Barbara Mikulski

Barbara Ann Mikulski (born July 20, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party, serving since 1987. Mikulski, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, is the longest-serving woman in the history of the United States Congress.

Raised in the Highlandtown neighborhood of East Baltimore, Mikulski attended Mount Saint Agnes College and the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Originally a social worker and community organizer, she was elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1971 after delivering a highly publicized address on the "ethnic movement" in America. She was elected to the federal House of Representatives in 1976, and in 1986 she became the first woman elected to the United States Senate from Maryland.

From the death of Senator Daniel Inouye in December 2012 until 2015, Mikulski chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, the first woman and first Marylander to hold the position. She is now the ranking minority member. She also serves on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence.