Boxer Statement on Senator Barbara Mikulski

Statement

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) issued the following statement today after Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) announced that she will not seek reelection in 2016:

"Senator Mikulski has never been satisfied just making history herself -- she wanted to blaze a trail wide enough for all of us to follow. She has knocked down barriers one by one: the first woman ever elected to the Senate in her own right, the first woman to serve in both chambers, the longest serving woman in the Senate, the longest serving woman in Congress, the first woman to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"I will never forget the encouragement she gave me when I first considered running for Senate. Every woman in the Senate has stories of Senator Mikulski reaching out to us, mentoring us and helping us along the way.

"The Senate used to be a lonely place for women, but Senator Mikulski changed that. For the women of the Senate, she will always be our Dean -- the woman who opened up the doors of the Senate wide enough to let the women of America walk in.

"The people of Maryland have been lucky to have such a champion -- a 4' 11'' fighter for the middle class, for women, for families, for seniors, for veterans. As Americans, we are all fortunate that we will have her in the Senate for the next two years, fighting for equal pay for equal work, for better child care, for jobs and for health care for all our families.

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