Political Quotes

“I wish to recognize the many accomplishments of my colleague Senator Barbara Mikulski, the dean of the Senate women. When she took office during the 100th Congress in 1987, Barbara was the first Democratic woman Senator elected in her own right. There were only two women Senators at the time, Barbara and Nancy Kassebaum. Certain expectations that we could consider arcane, such as women were expected to wear skirts or dresses on the floor, were still in place. In 1993, Barbara, Nancy, and their staffs mounted a simple protest--they wore trousers on the Senate floor. ``The Senate parliamentarian had looked at the rules to see if it was okay,'' she recounted. ``So, I walk on that day and you would have thought I was walking on the moon. It caused a big stir.'' As someone who rarely wears skirts and only wears pantsuits on the Senate floor, I and many others are grateful. This simple act of commonsense defiance, if you will, in a body steeped in tradition, exemplifies Barbara's approach to getting things done and getting on with the important matters of the day. That she is a trailblazer goes without saying. Throughout her time in the Senate, Barbara has fought for equal pay for equal work. The gender pay gap costs women hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetime.…”