Senate Proceeding on Sep 10th, 2009 :: 2:29:05 to 2:44:35
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2:29:03 to 2:29:24( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: friend and colle at his desk over there wit flowers, "rest in peace, dear ted," and just know that a of us will try to carry on and who feelly with some of the things that you taught us and helped us to understand we can do it better than we have in the past. madam presi

2:29:05 to 2:44:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Barbara Mikulski

2:29:25 to 2:29:45( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: floor. ms. mikulski: madam president? madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: madam good morning. i wish to speak about senator ted kennedy. ordinarily i would have been proud to be on my feet to give such a testimonial. but as many ofy colleagues

2:29:46 to 2:30:08( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: know, i had a fall a few weeks ago coming out of church and ready to be at my duty station but can't quite stand to be 4 '11" and give these remarks. but i do want to species and speep speak from my heart, speeblg from my memory, and

2:30:09 to 2:30:29( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: speak with my affection. i've known ted kennedy a very long time. he's been my friend, my pal, my comrade in arms. i've enjoyed everything from working with him on big policy issues to selling off of the coast -- to sailing off the coast of the hyannis.

2:30:30 to 2:30:50( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: i have bn with him in his hideaway while we strategized ond how to move an agenda of empowerment and i've danlsed at his famous birthday parties. we've had a good time together, and i rember one of the first parties was a theme from the 60's, and i came with a bigwig

2:30:51 to 2:31:12( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: looking like -- hoping i'd look like jackie kennedy. ted, a chunky red butler, said, because he and vicky were comg as rett butler and scarlet o'ra, while we jitterbugged, i said, do you think i looked like jackie? he said, well, nice try. at the last party we went to it

2:31:13 to 2:31:33( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: was a movie theme and i came with those big beau faints. it was to be a movie theme. i looked like something out of "hair spray." i won't tell you his comments but again he said, "your hair gets bigge every one. i can't wait until my 80'sth." well, unfortunately, that 80th

2:31:34 to 2:31:54( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: won't be heempt but we will always carry with us the joy of the friendship with ted kennedy. it is with a heavy heart that i stand here to give this salute to him. but know that i met him long -- and knew him as a young social worker. i testified before the committee

2:31:55 to 2:32:16( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: as a young social worker to talk about a brand-new program called medicare, about what was working, what was lessons learned. once again from the ground, what was happening in the streets and neighborhoods to help people get the medical and social services they needed. he listened. he was intent and asked me many questions.

2:32:17 to 2:32:38( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: little did i knowhat i would join him in the united states senate to fight for medicare, to fight for health care, to fight for those senior citizens. like so many others in my generation, i was inspired by the kennedys for a life in public service. i chose the field of social work and then went into politics

2:32:39 to 2:32:59( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: because work with power. as a congresswoman, i was on the energy and commerce committee that was a counterpart to what ted was doing here in the senate. we we got to know each other at conferences working together. those were the great days of bipartisanship. as we would come in from the

2:33:00 to 2:33:20( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: energy and commerce committee, there would be ted kennedy and jake javits working to make sure we could pass good legislation. and i saw there that good legislation came from good ideas that could be pursued with good humor and an atmosphere of civility. because we got to know each

2:33:21 to 2:33:41( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: other, i admired his verve, his tenacity and he admired me because i could really dish it out with the best of them as well. when he ran for president in 1980, he asked me to nominate him at the democratic convention. i was thrilled and honored to do so. now, rember the drama of that. jimmy carter was an incumbent

2:33:42 to 2:34:03( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: president. ted kennedy was an upstart. i backed kennedy. well, it didn't work out and ted called me and said, i'm withdrawing from the race. we're going to support president carter 100 -- 100%. but though you're not going to nominate me for president, i hope that you will still

2:34:04 to 2:34:24( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: introduce me to the convention. i said, absolutely, but one day i hope to be able to nominate you. that night, as i took the podium podium, it was the famous speech that everyone rembers that ted kennedy gave about the work going on, the cause enduring, the hope still living and the

2:34:25 to 2:34:45( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: dream never dying. what was amazing about that speech was that -- was the way ted kennedy used not a moment in his life that some would have viewed as a defeat, but he used it as a time to redefine himself in public service and to claim the mantle of being one of the best senators that america has

2:34:46 to 2:35:08( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: ever seen. and he used that speech not as a retreat but as a reaffirmation and a recommitment of what he would do. that night i did introduce himself, and while all of my colleagues were in boston -- and i watched the funeral from my rehabilitation room -- mourning

2:35:09 to 2:35:29( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: could not join with my colleagues there, i had that speech. and i read it then, and as i looked at it, i realized that i could give it again and again. because when i took the floor of the 1980 convention, i first said, i'm not here for barbara mikulski. i'm here for all those people who would like to say what they knew about teddy kennedy.

2:35:30 to 2:35:50( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: and i'm going to say today some of those words then that i said -- words that i said then that would be appropriate for now. i said, i'm here in behalf of a lot of people who want to be here. the old woman desperately trying to use her social security check to pay for food and medicine and yet frightened of her energy bills. students whose tuition has gone

2:35:51 to 2:36:11( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: up so much they're going to have to work two jobs just to stay in school. i spoke of small business people trying to just keep their doors open. and the returning war vet who was unemployed and that while his brother was signg up for a tour of duty, he was standing in the unemployment line.

2:36:12 to 2:36:32( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: iaid that day after day, edward kennedy spoke of those people, that he had been talking about the economy, energy, and jobs long before many others. i talked about how edward kennedy said that when black freedom writers were being attacked and beaten, he was the one who fought for racial justice and helped to get the

2:36:33 to 2:36:53( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: voting rights act through. i said that as a young social worker working in the neighborhoods during the dark nixon years and wondering how old people were going to get the services they needed, ted kennedy introduced the first nutrition program for the elderly, a program that guaranteed senior citizens at least one hot meal a day.

