Jumpstart Our Business STARTUPS Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam President, I associate myself with the remarks of my colleague, the Senator from New Jersey.

It is with great admiration that I rise today to join all of my colleagues who have spoken before me and who will continue to speak honoring the Senator from Maryland, Barbara Mikulski, as the longest serving woman in the history of the Congress.

It has been such an honor to serve with Senator Mikulski. In my 3 years in the Senate, she has quickly become a dear friend and an invaluable mentor, as she has been for all of the other female colleagues as the dean of women Senators.

It wasn't until 1932 that Hattie Caraway became the first woman ever elected to the Senate, and it wasn't until a half century later in 1986 that, against all odds, Barbara Mikulski became the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate. That is right. When she arrived in the Senate, she was just one of two women serving in this body. Now the longest serving woman in congressional history, Senator Mikulski is showing what is possible when you ignore conventional wisdom, never stop fighting for what is right, and honor our commitment to families who elect us every single day.

One of her hallmark battles has been the fight for equal pay for work for women. This is not only an issue of equality and justice but an economic imperative, because as we stand here today, with more dual income households than ever, women only make 78 cents on the dollar compared to men. For women of color, the disparity is even greater, African-American women earning 62 cents on the dollar, and Latinas 53 cents on the dollar. I know Senator Mikulski won't give up until we correct this outrageous injustice, and I am honored to be fighting alongside her.

Senator Mikulski has also led the fight to strengthen our laws against domestic violence, and open access to health screenings and treatment that saves women's lives. Close to my heart, she was among the first to stand up to insurance companies that said that being a woman was a preexisting condition. You can always count on Senator Mikulski to lead the charge in drawing a line in the sand in the Senate when it comes to protecting women's health and women's right to choose. We saw it yet again when she stood up to the dangerous overreach of the Blunt amendment that would have denied women of this country the ability to choose which medications to take and leave that decision to their boss.

She embodies the words of Eleanor Roosevelt:

The battle for individual rights of women is one of long standing and none of us should countenance anything that undermines it.

It is that spirit--making your voice heard, never backing down in the face of injustice--that has made Senator Mikulski one of the strongest voices we have for women in this country and women around the world. Every single day she is paving the way for more women leaders in America by showing the young women and girls of this country that women's voices matter and are needed in our public debate.

I close by expressing my personal debt of gratitude to her for her vision, her leadership, and her pioneering spirit. I simply could not imagine working in this body without her leadership. She has taught me so much in such a short period of time. And, as importantly, she has fostered an unbreakable bipartisan spirit among our colleagues that has resulted in important victories for the American public.

Thank you, Senator Mikulski, and congratulations on your historic achievement. It is an honor to serve with you, and I hope to continue to serve with you for many years to come.

I yield the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source