
             grateful not just because she has become the longest 
             serving woman in the history of Congress, but because she 
             has served her Nation so well.

               Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, today I wish to offer my 
             heartfelt congratulations to my esteemed colleague and 
             dear friend, Senator Barbara Mikulski, on becoming the 
             longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. Congress. 
             This milestone, reached on March 17, marks 12,858 days--
             more than 35 years--of dedicated service to her beloved 
             State of Maryland and to our Nation.
               A little more than a year ago, in January 2011, Senator 
             Mikulski began her 25th year in the Senate, surpassing my 
             personal role model in public service, Senator Margaret 
             Chase Smith, the great lady from Maine. Adding in her 10 
             years in the House, Senator Mikulski now establishes the 
             record for longevity in either Chamber, set by 
             Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, who represented 
             Massachusetts but was born in Maine.
               For me, the special meaning of this occasion goes far 
             beyond such coincidences. Just as Congresswoman Rogers and 
             Senator Smith inspired young women in the past to lives in 
             public service, Senator Mikulski inspires the young women 
             of today. As a new Senator in 1997, I was welcomed by her 
             kindness and helped by her wisdom. She taught me the ropes 
             of the appropriations process and instituted regular 
             bipartisan dinners for the women of the Senate.
               It has been a privilege to work with Senator Mikulski 
             for 15 years. During that time, I have come to know her as 
             a fighter and a trailblazer.
               Senator Mikulski is, above all, a hard worker. Growing 
             up in East Baltimore, she learned the value of hard work 
             at her family's grocery store. Her commitment to making a 
             difference in her neighborhood led her to the path of 
             service, first as social worker, then as a city councilor 
             and as a Member of Congress.
               Senator Mikulski's longevity is only the preface to her 
             story of exceptional accomplishment. She has fought for 
             increased access to higher education for our young people 
             and for improved health care for our seniors. I am proud 
             to have fought at her side on those issues, as well as for 
             increased Alzheimer's research, improved women's health 
             care, and enhanced educational opportunities for nurses.
               As House colleagues during and after World War II, 
             Margaret Chase Smith and Edith Nourse Rogers were 
             instrumental in achieving full recognition for women in 
             uniform. Senator Mikulski carries on that legacy as a 
             determined advocate for all who serve our country. Working 
             with her on the Appropriations Committee, I have witnessed 
             first hand how seriously she takes her responsibility to 
             the American taxpayers.
               Throughout her life in public service, Senator Mikulski 
             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. It is an honor to 
             congratulate Senator Barbara Mikulski for her many years 
             of service, and to wish her many more.

               Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, it is heartwarming to see 
             such a spontaneous outpouring of respect and appreciation 
             for the distinguished Senator from Maryland, Ms. Mikulski. 
             It is certainly well deserved.
               She is one of the hardest working and most effective 
             Senators serving in the Senate today. It has been a great 
             pleasure working closely with her on the Appropriations 
             Committee.

               Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to 
             our dear friend and colleague, the senior Senator from 
             Maryland, Barbara Mikulski. This week, Senator Mikulski 
             became the longest serving woman in the history of the 
             U.S. Congress. That is quite a milestone, and I want to 
             congratulate her on her many years of devoted service to 
             the people of her home State.
               Senator Mikulski is a Maryland native. Descended from 
             Polish immigrants, she was born and raised in Baltimore. 
             She attended college at both St. Agnes College in 
             Baltimore and the University of Maryland.
               After several years of working as a social worker in the 
             Baltimore area, Senator Mikulski began her political 
             career in 1971 when she was elected to the Baltimore City 
             Council. She served there for 5 years before running for 
             Congress in 1976. For 10 years, she represented the Third 
             Congressional District of Maryland. Then, in 1986, she was 
             elected to serve here in the Senate.
               Although the milestone we are recognizing today is a 
             significant one, it is not the first for Senator Mikulski. 
             Indeed, throughout her time in the Senate she has been a 
             pioneer for women in public service.
               For example, Senator Mikulski was the first woman 
             elected to statewide office in Maryland. She was also the 
             first Democratic woman elected to a Senate seat that was 
             not previously held by her husband. And, she was the first 
             woman to serve in both the Senate and the House of 
             Representatives.
               I have known Senator Mikulski a long time, having served 
             with her in the Senate for over 25 years now. While she 
             and I have often found ourselves on opposite sides of many 
             issues, I have long admired her commitment to her 
             principles and, most important, her devotion to the people 
             of her home State. Indeed, she has been a stalwart and 
             oftentimes fierce advocate for the interests of 
             Marylanders.
               I want to congratulate Senator Mikulski on this 
             important milestone, and I am grateful for this 
             opportunity to pay tribute to her and to her many years of 
             public service.

               Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I greatly appreciate having 
             this opportunity to join my colleagues in expressing our 
             congratulations to Barbara Mikulski as she reaches another 
             great milestone in her career of service to the people of 
             Maryland in the U.S. Congress.
               Senator Mikulski is now the longest serving woman in the 
             history of the U.S. Congress. Although outstanding in and 
             of itself, it is an achievement that represents far more 
             than the number of years she has served in the Nation's 
             Capital. It is also a testament to her outstanding public 
             service and her commitment to our future that has made it 
             possible for her to help to make our great Nation both 
             stronger and more secure.
               Back home, Senator Mikulski's constituents have come to 
             appreciate her more and more as they have seen how hard 
             she works to represent them every day. That is why they 
             always come out in such great numbers every election day 
             to make sure she will continue to do so. They can see the 
             difference she has made all around them, and they 
             appreciate the way she has made their cities and towns 
             better places to live.
               I have often heard Senator Mikulski referred to as the 
             dean of the Senate women, a title she has earned that was 
             conferred upon her with the great admiration, affection, 
             and appreciation of those with whom she has served. Over 
             the years so many of them have acknowledged the difference 
             she has made in their lives with her support, her 
             encouragement, her guidance, and her direction. She has 
             been such a great mentor to them because she has always 
             led the best way--by example. It is another mark of 
             distinction that has come to her as, each day, she has 
             helped to write another chapter of the history of Maryland 
             and this great Nation of ours.
               Looking back, she has played an active role in a long 
             list of changes that have come to our country over the 
             years. Because she has been at the forefront of so many of 
             them she has been a role model not only for those with 
             whom she has served, but for those who have been watching 
             her in action back home. I have no doubt, in the years to 
             come, many more women will serve in the House and the 
             Senate who will credit Senator Mikulski for first giving 
             them the idea of serving in the Congress. Her own record 
             of success then assured them that it would be possible for 
             them to do the same if they were willing to work hard and 
             take their case to the people for their consideration.
               In the end, that is what our service in the Senate is 
             all about--doing everything we can so that the current 
             generation will have the tools they will need to succeed 
             and then take their place as the next generation of our 
             Nation's leaders. Thanks to good people like Barbara 
             Mikulski the people back home know that someone cares. She 
             has given them a voice and it is heard clearly whenever 
             she takes to the Senate floor to make their concerns 
             known.
               I have often heard it said that the meaning of public 
             service is found in the definition of the word 
             ``service.'' That is why we are taking a moment today to 
             thank Senator Mikulski for putting her principles and her 
             beliefs into action all these many years for her beloved 
             Maryland and the United States of America. If I may 
             paraphrase the words of Abraham Lincoln, it isn't so much 
             her years of service that matters so much as the service 
             of her years. Through the years she has made a difference 
             in so many ways that will be long remembered and 
             celebrated.
               Congratulations, Barbara. You are setting a record pace 
             here in the Senate. From this day on, you will be setting 
             a new record every day. Thank you for your service, but 
             most of all, thank you for your friendship. Diana and I 
             have appreciated having the chance to come to know you and 
             to work with you.

               Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today in tribute to 
             Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, who has just become 
             the longest serving woman in Congress, and to applaud the 
             pioneering role that she has played in the evolution of 
             the Senate.
               Things have certainly changed since 1986, when Senator 
             Mikulski was elected to the Senate. When Senator Mikulski 
             joined the Senate as the first Democratic woman elected in 
             her right as opposed to filling the term of a spouse, the 
             Senate looked very different. There was only one other 
             woman Senator, Nancy Kassebaum, a Republican from Kansas. 
             The Senate had just begun to televise its proceedings the 
             year she was elected. And, obviously, there were no women 
             in leadership positions in the Senate.
               Senator Mikulski set out to change all that. She became 
             the first woman in the Democratic leadership. She became 
             the first woman to serve on the Appropriations Committee. 
             And then she became the first woman to chair the Senate 
             Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies 
             Appropriations Subcommittee.
               Things certainly have changed. Now, in the 112th 
             Congress, there are 17 women, both Republican and 
             Democrat, in the Senate overall. There are seven women on 
             the Appropriations Committee alone. Five women chair 
             Senate committees. Women have had significant roles in 
             both the Democratic and Republican Senate leadership.
               While all of these changes were clearly not solely a 
             function of Senator Mikulski's pioneering leadership, she 
             blazed a trail as bright and as wide as anyone could 
             possibly hope for. With her impassioned speeches, her 
             plain-spoken delivery, and her commitment to fairness and 
             justice, Senator Mikulski could not be ignored or 
             pigeonholed. She stood up for what she believed in, and 
             she would not allow her voice to be silenced.
               Senator Mikulski cared deeply about health care issues, 
             and women's health in particular. When she learned that 
             many federally funded research protocols did not include 
             women, she led the fight to insure that would never happen 
             again. She established the Office of Women's Health at NIH 
             to ensure women would always have a voice in critical 
             health issues.
               One of her proudest accomplishments was working to pass 
             the spousal impoverishment law, which changed the rules 
             that forced elderly couples to spend all their assets and 
             give up their home before the Government would help one 
             member of the couple pay for a nursing home.
               Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Senator 
             Mikulski's efforts on behalf of her beloved State of 
             Maryland. From the crabbers of the Chesapeake Bay to the 
             steelworkers at Sparrows Point to the scientists at 
             Goddard to all the other families all across the State, no 
             one has worked harder to give them a voice on Capitol Hill 
             than Barbara Mikulski. On this historic day, I wish her 
             the best, and I know that as long as she is a U.S. 
             Senator, she will never stop fighting for what she 
             believes is right.

               Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, we mark March as Women's 
             History Month, as a time of year for us to remember the 
             valiant female leaders of our great Nation. One of them is 
             very special to Montana. In 1916 Jeannette Rankin was the 
             first woman elected to the U.S. Congress, 4 years before 
             women were granted the right to vote.
               As a Member of the House of Representatives, her daring 
             and vocal stance on controversial issues such as war and 
             peace brought critical recognition from the press. In 
             every situation, the strength of her values persisted, 
             even under the pressures of unanimous opposition to a war 
             with Germany. Jeannette Rankin said, ``I may be the first 
             woman Member of Congress, but I won't be the last,'' and 
             helped to pave the way for future generations of women 
             leaders.
               This past Saturday, March 17, 2012, marked a monumental 
             day in American history. The Senator from Maryland, Ms. 
             Barbara Mikulski, celebrated her 35th year in the U.S. 
             Congress.
               That important accomplishment is a milestone for 
             American culture and female leaders in Congress. Senator 
             Mikulski is now the longest serving female in the Senate 
             and in the history of the U.S. Congress. She spent her 
             first 10 years in the House of Representatives, followed 
             by the next 25 years here in the Senate. She has worked 
             every day to make America a better place for the next 
             generation.
               When Senator Mikulski began her work in the House of 
             Representatives, there were 18 female Members of the House 
             and 3 female Members of the Senate. When she began her 
             first term in the Senate, there were 23 female Members of 
             the House and only 1 other female Member of the Senate. 
             Now, she is a leader among our 17 female Senators and 76 
             female Members of the House of Representatives.
               Her strong sense of community and instinctive nature 
             pertaining to the needs of Americans is exemplified by her 
             action-oriented attitude. Even before her tenure in 
             Congress, as a social worker for the people of Maryland, 
             Ms. Mikulski was active in local issues in and around the 
             Baltimore area and worked to help at-risk children and 
             seniors. She continues working passionately to address 
             those issues throughout her tenure in Congress.
               Her advocacy for justice and contributions to social 
             issues are evident with her work to fight for women's 
             rights and improved access to health care, to better 
             education, and to volunteering and national service 
             opportunities. She offers tremendous leadership for the 
             Senate both as the chairwoman of the Health, Education, 
             Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and 
             Aging, and as the chairwoman of the Appropriations 
             Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related 
             Agencies.
               Like Jeannette Rankin, Senator Mikulski has been a 
             leader and an exemplar for strong and courageous women 
             leaders in America.
               Senator Mikulski gets things done, and I have enjoyed 
             our friendship during our work together in the Senate. Her 
             brave spirit is one that sets the bar for new and incoming 
             Senators, both male and female. I congratulate Senator 
             Mikulski on her special day and I look forward to 
             continuing our work in the Senate together.
               Mr. President, I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.

               Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, first of all, let me say I 
             am enormously touched and gratified by the warm words my 
             colleagues have spoken on both sides of the aisle. I am 
             particularly moved by the fact of the men of Maryland who 
             are here today. I am moved by the wonderful words of 
             Senator Cardin, my colleague. I am moved as well that 
             Governor O'Malley is here today.
               When I came to the Senate, Senator Paul Sarbanes was my 
             senior colleague, and he is here today as well. Governor 
             O'Malley and Senator Sarbanes are on the bench, but these 
             men are certainly not back benchers. I must say about the 
             Governor and Senator Sarbanes and Senator Cardin, they 
             prove the old adage that men of quality will always 
             support good women who seek equality. I have enjoyed their 
             support, their wise counsel, and their collegial efforts 
             on behalf of the people of Maryland during my years in 
             Maryland politics.
               It is a great honor to be here today passing this 
             significant benchmark of becoming the longest serving 
             woman in the history of the Congress, both in the House 
             where I served for 10 years, and in the Senate. It is a 
             great honor for me to be able to pass into the history 
             books along with such an esteemed person as Senator 
             Margaret Chase Smith. We spoke about that in January 2011 
             when I was sworn in. There were tributes that day and 
             wonderful words from our two women Senators from Maine. 
             Today--actually over the weekend--I surpassed the record 
             of Edith Norse Rogers who was the longest serving woman in 
             the House. Both of those women came from New England. They 
             were both hardy, resilient, and fiercely independent. I, 
             as I have read their histories, so admired them. They were 
             known for devotion to constituent service, an unabashed 
             sense of patriotism, and kind of telling it like it is. I 
             hope that as I join them in the history books. I can only 
             continue with the same spirit of devotion to duty and that 
             fierce independence and patriotism.
               I didn't start out wanting to be a historic figure. To 
             the question, ``What do you want to be when you grow up?'' 
             you don't say, ``I want to be a historic figure.'' When I 
             was growing up, it was about service. For me, it is not 
             how long I serve, it is not about history. For me, history 
             books were Jane Adams and Abigail Adams and powdered wigs. 
             I just welcome a day when I have time to even powder my 
             nose, let alone powder my wig. But the fact is, when I 
             grew up, I wanted to be of service. I learned that in my 
             home, in my family, in my community, and with the 
             wonderful nuns who taught me.
               Today my colleagues have spoken about my wonderful 
             mother and father. I had a terrific mother and father. I 
             am so happy my two sisters and my fantastic brothers-in-
             law are joining me today. I only wish my mother and father 
             could be here with me because they worked so hard to see 
             that my sisters and I had an education at significant 
             sacrifice to them. They were really wonderful people where 
             others saw them in a life of business. Every day my father 
             would open his grocery store and say, ``Good morning, can 
             I help you?'' When he did, he wanted to assure that his 
             customers got a fair deal.
               My father opened his grocery store during the New Deal 
             because he believed in Roosevelt and because, as my father 
             said, ``Barb, I know Roosevelt believed in me.''
               I also had the benefit of the wonderful Catholic nuns 
             who educated me. I had the benefit of going to a school 
             called the Institute of Notre Dame and then Mount St. 
             Agnes College, the Sisters of Notre Dame and the Sisters 
             of Mercy. These women, who concentrated their lives on the 
             message of Christianity and the message of Jesus Christ, 
             wanted to make sure that women in America could learn and 
             be a part of our society. They didn't only teach us our 
             three Rs, they taught us about leadership and service. 
             They also taught us about other values--the values of love 
             your neighbor, care for the sick, worry about the poor, 
             and be hungry and thirsty for justice.
               When I was at the Institute of Notre Dame, a school that 
             Nancy Pelosi went to as well, there was something called 
             the Christopher movement after St. Christopher. The motto 
             was, ``It is better to light one little candle than to 
             curse the darkness.'' That is what I wanted to do. I 
             wanted to be a social worker. I even thought about being a 
             doctor. One time I even thought about being a Catholic 
             nun, but that vow of obedience kind of slowed me down a 
             little bit.
               In this country wonderful things happen. When my great-
             grandmother came to this country, she had little money in 
             her pocket but a big dream in her heart: that she could be 
             part of the American dream, that she could own a home in 
             her own name, in her own right; that she could have a job 
             and so could the people in her own family; and that based 
             on merit and hard work you could be something. Well, in 
             three generations, I have become a Senator. Only in 
             America the story of my family could have occurred--modest 
             beginnings, hard work, effort, neighbor helping neighbor.
               Much has been said about my fight for the highway. I was 
             thinking about getting a doctorate in public health at 
             Johns Hopkins. But they were going to run that highway 
             through the neighborhoods, the older ethnic neighborhoods, 
             the African American neighborhoods. We were viewed in some 
             of those neighborhoods as the other side of the tracks. I 
             wanted to fight to keep those neighborhoods on track. So I 
             took on city hall, and I did fight them.
               In this country, what happened? In another country, they 
             would have taken a protester like me and put me in jail. 
             Instead, in the United States of America, they sent me to 
             the city council. I worked hard there, and 5 years later, 
             when Senator Paul Sarbanes, who was a Congressman, ran for 
             the Senate, I ran for his House seat, and I got the job.
               When I arrived in the House in 1976, only 19 women were 
             serving: 14 Democrats and 5 Republicans; only 5 women of 
             color. In 2012, there are 76 women in the House: 50 
             Democrats, 24 Republicans; 26 women of color. In the 
             Senate, there are now 17 women serving: 12 Democrats, 5 
             Republicans. Today, we saw visiting us Senator Carol 
             Moseley-Braun, a woman of color who served well while she 
             was here.
               Those are the numbers and those are the statistics. And 
             though I join this long number of firsts, for me it is not 
             how long I have served but how well I have served. When I 
             came to Congress, I became a Member for the fabulous Third 
             Congressional District of Maryland. My job was to 
             represent a blue collar community that was in economic 
             transition. What did we do? We were a community that built 
             things here so we could ship them over there. We built 
             cars. We built ships. We made steel. We knew if a country 
             did not make something and build something, it could not 
             make something of itself.
               I fought for those blue collar people. I fought to keep 
             those jobs in manufacturing. We fought for the Port of 
             Baltimore, its dredging, so we could bring in the big 
             ships so we could have exports. We worked again for those 
             people in those manufacturing areas while we saw jobs go 
             overseas. Then we worked very hard for cities to make sure 
             our cities were safe, that we had great schools, and that 
             they had a chance of making it.
               I fought hard for health care. One of my greatest pieces 
             of legislation was the Spousal Anti-Impoverishment Act, so 
             that if one spouse went into a nursing home, the other 
             spouse would not have to spend down their life's savings 
             and lose their home. AARP tells me my legislation of so 
             many years ago, that stands today, has kept 1 million 
             people from losing their home or their family farm.
               Those were the battles then. Those were the battles when 
             I changed my address and I came to the Senate. Although I 
             changed my address, the battles are still the same: jobs, 
             social justice, opportunity based on hard work, peace in 
             the world, and I continue to fight for this.
               But for me, it is not only about issues. Issues are so 
             abstract. Issues can be so bloodless when we talk about 
             them. For me, issues are about people--the people I 
             represent in my own hometown, the people I represent in my 
             State, and the people who live in the United States of 
             America.
               My favorite thing is being out there talking to the 
             people, going into diners, going table to table, listening 
             to their stories, holding roundtables with parents whose 
             children have special needs, meeting with scientists who 
             have discoveries they think will lead to new ideas and new 
             products that will bring new jobs, meeting with 
             universities that train our workforce. For me, it is about 
             the people.
               So as I pass this important benchmark, which I am so 
             honored to do, I want people to know I am still that young 
             girl who watched her father open that grocery store every 
             day and say: ``Good morning. Can I help you?'' I am still 
             that young girl who went to the Institute of Notre Dame 
             and Mount St. Agnes College who said:

               I am going to light one little candle. I do not want to 
             curse the darkness. I want to continue to fight for a 
             stronger economy, a safer America, the people of Maryland.