2:36:54 to 2:37:15( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: it was ted kennedy, i said, who won the passage of programs like neighborhood health centers, fought the war on cancer, led the fight to save nurses' scholarships, and save the he did. in his fight for legislation, he was always there. in my fight to help battered women, senator kennedy w one of the first to be a strong and

2:37:16 to 2:37:37( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: active ally. he said he knew very early on that all addition that too many work for unequal pay for their work. i said then and i say again, ted kennedy wanted to change social security to make it fairer for women and to extend the equal

2:37:38 to 2:37:58( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: rights amendment so we would be included in the constitution. it was amazing the issues he fought for then and he fought for -- continued to fight for all of his life. in the time i knew him, at that time i knew him not just as a news clip. i found him to be truly gallant in public and private, caring

2:37:59 to 2:38:20( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: about others and modest about himself,lways about grace, courage, and valor. when i came to the senate, i was the only democratic woman and he was there for me. but i saw how he was there for so many other people. in 2004, when we were in boston,

2:38:21 to 2:38:41( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: ted kennedy and i had lunch in the north end. it was one of our favorite things to get together for a meal and for conversation. what i realized then, as we enjoyed ourselves with big bowls of pop -- big plates of antipast a, always vowing that we would eat more of the salad and less

2:38:42 to 2:39:02( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: of the we got up and left and walked around the north end, that his best ideas came from the people. it was his passion for people. i knew that he represented those brainy people i cambridge who went to harvard and often came up with -- at the kennedy school with those great ideas.

2:39:03 to 2:39:23( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: but as i walked around the neighborhoods with him, i saw that he actually listened to people, trailed by a staff person or so actually taking notes. as we walked down the street, there was the man who came up to talked about his mother's problem with social security. take it down, he said, let's see

2:39:24 to 2:39:44( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: what we could do. walk down a few feet more, "oh, my grandson wants to go to west point. how do i aly?" he said, he's going to love it and he's going to love my process. let's see how we can do that. a few feet on down, the small business guy said, keep on fighting, ted.

2:39:45 to 2:40:06( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: you know, i -- you know i can't buy this health insurance. can i call you? always call me, he said. and don't forget, by the way, call barbara, t barbara saultus. and all of u kennedy had an outstanding staff, whether it was the staff in massachusetts who took of casework and projects and day-to-day needs and the people -- and the staff in washington who helped ted

2:40:07 to 2:40:28( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: kennedy take the ideas that came from the people, their day-to-day struggles and converted it into national policy. that's what it was: people, people, people. when i came to the senate was only nancy kassebaum and i. we were the only two women.

2:40:29 to 2:40:49( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: he was a great friend, and along with senator sarbanes, were people i called my gallahads. people who helped me get on the right committee, showed me the inner workings of the senate. ted was determined that i would be on his committee on health and education to get the ideas passed, but he also was determined i would get on appropriations to make sure we

2:40:50 to 2:41:10( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: put those ideas into the federal checkbook. he really was my advocate. one of the things that was clear that he was, a champion for women. he was a champion for this woman woman, to help me get on those committees, and during those

2:41:11 to 2:41:31( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: sometimes rough days getting started, he would take me to la coline with senator dodd, and while he d a little vodka so no one would know he had a little vodka, he was giving me shooters of chardonnay to boost my spirits. and h and chris would give me a pep talk, and i felt like it "rocky."

2:41:32 to 2:41:52( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: they would say, get out there, fight, don't let it get you down down, pick yourself up. and i felt like i was going to spit in the bucket and get back on the floor. he lifted my spirits just like he lifted the spirits of so many. but the story that i want to conclude with, because there's so many things we worked on together, was when i went to him

2:41:53 to 2:42:13( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: and said this. ted, did you know that women are not included in the protocols at n.i.h.? he said, what do you mean? i said, all of the research that we do, women are not included in the protocols. they just finished a famous study saying take an aspirin a day, keep a heart attack away,

2:42:14 to 2:42:35( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: and it included 10,000 male medical students and not one woman. i said, i want to change that. and teaming up with nancy and t schroeder and olympia snowe and connie morella, who were in the house, he helped me create the office of women's health at n.i.h. so that women would always be included in those protocols.

2:42:36 to 2:42:57( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: then we spoke out and said, ted, the health care research for breast ccer is low. that's why they're racing for the cure. he helped us, working with tom harharkin, to boost the mean for research, to also get mammogram quality standards through so that you would get your mammograms and also for them to be safe. but one of the most profound

2:42:58 to 2:43:21( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: things that we did, again, working on a bipartisan basis, dr. bernadine healy was head of n.i.h. and she wanted to do a study on the consequences of hormone therapy. ted and i and tom did not believe n.i.h. and i believe that today,

2:43:22 to 2:43:42( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: but we made sure we put money in and a legislative framework in place so that dr. healy could institute the famous hormone therapy study. well, let me tell you the consequences of it. that study has changed medical practice. that study has resulted in breast cancer rates going down

2:43:43 to 2:44:03( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: 15%. so when you say, what did teddy kennedy do to help women? what did teddy kennedy do to work with barbara mikulski? tell them we worked together and we worked to ange the -- we saved the lives of women, 1 million at a time. this is my final salute to senator kennedy on the floor but

2:44:04 to 2:44:25( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: i will always salute him every day in the united states senate to make sure we continue what they said about what -- how the dream will continue on. i ended my speech at the democratic convention in 1980 when i said this, and i end my remarks here today by saying

2:44:26 to 2:44:35( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Mikulski: this: "edward kennedy has kept his faith with the american people. he hasn't waited for a crisis to emerge or a constituency to develop. he always