Sen. Barbara Mikulski Announces Retirement

By Greg Hambrick and Elizabeth Janney

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., announced Monday morning that she is retiring from the Senate, in a press conference in Fells Point.

“In 2016, my reelection would be on the horizon. I have thought long and hard about the next two years,” Mikulski said at the press conference, which WBAL streamed live.

“Who am I campaigning for? Am I campaigning for me or am I campaigning for my constituents?” Mikulski said. “I had to decide how I would spend my time—fighting for my job or fighting for their job. Do I spend my time raising money, or do I spend my time raising hell?”

Mikulski continued: “...it really became clear that I want to campaign for the people of Maryland. I want to make sure that they have a future, that they have a job. I’m here today in Fells Point to announce that I will not be seeking a sixth term in the U.S. Senate.”

The decision was not one that she made lightly, after a long career in politics that began on the Baltimore City Council in 1971. “This has been a hard decision to make,” Mikulski said. “I will have served over 30 years.”

Mikulski, 78, was the first woman to chair the powerful Appropriations Committee, according to The Washington Post.

Currently in her fifth term as a U.S. Senator, Mikulski is known as the “Dean” of the Senate women and as someone who has forged bipartisan relationships for decades that often result in compromise.

• Mikulski Named Senate Appropriations Chair
• At Democratic National Convention, Mikulski Rallies Women for Obama
• Mikulski Pushes for Passage of Wage Discrimination Act

For the remainder of her term, Mikulski said she plans to continue fighting for change.

“I want to give 120 percent of my time focused on my constituents. Because it’s never been about me. It’s always been about them,” she said.

When a reporter asked if she had one particular accomplishment of which she was most proud, Mikulski said that it was not one piece of legislation, although she cited Rosa’s law, which removed the term “retarded” from the health and education code in Maryland, a development she said originated out of a round table discussion in Anne Arundel County. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed an expansion of Rosa’s lawinto federal law, requiring all health, labor and education laws to remove the term “retarded” and refer instead to people living with “intellectual disability.”

Mikulski also mentioned her work to identify federal grants as a way to support local firefighters, whose equipment and engines could not be paid for by fundraisers alone.

“For me, it’s not any one accomplishment. It’s the joy of listening to the people, knowing what their needs are, responding to that need and trying to turn it into national policy,” Mikulski said.

• National Women’s Hall of Fame to Induct Mikulski
• Mikulski Helps Boost Maryland as Cybersecurity Center

What do you see as Senator Mikulski’s greatest accomplishment? Tell us in the comments!

Screenshot from WBAL/YouTube video of the March 2 press conference in Fells Point.