[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18093-18094]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               THE HONOR OF SERVING MY STATE AND COUNTRY

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today I received an announcement of a 
lifetime. At 4 p.m. today, the President of the United States informed 
me that I will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I want to 
thank him for this honor and to say that I am deeply, deeply touched to 
join this group on November 14 of 17 Americans to receive this award.
  The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation's highest civilian 
honor. It is presented to individuals who have especially made 
contributions to the security and national interests of the United 
States, to people who have worked for world peace, who have found cures 
for incredible diseases, and who have done cultural and other 
significant things of public or private endeavors. To join that group I 
am, indeed, so honored. For the President to do this has been something 
that I could never have anticipated.
  I have been very deeply honored to serve the people of Maryland and 
of this Nation. To the people of Maryland, I thank you. I could never 
have had the opportunity to serve in the public sphere in such a way 
had they not honored me with their confidence and trust by voting for 
me. I am so thankful for the opportunity that they have given me to 
actually serve my State and my country.
  Yes, I am the longest serving woman in the Senate. But for me, it is 
not how long I have served but how well I have tried to serve. To me, 
service is about being connected to my constituents, staying close to 
them, making sure they don't fall between the cracks, and looking out 
for their day-to-day needs--whether a Social Security check, helping a 
veteran or working on issues such as college affordability.
  For me, service has been rooted in the values I learned in my home 
and in my community. I think today of my father and mother, who worked 
so hard so that my sisters and I would get an education. They owned a 
small neighborhood grocery store. Every day at 6 in the morning, my 
father would walk across the street from our row house home and open up 
the door of his grocery store and say: Good morning. Can I help you?
  That is the way I was raised, and that is what I have carried with me 
every single day; that is: Good morning. Can I help you? But they also 
saw

[[Page 18094]]

that my sisters and I had a fantastic education. I had the opportunity 
to go to Catholic schools, and there the sisters taught us about 
leadership and service. But actually they focused on the values of our 
faith: Love your neighbor, care for the sick, worry about the poor, 
always insist that neighbors should help neighbors, and it is better to 
light one little candle than to curse the darkness.
  We were also raised to believe in the American dream. My great-
grandmother came to this country from Poland. She had little money in 
her pocket. Women didn't even have the right to vote when she arrived. 
She had a big dream in her heart. If you worked hard and played by the 
rules, life would be better for you. She never thought, coming as she 
did, that her own great-granddaughter would one day be a U.S. Senator. 
But then that is only in America, where my story has been possible.
  Only in America do we have this incredible right to speak our mind. I 
got into politics as a protester. They wanted to put a highway through 
the neighborhood in which I grew up and some other neighborhoods in the 
city. I organized the ``Hell no, we won't go'' committee and took on 
city hall.
  Do you know what is so great about this country? In others, they put 
you in jail and beat you. In this country, they sent me to the city 
council, and I beat the political bosses.
  This is an amazing country. Our Constitution, the freedoms guaranteed 
in it--the freedom of assembly, the freedom to speak, and most of all, 
the freedom to serve and to be all that you can be--has been a 
marvelous gift.
  In a few days, I will be honored by the President of the United 
States, but the real honor has always been to be here. I never dreamed 
such an honor would come my way, nor did I seek it. I am so deeply 
honored to be touched by this, and I am honored to be among the people 
who will get this award. Among those who will be honored is the dearly 
beloved Shirley Chisholm, whom I served with in the House. She was 
always unbought and unbossed. Willie Mays will be honored. He always 
brought it home and knew where home plate was. Barbra Streisand, who 
always hit the high notes, and, of course, even Yogi Berra, who shared 
my love of language, are going to be honored. Young, distinguished 
Americans like Katherine Johnson, who was one of the first African 
Americans in space, and Lee Hamilton, who worked both in Congress and 
in the private sector to bring about world peace, will be honored. What 
a distinguished group of Americans, and I will be glad to stand with 
them.
  I wish to thank President Obama for this tremendous honor. I thank 
the people of Maryland for this tremendous opportunity to serve, and I 
thank the United States of America for enabling someone like me to 
follow her dream. I hope, in getting this award, that I will continue 
to make my pledge to be of service.
  I thank the Presiding Officer and yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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