               In conclusion, I want to say thanks. I am going to thank 
             the Dear Lord for giving me the chance to be born in the 
             greatest country in the world, to be able to work hard and 
             serve in one of the greatest institutions in the United 
             States of America. But nobody gets to be a ``me'' without 
             a whole lot of ``thee.''
               I thank my family. I thank the religious women who 
             educated me. I thank all of my staff who have worked so 
             hard to help me do a good job. And I thank the countless 
             volunteers who believed in me and worked for my election 
             when nobody else did. Most of all, I thank the people of 
             the Third Congressional District and the State of Maryland 
             for saying: ``Barb, we are going to give you your shot. 
             Don't ever forget this. Don't ever forget us.'' I want 
             them to know, though I have now served in the Senate 
             12,858 days, I will never forget them. Every morning I am 
             saying in my heart, ``Good morning. Can I help you?''
               Mr. President, I yield the floor.
               (Applause, Senators rising.)

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.

               Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am so honored to join so 
             many of my Senate colleagues and people from Maryland and 
             across this country in recognizing and congratulating the 
             amazing woman you just heard from, my good friend from 
             Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, who, as you have just 
             heard, has just become the longest serving female Member 
             of Congress in the history of the United States.
               This is an achievement that takes courage, it takes 
             passion, and it takes commitment. Those are three 
             attributes all of us who know her so well know she has in 
             abundance. But my good friend, Senator Mikulski, has not 
             just served long, she has served well.
               The senior Senator from Maryland, over her 35 years in 
             Congress, has established herself as a trailblazer, as a 
             leader, and as a fighter for the people of her State. It 
             is fitting that this milestone was reached during Women's 
             History Month because Senator Mikulski has given so much 
             of herself in support of other women in Congress. She has 
             guided us, she has shown us how to stand and fight, and 
             she has taken all of us under her wing.
               Senator Mikulski realized when she arrived here that 
             there was no rule book for women in Congress. So she took 
             it upon herself to guide the way. She drew on her own 
             experiences to make the transition easier for all of us.
               She organized seminars that you have heard about. She 
             taught us how to work together. She taught us about the 
             legislative process, the rules on the floor, and the many 
             more subtle rules off the floor.
               In short, Senator Mikulski showed us the ropes, and she 
             has done it every day I have been here for all the women 
             who have come since she has been here. While she knows it 
             is important and courageous to lead the charge, she also 
             understands the first ones have to be responsible and 
             successful so others can follow. It is because Senator 
             Mikulski has done her job so well that other women have 
             been able to follow in her footsteps.
               She is here today as the longest serving woman in 
             Congress, not by accident or by happenstance. She is here 
             because she has earned it, because the people of her State 
             know she is an indispensable champion of their causes, 
             because she does work across party lines, and because she 
             delivers results.
               I know many years from now when women have achieved a 
             larger, more representative role in our Nation's Capital, 
             Senator Mikulski will be at the very top of the list of 
             people to thank--the person who not only forged the path 
             but who went back and guided so many of us down it.
               I know many of my colleagues are on the floor today to 
             thank Senator Mikulski. But I am here especially to thank 
             her, as one of those women who have followed in her 
             footsteps, for her more than 35 years of service to her 
             State and to her country. Those of us who know her well 
             know she is not even close to being finished.
               So, Mr. President, my very best to my very good friend, 
             Senator Mikulski. I wish her very well in her next 35 
             years.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.

               Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President I too want to speak of my 
             dear friend Barbara Mikulski, who is just precious. She is 
             precious to her family. She is precious to the people of 
             the Third Congressional District that she represented for 
             10 years. She is precious to the people of Maryland, 
             precious to the people of the United States, and precious 
             to those of us who have the privilege of serving with her 
             in this body.
               She has been affectionately known as a few things: The 
             dean of women; the breaker of the ceiling, as Patty Murray 
             just said; setting the stage, setting the rule book--
             writing the rule book--for women in the Senate.
               There will be 51 women in the Senate one day--there will 
             be--and it will come much more quickly because Barbara 
             Mikulski was the first. There is no question about that. 
             The Senate will be a better place for it in so many 
             different ways.
               She is also not only known as the dean of women. We love 
             her. She is known as Barb. I love calling her on the phone 
             late at night and having her say: ``This is Barb. Please 
             call me. Make sure you say the words and leave your phone 
             number twice.''
               Of course, when Barb says something, we all do it. So I 
             always leave the phone number twice.
               I admire so much about her. One of the things at the top 
             of the list is who she is. She is the real deal. She knows 
             where she came from. She has never forgotten where she 
             came from. As I have told her personally, she has that 
             internal gyroscope of who she is, what she should do, and 
             how she should do it that guides her almost instinctively, 
             and it is probably the most precious thing a politician 
             can have. Not very many people have it, but hers is about 
             the best I have ever witnessed.
               It started from her upbringing and her faith, which she 
             mentioned. We have talked about Willy. She has mentioned 
             Willy. But you never forget how she reminds us because it 
             is with her, and you can see it in her actions every day--
             how when people would come into the store that Willy had, 
             the grocery store in East Baltimore, when they had lost 
             their job or someone was very sick and Willy would say: 
             ``Take the groceries and pay me later.''
               It reminded me of my grandfather Jake--we have talked 
             about this--who was an exterminator, not quite the same as 
             Willy and not providing the same services, but he would 
             tell people: ``If you have roaches and rats in your house 
             and you can't pay, I will still exterminate. Pay me when 
             you have the money.'' So I understood that instinctively.
               I would have loved Willy to have met my grandfather Jake 
             because I am sure they were kindred souls in a lot of 
             ways. And the guidance of Willy and Barb's mom--you can 
             see it every day in the way she acts.
               I just want to say another thing about Barb. She got 
             into public service as a community activist. There was a 
             highway that was going to tear up an important and 
             historic part of her community, and she got involved. 
             Being schooled by her and many of my colleagues, many 
             women believed, oh, they would be excluded from politics 
             if they went into politics directly. But when you are a 
             community activist and you take a lead because something 
             is bothering you about your home or your neighborhood, 
             politics just followed sort of naturally. It is a little 
             bit like Patty Murray's story as well.
               These days, because of what Barb has done, I think my 
             daughters can aspire--I do not know if they do, but they 
             can aspire to go into political life directly. In those 
             days, it was much harder. But there she was. She led this 
             fight. She went on to the city council, of course the 
             Third Congressional District in Maryland, and now to this 
             august Chamber. She has done so much. It has been 
             cataloged by all my colleagues.
               Medical research: There are probably millions of people 
             alive today because of the 35 years she has pushed to make 
             that happen. They do not know who they are, but they are 
             there; and they are living happy and healthy because of 
             Barb Mikulski.
               How about veterans and health care needs? Again, 
             literally tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, 
             of our veterans are living much better lives because they 
             were able to get the health care that Barb Mikulski 
             spearheaded, particularly in the earlier days when this 
             was not a popular cause.
               The list goes on and on. She has done so much. In our 
             Chamber she is beloved. Beloved. People are sometimes 
             afraid of her when she gets mad. People want her approval. 
             But most of all, I think what most of us seek is her 
             advice, because after so many years in politics, she has 
             that gift to understand what the average person needs and 
             to talk directly to them. She does not talk through her 
             colleagues or does not talk through the media or does not 
             talk through some community leader or other politician. 
             She still is talking to that family sitting in East 
             Baltimore or in Hagerstown or in Annapolis. She almost has 
             them in front of her eyes wherever she goes. That is why 
             her speeches are so effective. She does not try to polish 
             them. That is not her. She speaks from the heart directly 
             to the people, and she cares so much about them that it 
             comes through. It is an amazing trait.
               I most admire people in political life who never forget 
             where they came from. She is one of the most powerful 
             people, not just women, one of the most powerful persons 
             in America. I did not know Barb Mikulski when she was a 
             community activist in East Baltimore, but my guess is she 
             is exactly the same today. All the power and the 
             accomplishments and the emoluments and the praise, all 
             deserved, have not changed her a whit. That to me says an 
             amazing thing about an individual.
               Barb, I know my colleagues are waiting, but we love you. 
             We cherish you. As Patty Murray said, ``I will put it my 
             own way, I am sure that Barbara Mikulski, knowing her as 
             well as I do, the best is yet to come.''
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.

               Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I wish to join my 
             colleagues in a tribute to Senator Mikulski.
               I am delighted to join my colleagues in this tribute to 
             perhaps our favorite colleague, Barbara Mikulski, on her 
             becoming the longest serving woman in congressional 
             history. Her work in these Halls has made our country 
             stronger. In a place where partisan rancor too often rules 
             the day, she has established a legacy of service to her 
             constituents and to all of us in this body that stands as 
             an example to every one of us.
               Her political career began in the late 1960s when she 
             launched a campaign to stop the construction of a highway 
             over a historic neighborhood she wanted to protect in 
             Baltimore. She won that battle and went on to run for the 
             Baltimore City Council in 1971. More than 40 years later 
             and following a successful stint in the House of 
             Representatives, Barbara Mikulski continues to blaze an 
             impressive trail.
               During her 27 years in the Senate, she became the first 
             woman to sit on the Senate Appropriations Committee, the 
             first woman to chair an appropriations subcommittee, and 
             the first Democratic woman elected to Senate leadership. 
             Last year, we celebrated Barbara as she became the longest 
             serving female Senator. Now she has crossed yet another 
             milestone, passing Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers of 
             Massachusetts, having served in the Congress longer than 
             any woman in history.
               Of course, we do not just celebrate the quantity of 
             Barbara's service but its quality. No one is better at 
             drilling down to the heart of an issue and expressing it 
             in punchy, unforgettable terms. No one cheers us up more 
             than Barbara when she tells us to: Stand tall, square our 
             shoulders, put on our lipstick, and rise to the occasion. 
             We do not all put on lipstick, but we all get the message.
               No one better combines the idealism of politics with the 
             proactive abilities of government. She told me once with a 
             twinkle in her eye, ``I am a reformer, but I am a bit of a 
             wardheeler too.'' Practicality and passion combined is 
             what makes politics successful, and no one does it better 
             than Barbara.
               When she was first elected to the House in 1977, she was 
             1 of 21 women in Congress; 18 in the House and, the 
             following year, only 3 in the Senate. Today there are 93 
             women serving including 17 Senators. Barbara has earned 
             the distinction of dean of the Senate women. But she never 
             forgot her roots as a champion for those who need a voice 
             in this building.
               In her years in the Senate, Barbara Mikulski's 
             dedication to her constituents and women's rights has been 
             clear, from becoming a champion of women's health issues 
             to organizing training seminars for women of both parties 
             elected to the Senate, to sponsoring and pushing through 
             with a force that we all remember the Lilly Ledbetter Fair 
             Pay Act of 2009.
               During my much shorter tenure as a Senator, I have had 
             the great privilege and pleasure to work with Barbara to 
             pass landmark health care reform legislation out of the 
             HELP Committee. I have also served with her on the 
             Intelligence Committee, and worked closely with her on the 
             Senate Intelligence Committee's cyber task force to 
             evaluate cyberthreats and issue recommendations to the 
             full committee. I have taken from those experiences great 
             affection and respect for Senator Barbara Mikulski. These 
             are issues that are complex, complicated, difficult, and 
             abstruse, and she brought to them the verve and the vigor 
             and the vision to move on them. Those really are her 
             hallmarks: verve, vigor, and vision.
               I know all of us here in this Chamber are proud to call 
             Senator Barb our colleague and friend as she makes history 
             yet again. Her hard work and collegial spirit have 
             enriched this Senate. I wish her all of the best in the 
             accomplishments ahead. On behalf of all Rhode Islanders, 
             Senator Mikulski, I congratulate you for this milestone in 
             your history, the Senate's history, and our Nation's 
             history.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia is 
             recognized.

               Mr. ISAKSON. Madam President, I consider it an honor and 
             a privilege to rise for a moment to pay tribute to Senator 
             Mikulski from the State of Maryland, In so doing, I think 
             it is only appropriate that I quote from a speech made on 
             November 22 in 1922 by the first woman ever to serve in 
             the Senate.
               Rebecca Latimer Felton was the first woman Senator. She 
             was appointed for 1 day. Governor Brown had run against 
             Walter George for the Senate. Walter George won. And 
             because of Ms. Felton's unending help to him in his race, 
             he asked the Governor if he would appoint her for a day to 
             his seat before he took it and was sworn in.
               She came to Washington, DC, to serve for 1 day and she 
             made one speech. In that speech she had a paragraph that 
             to me exemplifies Barbara Mikulski. She said:

               Let me say, Mr. President, that when the women of the 
             country come and sit with you, though there may be but 
             very few in the next few years, I pledge you that you will 
             get ability, you will get integrity of purpose, you will 
             get exalted patriotism, and you will get unstinted 
             usefulness.

               That was Rebecca Felton in 1922. Today, in March 2012, 
             we honor a Senator who has lived up to every one of those 
             promises Ms. Felton made almost 100 years ago. I have had 
             the privilege to serve on the HELP Committee with the 
             Senator, worked very closely on the Alzheimer's 
             legislation which she has been such a leader on, worked 
             with her on many other projects, including one I am happy 
             to remind her about, and that was the confirmation of 
             Wendy Sherman a few months ago when, on the floor of the 
             Senate, we worked together to see that she was appointed 
             and named and confirmed Under Secretary of State for the 
             United States of America, serving under Hillary Clinton.
               On that night when we worked on getting that UC 
             (unanimous consent) done, and it was not easy, I saw the 
             tenacity, I saw the grace, I saw the patriotism, and I saw 
             the integrity of Barbara Mikulski. It is an honor for me 
             to rise today and commend her on a great individual 
             achievement, not just for herself but for all of the women 
             who have gone before her and all the women who will come 
             later on, and to my five granddaughters and my daughter.
               She has led the life in the Senate exemplary of the 
             contributions that all women can make to our society. I 
             commend her on her service, her compassion, her integrity, 
             and all that she has done for the State of Maryland, the 
             United States of America, and peace on this Earth.
               Barbara, congratulations to you on a great achievement. 
             It is an honor for me to be here.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Klobuchar). The Senator from 
             Delaware is recognized.

               Mr. COONS. Madam President, I am honored to follow my 
             good friend and colleague from the State of Georgia in 
             recognizing the remarkable contributions of Senator 
             Mikulski, now the longest serving woman in the history of 
             the Congress.
               Today we have been joined by many great Marylanders. We 
             have had Governor O'Malley and Senator Cardin, and former 
             Senator Sarbanes, and Senator Mikulski's own family, her 
             sisters and brother-in-law in attendance. I am also 
             pleased that we have got two of her favorite constituents, 
             my father and my brother, who are with us today as well. 
             They live in Annapolis and they have known what I have 
             known since childhood when I lived in the suburbs of 
             Baltimore, that Senator Mikulski is a remarkable, a 
             tireless, a passionate, and an effective Senator.
               Reference has been made to her start as a community 
             organizer, someone who saved Fells Point from a 16-lane 
             superhighway, someone who was not afraid to get into the 
             gritty issues of a local community and standing up for 
             folks who did not have anyone to fight for them. We have 
             also heard about her early years as a social worker, 
             helping folks in need understand the programs available to 
             them and then fighting for the programs that should have 
             been available to them.
               It is no surprise to any of us that the district she 
             first represented in the House of Representatives, the 
             Third, was known as the ``steel district'' where lots of 
             men and women worked in the Bethlehem Steel plant. It is 
             no surprise that she has earned a reputation here in the 
             Senate as a woman of steel, who fights for manufacturers, 
             who fights for Federal workers, who fights for Western 
             Maryland, who fights for poultry on the peninsula of the 
             Eastern Shore of Maryland, who fights for her constituents 
             day in and day out.
               It is indeed just that in this Woman's History Month we 
             would be recognizing Senator Barbara Mikulski, who has 
             stood up for Maryland each and every day. Though like me 
             she comes up a little short every time she stands, she 
             stands incredibly tall in the company of Senators 
             throughout American history. She is someone who is 
             passionate for people, who has determination to continue 
             in the tradition of her father, that fair deal grocer, who 
             asked every day that simple question: How can I help?, and 
             then gets busy answering it.
               She is a role model for me, for all of us, for my 
             daughter, for my family, for our community. She is the 
             only Senator I have heard say to me, fiercely, before 
             going on a vote on the floor: ``To the barricades.'' And 
             she is the only person who could say that and mean it. For 
             a lifetime, she has been at the barricades of justice. She 
             has been at the barricades of service. She has been at the 
             barricades of making a difference. And for that, we are 
             all grateful.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska is 
             recognized.

               Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I too stand today to pay 
             recognition to a friend, a colleague, and truly a woman 
             who brings a smile to my face. Because for as many years 
             as she has served her State of Maryland, for as many years 
             as she has served in the Halls of Congress, she has the 
             enthusiasm, the spontaneity, the excitement when she 
             approaches an issue as a brand-new rookie freshman coming 
             into this body.
               That is quite remarkable because around here we can get 
             kind of dragged down by the day-to-day politics, the 
             partisan nature, and the conflicts that are inherent in 
             this process.
               Barbara Mikulski is one who embraces life and the 
             responsibilities that are put before her. She has an 
             opportunity to represent her constituents, and she 
             embraces it with an enthusiasm that should be a reminder 
             to us all of why we are here to serve.
               I have so many different stories and quips and quotes 
             about Senator Mikulski, whose name sounds somewhat similar 
             to mine--Murkowski. Every now and again, we have an 
             opportunity to share the same stage, the same podium, and 
             the individual who is introducing us will trip on his or 
             her tongue and refer to us wrongly. There was one occasion 
             where we were being recognized by the National Geographic 
             Society, and she pointed out to the individual making the 
             introduction: ``She is the vertical one, and I am the not 
             so vertical one.''
               This is just a recognition again that regardless of the 
             situation, Barbara Mikulski has a good comeback, a quick 
             quip. She is a quipmeister if there ever was one. It 
             speaks again to the enthusiasm and passion she brings to 
             the job she has in front of her.
               With names such as Murkowski and Mikulski, we clearly 
             have a Polish heritage we look to with pride. She reminds 
             me of mine because she is perhaps a little more connected 
             to those Polish roots. Again, there is a sense of pride 
             with whom she is, where she has come from, and what her 
             family has done preceding her that allows her to go on and 
             do so much for so many.
               We have had the opportunity to work together on issues 
             that, coming from different parts of the country--truly 
             different ends of the country--and one would not think we 
             would have as much commonality on some of the issues. As 
             the chairmen on the Commerce, Justice, Science 
             Appropriations Subcommittee, we have worked closely on 
             issues that relate to our fisheries, coastal issues, and 
             judiciary issues. She is always reminding me that we have 
             to take care of our fishermen out there and make sure our 
             families who rely on our waters are appropriately cared 
             for.
               We have worked together on women's health issues. We 
             were recently at the Sister to Sister event. I do feel a 
             kinship and a relationship with this Polish sister as we 
             talk about those issues that are so important to women's 
             health.
               We share the same concerns about how we do more for our 
             first responders, our servicemembers, and our veterans. 
             Just this past week, Senator--I almost called her 
             Murkowski myself--Senator Mikulski was chairing a 
             committee, and I brought up an issue as it related to the 
             late Senator Ted Stevens and the Department of Justice 
             investigation that failed so miserably--and we are now 
             pursuing it, through different avenues, to make sure 
             nobody should have to go through what Senator Stevens 
             did--Senator Mikulski literally stopped the committee 
             hearing to remind the Attorney General that, in fact, this 
             was not a partisan issue; this was an issue where we all 
             should be concerned and that if there is no justice within 
             the Department of Justice, what does that mean for us as a 
             nation.
               She is never hesitant to speak and stand and make very 
             clear, when these issues are important to the Nation, it 
             should know no bounds by party. Barbara Mikulski has held 
             true to that.
               In many different ways, that makes this milestone we are 
             recognizing even more important because I think there is a 
             kind of a piling on of events that can happen in the Halls 
             of Congress, where the weight of what we do on a daily 
             basis gets to be a load. To a certain extent, one can get 
             tired, one can get worn, but Barbara has not let the 
             weight of that responsibility bring her down.
               I was joking with her a little bit ago when all the 
             accolades were coming her way. I said, ``Barbara, with all 
             these kind words that are being said about you, by the 
             time the tributes are done, you are going to be 7 feet 
             tall.''
               That woman is 7 feet tall in the minds of so many of us. 
             She is a giant for the people of Maryland. She has proven 
             herself to be a giant in so many ways as she works to do 
             good for so many.
               I am proud to stand with so many colleagues in 
             recognizing her tenure, recognizing this historic place 
             she has carved for herself within the Congress, and to 
             call her my friend.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.

               Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, I rise to honor the 
             service of one of our most distinguished and long-serving 
             colleagues, the tireless, sometimes relentless, and often 
             spirited senior Senator from Maryland, Ms. Barbara 
             Mikulski.
               To say she is a trailblazer for women in politics is an 
             understatement. She has blazed a bold trail not just for 
             women in politics but for all women in every endeavor. She 
             is a fighter, an advocate, someone whom one is hopefully 
             on the same side with because she is a formidable opponent 
             when one is on the opposite side. She is a role model for 
             leadership and getting things done.
               Her impressive list of accomplishments is far too long 
             to recite in a few minutes or even a few hours. It would 
             not adequately do justice to her incredible service to 
             Maryland and the people of this Nation. Senator Mikulski 
             has dedicated her career to serving Marylanders and has 
             dedicated her life to public service.
               She began as a social worker in the neighborhoods of 
             Baltimore, working every day on the street helping at-risk 
             children find their way and giving seniors the help they 
             needed.
               She was not, and is not, a bleeding heart, but there is 
             no one who has a fuller heart, a more open heart to the 
             deepest needs of the least powerful among us than Senator 
             Mikulski. She is someone one wants on their side.
               Senator Mikulski came to public service with what I like 
             to call the long view. She can see beyond herself to the 
             needs of society as a whole, and she has fought for those 
             needs and won on far more occasions than she has lost.
               When she first ran for public office in 1971, I know she 
             had in her heart the deep and abiding memories of those 
             kids and seniors she met in Baltimore when she began her 
             career. I know she carries those memories with her to this 
             day. To this day, she has never forgotten the people of 
             Maryland who need her the most and have had the wisdom to 
             elect her time and time again.
               Her political career has taken her from the Baltimore 
             City Council to the House of Representatives and to this 
             Chamber, where she has honorably served for the past 26 
             years. For 7 years, I have had the opportunity to work 
             with her in this Chamber, and there has been no stronger, 
             more knowledgeable, more committed colleague on this side 
             of the aisle. She is an example for all her colleagues, 
             determined to work across the aisle when possible and 
             ready to fight for her beliefs when necessary.
               She was the first woman elected to statewide office in 
             Maryland, the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate 
             in her own right, the first woman to serve in both Houses 
             of Congress, and the longest serving female Member of the 
             Senate.
               As we all know, this past Saturday, Senator Mikulski 
             became the longest serving woman in the history of the 
             Congress, serving more than 35 years in the House of 
             Representatives and the Senate.
               It is only fitting that she achieve this milestone 
             during Women's History Month because she has not only 
             paved the way for women in politics but she has helped 
             pave the way for women everywhere.
               I had the opportunity to work with Senator Mikulski 
             during the long and difficult debate and negotiations on 
             health care reform. Her work was instrumental in ensuring 
             that women have access to the comprehensive health care 
             they are now guaranteed under the law. During that debate, 
             no one's voice was clearer, no one's voice was stronger, 
             no one was more convincing than she in the fight for a 
             woman's right to comprehensive health care coverage.
               She fought for mandatory insurance coverage of essential 
             services, such as mammograms and maternity care, services 
             that many insurance companies refused to cover. She fought 
             to end gender discrimination by insurance companies.
               As a result of the Affordable Care Act and, in large 
             measure because of Senator Mikulski's tireless efforts on 
             behalf of women, being a woman is no longer a preexisting 
             condition, as insurance companies used to say, that can be 
             discriminated against.
               Those insurance companies that routinely denied coverage 
             of basic women's health services--essential services--are 
             now required to cover those services under the 
             comprehensive women's health services provision of the 
             law.
               Whenever there is a need in the Chamber for a strong 
             voice for women, whenever there is a need for an advocate 
             to stand for the powerless against the powerful, whenever 
             there is a child who needs a friend or a senior citizen 
             who needs a hand, Barbara Mikulski is there.
               I believe there are many times she comes to this floor 
             remembering, as she said, her days back in Baltimore, and 
             she is right there--an advocate's advocate--fighting for 
             those children and seniors she met along the way.
               The rest of us are better off because she comes here 
             with a full heart, ready to do what is right, not just 
             what is politically expedient.
               Her bill, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, was signed 
             into law by President Obama just days after his 
             inauguration. I was proud to work with her on that bill 
             and on so many other efforts as well that make a 
             difference in the lives of average Americans.
               Finally, Senator Mikulski has been a tireless advocate 
             for something that is near and dear to my own heart--for 
             those who suffer from Alzheimer's and their families.
               As the son of a mother who battled Alzheimer's for 18 
             years and lost her life to it, I understand first hand the 
             unique challenges of providing long-term care for a loved 
             one. Senator Mikulski has come to this floor on countless 
             occasions advocating for increased research, education, 
             and programs for individuals with Alzheimer's. She has 
             found support from her colleagues on both sides of the 
             aisle.
               It is estimated that 5.4 million Americans are currently 
             living with Alzheimer's and millions more have been 
             touched in some way by this debilitating disease.
               I thank the Senator from the bottom of my heart for her 
             passion for helping those who suffer from this disease. I 
             look forward to continuing to work with her on this issue 
             until we find a cure for Alzheimer's.
               The bottom line: Barbara Mikulski is a deeply committed 
             public servant. The State of Maryland has rightly 
             recognized her invaluable service for many years. Because 
             of her efforts, those Maryland families know their 
             interests are protected and their voices are heard.
               It has been an honor to serve with her. All of us in 
             this Chamber can only hope to serve our States with the 
             same conviction, selflessness, and pride as Senator 
             Mikulski has throughout her 35 years of service to the 
             State of Maryland.
               I am reminded of what Mother Teresa said when she got 
             the Congressional Gold Medal, ``It is not the awards and 
             recognition that one receives in life that matter; it is 
             how one has lived their life that matters.''
               In that respect, Barbara Mikulski has lived an 
             extraordinary life. We thank her for what she has done and 
             not just for the people of Maryland but for all the people 
             of America.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.

               Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I am proud to be able to 
             join my colleagues on the floor this afternoon in honoring 
             Senator Barbara Mikulski for her service to Maryland and 
             for the endless contributions she has made to the people 
             of this country.
               It is very hard to adequately describe a political icon 
             such as Barbara Mikulski. For all of us women in politics, 
             she is a model of what we can aspire to or what we would 
             hope to aspire to. I just want to tell a simple story 
             about Barb that I think reflects her ability to get along 
             with people, her zest for life, as so many of my 
             colleagues have described, and the connection she makes 
             that makes a difference for people.
               She and I were on a flight with four other Senators to 
             the security forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a couple of 
             years ago, and the weather was bad, so our flight was 
             diverted to Bangor, ME. It was winter in New England, and 
             of course, when there is bad weather in New England in the 
             winter, it sticks around for a while, so we were trapped 
             overnight in Bangor. Most of us just sort of sat there 
             waiting to figure out what was going to be done while we 
             waited for a flight the next day, but not Barbara, because 
             she doesn't sit still. She is never afraid to pick up the 
             phone and take action, and that is exactly what she did. 
             Barbara dialed up her old friend and colleague--the 
             colleague of all of us--Senator Susan Collins, and said, 
             ``Guess where I am.'' And that is how those of us who were 
             on that flight--the six Senators and the Secretary of 
             Homeland Security--wound up joining Senator Collins and 
             the legendary Troop Greeters of Bangor, ME, in welcoming 
             troops at the airport as they returned home from overseas. 
             So what had earlier seemed like an inconvenience turned 
             into a fabulous opportunity to thank our brave men and 
             women in uniform and to have a good time while we were 
             doing it.
               You find those kinds of things happening if you spend 
             time with Barbara Mikulski. It is a byproduct of her 
             relentless energy, her drive to better her community and 
             our Nation as a whole, her deep commitment to fighting for 
             women's health, and her unfailing grace and gumption as a 
             legislator, a colleague, and a friend.
               As has been said, she got her start as a social worker 
             trying to make the lives of men and women in her native 
             Baltimore a little easier to bear. She was working in the 
             service of values that were taught to her by her family, 
             who owned the neighborhood grocery store. And as so many 
             have commented, she often tells the story of her father 
             opening the store early so that steelworkers coming in for 
             the early morning shift would have time to buy their 
             lunch. Barb has carried that spirit, those values she 
             learned from her family in that grocery store here to the 
             Senate, and often those values are sorely needed here.
               As dean of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, 
             she has built a sense of community within the caucus. Her 
             bipartisan women's dinners are legendary. And, of course, 
             what happens at those dinners stays at those dinners. 
             Those are Mikulski's rules. But we really don't need to 
             look any further than that wintry night in Maine to know 
             how effective she has been in making things happen for 
             people.
               I look forward to more of her dinners, to more 
             conversations with the Senator, to more chances to work 
             with her as she fights on behalf of women and seniors and 
             veterans and all those who don't have a voice in 
             government and at the table. I thank the Senator for her 
             friendship, for her leadership, and for her many years of 
             service.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.

               Mr. MANCHIN. Madam President, I too am honored to be 
             able to rise today to speak of our dear friend Barbara 
             Mikulski. So many good things have been said, so many 
             accolades have been shared about what Barbara has done and 
             what she means to all of us. I can only tell you there is 
             not a better ally, mentor, neighbor, and, most important, 
             friend to have in the Senate than Barbara Mikulski.
               My State shares a border with Barbara's State. Maryland 
             and West Virginia have had a long and illustrious 
             relationship. As Governor, I had always known of Barbara 
             and had met her a few times when I served the great State 
             of West Virginia. But as a Senator, I have had the 
             privilege of being her colleague and working with her and 
             becoming friends, listening to her and watching how she 
             works with her constituents, how she considers the issues, 
             how she fights for issues. I don't think anyone has ever 
             had to guess where Barbara stands on an issue because we 
             all know.
               In the 15 months we have worked together, I can say it 
             has been extremely rewarding to serve alongside her, 
             whether it is her wisdom she shares on the train ride over 
             to our sessions here or whether we talk about our both 
             being raised in a grocery store. My grandfather had a 
             little grocery store and, as you know, Barbara was raised 
             with her father in a grocery store. I think, basically, if 
             you have retail in your blood, you understand the people 
             of America.
               Her sense of humor is something to behold. Every day I 
             have the privilege of serving with her is a good day in 
             the Senate.
               I know colleagues have all shared their stories about 
             Barbara, and they have had more experience with her in the 
             Senate. As a freshman, being here only a little over a 
             year and a half, I have not had that many personal 
             experiences, but I can tell you this: If there is a fight 
             that breaks out, if there is something going wrong, you 
             want Barbara on your side. She is the person to have in 
             that foxhole when the shooting starts. I have been so 
             appreciative to have her as my friend and always count on 
             her.
               As we have all heard, she has been an advocate for 
             women's health, the space program, and her most beloved 
             State of Maryland, which she fights for every day.
               Last year she became the first woman to reach the 
             milestone of serving a quarter of a century in the Senate. 
             Madam President, I have staffers who are younger than her 
             years of service. But I also have young staffers, 
             especially my female staffers, who have said they see a 
             world of possibility because of the trail Senator Barbara 
             Mikulski has left for them. With all of that, she has 
             blazed a trail for all of us. No one will be able to fill 
             the shoes of Barbara Mikulski. We will all be lucky enough 
             to follow in her footsteps.
               When she began serving on the Hill in 1977, there were 
             20 other women in all of Congress. She was among 17 who 
             served in the House, while the following year there were 3 
             in the Senate. Today, 35 years later, there are 17 women 
             serving in the Senate. If there is anything we can learn 
             from Senator Barbara Mikulski, it is that 17 women is far 
             too few. We need more women like you, Barbara, and, just 
             as important, we need more Senators like you.
               I can honestly say that I know the State of Maryland is 
             much better off because of Barbara Mikulski, and I can 
             tell you that the United States of America is a better 
             country because of Barbara Mikulski. So I say thank you to 
             my dear friend Barbara for her service to this great 
             country and to all the constituents in Maryland who must 
             be extremely proud of her and have a right to be so. I too 
             am so proud to call her my friend and my neighbor.
               Madam President, I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.

               Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, we have listened with 
             interest and total accord as the life of Barbara Mikulski 
             in the Senate has been reviewed by so many people. We have 
             heard the friendship and good will we all share toward 
             her.
               Her record is quite well known. She is determined to get 
             things done. She never lets minutiae stand in the way or 
             block an accomplishment. I have noticed one thing: When 
             Barbara Mikulski starts to talk during a debate, the noise 
             around the room quiets down. If it doesn't, beware; 
             Barbara will call your attention to it and say it in a way 
             that demands attention.
               Barbara and I arrived in the Senate in fairly close 
             proximity. I came here in 1983 and Barbara, who was 
             elected in 1986, arrived in 1987, as I recall. We were 
             both on the Appropriations Committee. I had some slight 
             seniority over her, and one of the things that were being 
             dealt with was seniority. Barbara asked for my help in the 
             choice of subcommittee, and I tried to step out of the way 
             and help Barbara obtain the chairmanship of a subcommittee 
             in Appropriations, which she managed so well and so 
             effectively. She once called me her Galahad, and I was 
             proud of the moniker because it was intended to be a 
             compliment and a sign of friendship.
               Strikingly, Barbara Mikulski and I have backgrounds that 
             are not dissimilar. I come from Polish heritage. My 
             grandparents on my paternal side were born in Poland, as 
             Barbara's family was. They were immigrants. My parents 
             were brought as children from Europe and went through the 
             traditional immigrant absorption.
               My folks found it very hard to make a living as they 
             grew up here in America. My grandparents were essentially 
             poor people with a kind of blue collar background. They 
             had to resort to storekeeping to keep food on the table, a 
             roof overhead, and clothes on their backs.
               The one thing that threaded through those years for me--
             and I heard it coming from Barbara Mikulski so many times 
             when she spoke--was there was always dignity in the house, 
             there was always a positive outlook.
               As I heard, my parents, like hers, were not able to do 
             much with presents and valuables. But they did something 
             else, and you see it so fundamentally clear in Barbara 
             Mikulski's demeanor and her behavior: that what she 
             learned at home, the same thing that I learned at home, 
             was the meaning of values--not valuables--but values. 
             Values included a character obligation for hard work and 
             honesty and decency. They were the yardsticks by which we 
             were measured as children and as adults.
               I worked very closely with Barbara. I left the Senate, 
             as is known, for 2 years and my seniority slipped as a 
             consequence. Barbara's seniority continued to grow, and 
             she is chairman of an appropriations subcommittee. Barbara 
             always brought a degree of strength and energy to the 
             things that she said and to the things she did. Although 
             Barbara during a presentation wanted to make sure that she 
             was heard, and heard correctly, she would also pop up with 
             humor. She had a facility with words and a facility with 
             expression that would have you engrossed in what she was 
             saying and caught you off guard when a joke or a humorous 
             statement would pop up.
               When we note that Barbara Mikulski, from this modest 
             background, was always on the side of working people, it 
             was never a mask; it was the truth and it was where she 
             wanted to be. I must say that she, for me, was always a 
             steadfast beacon that would remind us: Don't get carried 
             away too much with your personal importance. Get carried 
             away with the things you have to do in your responsibility 
             as a Senator.
               When Barbara Mikulski came these years ago, as was 
             noted, she was the first among the women to come to the 
             Senate and ultimately, as we now know, became the longest 
             serving and carried herself through all of the 
             difficulties we have had. But always you could depend on 
             Barbara Mikulski. When Barbara stood up, people stopped 
             talking about things that were extraneous and they would 
             listen carefully, because Barbara Mikulski always made so 
             much sense and she didn't let you get by without a 
             challenge if she believed you were wrong.
               We have heard about her record, we have heard about her 
             accomplishments, and everybody had wonderful things to say 
             about her. I listened carefully to the statements that 
             were being made and thought about our days together and 
             how wonderful it was to be able to hear Barbara Mikulski 
             make sense out of what often escaped that challenge. She 
             would offer the challenge and she would offer solutions.
               I, like our other colleagues, stand here in awe and 
             respect and note that Barbara Mikulski, the storekeeper's 
             daughter, is so much like that which I saw in my own life 
             and we have seen in America in the past century; and 
             Barbara Mikulski who, in all due modesty, without any 
             impression of a smug satisfaction, is always ready to take 
             up the battle for the people she serves, not only in the 
             State of Maryland but across the country. She is an 
             inspiration for women coming to government, and she serves 
             so well as a demonstration of what could be.
               I am delighted to be here, to stand here as a friend and 
             an admirer of Barbara Mikulski, and wish her many more 
             years of service. I know that with Barbara around, you can 
             always count on sense and good judgment to result.
               Madam President, I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York is 
             recognized.

               Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam President, I associate myself 
             with the remarks of my colleague, the Senator from New 
             Jersey.
               It is with great admiration that I rise today to join 
             all of my colleagues who have spoken before me and who 
             will continue to speak honoring the Senator from Maryland, 
             Barbara Mikulski, as the longest serving woman in the 
             history of the Congress.
               It has been such an honor to serve with Senator 
             Mikulski. In my 3 years in the Senate, she has quickly 
             become a dear friend and an invaluable mentor, as she has 
             been for all of the other female colleagues as the dean of 
             women Senators.
               It wasn't until 1932 that Hattie Caraway became the 
             first woman ever elected to the Senate, and it wasn't 
             until a half century later in 1986 that, against all odds, 
             Barbara Mikulski became the first Democratic woman elected 
             to the Senate. That is right. When she arrived in the 
             Senate, she was just one of two women serving in this 
             body. Now the longest serving woman in congressional 
             history, Senator Mikulski is showing what is possible when 
             you ignore conventional wisdom, never stop fighting for 
             what is right, and honor our commitment to families who 
             elect us every single day.
               One of her hallmark battles has been the fight for equal 
             pay for work for women. This is not only an issue of 
             equality and justice but an economic imperative, because 
             as we stand here today, with more dual income households 
             than ever, women only make 77 cents on the dollar compared 
             to men. For women of color, the disparity is even greater, 
             African American women earn 62 cents on the dollar, and 
             Latinas 53 cents on the dollar. I know Senator Mikulski 
             won't give up until we correct this outrageous injustice, 
             and I am honored to be fighting alongside her.
               Senator Mikulski has also led the fight to strengthen 
             our laws against domestic violence, and open access to 
             health screenings and treatment that saves women's lives. 
             Close to my heart, she was among the first to stand up to 
             insurance companies that said that being a woman was a 
             preexisting condition. You can always count on Senator 
             Mikulski to lead the charge in drawing a line in the sand 
             in the Senate when it comes to protecting women's health 
             and a woman's right to choose. We saw it yet again when 
             she stood up to the dangerous overreach of the Blunt 
             amendment that would have denied women of this country the 
             ability to choose which medications to take and leave that 
             decision to their boss.
               She embodies the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: ``The 
             battle for individual rights of women is one of long 
             standing and none of us should countenance anything that 
             undermines it.''
               It is that spirit--making your voice heard, never 
             backing down in the face of injustice--that has made 
             Senator Mikulski one of the strongest voices we have for 
             women in this country and women around the world. Every 
             single day she is paving the way for more women leaders in 
             America by showing the young women and girls of this 
             country that women's voices matter and are needed in our 
             public debate.
               I close by expressing my personal debt of gratitude to 
             her for her vision, her leadership, and her pioneering 
             spirit. I simply could not imagine working in this body 
             without her leadership. She has taught me so much in such 
             a short period of time. And, equally important, she has 
             fostered an unbreakable bipartisan spirit among our 
             colleagues that has resulted in important victories for 
             the American public.
               Thank you, Senator Mikulski, and congratulations on your 
             historic achievement. It is an honor to serve with you, 
             and I hope to continue to serve with you for many years to 
             come.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.

               Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. I am probably going to be the 
             concluding remarks on celebrating Senator Mikulski, so I 
             am going to proceed with that.
               Madam President, we have been here now for almost 3 
             hours--I was down here when we started. Senator Feinstein 
             started about 2 o'clock and we are approaching 5 o'clock 
             now--for an incredible celebration of Barbara Mikulski's 
             career. I have listened to a lot of it both at my office 
             and here on the floor, and it is pretty remarkable to hear 
             the kinds of things she has done with her life and I rise 
             today to honor my colleague, Senator Barbara Mikulski.
               As has been noted, this month Senator Mikulski becomes 
             the longest serving woman in the history of Congress. With 
             her perfect sense of timing, Barbara reaches this historic 
             milestone during Women's History Month. And it is for the 
             history books. As Barbara has said, ``It is not how long I 
             serve but how well I serve.'' She has served very well. 
             She has served her beloved State of Maryland very well, 
             and she served this country in a number of capacities on 
             the Appropriations Committee and on various committees in 
             the Congress.
               We celebrate this historic occasion but, more deeply, we 
             celebrate Barbara's record of achievement--a record that 
             transcends gender, a record that is rooted in a life 
             dedicated to public service.
               Since she was first elected to public office in 1971 to 
             the Baltimore City Council, Barbara has been setting 
             milestones. Think about that for a minute--1971. This is 
             40 years plus of public service. As the Chair knows, this 
             is pretty remarkable. She served in public service for a 
             while. I have served for a while. But 41 years of public 
             service is remarkable--the first woman elected to 
             statewide office in Maryland; the first Democratic woman 
             elected to the Senate in her own right; the first woman in 
             the Senate Democratic leadership; and the first Democratic 
             woman to serve in both Houses of Congress. Yet it is not 
             her being first that is the most impressive; it is her 
             commitment to putting others first. Barbara has shown that 
             commitment time and again.
               In over 35 years in the Congress, she has never wavered 
             in her service to our Nation and her dedication to the 
             people of Maryland. She has fought for quality education. 
             She has fought for American seniors. She has fought for 
             women's health and for veterans. For women facing unequal 
             pay, Barbara championed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. 
             For senior citizens facing bankruptcy because of a 
             spouse's nursing home care, Barbara wrote the Spousal 
             Anti-Impoverishment Act. Yes, she is a trailblazer, but 
             she blazes those trails to help others--for young people 
             who dream of going to college, for families facing 
             devastating illness, for opportunity for all Americans. 
             That has been her passion, that has been her true 
             achievement, and that will be her greatest legacy.
               When Barbara was first elected to the Senate in 1986, 
             there was only one other female Senator. Now there are 17. 
             Barbara is, rightly so, the dean of the women. She is a 
             mentor to her female colleagues, but no less so she is an 
             inspiration to all of us.
               I admire Barbara's remarkable determination and her 
             tenacity, but also her ability to work with others to get 
             things done. She will fight for what she believes, but she 
             will sit down to dinner with her colleagues across the 
             aisle. And she has never forgotten where she came from. 
             The daughter of a Baltimore grocer, each night she returns 
             home to Baltimore. She has never forgotten the values she 
             learned there: hard work, helping one's neighbor, 
             patriotism.
               She is diminutive in height only. That was evident early 
             on. The story is well known how, as a young community 
             activist, Barbara stopped that 16-lane highway from coming 
             through Baltimore's Fells Point neighborhood. She is not 
             afraid to stand up to power, and she is not afraid of 
             speaking strongly to power. In all the ways that count, 
             Senator Barbara Mikulski is a towering figure.
               Albert Schweitzer once said:

               I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I 
             know for sure. The only ones among you who will be truly 
             happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.

               This Barbara Mikulski has done. From her early days as a 
             social worker to her years in Congress, she has served. 
             She has served long and well.
               Congratulations, Barbara. It is an honor to be your 
             colleague.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.

               Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I couldn't be more pleased as 
             well as privileged to join all of my colleagues today in 
             congratulating a very good friend and colleague, the dean 
             of the women of the Senate, Senator Barbara Mikulski, on 
             overtaking Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers as the 
             longest serving woman in the history of the Congress.
               As someone who has had the privilege of knowing Senator 
             Mikulski since 1978 when I was first elected to the House 
             of Representatives, for me, this milestone represents a 
             watershed moment in the life of American politics.
               For nearly 35 years, I have witnessed Barbara Mikulski 
             summon and harness a seemingly limitless reservoir of 
             energy as a fierce advocate and a champion on behalf of 
             the people of Maryland as well as the country. With equal 
             parts vigor and vigilance, she has demonstrated a devotion 
             to her constituents that has been unerring in its promise 
             and ironclad in its purpose.
               It is precisely that caliber of service that the people 
             of Maryland have rewarded time and time again.
               As I stated on this very floor at the outset of this 
             Congress when she surpassed the length of service of 
             Maine's legendary Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Senator 
             Mikulski is synonymous with ``the special bond of trust 
             which should exist between the governing and the 
             governed.'' She has ``recognized injustice and acted 
             boldly to quell it ... giving a voice to the voiceless ... 
             power to the powerless.''
               What Senator Margaret Chase Smith and Congresswoman 
             Edith Nourse Rogers exemplified as standard bearers in the 
             last century for length of service, Senator Mikulski 
             embodies in this century--that the commitment to advancing 
             the common good is bound neither by geographic region nor 
             political affiliation but, rather, by an undaunted desire 
             to serve others.
               A consummate role model and admired mentor, Senator 
             Mikulski always stands as a shining example that the 
             robust pursuit of policy and the willingness to hear and 
             consider dissenting views are not mutually exclusive. As I 
             have often said, Senator Mikulski knows only one speed, 
             and that is full speed ahead. But by the same token, she 
             only knows one way to govern--through what she aptly 
             referred to as the zone of civility. That approach, so 
             integral to making this institution work, is indisputably 
             one of the hallmark measures of Senator Mikulski's 
             longstanding success in public life. Indeed, it is the 
             blueprint for interaction that she has imbued in all of us 
             who are women serving in the Senate. She has worked to 
             establish a tone of respect that infuses our 
             conversations, our collegiality, our collaboration. It is 
             a personal cause to Senator Mikulski that is exemplified 
             by the monthly dinners for women Senators that she 
             initiated along with the Senator from Texas, Mrs. 
             Hutchison, a tradition that has become a catalyst for 
             camaraderie and central to what Senator Mikulski calls our 
             ``unbreakable bond.''
               There has been no greater friend for women who have come 
             to serve in the Senate, and I am sure it is a result of 
             Senator Mikulski having arrived here as the second woman 
             to serve in the Senate, along with the Senator from 
             Kansas, Senator Kassebaum, as she said at the time--and 
             that is why she was so willing to serve as a mentor for 
             other women who arrived in the Senate, because she was 
             only one of two women who were serving in this 
             institution. As she said, ``the Senate had a long 
             tradition of every man for himself.'' She was determined, 
             she said, ``that it would not be every woman for herself 
             while she was in the Senate.''
               As my colleagues also well know, when it comes to having 
             an ally in the legislative foxhole, there is none more 
             feisty, none more formidable, and certainly none better 
             than Senator Barbara Mikulski. I have witnessed her 
             tenacity first hand, having worked with her side by side 
             over the decades, whether on matters of equity for women 
             in the workplace, ensuring gender-integrated training in 
             the military, working on cybersecurity, working on every 
             other issue where we are bringing justice to those who 
             have borne the brunt of injustice.
               Nowhere has her leadership been more unmistakable, of 
             course, or more monumental than in the area of women's 
             health. I well recall, when I arrived in the U.S. House of 
             Representatives in 1979, I joined what was then known as 
             the Congresswomen's Caucus on Women's Issues, which is 
             where I ultimately became the cochair for a better part of 
             the decade. Senator Barbara Mikulski, at that time being 
             in the House of Representatives, served in that caucus as 
             well.
               When I arrived in the House of Representatives in 1979, 
             there were only 16 women serving in that institution. That 
             is why the Congresswomen's Caucus was formed, to focus on 
             those issues that mattered to women and to family and to 
             children. We recognized that it was our obligation and 
             responsibility to work, to focus on those issues because 
             otherwise they would languish on the back burner rather 
             than being on the front burner. We also understood that if 
             we did not focus on these issues, if we did not advance 
             these issues, no one else would. So we began to tackle 
             systematically many of the discriminatory laws or 
             inequities that were embedded in Federal law that failed 
             to recognize the dual role women were playing, both at 
             home as well as in the workplace.
               We began to work on these issues one by one because 
             there were so many issues across the board that were 
             affecting women, where they were ultimately bearing the 
             burden and the consequences of these inequitable laws. We 
             did that with respect to pensions, for example, where 
             women discovered that after their husbands died, their 
             pensions had been canceled.
               We discovered it when it came to family and medical 
             leave, which took us the better part of 7 years to enact 
             that legislation. But, again, women were bearing the 
             burden of taking care of their ailing parents or their 
             children at home and paying the consequences in the 
             workplace.
               Then, of course, there was the issue we discovered of 
             discriminatory treatment in our clinical study trials. 
             Regrettably, at the time our National Institutes of Health 
             were actually discriminating against women and minorities, 
             excluding them from clinical study trials because it was 
             too complicated to include women in these study trials 
             because we were biologically different. As a result, any 
             of those treatments that were developed as a result of 
             those trials could not be applied to women. Ultimately, 
             this could make the difference between life and death 
             because the kinds of procedures and treatments that were 
             derived from these clinical study trials could not be 
             applied to women.
               When we discovered that these inequities and this 
             discriminatory treatment existed, we set to work on how to 
             redress this wrong. It is hard to believe there was a time 
             in America where women and minorities were systematically 
             excluded from these trials that, as I said, had lifesaving 
             implications. Who would have thought that women's health 
             would have been the missing page in America's medical 
             textbooks or merely an afterthought.
               So I, as a cochair along with Congresswoman Pat 
             Schroeder in the House, on behalf of the caucus, and, of 
             course, then-Senator Barbara Mikulski in the Senate, 
             teamed up in a close bipartisan, bicameral collaboration 
             to establish the groundbreaking Office of Research on 
             Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health so 
             that never again would women be overlooked when it came to 
             key clinical study trials that were underwritten by the 
             Federal taxpayers and Federal funds. In fact, Senator 
             Mikulski, as I well recall, launched the key panel of 
             stakeholders at Bethesda to give this initiative critical 
             national attention and momentum--as only she could--as 
             well as fundamental policy changes that ultimately 
             resulted from that panel that reverberate to this day, 
             resulting as well in lifesaving medical discoveries for 
             America's women.
               That is the passion and power of Senator Mikulski that 
             has led her to this historic day. Barbara is not about 
             legacy, she is about problem solving. As somebody 
             described it, her ideology is grounded in the practical, 
             and that is so true. It is not only the practical but 
             giving power to the people and developing practical 
             solutions in their everyday lives.
               She is a guardian of the common good, a woman who 
             redefines the word ``trailblazer,'' a pioneer of public 
             policy. Senator Mikulski continues to shape the landscape 
             of our Nation for the better, with a force and a might and 
             a stature, one of the giants of public service, not just 
             in our time but for all time.
               On the occasion of Senator Mikulski's recordbreaking 
             service, we congratulate her, we salute her, and we are 
             honored to be able to express a profound appreciation for 
             her extraordinary and legendary tenure in the Senate.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.

               Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I come to the floor this 
             afternoon to celebrate Barbara Mikulski's service to this 
             country. I had the honor of presiding for the last hour 
             and heard the statements of so many of my colleagues. I 
             heard them talk about how, when she joined this Chamber in 
             1987, Barbara Mikulski was the first woman elected to the 
             Senate who was not preceded by a husband or a father, the 
             first woman elected to the statewide office to serve the 
             State of Maryland, and only the 16th woman to have served 
             in the Senate ever.
               Today she is truly the dean of women Senators. She is a 
             mentor and a friend to the rest of us, and she has always 
             set the bar high. This is a woman who took on city hall as 
             a young social worker in Baltimore--and won. This is a 
             woman who has championed landmark legislation that has 
             touched the lives of millions on issues ranging from 
             health care to education to civil rights. She has 
             shattered glass ceilings, not just in the Senate but in 
             the Congress as a whole.
               If that is not enough, she has even graced the glossy 
             pages of Vogue magazine. Most of you may not have seen the 
             photos that were taken in front of the Capitol Building 
             with a number of other women leaders, including Meryl 
             Streep, who was in town for a screening of her film ``The 
             Iron Lady.'' So I think it is fitting, to borrow a phrase 
             from the Iron Lady herself, Margaret Thatcher, who 
             famously said, ``In politics, if you want anything said, 
             ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman.''
               I don't think my male colleagues who are here today will 
             take offense at that one since anyone who has ever worked 
             with Barbara Mikulski knows she is a force of nature. She 
             may not be the tallest Member of the Senate, but she is 
             certainly the most tenacious. She is a tireless advocate 
             for the people of her State, and she has a fierce and 
             enduring love for those she represents. She knows where to 
             pick her battles, and we have seen her face some tough 
             debates in the Senate over the past few years. Whether it 
             was working to take C-sections off lists of preexisting 
             conditions at insurance companies or fighting to ensure 
             equal pay for equal work for women or promoting better 
             educational opportunities for children with special needs 
             or ensuring that our troops and families receive the 
             benefits that they have earned and that they deserve, she 
             has never stopped working for fairness, justice, and 
             decency.
               The daughter of a small-town grocery store owner, she 
             has made strengthening the middle class the centerpiece of 
             her economic agenda because, as she always puts it, the 
             women in the Senate understand issues not just at the 
             macrolevel but also at the macaroni-and-cheese level.
               When Barbara Mikulski came to the Senate 26 years ago, 
             she lit a torch that has brightened the path for so many 
             of us, for the 16 other women Senators who serve today and 
             for all the future generations of women leaders who will 
             lead our country forward. I am humbled to call her a 
             colleague and a friend, and I am honored to celebrate her 
             incredible service to our country today.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, although I do not have 
             prepared remarks, I wish to join with my colleagues in 
             making a few comments about Senator Mikulski.
               Senator Mikulski is a great Senator. She is a delight to 
             work with, a formidable adversary, and a formidable ally 
             in any important debate. She is someone whom all of us 
             respect and admire. It surprises me she has been at this 
             business so long. It doesn't seem as though it is 
             possible. She certainly hasn't lost her enthusiasm for the 
             job and she has played an important role in quite a number 
             of issues with which the country has had to deal.
               I remember her leadership on an important issue during 
             the post-9/11 time, when we were wrestling with how to 
             deal with security for our country. She spoke firmly and 
             strongly in favor of firm action to defend America from 
             attack.
               Another issue I don't think has been mentioned but is 
             exceedingly important--something I have observed her deal 
             with and provide leadership on for some time--is space and 
             NASA. She is one of the absolutely most knowledgeable and 
             experienced Members of this Senate and the entire Congress 
             in dealing with the complexities and the needs of NASA, 
             and she is a champion and advocate for exploration of 
             space. This is an area where America has led the world, 
             and for all her time in the Senate, she has been a 
             champion of advocating that the United States maintain 
             this leadership because I think we share the view that 
             America is a nation of explorers. We are a nation that 
             leads the world in exploring, and it is part of our DNA. 
             So I appreciate her leadership in that particular area, as 
             I have watched her with great admiration in her 
             activities.
               I didn't realize this tribute would be going on this 
             afternoon and I didn't have prepared remarks, but I wish 
             to join with my colleagues to say how much I appreciate 
             her efforts. We celebrate her great accomplishment in the 
             Senate. I believe that as we go forward, we will find that 
             on issue after issue she will play a critical and a 
             positive role in making America a better place.
               I thank the Chair and I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.

               Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I wish to follow my colleague 
             from Alabama and speak for just a few minutes about our 
             friend and colleague, Senator Mikulski, who celebrates a 
             milestone through her public service to the people of 
             Maryland.
               I asked my staff to go to the Web page for Senator 
             Mikulski, her Senate office, and I came across one 
             paragraph which I wish to read to my colleagues, if I may. 
             It says:

               Barbara Mikulski has never forgotten her roots. 
             Throughout her career she has returned each night to her 
             home State of Baltimore, Maryland. From community activist 
             to U.S. Senator, she has never changed her view that all 
             politics is indeed local and that her job is to serve the 
             people in their day-to-day needs as well as prepare this 
             country for the future.

               Sometimes people have come to Congress over the years 
             and they come understanding clearly that our job is to 
             serve. Over time, somehow they lose that thought a little 
             bit and it is less clear who is to be served and who is to 
             be the servant. She has never forgotten who the servant 
             is. She knows she came as a servant, and she will leave 
             someday as a servant--hopefully, not anytime soon.
               If we ask most people around here what are maybe one or 
             two words that best describe Barbara Mikulski, I think a 
             lot of people would say she is a fighter. Let me just say, 
             if someone is an advocate for a particular cause, she is 
             the person one wants in the foxhole with them. There is no 
             better advocate, and there is no better or more able 
             opponent on an issue. It is a lot better to have her on 
             your side than it is to have her against you.
               I take the train home at night. I go through Baltimore 
             on my way to Wilmington, DE. Along the route, we go by a 
             place called Aberdeen. Sometimes the train stops there; 
             sometimes it does not. We have seen Aberdeen Proving 
             Grounds literally consolidated from around the country. 
             Much of the important research activity the Army does is 
             at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The person more than 
             anybody else who has made that possible is Barbara 
             Mikulski. It is a vast facility, with tens of thousands of 
             employees who I think are mostly civilian and a campus of 
             over 100,000 acres that does great work, helping to 
             provide for our defense against all kinds of attack, 
             foreign and domestic. She is a great person to have on 
             your side in leading that fight.
               One of the other things I love about Barbara is her 
             devotion to first responders. There is a big national fire 
             school in a town called Gaithersburg, MD. She has helped 
             make that place possible to not only train folks who are 
             first responders for the people of Maryland, but they 
             train as well first responders for virtually every State 
             in every corner of this Nation. People will go to bed 
             tonight knowing that if there is a fire or a problem or an 
             incident in their community, it will be responded to, and 
             they can thank Barbara Mikulski for helping to ensure the 
             folks trained there are ready to do that.
               As much as anybody I know, she is a person who values 
             service. AmeriCorps is an organization that encourages 
             young people--really people of all ages--to volunteer and 
             to serve. Volunteers are the ages of our pages and a whole 
             lot older and the ages of guys like me. We all have an 
             obligation to serve and to bring that spirit of service, 
             whether or not we are in public life.
               I was struck by the fact that she often opened the store 
             as a kid, beginning a lot of her days as her dad opened 
             the family grocery store, early in the morning in East 
             Baltimore. I was born in West Virginia in a town called 
             Beckley. I lived there for about the first 6 years or so 
             of my life, but I would go back many summers, and I had 
             the opportunity to work there for a supermarket, a mom and 
             pop supermarket, with my own grandfather who opened the 
             store almost 6 days a week, and I had the opportunity to 
             see him and his work and what he brought to that store 
             every day as the butcher. I think I know more about 
             serving by working my summers in that store than anything 
             else I have ever done. I suspect one of the reasons 
             Barbara has adopted and retained the spirit of a servant 
             is because of her childhood and growing up and seeing her 
             own family, her own dad, in that particular store.
               I mentioned my grandfather in West Virginia. His wife, 
             my grandmother, suffered from Alzheimer's disease. My 
             grandmother's mother suffered from Alzheimer's disease. My 
             own mother suffered from Alzheimer's disease. I don't 
             think there is anybody in this body who has done more to 
             lead the fight to ensure that this scourge of our 
             society--and the scourge of people all over the world--is 
             reined in and overcome. When that day comes, people will 
             stand and say, ``I did something about this.'' Nobody in 
             this body I think can take more credit for conquering 
             Alzheimer's disease and dementia than Barbara Mikulski.
               Finally, when people think of Barbara, they think of a 
             fighter, an advocate for volunteerism, and some of the 
             other things I talked about. I don't know that many people 
             think of her as an athlete, but I will say that she is a 
             very big advocate for leveling the playing field. She 
             wants to make sure people not just in athletic endeavors 
             have a level playing field in which to compete, but she 
             wants to make sure young people coming from the most 
             impoverished backgrounds have an opportunity and have a 
             real shot at life to get a decent education as a child, 
             the chance to go to college and to increase their 
             potential to not just earn money and support their 
             families but to live productive lives. Those are just some 
             of the things I think about when I think of Barbara 
             Mikulski.
               I will close by saying she had been in the House I think 
             for 6 years when I arrived in 1982, 1983, and for all the 
             time we served there together, she was always very 
             encouraging of me, very supportive of me as her Delmarva 
             buddy, as we shared the Delmarva Peninsula. Even to this 
             day we work together to make sure we have a strong, 
             vibrant poultry industry on the Delmarva Peninsula. I like 
             to say we are still Delmarva buddies as we look out for 
             the mutual concerns of our respective States.
               With that having been said, let me yield back my time. I 
             see Senator Cantwell is ready to speak. My guess is, she 
             is going to say some more things about Barbara. But those 
             are some things I am glad I had a chance to say.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.

               Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I do rise to celebrate the 
             remarkable achievements of my colleague from Maryland, 
             Senator Mikulski.
               Last January we celebrated an obvious achievement of her 
             becoming the longest serving female Senator. Last Saturday 
             that milestone entered another chapter, with her 12,858 
             days of serving the people of Maryland in Congress, which 
             means she is now the longest serving female Member of 
             Congress.
               I know Barbara Mikulski started her career fighting for 
             Fells Point, a particular location in the Baltimore area 
             that she thought deserved and needed to be protected, and 
             that galvanized her to 35 years of service, where she has 
             been a trailblazer on so many issues.
               Many people have talked about those today--about being 
             the first woman elected to statewide office in Maryland, 
             the first Democratic woman to serve in both Houses of 
             Congress; the first Democratic woman to sit in a Senate 
             leadership position, and the first Democratic woman to be 
             elected to the Senate in her own right.
               Throughout her career, she has faithfully provided a 
             very strong voice for the people of Maryland. But it is 
             here in the Senate we have all gotten to see Barbara 
             Mikulski, the dean of the women Senators, and to see her 
             incredible work as a trailblazer on so many important 
             issues.
               She has been a tireless champion on issues from pay 
             equity to increasing access to college education, for 
             women's health, for women's health care law, and time and 
             time again she has proven she knows how to fight on the 
             right side of the issues.
               For the women of the Senate, she is an incredibly 
             important ally. When it comes to each of us who comes to 
             the U.S. Senate, to find our way and to make our own mark, 
             Barbara Mikulski is the Senator who is always there with 
             you to make sure you can achieve what you want for the 
             State you represent.
               I know for me I am very excited--my colleague from 
             Alabama was mentioning Senator Mikulski's love of NASA and 
             space exploration--in that I can say Senator Mikulski is 
             certainly interested also in sci-fi, and I would call her 
             a ``techie'' Senator because she certainly has shown a 
             great deal of interest in technology and science.
               As the chair of the Commerce, Justice, and Science 
             Appropriations Subcommittee, she was a key partner in the 
             funding of key science and technology issues, and for us 
             in the State of Washington, when we needed a new Doppler 
             radar technology system, she was there to help ensure that 
             those people who lived in coastal regions were going to 
             have the appropriate protections they needed for 
             understanding inclement weather.
               She also has helped in prioritizing efforts such as the 
             cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland--something we in 
             the Northwest relate to because we strive to have the same 
             cleanup of Puget Sound.
               We have worked together on important legislation, such 
             as passing the Lilly Ledbetter legislation.
               It is Barbara Mikulski--when it comes to protecting 
             women's access to health care or standing up to any attack 
             on Medicare--who is the most articulate, the most 
             determined, the most persevering advocate to make sure 
             women's issues and their cause are understood in the U.S. 
             Senate.
               I was proud to stand with her when she went up against 
             the House plan to defund critical women's health care 
             access and there was a near shutdown of government. As 
             people tried to pressure Planned Parenthood, she was there 
             to make sure we continued important programs such as 
             breast cancer screening.
               So today I join my colleagues from the Senate to thank 
             her for those years of service in the U.S. Congress, both 
             in the House and the Senate. While she may represent 
             Maryland, we all want to claim that we are better off as a 
             country having Barbara Mikulski in the U.S. Senate.
               To my colleagues--or to the young people who are here 
             with us on the Senate floor--to understand this moment and 
             achievement, you have to understand that in the whole 
             history of our country, there have only been 39 women 
             Senators, and a good number of those women Senators only 
             served a few days or a few years. So the fact that 
             somebody has achieved not just a seat in the U.S. Senate 
             but a leadership position in the U.S. Senate is an 
             incredible achievement.
               We are glad she has represented a time when women have 
             ascended to leadership in the U.S. Senate, where she is 
             considered one of the wise Members when it comes to 
             strategy on so many policy issues.
               We are better off as a body because Barbara Mikulski has 
             served with us, and we are looking forward to many more 
             years of wisdom and, hopefully, many more women Senators 
             joining the ranks of Barbara Mikulski in their tenure.
               I thank the Presiding Officer and yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.

               Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, I rise today also to pay 
             tribute to my colleague, the senior Senator from Maryland, 
             Barbara Mikulski.
               As everyone has said, this is a landmark, this is a 
             milestone: the longest serving woman Senator and Member of 
             Congress in the history of Congress, serving more than 35 
             years.
               As a relatively junior Member of this body, I love 
             Barbara Mikulski. I love her because she calls me 
             ``Franken.'' That is music to my ears. We are in the 
             caucus lunch, I may be in her way, and she says: 
             ``Franken.''
               I am not only a relatively junior Senator, I actually 
             kind of recently was a comedian at one point. And she is 
             really funny--Barbara. I remember the first time I saw her 
             speak--it was years ago; I cannot remember what the event 
             was--and I am going to try to quote her joke. It was her 
             joke, remember, about herself. She talked about her first 
             campaign effort. I think it was for city council or 
             something like that. She said, ``I knocked on 7,387 doors, 
             and I walked a total of 372 miles, and I didn't lose a 
             pound.''
               So I love Barbara. And she is a force of nature. Being 
             the dean of women here is not her most commanding title. 
             Her most commanding title is: a fighter. She is a fighter. 
             When she commits herself to a cause, she is a true 
             champion.
               She is a true champion for America's seniors, preserving 
             pensions; of Medicare, defending Medicare--boy, do not 
             attack Medicare around Barbara Mikulski; and combating 
             poverty. No one works harder for quality education, 
             fighting to make sure every child has a quality education, 
             so that child can pursue the American dream. She is 
             committed to fulfilling our country's promises to our 
             veterans, which is so important, and to increasing 
             community service and voluntarism.
               As anyone who has watched proceedings here in the Senate 
             knows, Barbara Mikulski, as my colleague from Washington 
             stated, is the greatest champion in the body for women's 
             health. Here is something that is pretty amazing to 
             understand. I want the pages to hear this. She fought to 
             include women in NIH clinical trials. Women were not 
             included in the National Institutes of Health clinical 
             trials until she made sure they were. This is hard to 
             believe, isn't it? But in your 16 years of life, you--at 
             16, you cannot conceive of this. This is how backward we 
             were. Think of what she did. That is who we are talking 
             about today.
               She has improved access for women to mammograms and 
             cancer screenings--for all women. She has fought for women 
             to have their own say over their own body and reproductive 
             system. Basically what I am saying is, when you have 
             Barbara Mikulski on your side, you have a strong voice in 
             the U.S. Senate.
               We have heard reference to her accomplishment on the 
             Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. When advocating for this 
             bill, Senator Mikulski said:

               Women earn just 77 cents for every dollar [their] male 
             counterparts make. Women of color get paid even less. The 
             Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will empower women to fight 
             for fair pay by once again making employers accountable 
             for pay discrimination. I will fight on the Senate floor 
             to get this bill passed.

               And the bill was passed. It was the first bill President 
             Obama signed in office.
               Senator Mikulski and I share a number of passions. One 
             of them is early childhood education. Increasing early 
             childhood education--access to it--is one of my top 
             priorities because we know over and over that the benefits 
             of early childhood education have been demonstrated. And 
             Barbara knows this.
               I wanted to have a hearing on just the economic benefits 
             of early childhood education because a child who has a 
             quality early childhood education is less likely to be a 
             special ed kid, is less likely to be left back a grade, 
             has better health outcomes; a girl is less likely to get 
             pregnant before she graduates from high school, a child is 
             more likely to graduate high school, more likely to go to 
             college, more likely to graduate college, more likely to 
             get a good-paying job and pay taxes, and much less likely 
             to go to prison. It has been shown over and over that the 
             cost-benefit is, for every $1 spent, there is like $16 in 
             return.
               I wanted to get a hearing just on this. Because we were 
             talking about education, I thought this needed to be 
             discussed, and we needed experts, economists who were 
             credible on this. So I went to Barbara and she, of course, 
             said, ``Oh, yeah. OK. Let's do it.'' She is chair of the 
             Subcommittee on Children and Families. I thought that 
             would be a good place to do it, except I am not on that 
             subcommittee. I am on the HELP Committee, which this is a 
             subcommittee of, but I am not on that subcommittee. She 
             said, ``OK, that doesn't matter. You come anyway.'' And 
             not only that but: ``Which witness do you want?''
               She let me pick a witness, Art Rolnick, an expert in 
             early childhood education--on the economics of it--who 
             started out as an economist at the Federal Reserve in 
             Minneapolis and got into the economic benefits of it.
               She is a true ally. She is someone who used her 
             resources as chairwoman of a committee to make sure 
             something you felt strongly about would be aired, would be 
             discussed.
               You learn from Barbara that what we do around here is 
             not so much about policy, it is about people. For her, it 
             is about the people of Maryland. She goes to bat for them 
             time and time again. It is about kids. It is about women, 
             who often have to be both the breadwinner and the 
             caregiver, and who should have every right and every 
             opportunity at work and in society that men have.
               As both a Member of the Senate and as a father of a 
             wonderful daughter, I am enormously grateful to Senator 
             Mikulski for being a tremendous role model to women in 
             this country, for having fought her way to the Senate, and 
             for proving that legislating was not a man's job--or only 
             a man's job--it is a man's job too.
               This body is so much the richer for her, and Americans 
             are so much better off as a result. But her work, our work 
             is not over. Out of 100 Senators, there are still only 17 
             women. Our Nation is facing tremendously difficult 
             challenges, and having more women like Senator Mikulski in 
             the room will help us solve those problems. I am glad she 
             is here leading the way.
               With that, I would like to thank Barbara for her 
             leadership, her friendship, and for being such a fierce 
             advocate. Congratulations, Barbara, on your achievements 
             thus far and on this milestone. I look forward to many 
             years fighting alongside you.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.

               Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise, along with so many 
             colleagues, to pay tribute to Senator Barbara Mikulski, an 
             extraordinary woman and Senator, someone who has become 
             the longest serving woman in the history of the Senate, 
             indeed, in the history of the Congress. She surpassed, on 
             January 5, 2011, the record of Republican Senator Margaret 
             Chase Smith as the longest serving Senator. Just this 
             Saturday, she became the longest serving woman in the 
             history of the Congress, surpassing the tenure of Edith 
             Nourse Rogers, a Republican Congresswoman from 
             Massachusetts, who served in the House from 1925 to 1960.
               In 1986, Senator Mikulski was the first female Democrat 
             to be elected to the Senate in her own right. She is a 
             woman of many firsts. She is indeed a dean of the Senate 
             women--I would actually say the dean of the Senate, with 
             her great energy, her great eloquence, and her great 
             passion, particularly for those who are often overlooked 
             in our society. She comes at it honestly. She was a social 
             worker in Baltimore, helping at-risk children and 
             educating seniors about Medicare before being elected to 
             the House of Representatives.
               She has taken that concern for the vulnerable and a 
             particular passion for the State of Maryland forward every 
             day she has served in the House and Senate. She has served 
             on numerous committees. She is a subcommittee chairperson 
             on the Appropriations Committee--Commerce, Justice, and 
             Science. She has devoted herself to those issues, and many 
             more. She serves on the Select Committee on Intelligence 
             and has been a key member of the Senate Health, Education, 
             Labor, and Pensions Committee. She has left her mark on a 
             broad range of programs that touch each and every American 
             family. She has been particularly active in women's 
             health, ensuring that women were included in NIH clinical 
             trials, where in the past they were ignored.
               Since one cannot ignore Barbara Mikulski--which is 
             virtually impossible--she made it a reality that they 
             cannot ignore women in NIH clinical trials, requiring 
             Federal standards for mammographies, ensuring uninsured 
             women have access to screenings and treatment for breast 
             and cervical cancer. She increased research dollars for 
             Alzheimer's and enhanced the Older Americans Act.
               She has been, since her first days in the House of 
             Representatives, at the forefront in advocating for better 
             health care and education particularly for the most 
             vulnerable among us. She has been a champion of national 
             service, understanding that in a great country one has to 
             contribute as well as benefit.
               She said one of the things she is most proud of--in her 
             words:

               Strengthening the safety net for seniors by passing the 
             Spousal Anti-Impoverishment Act. This important 
             legislation helps keep seniors from going bankrupt while 
             paying for a spouse's nursing home care.

               That is a fitting and representative example of her 
             service. Throughout her service, she has maintained 
             national priorities but has never taken her eye off 
             Maryland. She commutes every evening back to Baltimore. 
             She works hard to ensure that the people in Maryland 
             benefit because of her activities.
               I also thank her for the kindness and help she has given 
             me personally--her concern, for example, with the fishing 
             community in Rhode Island, which is under her jurisdiction 
             on the Appropriations Committee, and in other ways. She 
             has been terribly important and kind to us. She was 
             instrumental in helping us to secure funding for the HOPE 
             VI Project in Newport, RI, which has created extraordinary 
             beneficial housing for a mix of incomes in Newport. It is 
             one of the most attractive as well as one of the most 
             stable communities I think anyplace in the Nation. She has 
             been there to help us constantly.
               I could go on and on, as my colleagues have said. I 
             simply want to say at this special moment in Senator 
             Mikulski's career, we thank her, admire her, respect her, 
             and she has set a great example for us. In the days ahead, 
             she will not only continue to inspire and sustain us, she 
             will continue to sustain and lead in her State.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.

               Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, some time ago, I was 
             reading a book about the beginnings of the interstate 
             highway system in our country. I came across a paragraph 
             when the highway builders and the Federal Government were 
             going to run the interstate highway through some stable 
             middle-class, working-class neighborhoods of Baltimore. 
             The highway administration was greeted by an organizer 
             who, on behalf of citizens of this neighborhood, said this 
             is not the place to put this highway. She was successful 
             in convincing them that the highway should go elsewhere so 
             it would not be disruptive of so many homes, well-
             established small businesses, and the cohesive community 
             in that part of Baltimore. The woman who led that effort 
             several decades ago was Barbara Mikulski. She was not yet 
             on the city council. She was a citizen who spoke for her 
             neighbors and has continued to do that as a member of the 
             city council and then as a Member of the House of 
             Representatives and for many years--2\1/2\ decades--of the 
             Senate.
               We heard Senator Reid and others earlier today talk 
             about Senator Mikulski being the first female Democrat to 
             serve in both the House and Senate--to be elected to the 
             Senate without succeeding a husband or a father and first 
             to chair an appropriations subcommittee. Most important, 
             she helped to blaze this path. In 1987, there were only 
             two female Senators. One was the daughter of a 
             Presidential nominee a generation earlier, and the other 
             was Barbara Mikulski. Today, there are 17 female Members 
             of the Senate. It doesn't look like America yet. There is 
             not anything close to the number of minority Members as a 
             percentage of the population, but I hope that changes. I 
             think it will. It doesn't come close to representing the 
             gender makeup of our society. But to go from 2 female 
             Senators, when she first came, to 17 today--and if I can 
             predict elections, which none of us can, and we certainly 
             cannot try--I think there is a good chance there will be a 
             number of additional women in this body this time next 
             year.
               I wish to say a couple more things about Senator 
             Mikulski on a less serious note. I have been privileged to 
             serve on two committees with Senator Mikulski--one being 
             the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. 
             During the health care legislation, she was so helpful to 
             so many of the causes we care about and to justice in this 
             country, and on the Appropriations Committee, where she 
             cuts a wide swathe of involvement for Maryland and this 
             country, she champions women's health, and many talked 
             about this earlier. She cares so much about the National 
             Institutes of Health, not just because it is located in 
             Maryland but because it matters so much for scientific 
             research, for curing a whole host of diseases and 
             preventing diseases, and the number of jobs NIH creates, 
             not just government jobs but the jobs that come out of 
             commercialization of scientific research.
               My State is one of the leaders; whether the jobs come 
             out of Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Southwest Hospital, 
             and where Case Western Reserve University is and its 
             medical center around Cleveland, we see that kind of 
             commercialization.
               I often call her Coach B because she is someone who has 
             been around here a long time and is always willing to 
             advise newer and younger Members. She has been following, 
             especially in my State, what is important, the issue of 
             health care. My State has some of the leading health care 
             institutions in America. Also, what she has done with the 
             space program--the only NASA facility north of the Mason-
             Dixon line is in Cleveland, with a satellite in Sandusky, 
             NASA Glenn, named after former Senator and astronaut, John 
             Glenn. She has been one of the strongest advocates for the 
             space program, and science, technology, and research and 
             development. She has been particularly helpful to me as I 
             fight for the kind of work NASA Glenn does in Cleveland, 
             and I am appreciative of her for that.
               I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
             quorum.
                    ORDER FOR PRINTING OF TRIBUTES AND STATEMENTS
               Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent there 
             be printed as a Senate document a compilation of materials 
             from the Congressional Record in tribute to Senator 
             Barbara Mikulski, and that Members have until Thursday, 
             March 29, to submit such tributes.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so 
             ordered.

               Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I have been able to listen a 
             bit over the last few hours to the wonderful tributes to 
             Senator Mikulski. We all know of her wonderful service all 
             these years, the record that is being shattered--a very 
             special record.
               As I listened to some of the comments, I was struck that 
             tributes usually come in the Senate when one of our 
             colleagues is leaving office or sometimes one of our 
             colleagues passes away. And what I am struck by this 
             afternoon is how glad I am and colleagues on both sides of 
             the aisle are that Senator Mikulski is very much alive, 
             and next week and next month and in the years ahead she is 
             going to continue to bring this kind of wellspring of 
             conscience and energy and passion and expertise to the 
             Senate.
               I am going to have more to say in terms of a lengthier 
             speech, but she and I have had a special relationship for 
             almost three decades. We served together in the other body 
             on the Energy and Commerce Committee. We would often show 
             up at meetings together, and this is still a tradition 
             that continues now because we both have the honor of 
             serving on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. 
             Senator Mikulski and I would walk in together, and she 
             would smile and say, ``Now the long and short of it are 
             arriving.'' And I guess that is true in a literal sense, 
             but while Senator Mikulski may be modest in stature, she 
             has one very large record on behalf of the public 
             interest, and I am especially grateful for all she has 
             done for people without power and people without clout.
               When we think about what has so angered the American 
             people--and I have heard the Senator from Colorado, the 
             Presiding Officer, talk about this--it is that people feel 
             so disconnected from government; that you can have a 
             community meeting in Oregon or Colorado or Maryland or 
             some other part of the country, and somehow there is this 
             sense what goes on in Washington really has nothing to do 
             with people in their home community.
               Senator Mikulski doesn't practice public service that 
             way. Senator Mikulski has always felt, since the days when 
             she was a community organizer and they were dealing with 
             those community problems and where are you going to locate 
             a freeway or something of that nature, that public service 
             and community service were always about being connected to 
             people. She understood right away what people may say at a 
             townhall meeting now in Colorado or Oregon about 
             government being removed from their lives, and for decades 
             she has practiced a very different kind of public service. 
             She did it when she was a community organizer; she did it 
             in the House of Representatives; and she continues to do 
             it today.
               Very often when we take the subway to a vote and I ask 
             her what she has done over the weekend, she will talk 
             about families. She knows I was codirector of the Gray 
             Panthers for many years before I was elected to Congress, 
             so we will talk about aging issues. And everybody knows 
             what she has done in the aging field and her interest in 
             fighting Alzheimer's. So it always comes back to people, 
             and that connection she brings to public service that is 
             so lacking from what Americans see is the big problem in 
             government today, that much of what goes on here is simply 
             disconnected from their lives.
               What I see in Barbara Mikulski is the real measure of 
             what we want in a public servant. We want someone who is 
             conscientious; we want someone who is smart; we want 
             someone who has good values and someone who always tries 
             to be a coalition builder.
               I have watched Senator Mikulski in lots of instances. We 
             had one just recently where Senator Mikulski was trying to 
             find a balance on a difficult and contentious issue 
             between industry and the environment, and I watched how 
             she was trying to listen to both sides. Maryland has some 
             communities where they have older plants, and if she can't 
             take steps to protect those plants and have the workers 
             keep their jobs, a lot of people are going to hurt, and 
             Senator Mikulski always tries to keep that from happening. 
             She has also said clean air and the environmental laws are 
             important. And that last quality of trying to bring people 
             together, which I have heard the Senator from Colorado 
             talk about, is what Senator Mikulski's public service 
             career has been all about.
               So tonight and through the day we have heard colleagues 
             pay tribute. I made mention of the fact that so often I 
             hear these tributes when a colleague is leaving the 
             Senate. I would like to close these brief remarks by 
             saying that I am especially grateful that the cause of 
             good government is enhanced by the fact that Senator 
             Mikulski is very much alive. This is not a tribute to 
             someone who is leaving office, this is a tribute to 
             someone who is going to be here next week, next month, and 
             the years ahead, continuing to shatter those records as 
             she advocates for people who don't have big lobbies, who 
             don't have lots of political clout and can't go out and 
             hire PR firms and well-paid and well-tailored advocates to 
             walk the halls of the Senate. She is there for those 
             people who don't have a voice. She has been there for 
             those people ever since she was a community organizer in 
             those early days in Baltimore.
               When I think about trying to give public service a good 
             name, I think about Barbara Mikulski--our wonderful 
             friend, Senator Barbara Mikulski, the senior Senator from 
             the State of Maryland. We thank her for giving public 
             service a good name. We thank her for taking on the 
             battles and the fights she has in the past. And we are all 
             especially grateful that at the end of this tribute she 
             will be back at her post a few seats from me, standing for 
             those values and standing for those causes that are so 
             important to the well-being of this country.
               Madam President, I yield the floor.

