senator and the longest serving woman in the history of the united states congress, senator barbara mikulski. senator? >> good evening, everybody. welcome to fort mchenry, our national historic shrine. isn't this a great evening to make sure that the united states of america will always be the home of the brave and the land of the free, no matter who comes at us, any time, anywhere, any place in the world. [ applause ] during the battle of 1812, we know that we took on one of the most powerful nations in the world, the british. we stood tall and we stood strong and we beat them back at the battle of north point. after 25 hours of bombardment, we said we beat them back here and the famous battle of fort mchenry. scott key watched this and, of course, wrote his famous ballad that became our national anthem. fort mchenry has seen history and it has made history. people have passed this fort on the way to greatness. a young slave sailed up the bay by the name of frederick douglas. he sailed past fort mchenry and its great flag and sailed into history to be one of our greatest abolitionists. a yo

war itself, we celebrate the peace that followed and the extraordinary friendship which senator mikulski outlined now when blossomed from the piece. i was proud to see the pipes and drups alongside the president's own just now. i'm proud that hmr is alongside ships of the u.s. navy not far from here. two centuries on, we count each other as indins pennsylvaniaable allies. an unparalleled special relationship which goes seriously deep. shared culture, trade and investment, shared fundamental values reaffirmed at the nato summit at the end of last week in south waelz where the president was there with 60 other heads of government, 70 foreign ministers and defense ministers. an extraordinary moment. this fort preserved by america's national park service is hallowed ground. i believe it will not only endure but continue to reach new heights in the years, decades and centuries ahead. thank you for the privilege of being with you this evening to celebrate this great occasion. [ applause ] >> senator, ambassador, i think you very much. the united states marine band will perform my country 'tis

>> thank you, chairman mikulski, senator she will business you have my prepared statement. let me just mention a couple of things in my five minutes. first, we all agree that the thing necessary to -- that the key priority is ensuring the safety of the american puchbl i agree with chairman mckulski that first and foremost that means fighting the disease at its epicenter. let me mention a couple of things about screening we are doing with regard to passengers who may come to the united states from the three affected countries. first of all, we have the authority to issue do not board orders to air passengers who may seek to travel here from the three affected countries. we have, in fact, used that authority on occasion to prevent people from leaving the three affected countries to come to the united states. we have, in fact, used that authority already if we have reason to believe the person might be infected with the virus. the second thing i would like to mention is that in the affected countries with our assistance and advice, they have put in place screening to screen ou

>> thank you, chairman mikulski, senator she will business you have my prepared statement. let me just mention a couple of things in my five minutes. first, we all agree that the thing necessary to -- that the key priority is ensuring the safety of the american puchbl i agree with chairman mckulski that first and foremost that means fighting the disease at its epicenter. let me mention a couple of things about screening we are doing with regard to passengers who may come to the united states from the three affected countries. first of all, we have the authority to issue do not board orders to air passengers who may seek to travel here from the three affected countries. we have, in fact, used that authority on occasion to prevent people from leaving the three affected countries to come to the united states. we have, in fact, used that authority already if we have reason to believe the person might be infected with the virus. the second thing i would like to mention is that in the affected countries with our assistance and advice, they have put in place screening to screen ou

i served at that time with one woman, barbara mikulski. i have seen this institution change, for a lot of reasons. one reason has changed for the good is because of women. it has changed. women think differently than men, and i'm so impressed with the women i have in my caucus, that i wanted to reach out to them because they represent what america is all about. [indiscernible] >> i've said that many times since the election. this is not get even time. i do not intend to run the democratic caucus like the republican caucus has been run. i'm not going to do that. for example, i just told amy klobuchar, we have a lot of bills that are bipartisan bills. she is going to get me a list of those and we're going to sit down and see if we can get the republicans to agree that they want to pass bipartisan bills. we want to legislate. we are not forestalling. we want to move on to the next congress with a record of accomplishment. >> can i ask why you wanted to be part of the democratic leadership, and what message you believe voters were sending? >>

much,nk you very chairwoman mikulski. i really appreciate you doing your tremendous leadership of this committee as well. heardre all of us have concerns from our constituents about how ebola could impact them and what we're doing to keep our disease and communities safe. so today really is an important ourrtunity to make sure response efforts are on track and we're doing everything we can to put an end to this outbreak. i want to thank all of our for alls for coming and the people in your agencies. before i begin, i would like to unanimous consent concerning outbreak be entered into the record as well. i want to just mention today that i am really proud that my home state of washington is really a global leader in the public health sphere. in the seattle area alone, which have over 40 public health are workings that to combat ebola. gatesnd melinda foundation, i had a chance to talk with some of the folks here. before i came back we all owe them a great deal of gratitude for what they are doing. they've contributed a lot

harkin, mikulski and burr. and i urge my colleagues tomorrow afternoon to vote yes on ending debate on cloture for the child care development block grant. i yield the floor, mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. ms. landrieu: mr. president, i've been on the floor now for a couple of hours urging our colleagues to take heed of the clear -- one of the clear messages from this election. people all over the country spoke and spoke clearly and loudly to say let's get to work, let's work together, let's stop the gridlock and let's find common ground to move our country forward. so two hours ago i came to the floor to speak about one of the most important pieces of legislation, the keystone pipeline. as chair of the energy committee in the senate i've had the great privilege of working in a bipartisan manner with many members of -- all the members, in fact, of the republican caucus on this bill, led by senator hoeven. i'm the lead sponsor on the democratic side, with a large group of my col

