It has been the honor of a lifetime to work alongside my friend Barbara Mikulski. I will always be proud to be able to tell my four granddaughters that I served with a Senator who changed the way we think about each other in this country.
It was her leadership that brought the nation’s attention to the need for shelters for victims of domestic violence, helping countless women escape the worst prison on earth – the four walls of their own home. She helped me pass the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, and she successfully fought for every reauthorization since.
There’s a lot of talk about what the women of America owe Barbara Milkulski, but the truth of the matter is the men of America owe her even more. Because she freed men of the stereotypical notions that they were raised to believe.
When they saw the accomplishments of their daughters, when they saw their wives and their mothers take on new roles, when they saw the people they loved the most take on responsibilities that they had not seen before in their lives, it liberated them too.
I am sorry to see her go, but there are still two years left. And two years of Barbara Mikulski is like six years of any other senator. Jill and I wish her all the best.