Barbara Mikulski Quotes

America is not a melting pot. It is a sizzling cauldron.

I'm so proud of Maryland's firefighters, risking their lives to protect others, but we need to protect our protectors with the best equipment training and resources

Family responsibility, yes, and always. Family bankruptcy due to the cruel rules of government, no.

I am emphatically against the privatization of Social Security. It is going to hurt millions of American women, American families and ultimately the whole country

Women would be disproportionately affected by the privatization of social security. It is one of the most important safety nets for American women in old age, or in times of disability, to insure financial income for their families.

Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make change.

Community colleges are one of Americas great social inventions a gateway to the future for first time students looking for an affordable college education, and for mid-career students looking to get ahead in the workplace.

We work on macro issues and macaroni and cheese issues. When women are in the halls of power, our national debate reflects the needs and dreams of American families.

We’re going to foment our own revolution. So I say to the women out there in America, let’s keep this fight going! Put on your lipstick, square your shoulders, suit up, and let’s fight for a new American revolution where women are paid equal pay for equal work, and let’s end wage discrimination in this century once and for all!

You cant get more for less. You get what you pay for.

The family is not only a living arrangement. It has always been a symbol of survival.

Politics is social work with power.

We, the women of the Senate, with President Obama by our side, will keep fighting - our shoulders square, our lipstick on - because you deserve equal pay for your hard work.

I thought in this country, the best social program was a job. Yet minimum wage jobs arent paying enough to keep families out of poverty

There were times, though, when the women came together on a partisan basis. [When we stopped] the privatization of Social Security during George Bush, we linked arms.

Let us get on with creating the democratic and pluralistic society that we say we are.

America must continue diplomacy, even as we continue the war, to expand the coalition of the willing to share the burden of war and to share the responsibility and the economic cost of rebuilding Iraq

I would like to be the first ambassador to the United States from the United States.

A pregnant woman facing the most dire circumstances must be able to count on her doctor to do what is medically necessary to protect her from serious physical harm.

When one gets old and they are sick, there are not many things they can count on but they should be able to count on Social Security. Our seniors' retirement should never rely on the bull of political promises or the bear of the market.

I will fight in the United States Senate this year to fund a servicing mission to Hubble by 2008, a mission that would potentially increase Hubbles power and efficiency by a factor of 10 and allow us to look back almost to the beginning of the universe.

Our seniors' retirement should never rely on the bull of political promises or the bear of the market.

College is part of the American dream. It shouldnt be part of a financial nightmare for families

When it comes to standing up for veterans, we cannot be the Republicans and Democrats, we have to be the red, white, and blue party.

In American Society today, we need to have volunteerism. I truly believe that it is the glue that will hold us together and it will be the energy that will take us into the 21st century.

The world must know that America holds to the highest standards of military conduct and human rights protections. Anything less is unacceptable

We don't have a caucus, because we differ on so many views. Some of us are pro-choice, some are not. We'll take the issue of drilling, for example: Lisa Murkowski would want to drill in ANWAR, Maria Cantwell, Barbara Boxer, and most of us would say no, and so we don't. But we get together once a month for dinner, and we have three rules: no memos, no staff, and no leaks; and we get together for friendship. In fact, we're having a dinner tonight. We just have drinks and talk about life and times.

I always said that though I was the first, I wanted to be the first of many.

What I like best in Baltimore is the people, the neighborhoods and what goes on in the neighborhoods. Each has its own stories, own diners and own quirks. It's about community. I also like everything Old Bay.

I think Paul Sarbanes and his wife Christine socialized with them [George and Heather Mitchell] more than I did, but we all hung out, or we saw each other in groups.

I would say that in some ways George Mitchell is kind of an old fashioned guy, in terms of these basic values, but he was a very modern person, encouraging, he was not only accepting but he was actually encouraging.

George Mitchell was a very good leader, and we were more than satisfied with his leadership. And I know the guys were jealous.

I held out my hand and George Mitchell said, "Like in everything else, you lead and I'll follow." And the crowd broke up, and we did a twirl or two around the dance floor. And that's like him, you know, he was there for his members, he campaigned for us, he believed in us, and he was really a good sport as well.

I think George Mitchell was good for Maryland in the sense that he helped me get elected. It doesn't get any better than that from here on.

Nothing really happened - I was elected in '86 - until 1992, and that's when the Anita Hill debacle happened.

Look how Bill Cohen and George Mitchell worked together. It's the stuff of legends. And now it's the stuff of almost ancient history, regrettably, but the way those two really worked together.

I didn't know how we were going to get jobs out of NAFTA, but I tend to be suspicious of these things, like NAFTAs and WTOs and so on.

Nancy [Kassebaum] and I worked on a women's health agenda when I first came. Women were not included in the protocols at NIH, the famous study, 'take an aspirin a day, keep the doctor, you know, a heart attack away.' It was done on ten thousand male medical students.

I think the legacy was set because the way George Mitchell was the leader enabled Tom Daschle to be the leader he is. It carried on the spirit of integrity and of reform, of also working both with committee chairmen but bringing in the newer members to be able to have a voice and a say and participate in the deliberations, to always look at a modern way of doing it.

[During] the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter [Fair Pay Act], equal pay for equal work, the women led that fight.

I think George Mitchell was the right guy for the right time, and many people will note his spectacular foreign policy accomplishments, both in and out of office. I think all would note his devotion to Maine; that was number one. The fact he did work in a bipartisan basis with Bill Cohen. And for me, he helped the first Democratic woman get elected.

On the most recent battles on health insurance reform, the women led the battle to end gender discrimination by the insurance companies [where] women paid more and got less of a benefit, and also the whole issue of prevention.

I think George Mitchell believed in promoting women.

People had so much respect for George Mitchell. They wanted to cooperate with him. I think that's a hallmark of a very good leader.

George [Mitchell] introduced the idea that we'd go on a retreat [and] to really regularize caucuses. He's the one who had I think [Tom] Daschle become the Democratic Policy Committee chairman, so I think it lived through with Tom.

I wanted to [share] what a gracious kind of guy George Mitchell was.

My own father had died of Alzheimer's. George [Mitchell] had been also, I think, deeply moved by a similar tragedy.

I knew of Senator [George] Mitchell because he was very close friends with who was soon to be the senior senator, Paul Sarbanes. Paul Sarbanes and George Mitchell were kind of pals together.

Senator [George] Mitchell is a man of many talents and he's swift on his feet, but one would not think of him as 'dancing with the stars.' And we had this great rock 'n' roll fund raiser.

Senator Paul Sarbanes really was a big help to me. He was so well known and so well respected, and he said, "Give her a chance here." And he showed me the ways of power and the corridors of power, [as did] Bob Byrd. [They] helped with [my] committee assignments.