               Ms. LANDRIEU. Madam President, I may be the last speaker 
             of the day, but I did not want to leave the Chamber or the 
             building without taking a moment to come to the floor, as 
             so many of our colleagues did today, to honor one of our 
             own, one of our favorites. Not only is she a favorite to 
             us but I am certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is 
             one of the favorite Senators ever to represent the State 
             of Maryland. She is respected, she is beloved, and she is 
             admired by millions of her constituents from Maryland, but 
             I can promise you that is true of constituents in 
             Louisiana, potentially in your home State, Madam 
             President, and throughout the world.
               Last Saturday our friend and colleague Senator Barbara 
             Mikulski of Maryland became the longest serving woman in 
             the history of the Congress. I can only say that we have 
             come a long way since the first woman was appointed, as I 
             recall back in the 1920s. She was only allowed to serve 1 
             day and was not going to be given a paycheck but insisted 
             that she be paid for her service. I think she might have 
             been paid $1 for her service.
               Of course, the record of that 1 day on the floor speaks 
             for itself. We have come a long way since that day. 
             Barbara Mikulski was first elected to the House in 1976, 
             and then to the Senate 10 years later. When she first 
             entered this Chamber, there was only one other woman here, 
             her friend and her good, strong, supportive colleague, 
             Nancy Kassebaum, a Republican from Kansas. So a Democrat 
             from Maryland and a Republican from Kansas, but the two of 
             them were quite a team and Barbara Mikulski speaks fondly 
             of her days with Senator Nancy Kassebaum. Today there are 
             17 of us and proudly we continue that tradition of respect 
             and bipartisanship set in large measure by 2 of the women 
             we greatly admire.
               The late Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of 
             Massachusetts, who served from 1925 to 1960, had 
             previously held the record for the longest serving woman 
             in Congress. Breaking this record is only one of the many 
             milestones Senator Mikulski has accomplished during her 
             tenure in the Senate. But, as she would so quickly say, it 
             is not how long you serve but how well you serve. It is 
             not the length of your service, as she said to us so many 
             times, but the quality of your service. We could not have 
             a better role model--in terms of effectiveness, strength, 
             tenacity, courage, boldness--than in our own Senator 
             Barbara Mikulski.
               She was the first female Democrat, the first in the 
             history of our country, to serve in both Chambers of 
             Congress, the first female Democrat to be elected to the 
             Senate without succeeding a husband or a father, and the 
             first female to chair an appropriations committee.
               I serve on the Appropriations Committee. It is one of 
             the most powerful committees in our Congress. When I think 
             about the fact that it took over 225 years for a woman to 
             get the gavel on just 1 of the 14 subcommittees--that 
             number has changed over the decades--but if you think 
             about it, from the beginning of our country's history, 
             those early days through the expansion out West, through 
             the Civil War, post-Civil War history, the early part of 
             the 1900s, World War I, World War II--never did a woman 
             hold a gavel to write one budget for one committee in the 
             entire country, until Barbara Mikulski received one of 
             those gavels.
               I can tell you from personal experience serving with her 
             on that committee, our country is a better place--in 
             health, in welfare, our space program, our science and 
             technology programs--because Barbara Mikulski has used 
             that gavel not to promote herself but to promote the 
             people she serves and the principles for which she fights.
               She is well respected for her wisdom, for her tenacity 
             and her strength. She is respected by female and male 
             peers who serve with her. As most of my female colleagues 
             in the Senate have also experienced, Senator Mikulski took 
             me under her wing when I was first sworn in as a Senator. 
             She extended her hand to help me in every way possible, to 
             help me find my footing here as a Senator and to navigate 
             through the intricacies of the Senate process. She was 
             never too busy to hold out a helping hand or for a pat on 
             the shoulder. She was always willing to give that extra 
             advice and, I might say, was always willing to suggest 
             that you might have made a mistake--try it a little 
             different way the next time--not one to mince words, but 
             as a good Big Sister would take us under her wing and help 
             us out as any good Big Sister would do.
               In addition to that wonderful, helpful, and thoughtful 
             gesture that she shared with me and so many, she has been 
             an inspiration to many women, particularly young women who 
             have looked up to her, trying to follow in her footsteps.
               I can only say that this Senate and this Congress--the 
             people of Maryland, the people of our country and women 
             throughout the world--have been blessed by her leadership.
               What has touched me the most about watching her is the 
             fearlessness in which she serves. She does not back down. 
             She knows herself, she is comfortable in her own skin, and 
             she doesn't try to be someone she is not. She is very 
             proud of her Polish-American background, always proud to 
             talk about the bakery her parents owned, her immigrant 
             background, and always so willing to share from her heart 
             as well as her mind some of what she believes.
               She has been nothing but an inspiration to me and to 
             many. I am so glad I could come to the floor today, I am 
             so glad. I think almost every one of our colleagues has 
             made it to the floor to honor her. When God made Barbara 
             Mikulski, he threw away the mold. I don't think there will 
             ever be another one like her. There most certainly isn't 
             anyone in politics today who is like her. That is good, to 
             be unique in that way. She will be long remembered. I hope 
             she will serve here for many wonderful years to come.
               I yield the floor.
                                               Thursday, March 22, 2012
               Mr. LIEBERMAN. Madam President, I rise today to join my 
             colleagues in congratulating Senator Barbara Mikulski from 
             Maryland on becoming the longest serving woman in the 
             history of Congress. Senator Mikulski has thus reinforced 
             her distinctive mark on this institution and her 
             unmistakable place in our Nation's history.
               Those who have worked beside Senator Mikulski know her 
             to be a dynamic force of nature. While she is not the 
             tallest Senator, she reaches the greatest heights with her 
             strong principles, indomitable spirit, and steely resolve.
               From the neighborhoods of East Baltimore to the Halls of 
             Congress, she has spent her career in the political 
             trenches fighting for others--for women, for working 
             Americans, and for her beloved Maryland. Senator Mikulski 
             has been a practical leader for better women's health 
             care. She fought to have women included in clinical trials 
             and medical research at the National Institutes of Health 
             and helped establish Federal standards for mammograms.
               Her impact is not only felt in the lives of those she 
             serves, but also in her relationships with those she 
             serves with. At this time in our politics when the 
             partisanship pulls us apart, when tribal instincts have 
             coarsened our discourse and weakened our bonds, Senator 
             Mikulski is a unifying force of comity in the Senate. She 
             brings a sense of civility and a sense of humor to this 
             institution at a time when both are sorely needed.
               Women Senators fondly know Senator Mikulski as their 
             dean. She hosts regular bipartisan dinners for them and is 
             a trusted mentor. She understands that while many of us 
             come to Congress with competing goals, at the end of the 
             day, we are colleagues. We have to work together. Unless 
             we can affirm our bonds as colleagues and fellow humans, 
             the work we are tasked with by the American people will 
             not get done, and the public interest will suffer as a 
             result.
               Senator Mikulski's remarkable career continues to 
             inspire women across our country on the nobility of public 
             service and the ability for one person to bring about 
             positive change in the lives of others. It is a pleasure 
             to serve beside her, and I wish her my very best for many 
             more productive years here in the Senate.

               Mr. BENNET. Madam President, today I want to honor 
             Senator Barbara Mikulski, who has represented the people 
             of Maryland for more than 35 years, and who earlier this 
             week became the longest serving female Member of Congress. 
             Senator Mikulski is a fighter, a fearless leader, and a 
             role model for women and young girls everywhere, including 
             my three daughters, Caroline, Halina, and Anne.
               During the course of her distinguished career, Senator 
             Mikulski has been an incredibly effective advocate, and in 
             particular has taken a leadership role in mentoring other 
             women as they follow in her footsteps to the Halls of 
             Congress. She has represented Maryland exceptionally 
             well--on issues ranging from civil rights and the 
             environment, to issues affecting working families and our 
             criminal justice system.
               Tracking Senator Mikulski's career is also a good way to 
             follow the progress of women in our country. When first 
             elected to Congress for Maryland's Third District in 1976, 
             Senator Mikulski was 1 of 21 women serving in Congress. 
             Today there are 93 women serving, thanks in large part to 
             the trailblazing efforts of Senator Mikulski.
               Through her work in an array of roles, from the women's 
             amendment in the Affordable Care Act to her leadership on 
             the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families, Senator 
             Mikulski is known as a coalition builder. This role has 
             led her to cultivate personal and professional 
             partnerships among the Members of the Senate. Likely some 
             of the country's most important work is done during the 
             bipartisan dinners she frequently hosts for her female 
             Senate colleagues.
               I am proud that my first vote as a Senator in January 
             2009 was in favor of one of Senator Mikulski's bills, the 
             Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which guarantees women equal 
             pay for equal work. And I have thoroughly enjoyed working 
             with her in the Senate HELP Committee on Elementary and 
             Secondary Education Act reauthorization and passage of the 
             Affordable Care Act. I look forward to continuing to work 
             with Senator Mikulski on these and other important issues 
             in the Senate.
               March is Women's History Month, and I can think of no 
             better time to honor and reflect on what Senator 
             Mikulski's work has meant to the U.S. Senate and to her 
             constituents in Maryland. Let us follow the leadership of 
             Senator Barbara Mikulski and continue to fight for a 
             better America.

               Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I want to join my 
             colleagues in today's well-deserved accolades for my 
             friend, Barbara Mikulski.
               The other day, as often happens to most of us here, I 
             found myself temporarily waylaid by an informal scrum of 
             reporters in one of the Capitol hallways. And, unknown to 
             me, I was blocking Senator Mikulski's path. She made me 
             aware of that fact in her distinctive and typically 
             endearing way: ``Hey, Tall and Lanky--make way for Short 
             and Stocky!'' she said.
               But it is not just that humor and good nature that makes 
             Barbara Mikulski such a great colleague and friend. As a 
             resident and colleague from an adjoining State, I respect 
             all she has done at the local level, in the U.S. House and 
             now in the Senate, to move the National Capital Region 
             forward in terms of the regional ties that join together 
             this special region where we live and work.
               You see, Virginia and Maryland share more than just a 
             common border. Our two States are home to hundreds of 
             thousands of hard-working and under-appreciated Federal 
             workers and retirees. Our States share safety and funding 
             concerns related to Metro. We each have a shared 
             responsibility in our stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay. 
             Maryland and Virginia also share world-class NASA 
             facilities on the Eastern Shore.
               As a friend, I appreciate her leadership role in helping 
             this first-time legislator--and recovering former 
             Governor--make the sometimes difficult adjustment to this 
             body. As the father of three daughters, I am grateful for 
             the doors Senator Mikulski has opened--and sometimes 
             kicked-open--for young women.
               Senator Mikulski truly is a force of nature. She is 
             tough, focused, and extremely effective. And as these 
             testimonials demonstrate, Senator Mikulski is widely 
             respected and loved by current and former Members of this 
             body.
               I am pleased to join these colleagues in thanking 
             Senator Mikulski for her service, her leadership, and her 
             friendship.
                                                 Monday, March 26, 2012
               Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I join with the entire 
             Senate family in congratulating my great friend, the 
             distinguished senior Senator from Maryland, Barbara 
             Mikulski, on becoming the longest serving female Member of 
             Congress in our Nation's history. She reached that 
             milestone recently, having served in Congress for 12,858 
             days--more than 35 years--surpassing the previous longest 
             serving Member of Congress, the late Representative Edith 
             Nourse Rogers.
               Representative Rogers famously quipped, ``The first 30 
             years are the hardest.'' But I dare say that Senator 
             Mikulski has had a somewhat different experience. As with 
             other pathbreaking women, she has encountered sexism and 
             discrimination. But from her first day in the House in 
             1977 right up to today, in her much respected role as dean 
             of women Senators, Barbara Mikulski has been a singularly 
             formidable and forceful public servant. Pity the 
             Representative or Senator who has made the mistake of in 
             any way underestimating this remarkable person.
               For three-and-a-half decades in Congress, Barbara 
             Mikulski has been an outspoken and proud progressive--a 
             tireless advocate for quality public education, access to 
             health care, and a strong safety net for those she calls 
             ``the least of these our sisters and brothers''--including 
             the elderly, people with disabilities, and the poor. Her 
             passion for social and economic justice was nurtured by 
             the nuns who taught her at Catholic school in working-
             class East Baltimore.
               Senator Mikulski's legislative accomplishments are too 
             numerous to cite here. I am particularly grateful for the 
             lead role that she played in early 2009 in passing the 
             Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act--the very first 
             bill signed into law by President Obama. This law reversed 
             an outrageous Supreme Court decision that allowed 
             discrimination against women to go unpunished. But, as 
             Senator Mikulski knows all too well, even the Lilly 
             Ledbetter Act leaves in place an outrageous status quo 
             where women are paid only 77 cents for every dollar that 
             their male counterparts are paid. That is why she and I 
             have continued to work closely together to advance the 
             cause of equal pay. We are the respective leads on the two 
             Democratic equal pay bills in the Senate.
               As chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
             Committee, I want to pay special tribute to the 
             extraordinary role she has long played on our committee.
               Senator Mikulski's legislative skills and leadership 
             were critically important in crafting and passing the 
             Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2 years ago--an 
             achievement that she calls one of the ``greatest social 
             justice initiatives'' of our time. She led the team that 
             wrote the quality title in the bill, insisting that higher 
             quality care does not have to be higher cost care. Thanks 
             to Senator Mikulski, the health care reform law includes a 
             whole range of provisions that shift the emphasis--
             rewarding providers not for quantity of service but for 
             quality of service. I would add that throughout the debate 
             on health care reform and during the many months the bill 
             was being written, Senator Mikulski was a fierce advocate 
             for women's health and for ending the brazen 
             discrimination against women by health insurance 
             companies.
               On the HELP Committee, and also in her role as chair of 
             the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Legal 
             Services Corporation, Senator Mikulski has been a great 
             leader on another issue near and dear to my heart: legal 
             services for the poor. She has fought hard--and it has 
             always been an uphill struggle--to provide adequate 
             funding so that people without resources are not barred 
             from the courthouse door.
               Of course, Senator Mikulski has also been one of the 
             Senate's leading proponents of national and community 
             service. In 2009, she was the Senate manager for the 
             Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which retooled our 
             national service programs for the 21st century and 
             provided expanded opportunities for young people to gain 
             valuable skills and experience by helping neighbors in 
             need.
               Let me share a brief anecdote that illustrates the 
             remarkable role that Senator Mikulski plays in the body 
             and the respect that she commands among her colleagues. We 
             all remember the debate, in late February, on the Blunt 
             amendment, which would have allowed employers to deny 
             health insurance coverage for contraception. In my role as 
             chair of the HELP Committee, I was invited to attend a 
             press conference in the LBJ Room of the Capitol organized 
             by Senator Mikulski to speak out against the amendment. 
             Let me tell you, this was a remarkable event. Senator 
             Mikulski spoke first, with tremendous power and passion. 
             One by one, other Senators spoke--women who, over the 
             decades, have been counseled and mentored by Senator 
             Mikulski: Senator Patty Murray of Washington, Senators 
             Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California, and 
             Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Senator 
             Mikulski's message, echoed by the other Senators, was 
             characteristically loud and clear: Decisions about medical 
             care should be made by a woman and her doctor, not a woman 
             and her boss. Needless to say, Senator Mikulski carried 
             the day; the amendment was defeated.
               Other Senators have noted Senator Mikulski's many 
             firsts, including the first woman elevated to a leadership 
             position in the Senate. I would simply add that Barbara 
             Mikulski is also first when it comes to a Senator being 
             true to her roots, a fierce and effective champion for her 
             State and passionate fighter for social and economic 
             justice. Again, I salute the Senator on reaching the 
             historic milestone as the longest serving female Member of 
             Congress, and I wish her many more years of distinguished 
             service to our Nation.
                                                Tuesday, March 27, 2012
               Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, with all of the 
             very well-deserved statements that have been made about 
             our colleague Senator Barbara Mikulski, I wanted to raise 
             my voice in support of the milestone she recently achieved 
             as the longest serving woman in congressional history.
               A personal word I want to add about Senator Mikulski is 
             that she has been so supportive and such a leader of our 
             Nation's space program. As the chairman of the Senate 
             Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and 
             Science, she has to be intimately familiar with the 
             details and the appropriate way to allocate funds that are 
             vital for our civilian program to go forward in the 
             visionary and frontier breaking manner that it always has, 
             and I am grateful for her leadership. I wanted to add this 
             to the accolades that she so well deserves and has already 
             heard from so many of our colleagues.
               Senator Mikulski began her tenure in Congress in 1977 as 
             a Member of the House of Representatives. She represented 
             Maryland's Third District for 10 years before moving to 
             the Senate in 1986.
               During her time in the Senate, Senator Mikulski has been 
             a champion for many of the issues that are particularly 
             important to my fellow Floridians and me. She is a strong 
             supporter of veterans' and seniors' issues.
               Senator Mikulski has also worked to protect our oceans 
             by supporting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
             Administration, especially during one of the worst 
             environmental disasters we've seen. In 2010 she conducted 
             a subcommittee hearing to explore the use of dispersants 
             in response to the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf, 
             helping us to better understand the long-term consequences 
             of that environmental tragedy.
               Senator Mikulski also serves as chairman for the Health, 
             Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Children 
             and Families. In December, she chaired a hearing on child 
             abuse, casting light on this issue and urging her 
             colleagues to take greater steps to combat it.
               I am honored to have served with Senator Mikulski for 
             the past decade, and I look forward to continuing to work 
             with her on matters of great importance to Maryland, 
             Florida, and the rest of the country.

               Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in 
             honoring the service of the Senator from Maryland, Barbara 
             Mikulski, on becoming the longest serving woman in the 
             history of Congress. She is an inspiration, a mentor, and 
             a friend, and I congratulate her on achieving this 
             historic milestone.
               The story of Barbara Mikulski is the story of the 
             American dream. The daughter of a grocer in Baltimore, she 
             learned what it meant to do a hard day's work. She got 
             good grades, went to college, and eventually got her 
             master's degree in social work.
               When she was in her twenties, she got involved in a 
             fight to stop a highway proposal that would have cut 
             through a working class neighborhood. She stopped that 
             highway and saved the homes of the families who lived 
             there.
               Those families saw something that day that all of us 
             would recognize today: a woman of passion, hard work, and 
             determination.
               Throughout her years of service, she has reflected these 
             values day in and day out as she has fought for America's 
             working families. She understands that our country needs 
             to make things and grow things if we are going to have a 
             middle class and an American dream. She understands the 
             dignity of work, and how important that is to families who 
             want to create a better future for their children, just as 
             Barbara's family did for her.
               In her many years of leadership and service, she has 
             been fighting every day to create a better future for 
             every little girl and boy in Maryland. She did not come 
             here for the power; she came here to serve. I think that 
             is why the people of Maryland have chosen her, time and 
             time again, to be their champion in the U.S. Senate.
               In the whole history of the United States, 1,931 people 
             have served in the U.S. Senate. Of those, 39 were women. 
             And of those, 17 are serving right now. And of those, only 
             one--Senator Barbara Mikulski--is our dean and our mentor.
               I want to thank my friend, Senator Mikulski, for all she 
             has done for me and for all the women who will follow in 
             her footsteps in the years to come.

               Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, the Senate is in the midst of 
             recognizing a very important milestone in our history. I 
             would like to join my Senate colleagues in congratulating 
             Senator Barbara Mikulski as the longest serving female 
             Member of Congress.
               As we all know, Senator Mikulski has dedicated her life 
             to public service. Before running for public office, 
             Senator Mikulski served as a social worker helping at-risk 
             children and educating seniors on Medicare. In 1971, she 
             successfully ran for her first public office and was 
             elected to serve in the Baltimore City Council, where she 
             served for 5 years.
               Senator Mikulski first ran for Congress in 1976, seeking 
             to represent Maryland's Third District. She won that race 
             and went on to hold the seat for a decade. In 1986 she 
             decided to run for the U.S. Senate, and she has been 
             serving here ever since. The Senate was a very different 
             place when she first arrived as one of two women Senators. 
             She not only had to learn how the Senate functioned but 
             had a quick lesson in bipartisanship--as the other woman, 
             Nancy Kassebaum-Baker, was a Republican from Kansas. 
             Today, we have 17 women in the Senate and 76 women serving 
             in the House of Representatives.
               Senator Mikulski has been an outspoken advocate for 
             working people everywhere. Due in large part to her 
             leadership and strong advocacy on behalf of women, our 
             daughters and granddaughters will have opportunities that 
             were not available to many women in the past. She is a 
             wonderful role model through her dedication to public 
             service, as she fights passionately every day for the 
             people of Maryland that she is here to represent.
               I want to add my voice to those praising Senator 
             Mikulski as she reaches this important milestone. She is a 
             true pioneer, a strong example of a smart legislator, and 
             an outspoken voice for working people. I have great 
             respect for the journey she has taken, and I am proud to 
             serve alongside her.
                                              Wednesday, March 28, 2012
               Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I wish to add my voice to 
             those of my colleagues paying tribute to the senior 
             Senator from Maryland, who recently became the longest 
             serving female Member of Congress in American history.
               Senator Barbara Mikulski and I were first elected to the 
             Senate at the same time. Over the past 26 years she has 
             been a colleague, a legislative partner, and a friend. 
             Courageous, determined, and honorable are only a few of 
             the words I use when describing Senator Mikulski.
               Senator Mikulski has devoted her life to public service. 
             She began her career as a social worker in Baltimore, 
             where she worked with high-risk children and educated 
             seniors about Medicare. In 1971, she transitioned into 
             politics by attaining a seat on the Baltimore City 
             Council. As a council member, she continued to advocate 
             for those in need. In 1976, she was elected to the U.S. 
             House of Representatives, where she became the first woman 
             ever to sit on the influential Energy and Commerce 
             Committee. As a Member of the House, she worked on a 
             variety of important legislation, including funding for 
             shelters for battered spouses.
               Issues concerning women have always been a passion of 
             Senator Mikulski's. From sponsoring the Lilly Ledbetter 
             Fair Pay Act to being a leader in women's health issues, 
             she has been a champion for women's rights.
               Senator Mikulski was particularly helpful to me during 
             the Grand Forks flooding in 1997. When our third largest 
             city was devastated by flooding and fire, Senator Mikulski 
             stood with Grand Forks residents every step of the way as 
             we fought for Community Development Block Grant funding to 
             recover and rebuild. Her support was critical. More 
             recently, Senator Mikulski joined me in pushing for 
             comparative effectiveness research as part of health 
             reform, so that patients and doctors can have better 
             information on which treatments and medical interventions 
             are most effective and which amount to wasteful spending.
               Senator Mikulski is a fierce advocate for her 
             constituents--and for working men and women everywhere. 
             She will never back down from a cause she believes in, and 
             she has compiled an impressive record of results. I 
             congratulate her on being the longest serving female 
             Member of Congress.

               Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I rise today 
             to honor a true trailblazer, my colleague Senator Barbara 
             Mikulski. Earlier this month, she crossed a major 
             milestone by becoming the longest serving woman in 
             Congress.
               Before she set her sights on Congress, Senator Mikulski 
             worked as a community activist, social worker, and a 
             member of the Baltimore City Council. In 1977, she was 
             elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from 
             Maryland's Third Congressional District. At that time, she 
             was 1 of only 21 women serving in Congress.
               She never let any misguided stereotypes or long odds 
             slow her down. Ten years later, she won her first race for 
             the U.S. Senate and in the process became the first 
             Democratic woman elected to this Chamber from the State of 
             Maryland. She immediately lent her voice to issues like 
             education, health care, and national service.
               Along the way, she has given a voice not only to 
             families and the middle class but also sent a powerful 
             message to women all across this Nation. If there were 
             ever any doubt, they now know for sure that they deserve a 
             seat at the table in Congress. Her message is being heard. 
             Since Senator Mikulski was first elected to the House of 
             Representatives, the number of women serving in Congress 
             today has increased to 93.
               I have gotten to know Barbara well, especially through 
             our work on the Senate Appropriations Committee. I know 
             she would rather we focus on her accomplishments 
             regardless of her gender, but Senator Mikulski has blazed 
             an important path. Along the way, she has never forgotten 
             the value of hard work that was instilled in her from an 
             early age. She has also built the kind of working 
             relationships you need to get things done.
               There is a reason the people of Maryland have sent 
             Barbara Mikulski back to the Congress time and again. She 
             is telling their story and making sure that every voice 
             has a chance to be heard. I want to congratulate her on 
             this milestone. It is an important one for her and her 
             family, and I believe it is symbolic of the gains we have 
             seen our Nation make since she first was elected to 
             Congress more than 35 years ago.

               Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, in 1977, Jimmy Carter became 
             our Nation's President, Elvis Presley died, and ``Rocky'' 
             won the Oscar as best picture.
               It was also the year my colleague, Barbara Mikulski, 
             came to Congress. She has served since then, for 10 years 
             in the House and since 1987 in the Senate, with exemplary 
             dedication to our Nation and its working families. Those 
             of us who have had the pleasure to serve with her in the 
             Senate and all the citizens of Maryland who have elected 
             her to represent them celebrate this moment, for Senator 
             Mikulski has become the longest serving female Member of 
             Congress in our Nation's history.
               Barbara Mikulski is the first female Democrat to have 
             served in both the House and the Senate, as well as being 
             the first Democratic woman to be elected to the Senate 
             without succeeding a spouse or father. She is, among all 
             of us, truly a pathbreaker.
               When she entered the Senate, there was only one other 
             female Member of this body. Today, there are 17. Barbara 
             Mikulski has served as an inspiration, a leader, and a 
             mentor to generations of women seeking to secure their 
             rightful place as Members of our Nation's highest 
             legislative bodies.
               Throughout her time in both the House and Senate, she 
             has worked tirelessly on behalf of the elderly, veterans, 
             the poor, hard-pressed families, and our Nation's 
             children. Daughter of a grocer, her roots are in 
             Baltimore. She may have come a long way to play her 
             important role here in Washington, but what makes her such 
             a vital voice in Congress is that she has never lost touch 
             with the values and needs of the blue collar neighborhood 
             of Highlandtown where she grew up.
               Barbara Mikulski entered politics as an activist and a 
             populist, and she has remained true to that initial 
             motivation. Barbara Mikulski genuinely cares about the 
             people of our Nation--about all the people, not just the 
             wealthy or the famous or the influential.
               She understands the difficulties faced by working 
             families as their incomes have been stagnant, as unions 
             have declined, as disparities in wealth and income have 
             widened dramatically. She is passionately committed to the 
             importance of education for our young people, just as she 
             respects and fights for our Nation's elderly and their 
             security as they negotiate the later years of life.
               We serve together on the HELP Committee, on which she 
             has long been a leader. No one better exemplifies the 
             values of caring for those who are all too easy to 
             forget--working families, the elderly, the poor, the 
             children, than Barbara Mikulski. Having worked with them 
             both, I know how completely she has taken on the mantle of 
             her friend Ted Kennedy and kept our committee focused on 
             those whose needs are greatest.
               As we celebrate the inspiration Barbara Mikulski has 
             been for the women of the Senate, Maryland, and the 
             country, let's not forget that she has also been an 
             inspiration to all of us. She has shown us how to fight 
             for the powerless and how to cast votes based on ethical 
             values and a deep commitment to our fellow men and women, 
             not based on political expediency.
               For that leadership, both as a great female legislator 
             and as an accomplished legislator with a lifelong 
             commitment to improving the lives of all Americans, we 
             honor her.

               Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute 
             to my esteemed colleague, Senator Barbara Mikulski from 
             the great State of Maryland. I am honored to recognize the 
             historic achievements of my fellow Senator. On Saturday 
             she became the longest serving woman in congressional 
             history after serving more than 35 years in both the House 
             and Senate. Originally a social worker and community 
             organizer in Baltimore, Senator Mikulski's congressional 
             legacy began in 1976 when she was elected to the U.S. 
             House of Representatives. Ten years later with her 
             election into the U.S. Senate she became the first female 
             Senator from Maryland as well as the first woman to be 
             elected to both the House and Senate. Senator Mikulski 
             deserves great honor and reverence for her dedication to 
             the people of Maryland, the United States, and to the 
             institution of the Senate.
               Three years ago I entered these Chambers as a freshman 
             from a faraway State. Senator Mikulski was already known 
             as a legend, to me and so many of my constituents. Since 
             then, she has been an inspiration--and, to no one's 
             surprise, a straight shooter and passionate advocate of 
             her issues. More than once, when I have not yet signed 
             onto one of her bills--usually something near and dear to 
             her, like child abuse prevention--she has cornered me. And 
             in a tough stance, all 4 feet 11 inches of her, she'll 
             tell me why it is my duty to sign the bill. She is always 
             right, and I am happy to follow her lead on such issues.
               Throughout her time in Congress Senator Mikulski has 
             been a champion for civil rights, fighting to end 
             discrimination of all kinds. As the chairwoman of the 
             Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions she 
             has continually fought to end discrimination in the 
             workplace. In 2011 she was a sponsor of the Paycheck 
             Fairness Act, which ensures equal pay, regardless of 
             gender.
               She has also defended our Nation's teachers and students 
             by fighting for more affordable and accessible education 
             and supporting the needs of rural school districts. Just 
             this year she introduced legislation that would ensure 
             veterans who receive educational assistance from the 
             Department of Veterans Affairs also receive adequate 
             counseling when considering their educational options.
               Senator Mikulski's accomplishments are numerous and 
             diverse, from the day-to-day needs of workers, business 
             owners, and students to the strengthening of scientific 
             innovation and research. Senator Mikulski deserves great 
             honor and esteem for her dedication to fighting for the 
             good of the people of Maryland and the Nation.
               I am honored to serve alongside such a devoted advocate, 
             and I look forward to her continued service in the U.S. 
             Senate. She began her tenure in 1977 as 1 of 19 women 
             serving in Congress and today is 1 of 17 women in the 
             Senate. She has helped pave the way for future 
             generations. Yet she likely would not agree that women 
             have come a long way over those years; instead she will 
             say there is a long way to go.
               Today I congratulate and pay homage to Senator Barbara 
             Mikulski. She is a friend, a mentor, and--so very often--
             the good conscience of the U.S. Senate.

               Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, I come to the 
             floor today to speak in honor of Senator Barbara Mikulski. 
             I join my colleagues in recognizing her for becoming the 
             longest serving female Member of Congress in our Nation's 
             history.
               I know Senator Mikulski is more interested in results 
             than milestones, but this is an appropriate moment to 
             congratulate her for all that she has accomplished. She is 
             both a tenacious fighter and gracious colleague.
               The true measure of a society is how we treat people in 
             the dawn and twilight years of their lives. By that 
             standard, Senator Mikulski's career has been 
             extraordinary.
               From the start of her career in public service as a 
             Baltimore social worker helping at-risk kids and seniors 
             to today, she has been a champion for children and the 
             elderly. She has been a champion for education, research, 
             and veterans, and she has been an unflinching champion for 
             Maryland.
               Senator Mikulski has also been a friend since my first 
             days in the Senate. Early on she reached out to me to 
             explain the appropriations process in the Senate. My 
             father, who spent his entire career in the U.S. House of 
             Representatives, was always suspicious of the Senate. So 
             to a freshman Senator making the transition from the 
             House, hers was a welcome and reassuring gesture, kind of 
             like the folksy gesture of calling me ``cowboy,'' which 
             always brings a smile to my face.
               Senator Mikulski's style is a powerful counter to the 
             old Washington joke that there are actually three 
             political parties: Democrats, Republicans, and 
             appropriators. She always values the input of other 
             Senators and strives to balance the many competing 
             priorities of all the Members of this body. For example, 
             we have worked together on the Joint Polar Satellite 
             System. This program is over budget and behind schedule, 
             but it is also indispensable to public safety and our 
             economy. As an appropriator, she has the unenviable 
             challenge of striving to continually put this program on 
             firm financial footing. In the process, she has repeatedly 
             asked for my perspective and welcomed me into the process. 
             This is above and beyond the call of duty but is so 
             typical of Barbara Mikulski.
               Many have compared Senator Mikulski's streak to another 
             famous Marylander's--Cal Ripken, Jr. I think Cal would 
             agree with Barbara when she said, ``It's not only how long 
             I serve, but how well I serve.''
               She has undoubtedly served this institution, this 
             country, and Maryland very well.
               I commend Senator Barbara Mikulski for her 35 years of 
             service in Congress and look forward to her future 
             successes.
                                               Thursday, March 29, 2012
               Mrs. HAGAN. Madam President, I come here today to pay 
             tribute to Senator Barbara Mikulski on becoming the 
             longest serving woman in the history of Congress.
               First and foremost, I feel deeply privileged to be able 
             to serve alongside Senator Mikulski. She blazed a path 
             that allowed the rest of us, and people like me, to be 
             here today. Along the way, she distinguished herself as 
             not only a leader and tenacious advocate for the people of 
             Maryland but for all Americans.
               Senator Mikulski's path to the U.S. Senate prepared her 
             well to be an effective fighter for her constituents. Ever 
             the dedicated public servant, Senator Mikulski worked as a 
             Baltimore social worker, community activist, and as a city 
             council member. She brought an urgency and an unrelenting 
             commitment to service to her work and the people she 
             represented. It can be seen in the legislation she has 
             fought for and the causes she has championed during her 25 
             years in the Senate.
               I am proud to say the first bill I cosponsored when I 
             came to the Senate 3 years ago was one of Senator 
             Mikulski's--the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This bill--
             which ensures that no matter your gender, race, national 
             origin, religion, age, or disability, you will receive 
             equal pay for equal work--the fight to get it signed into 
             law is a perfect example of the tenacity and sense of 
             fairness that drives Barbara Mikulski.
               I am particularly grateful to her for her mentorship. On 
             the day I was sworn in to the Senate, I was standing in 
             the back of the Chamber waiting to walk down to the well. 
             My colleague from North Carolina, Senator Burr, was with 
             me. Senator Mikulski came up to me and asked who was going 
             to escort me to the well to be sworn in. I, obviously, 
             said, ``My colleague from North Carolina.'' She said, 
             ``Well, you need a woman too.'' And with that, I was both 
             humbled and honored to have her escort me down the Chamber 
             aisle to be sworn in as a U.S. Senator.
               Her generosity in sharing her experience and her 
             expertise did not stop on that day. She is always 
             encouraging, supportive, and eager to foster a spirit of 
             teamwork. I especially appreciate that Senator Mikulski 
             embraces the need for bipartisanship, which no doubt is 
             why she is and has been so effective, accomplished, and 
             widely respected.
               Everyone knows well and respects Senator Mikulski for 
             her advocacy on behalf of women and families. In this 
             regard, she is truly a role model. During the debate on 
             health care reform, her tireless fight to ensure that 
             women's preventive services, including screenings for 
             breast cancer and cervical cancer, would be covered with 
             no out-of-pocket expenses is legendary.
               Her ability to see and understand people's needs is 
             clearly reflected in her Spousal Anti-Impoverishment Act, 
             which protects seniors across the country from going 
             bankrupt while paying for a spouse's nursing home care. It 
             is no wonder she is beloved, not only in the Third 
             District, which she represented for 10 years in the House, 
             but by all the people of Maryland whose interests she 
             fights for every single day.
               As 1 of the 17 women now serving in the Senate, it is 
             hard to imagine what it must have been like when she 
             arrived here 25 years ago as 1 of 2 women. I am grateful 
             she and the other female Senators have paved the way.
               Barbara Mikulski is the dean of the women Senators, and 
             her bipartisan women's dinners are among my favorite 
             Senate traditions. I thank Senator Mikulski for her 
             leadership and strong belief in the empowerment of women 
             in our communities and in public office. For those of us 
             who came to Washington to make a difference, Barbara 
             Mikulski has set a very high bar.
               I congratulate Senator Mikulski for this extraordinary 
             and historic accomplishment. I look forward to many more 
             years of serving alongside her.

               Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today in light of last 
             week's celebration here in the Senate, to recognize the 
             truly historic and remarkable accomplishment of my good 
             friend and colleague, Senator Barbara Mikulski.
               As we all know, Senator Mikulski just last week achieved 
             another stunning milestone as she became the longest 
             serving woman in the history of the U.S. Congress, 
             surpassing Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers. Of course, 
             it was at the outset of this 112th Congress that Senator 
             Mikulski overtook Maine's legendary Senator Margaret Chase 
             Smith. To say it's been quite a Congress for the 
             gentlelady from Maryland is the height of understatement 
             indeed. ...

               Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment 
             to honor Senator Barbara Mikulski for recently becoming 
             the longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. 
             Congress. However, in doing so, I am reminded that this 
             milestone does not define her legacy. Rather, her legacy 
             as a coalition builder and a tenacious advocate of the 
             marginalized defines Senator Mikulski's tenure as a public 
             servant for the people of Maryland.
               Throughout her career, Senator Mikulski pioneered the 
             role women play in today's Congress. When she joined the 
             Senate in 1987, Senator Mikulski became one of two female 
             Senators and the first Democratic woman ever to join the 
             Upper Chamber. These achievements were not due to a famous 
             husband or father; Senator Mikulski was elected because of 
             her integrity and her fiery and compassionate character. 
             Her personal and professional experiences over the past 35 
             years make Senator Mikulski an excellent mentor for first-
             term female Members, leading to the appropriate title: 
             ``Dean of Women.'' I was recently reminded of the 
             ``Dean's'' ability to rally the support of female 
             colleagues as Senator Mikulski and 7 of 17 female Senators 
             lent their support for the reauthorization of the Violence 
             Against Women Act on the floor of the Senate. Her efforts 
             are emblematic of a unique ability to orchestrate voices 
             in defense of the voiceless.
               Just as the Violence Against Women Act provides support 
             to both male and female victims of domestic abuse, Senator 
             Mikulski's legacy as a champion of the exploited 
             transcends the concept of gender. From her roots as a 
             social worker and community organizer, Senator Mikulski 
             has constantly stood for social justice. She was a driving 
             force in the landmark Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 
             2009, which furthered protections for women and others 
             faced with discrimination in the workplace. Equal pay for 
             equal work is a principle that Senator Mikulski will 
             continue to defend. From the young lady who delivered 
             groceries to seniors, to a passionate defender of the 
             ethnic American, Senator Mikulski continues to stand in 
             solidarity with those forced to live at the margins.
               I have been proud to serve in the Senate with Senator 
             Mikulski for over two decades, and I have enjoyed working 
             with her on many issues, in addition to our time serving 
             together on the Subcommittee on the Department of State 
             and Foreign Operations for many years. Perhaps most 
             memorable is a codel we took to sub-Saharan Africa in 
             1990.
               While my colleagues and I applaud Senator Mikulski on 
             the longevity of her career, we more importantly take this 
             moment to celebrate the leadership and achievements that 
             characterize her 35 years of service. How long she has 
             served bears witness to how well she has represented the 
             people of Maryland.

               Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute to 
             my colleague, Senator Barbara Mikulski, who is now the 
             longest serving woman in the history of the Congress and 
             congratulate her on reaching this important milestone. 
             Senator Mikulski is an inspiration to us all. She had 
             broken down not only multiple gender barriers, but 
             legislative, economic, and societal barriers as well.
               Throughout her career, Senator Mikulski has been a 
             champion for those who are often forgotten. Hubert 
             Humphrey once said the moral test of government is how it 
             treats those in the dawn of life, the twilight of life, 
             and the shadows of life. Senator Mikulski took this 
             message to heart. Her life has been a life of service. She 
             spent her career as a tireless advocate, first as a social 
             worker in Baltimore on the city council and then in the 
             House of Representatives where she served 10 years before 
             coming to the Senate. For the past 25 years she has 
             continued this advocacy and has been a strong voice on the 
             Senate floor, as well as on the HELP Committee. I have 
             been fortunate to serve on the HELP Committee with Senator 
             Mikulski since 2009.
               One of the things Senator Mikulski is best known for is 
             providing good constituent services. This is something all 
             Senate offices do and it often gets overlooked by the 
             national and international issues of the day. But this 
             speaks to one of the most important duties of a Senator. 
             When your constituent's mother dies in a country halfway 
             around the world and you suddenly need a passport or a 
             visa, when a veteran is not getting the benefits he is 
             entitled to, or when an older citizen cannot afford to 
             heat their home, they can turn to their Senator's local 
             office for help. Senator Mikulski makes sure she and her 
             staff provide help to that family, or veteran, or older 
             citizen.
               Barbara Mikulski knows, and her work demonstrates, that 
             the job of a Senator is not only about numbers and 
             budgets, it is about helping people, especially the 
             vulnerable and those without a voice or a lobbyist.
               Again, I congratulate Barbara on her accomplishment and 
             I look forward to working with her and continuing to fight 
             for our children, our workers, and our families with her 
             in the years ahead.

               Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President. I come to the floor today to 
             celebrate the service of Senator Barbara Mikulski, one of 
             the most tenacious and effective Senators to serve in the 
             U.S. Senate. This month, following 41 years of public 
             service, Senator Mikulski has reached a new milestone in 
             serving in the U.S. Congress longer than any woman in 
             history. But as she has said, ``It's not how long you 
             serve, but how well you serve.'' Both the State of 
             Maryland and the entire Nation have benefited from Senator 
             Mikulski's stamina as well her energy, intellect, and 
             compassion. Today, we can see the difference she has made 
             in our schools, health care, paychecks, and workplaces.
               Senator Mikulski follows in the footsteps of the 
             legendary Hattie Caraway of Arkansas. As the wife of 
             Thaddeus Caraway, a former Congressman and U.S. Senator 
             for Arkansas, Hattie assumed her husband's place in the 
             Senate following his death in 1931. She once said, ``The 
             time has passed when a woman should be placed in a 
             position and kept there only while someone else is being 
             groomed for the job.'' A year later, she ran for 
             reelection, becoming the first woman elected to a 6-year 
             term. She surpassed several milestones, including serving 
             as the first female Senator to preside over the Senate and 
             the first woman to serve as the chairwoman of a committee.
               It would take 74 more years until a woman Senator 
             chaired a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations 
             Committee. Senator Mikulski, now at the reins of the 
             Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, has shown 
             great leadership and vision as chairwoman, and it has been 
             a privilege to work with her. While we share many 
             interests, we have worked most closely to advance the 
             growth of science parks, strengthen law enforcement, and 
             ensure U.S. companies can compete in the 21st century. I 
             look forward to a continued partnership, congratulate 
             Senator Mikulski on this historic achievement, and express 
             my deep appreciation for all that she has done.

               Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise to honor and extend my 
             warmest aloha to my longtime colleague, a fellow member of 
             the House freshman class of 1977, and very dear friend, 
             Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, for setting a new benchmark 
             in her career and a significant milestone in this 
             institution: becoming the longest serving woman in the 
             history of the U.S. Congress. With each of her many 
             accomplishments, she inspires the next generation of young 
             American women, and she makes their dreams that much more 
             attainable.
               My colleague from Maryland has been a true trailblazer 
             for women in Congress. In 1987, she earned the distinction 
             of becoming the first-ever woman U.S. Senator from 
             Maryland, as well as the first woman Democrat to serve in 
             both the House and the Senate. Last year, she also became 
             the longest serving female in Senate history.
               Barbara has not only witnessed the number of females 
             climb from just 21 when she first came to Congress in 1977 
             to the 93 female members serving today. Her actions and 
             spirit helped to make that feat possible. She continues to 
             be a distinguished leader, mentor, and friend to all of 
             her colleagues in Congress, not just the women. Although 
             we have more work to do to eliminate gender bias and 
             discrimination, I am glad to see that Congress has become 
             more representative of the United States.
               Throughout her over 35 years in Congress, Barbara has 
             remained a fearless advocate for women, working-class 
             Americans, and Federal workers across the country, a 
             steadfast protector of the environment, and a relentless 
             champion of civil rights in this country.
               Raised by Polish-American small business owners, she has 
             been a longtime defender of labor rights and a fierce 
             proponent of establishing fair and equal working 
             conditions for all Americans regardless of race, sex, or 
             disability. This cause led her to author the landmark 
             women's and worker's rights legislation, the Lilly 
             Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which I cosponsored, to guarantee 
             women equal pay for equal work.
               Being from a State that, like Maryland, has a large 
             population of Federal workers, I have worked very closely 
             with Barbara on many issues to support our Government 
             employees. From the time that we entered the House 
             together, she has always been a strong partner and 
             stalwart champion for the rights of our Nation's Federal 
             workforce, including fair pay and benefits for the 
             dedicated men and women who make our Government more 
             secure, effective, and efficient.
               Barbara is an embodiment of the democratic spirit and 
             continues to be a leader. She uses her great wit, humor, 
             and boundless energy to urge Congress to take up important 
             issues and then works with Members on both sides of the 
             aisle to resolve differences and come together to achieve 
             real solutions that help real working Americans every day. 
             This is a testament to the fact that as she became the 
             longest serving woman in the history of Congress, she has 
             never forgotten her purpose--to make America better.
               I again want to extend my aloha and my congratulations 
             to Senator Barbara Mikulski for this amazing achievement. 
             It is a pleasure to serve with you. Thank you for your 
             many years of outstanding service and genuine friendship, 
             and I wish you the best as you continue your important 
             work here in Congress.

               Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my 
             colleague and mentor, Senator Barbara Mikulski, and to 
             celebrate her legacy as the longest serving woman in 
             Congress. For over 35 years, Senator Mikulski has proudly 
             served the people of Maryland as a tireless advocate and a 
             selfless public servant. It is my privilege to honor her 
             today.
               The great-granddaughter of Polish immigrants, Senator 
             Mikulski grew up appreciating the value of hard work and 
             service. On the weekends she worked in her parents' East 
             Baltimore grocery store delivering groceries to homebound 
             elderly. It was then that Barbara developed her deep 
             passion for helping others.
               After earning her master's degree in social work from 
             the University of Maryland, Barbara started a career as a 
             social worker with Catholic Charities and Baltimore's 
             Department of Social Services. An outspoken advocate for 
             at-risk youth and the elderly, she quickly earned a 
             reputation as a fighter and was elected to the Baltimore 
             City Council in 1971. After 5 years on the city council, 
             Barbara ran for Congress.
               In 1976, Barbara began her first term representing 
             Maryland's Third Congressional District. As 1 of only 18 
             women in the House of Representatives, Barbara was a 
             member of a small but mighty group. During her 10 years in 
             the House, she gained a reputation as a fighter, and in 
             1986 the people of Maryland again chose her to represent 
             them, but this time in the Senate.
               As one of only two female Senators, and the first woman 
             elected to the Senate in her own right, Senator Mikulski 
             was met with much skepticism. While outnumbered, Barbara's 
             determination and dedication to her constituents shined 
             through. Barbara is a steadfast proponent of greater 
             access to higher education, a leader on the front of 
             women's health, and an unwavering supporter of America's 
             veterans. She is determined to stand up for those who are 
             often forgotten.
               A few weeks ago, Barbara shared a touching story that I 
             think exemplifies her character.
               When Barbara first ran for the Senate in 1986, she had 
             the opportunity to get to know Harriet Woods, who was 
             campaigning as a Democrat for the Missouri Senate seat. 
             Barbara saw the significance of having two female 
             candidates for Senate, and she was certain both of them 
             would win. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be for 
             Harriet Woods, who lost to Republican John Danforth.
               On Barbara's first day she was shown her desk on the 
             Senate floor--she opened it and saw Harry Truman's 
             autograph. She had Harry Truman's desk. While she was 
             delighted to have that desk, she knew that it really 
             belonged to the Senator from Missouri and relinquished it. 
             She said that for years she thought about that desk and 
             hoped that it would someday be returned to a Democrat from 
             Missouri.
               Twenty years later, on election night in 2006, Barbara 
             watched the election results come in from around the 
             country--and in Missouri, in particular. She said she 
             stayed up late in the night waiting for the final result. 
             Once she learned of the results from Missouri, she knew 
             that the desk that had been accidentally given to her all 
             of those years ago would finally be returned where it 
             belonged. I am so pleased to know that the Truman desk was 
             shared, if only briefly, with my friend Barbara Mikulski.
               Barbara Mikulski is a trailblazer, a role model, and an 
             advisor to the other women in the Senate. Today there are 
             17 women in the Senate, and much of that progress can be 
             attributed to Senator Mikulski's leadership.
               Mr. President, I ask that the Senate join me in 
             congratulating Senator Mikulski on this milestone and 
             thank her for her 35 years of leadership, friendship, and 
             service.

               Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, today I would like to honor 
             Senator Barbara Mikulski's amazing life and career as she 
             becomes the Senate's longest serving woman Senator. She 
             has been a role model and inspiration to women across the 
             country as she broke barriers in public life. When she 
             first came to the Senate she was one of only a handful of 
             women ever to serve in the U.S. Senate and now she is 1 of 
             17 women here on the Senate floor. Her service has made it 
             easier for girls to dream about one day being a Senator--
             or President.
               Senator Mikulski and I shared a similar experience 
             growing up: her parents, William and Christine, opened and 
             operated Willy's Market, a small grocery store in their 
             working class neighborhood in East Baltimore. My parents 
             also opened a small grocery store in Milwaukee--the first 
             of what would become the Kohl's Food Stores and then 
             Kohl's Department Stores.
               As we have already heard here on the floor, her father 
             would frequently open the store early so local 
             steelworkers could buy their lunches before their shift 
             began. He would also extend credit to help customers who 
             were having a hard time making ends meet. William 
             Mikulski's neighbors didn't go hungry with him as their 
             grocer. Barbara worked at the store, and helped deliver 
             groceries to homebound seniors in their neighborhood. She 
             got to know her neighbors well, and she understood the 
             important issues facing her community.
               Much of what we both experienced working in our family 
             stores and watching our parents work so hard to provide 
             superior service to their customers, ensuring their 
             children understood the value of hard work, treating 
             others fairly and with dignity, and giving back to the 
             community, influenced our views on customer service. Those 
             views have translated into Senator Mikulski's constituent 
             service here in the Senate.
               Barbara's enthusiasm and commitment to serving the 
             people of Maryland has resulted in too many victories to 
             mention here, but I do want to point out a few of the 
             projects we have worked on together on the Agriculture 
             Appropriations Subcommittee.
               Senator Mikulski and I have worked closely over the 
             years to protect USDA agriculture research in Beltsville, 
             MD. Beltsville is a historic and crucial part of the 
             USDA's research arm. In fact, it is the largest 
             agriculture research facility in the world and does 
             valuable work developing the next generation of crops and 
             farming methods that will feed a growing planet. We've 
             also worked together on increasing funding for the Food 
             and Drug Administration, ensuring that the food we eat and 
             medicine we rely upon is safe.
               In my work as chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations 
             Subcommittee, I have been especially thankful for the 
             times when Barbara has spoken passionately about the 
             important programs we fund through the subcommittee. She 
             has been a stalwart supporter of farmers throughout 
             Maryland and across the country, and a true friend here in 
             the Senate. It has been an honor to serve with her.

               Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, my late friend Alex Haley, 
             the author of ``Roots,'' lived his life by the motto 
             ``Find the good and praise it.'' That is an easy thing to 
             do when talking about Barbara Mikulski, a friend and 
             colleague with whom I have worked closely since I joined 
             the Senate.
               I would like to add my congratulations to those of my 
             colleagues on Senator Mikulski reaching the milestone of 
             becoming the longest serving woman in Congress. This is a 
             remarkable achievement for a remarkable woman. For over 35 
             years, that is almost 13,000 days, Barbara Mikulski has 
             dedicated herself to serving the people of Maryland and 
             representing them here in Congress.
               Although Senator Mikulski is a proud partisan, she is 
             one of the best advocates of bipartisanship. She 
             understands the need to work together, to learn from one 
             another's point of view, and to strike a deal so that each 
             side can get something of value and move forward.
               I have found that when you have Barbara Mikulski by your 
             side in a debate you always seem to win. She brings 
             passion and dedication and tenacity to every issue she 
             works on. Her love of the Senate, Congress in general, and 
             the American people is infectious.
               When Senator Mikulski and I have worked together it has 
             always been a delightful experience. Whether authorizing 
             the Teach for America Program to allow college graduates 
             to become teachers in our Nation's worst schools; passing 
             America COMPETES, where we improved our energy research 
             programs and STEM education initiatives; or working on 
             higher education where we share a passion for eliminating 
             costly and unnecessary Federal regulations, Barbara 
             Mikulski is a tireless friend and ally.
               Congratulations, Senator Mikulski. The Senate is proud 
             of you, Maryland is proud of you, and the country is proud 
             of you.

               Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, today I wish to 
             offer congratulations to my friend and colleague, Senator 
             Barbara Mikulski, on becoming the longest serving woman 
             Senator in American history.
               As Senator Mikulski has said, ``It's not only how long I 
             serve, but how well I serve.'' And she has served very 
             well. Not only does Senator Mikulski serve in the best 
             interests of the people of her native Maryland, but her 
             service continues to improve the lives of Americans from 
             coast to coast.
               This comes as no surprise for a person who began her 
             career helping at-risk children and seniors as a social 
             worker in Baltimore. Senator Mikulski's nightly commute 
             home from Washington ensures that she will not forget who 
             she works for or where she comes from. The truth is, she 
             never left.
               Her commitment and connection to her constituents 
             benefits us all. Her advocacy for access to better health 
             care, improving the quality of education, investing in 
             innovation, and protecting human dignity are not bound by 
             the borders of Maryland. Her service benefits the people 
             of Baltimore, MD, but also the people of Broken Bow, NE.
               It is an honor to serve with Senator Mikulski. I enjoy 
             her company, I respect her strength, and I admire her 
             commitment.
               Congratulations to Senator Barbara Mikulski on her 
             record-setting service. We are all the better for it.
                                                 Monday, April 16, 2012
                Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today I join my fellow 
             Senators in paying tribute to my dear colleague and friend 
             Senator Barbara Mikulski for the tremendous landmark she 
             has reached as of March 17, 2012. She is now the longest 
             serving female Member of our Congress. But the number of 
             years is inadequate as a measure or metric. More telling 
             are her monumental accomplishments and record of 
             successfully tackling tough problems and making a real 
             difference in lives. Senator Mikulski is unquestionably 
             one of the most dedicated, inspiring, and influential 
             public servants in our Nation's history.
               Her generous spirit, flair, and eloquence as a speaker 
             make her both loved and powerful as an advocate. Her 
             standard of intellect and integrity has motivated me and 
             inspired countless others. Like Senator Mikulski, I am 
             humbled and driven by the legacy of members of my family 
             who emigrated from Europe, striving for the American dream 
             with a strong work ethic and a firm belief in progress. I 
             am especially drawn to Senator Mikulski's determination to 
             fight for her constituents and her deep sense of caring. 
             She is an excellent role model for women and girls around 
             the globe--and for anyone, whether a freshman Senator such 
             as myself or a veteran legislator--devoted to a life of 
             public service.
               I am proud to work with Senator Mikulski on the 
             Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 
             joining her, for example, as a cosponsor of her Paycheck 
             Fairness Act to continue the civil rights debate that 
             started decades ago and is unfortunately still unresolved. 
             We must, once and for all, secure protections for women in 
             the workforce, reaching pay equity and ending all 
             instances of sex discrimination.
               I respect Senator Mikulski's efforts to reduce costs 
             while furthering innovation and am a strong supporter of 
             her focus on research and drug development for chronic 
             conditions, as laid out in her SPRINT Act. Her advocacy 
             for America's seniors and success leading immigration 
             reform are equally inspiring, and I am proud to be a 
             cosponsor of her Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and 
             Reform Act.
               I especially enjoyed partnering with Senator Mikulski to 
             advance the education we provide to our Nation's students. 
             We offered an amendment together in the Elementary and 
             Secondary Education Act to increase funding and research 
             to meet the unique needs of gifted and talented students.
               Special recognition is past due for Senator Mikulski, 
             who makes the time to recognize others, most recently 
             sponsoring S. Res. 310, designating 2012 as ``Year of the 
             Girl'' and congratulating the Girl Scouts for its 
             centennial.
               Senator Mikulski has been an extraordinary mentor and 
             model for countless men and women who emulate her 
             dedication and drive, her commitment and common sense. She 
             leads by her example, particularly for women who endeavor 
             to hold public office. When considering the opportunity to 
             run, they can look to the legacy she has built and the 
             path she has traveled from social worker to city council 
             member to a national figure in the Halls of Congress.
               I look forward with pleasure and pride to serving 
             alongside Senator Mikulski for years to come. I 
             congratulate her on making history and giving her 
             colleagues, fellow public servants, constituents, and the 
             American people the opportunity to engage in historymaking 
             for the good of our Nation.
                 

                     Proceedings in the House of Representatives
                                              Wednesday, March 21, 2012
               Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
             an accomplished and distinguished Member of the U.S. 
             Senate who is achieving a milestone worthy of recognition 
             in this body.
               Senator Barbara Mikulski is the longest serving woman in 
             congressional history. Before being sworn into the Senate 
             in 1986, Senator Mikulski served in this Chamber for five 
             terms. She has now served the people of Maryland for more 
             than 35 years.
               Senator Mikulski is the daughter of Polish American 
             small business owners, who taught her the meaning of hard 
             work. She attended Mount Saint Agnes College and the 
             University of Maryland, where she earned a degree in 
             social work. The inequities she observed during those 
             years are what drove her to become a voice for her 
             community. An activist, she organized community members to 
             stand up against a local plan to build a 16-lane highway 
             through neighborhoods in Baltimore. Indeed she was 
             successful.
               Her career as a government leader began in 1971, when 
             she was elected a member of Baltimore's City Council. 
             Prior to becoming the first Democratic woman sworn into 
             the Senate in 1986, she served 10 years as a 
             Representative of Maryland's Third Congressional District.
               Without a doubt, Senator Mikulski's admirable leadership 
             trajectory is reflected through the varied roles she has 
             held in Congress. She has advanced initiatives involving 
             women's reproductive rights and women's health issues. She 
             is currently a senior member of the Health, Education, 
             Labor, and Pensions Committee and chairwoman of the 
             Subcommittee on Children and Families. She is also a 
             senior member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations 
             and chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, and Science 
             Subcommittee. In my work as the House CJS Subcommittee's 
             leading Democrat, I have been grateful for the partnership 
             of my companion in the other Chamber.
               Senator Mikulski is a pioneer who has paved the way for 
             many women. Throughout her career she has served as a 
             mentor for women in congressional leadership and continues 
             to create partnerships to focus the spotlight on women.
               Her contributions go beyond the walls of Congress and 
             she continues to be an integral part of her community, 
             greeting constituents and lending a hand to empower and 
             help make a difference. She continues to fight to give 
             Maryland the resources necessary to compete in a global 
             economy.
               I invite my colleagues to join me in honoring this 
             notable woman who is making history and extend our 
             gratitude for her service and wish the senior Senator from 
             the State of Maryland good health and good times.
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