Barbara Mikulski

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Barbara 'Babbs' Mikulski
Senior Senator from Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 6, 1987 Serving with Ben Cardin
Preceded by	Charles Mathias, Jr.
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2011)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Paul Sarbanes
Succeeded by	Ben Cardin
Born	July 20, 1936 (1936-07-20) (age 71) Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	None
Alma mater	Mount Saint Agnes College
Religion	Roman Catholic

Barbara Ann Mikulski (born July 20, 1936) is an American politician of the Democratic Party, and the senior Senator from the state of Maryland. She is Maryland's first female senator. She is currently the most senior female Senator, having served since 1987. She received 1,504,691 votes in her 2004 reelection campaign, the largest number of votes to date for a candidate in Maryland.

[edit] Early life and activism

Born as the great-granddaughter of Polish immigrants who owned a local bakery, Barbara is the oldest of three daughters of Christine Kutz and William Mikulski.^[1] She was born and raised in historic and ethnically diverse East Baltimore. During her high school years at the Institute of Notre Dame, she worked in her parents' grocery store, delivering groceries to seniors in her neighborhood who were unable to leave their homes.

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

Mikulski received her first national attention in 1970 as a result of a conference at Catholic University regarding “Ethnic Americans” convened by Msgr. Geno Baroni. Described as a vibrant, ringing declaration on behalf of the white working class and widely reprinted later, her message became one of the major documents of the “ethnic movement”.

"America is not a melting pot," Mikulski said. "It is a sizzling cauldron for the ethnic American who feels that he has been politically courted and legally extorted by both government and private enterprise. The ethnic American is sick of being stereotyped as a racist and dullard by phony white liberals, pseudo black militants and patronizing bureaucrats. He pays the bill for every major government program and gets nothing or little in the way of return. Tricked by the political rhetoric of the illusionary funding for black-oriented social programs, he turns his anger to race—when he himself is the victim of class prejudice."

"[He] has worked hard all his life to become a 'good American;' he and his sons have fought on every battlefield—then he is made fun of because he likes the flag. The ethnic American is overtaxed and underserved at every level of government. He does not have fancy lawyers or expensive lobbyists getting him tax breaks on his income. Being a home owner, he shoulders the rising property taxes—the major revenue source for the municipalities in which he lives. Yet he enjoys very little from these unfair and burden- some levies."

... "[T]he ethnic American also feels unappreciated for the contribution he makes to society. He resents the way the working class is looked down upon. In many instances he is treated like the machine he operates or the pencil he pushes. He is tired of being treated like an object of production. The public and private institutions have made him frustrated by their lack of response to his needs. At present he feels powerless in his daily dealings with and efforts to change them. Unfortunately, because of old prejudices and new fears, anger is generated against other minority groups rather than those who have power. What is needed is an alliance of white and black, white collar, blue collar and no collar based on mutual need, interdependence and respect, an alliance to develop the strategy for new kinds of community organization and political participation."^[2]

Mikulski's activism led to a seat on the Baltimore City Council in 1971.

[edit] Congressional career

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

In 1974 she ran for the U.S. Senate for the first time, but was defeated by the Republican incumbent, Charles Mathias, Jr. It turned out to be the only time that Mikulski ever lost an election.

In 1976, she won the Democratic nomination for the 3rd Congressional District of Maryland after the incumbent, Paul Sarbanes, made a successful run for the Senate. She was easily elected in November, winning 76% of the vote. She was re-elected four more times, never facing substantive opposition in the heavily Democratic district.

In 1986 Mikulski announced her retirement from politics. At the time of this announcement, it was expected that then-Governor Harry Hughes would run for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Mathias. However, Hughes became caught up in the aftermath of the Maryland savings and loan crisis. He lost popularity with voters, opening the door for Mikulski's bid for the Senate. During the campaign, her opponent, Linda Chavez, made comments that Mikulski's supporters interpreted as an attempt to draw attention to the issue of Mikulski's sexual orientation. Mikulski never directly responded to the issue and eventually won the race with 61% of the vote [1]. She was the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband). Mikulski is one of 11 senators to vote against both the 1991 and 2002 resolutions authorizing the use of force in Iraq^[3][4].

Mikulski, popularly known as "Senator Barb," was re-elected with large majorities in 1992, 1998 and 2004.

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

[edit] Committee assignments

As of April 2007, Mikulski serves on the following Senate committees:

• Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
  • Chairwoman of the Retirement and Aging Subcommittee.
  • Member of the Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee.
• Member of the Appropriations Committee.
  • Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee.
  • Member of the Defense Subcommittee.
  • Member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee.
  • Member of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
  • Member of the Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
  • Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee.
• Member of the Select Committee On Intelligence.

[edit] Senate action

Senator Mikulski has taken a strong stance against predatory lending, even going so far as to take personal action against Fairbanks Capital, which is claimed to have illegally foreclosed on over 100 homes in Maryland.^{[citation needed]} Senator Mikulski is also a strong supporter of NASA and expanding exploration of space.

In 2007, Mikulski endorsed her colleague, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) for the President of the United States; Mikulski noted the leadership qualities within Clinton and cited her desire to break the "glass ceiling" by electing the first woman President.

[edit] Election history

[edit] References

1. ^ rootsweb.com
2. ^ O’Rourke, Lawrence “GENO: The Life and Mission of Geno Baroni”, Paulist Press. (1991), p 87.
3. ^ U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote
4. ^ U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Barbara Mikulski

• Official U.S. Senate biography of Senator Mikulski

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues

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