Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.)

U.S. Senator (since January 1987)

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Why She Matters

Mikulski, a four-term senator from Maryland, began her career in politics as a community organizer when she successfully led an effort to stop the construction of a highway through her childhood neighborhood in Baltimore.

Mikulski, known for being feisty and tenacious, has established a reputation as a trailblazer. She is the first woman elected to both houses of Congress and the first woman elected to the Senate whose husband had not previously served in high office. Her election as the Senate Democratic Conference secretary also made her the first woman to serve in a Senate leadership position. She is considered the dean of the female senators, mentoring her fellow female lawmakers and encouraging more women to run for public office.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: U.S. House of Representatives (1977-1986); Baltimore City Council (1971-1976); Social worker, Baltimore Department of Social Services (1965-70)
Birthday: July 20, 1936
Hometown: East Baltimore, Md.
Alma Mater: BA, Saint Agnes College (Baltimore) (1958); master's in Social Work, University of Marlyand (1965)
Spouse: Single
Religion: Catholic
Committees: Senate Health Education Labor and Pension; Senate Appropriatons Committee; Senate Select Intelligence Committee
DC Office: 503 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510, 202/224-4654

State Offices: Baltimore (410)962-4510; Annapolis (410)263-1805; Greenbelt (301)345-7573; Hagerstown (301)797-2826; Salisbury (410) 546-7711
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Path to Power

Mikulski, the daughter of a Polish-American grocer, was raised in East Baltimore. She graduated in 1958 from St. Agnes College in Baltimore. She earned a master's in social work from the University of Maryland in 1965 and worked as a social worker with the state Department of Social Services, helping disadvantaged children and spreading information about Medicare to seniors.

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The Issues

The four-term senator has called herself a "definite Democrat," and her voting record matches that description. The progressive Americans for Democratic Action awarded Mikulski a 90 percent score in its 2008 voting record rankings.She has voted with her party 100 percent of the time in the current Congress.

Mikulski supports affirmative action and abortion rights, but has split from her party on several issues. In 1996, she voted with Republicans on welfare reform and a bill to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

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Women's Health

A longtime champion of women's health issues, Mikulski authored the 1992 "Mammography Quality Standards Act," which set federal standards for doctors and facilities that conduct mammograms. She has continued to seek even stricter training for doctors who read mammograms. In 1991, she established the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Detection Program, which provides access to cancer screenings for low-income women. She also partnered with former Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) to cosponsor a bill allowing mammograms and pap smears to be covered by Medicaid.

Mikulski has also fought to make research on women's health issues a federal priority. She worked to ensure women are included in clinical studies and helped establish women's health advocacy branches in the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. Her efforts have led to a 700 percent increase in research funding for breast cancer since 1990 and increased funding for the FDA's Office of Women's Health.

Mikulski has a strong record of protecting reproductive rights. She is endorsed by EMILY's list, a powerful pro-abortion rights political action committee, and received a 100 percent rating from "NARAL Pro-Choice America" in 2008. She has also voted to include contraceptive coverage in federal employee benefit plans and to increase funding and access to family-planning services.

Space Programs

As chair of the Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce Justice and Science, Mikulski has focused on securing funding for NASA and other space programs. She is a vocal advocate for increased space exploration, and supports the Hubble space telescope program, which provides about 1,000 jobs in her home state, and efforts to launch a mission to Pluto.

The Economy

Mikulski voted for President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package. She introduced an amendment to create a tax break for some new car buyers that was adopted in the final version of the bill. Mikulski said her amendment would help struggling auto manufacturers, a force in the Maryland economy, by making it easier for consumers to buy new cars.

"Everyone wants to save auto manufacturers, but no matter how much government aid we give to the Big Three automakers, they can't survive if consumers don't start buying ... [My proposal] lends a helping hand to struggling families who need to buy a car to get to work and take their kids to school," she said.

Health-Care Reform

Mikulski supports legislation that contains a strong public option that is available from day one.

The Network

Mikulski endorsed then- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign and served as a chairwoman of Clinton's failed presidential campaign. She said the former first lady's work on women's rights and the opportunity to break "the last barrier for women in public life" by electing the country's first female president were the main reasons she threw her support to Clinton.

Now Maryland's senior senator, Mikulski was one of the first candidates elected to office with the help of EMILY's List, a powerful political action committee that supports pro-abortion rights women for public office. The organization raised more than $150,000 for Mikulski's 1986 Senate campaign.

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