she was recently surpassed by barbara mikulski of maryland. she not only had longevity. she was very influential in terms of veterans affairs. prior to her experience in the house, she also had volunteered for the red cross. she had become an advocate for servicemen returning from world war i. when republicans in the 1940's briefly regained the majority in the 80th congress, she becomes one of the very first women to chair a major congressional committee. she chairs the veteran affairs committee in the 80th congress and again in the 83rd congress when the control flip-flopped back and forth. she was a republican. her experience, and you see a couple of pictures. in this one, she is having a ofio date with mary norton new jersey. this is in 1926. and these two really become in many respects the deans of women in congress for several decades. a democrat richie came up to politics i jersey city, new jersey. nher mentor was frank "i am a law" hague. he promoted her career. as she comes into the house in 1925, the same year as edith norris rogers. the interesting thing about

barbara mikulski passed many appropriations bills out of the appropriations committee. harry reid did not allow a vote on one of those on the united states senate. there have been 2,000 amendments introduced last year, 1,000 from democrats and 1,000 from republicans there have been 20 votes. mark begich in alaska, been in the senate in six years, never in six years had a roll call vote on an amendment with his name on it on the floor of the united states senate. no democrat senator elected in 2012, two years ago, none of them, elizabeth warren, has not had a single vote on a single amendment on the floor of the united states senate with her name on it. so, these are senators who offered hundreds and hundreds of amendments and harry reid says, no. i think it was hill or "roll call" yesterday says he tied the senate in knots to protect his members from taking votes on anything of substance. so when the president comes out and says, it is my policies that are on the ballot, and they vote with me 98 or 97 or 99% of the time, that to me make this is a referendum much more on

mikulski, no. >> murray, no. >> read from rhode island. >> mr. reed of rhode island, no. mr.ervings, no. >> misstep and now, no. >> wellstone, he gave his life surely thereafter. and widen. he is still here. >> mr. wellstone, no. >> mr. wyden, no. >> 23. immortal 23. our founders who were so proud, thank you for your service. a great sacrifice. you served your country well. >> as have you, sir. >> thank you, thank you, thank you. >> the late senator robert byrd meeting with and talking to the late iraq war veteran and peace activist tomas young. it is from the film "body of war" that was codirected by our guest phil donahue. what a film. >> yeah. it was a chapter of our lives. none of us who worked on this film have been that close to injury andlitating it was a spiritual experience you will never forget. difficulte a very section of "body of war does grow showing tomas young's mother kathy smith helping him insert a catheter. >> i'm going to lift up and you're going to set that under me. quick it is hard to do from this angle. can you help me, mom? now in this bag, you're go

. >> chairwoman mikulski and distinct members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the department of defense's role in the united states is comprehensive ebola efforts, which is a national security priority and response to a global threat. to the united states military's unique capabilities, the department has been called upon to provide interim solutions that will allow other departments and agencies the time necessary to expand and a ploy their own capabilities. military efforts are also galvanizing a more robust and courtney international effort, which is essential to contain the threat and reduce human suffering. before dressing the specific elements of it the ods ebola response efforts, i would like to share my observations of of the evolving crisis and are increasing response. after recently visiting liberia, i was left with a number of overarching impressions that helped shape the department's role. first, our government has deployed a top-notch team experienced in dealing with disasters and humanitarian assistance. second, the liberian govern

agencies to defend that budget before the full senate appropriations committee chaired by senator mikulski from maryland. and it is divided, again, into multiple agencies. so the nih, and i just mentioned our work with vaccines and therapeutics. our share of that was $238 million. the cdc which has a much broader role in surveillance and trying to get the hospitals up, they had a much larger -- the defense department was smaller, they moved money around. the department of homeland security had some and others had some. it was a combination of multiple agencies, each of which had a line item request. >> now that the estimates for the potential number infected, loss of life, and financial burden have been revised downwards by the world bank, will the response effort from naiad decrease as well and is this a wise decision in trying to get the united states prepared for any type of a biological outbreak? >> this gets back to what i had said during my former presentation that just because numbers are going down in a particular country is no reason to think we have won this battle. so we have no

i know to senator mcconnell, mikulski, shelby, the appropriators over there that i know are serious aboutreturning to the day when those bills can be passed, the job can be accomplished and not done by cr. the dust will begin to settle. what harry reid's attitude is now coming in off of this very bad night, that the democrats had. quickly, because i want to involve the audience in this, we will see at the next two years, the message of last night is translated by new members and members coming back from the trenches. this is a time to fight the president, this is the time to repeal obamacare, repeal obamacare. we have serious issues that need to be addressed. the appropriations process, certainly. you had issues that will seriously affect the economy. can tax reform be addressed? steve and i are involved -- i chair a board called center forward. we try to bring ourselves together to bring senate members across the aisle, house numbers across the aisle, together over issues, specific topics to try to show what kind of give and take is going on. i hope we see more of that. >> on the questio

withng a turf battle barbara -- with barbara mikulski, the maryland democrat who currently chairs the powerful spending panel. some democratic insiders predict barbara mikulski could defeat patrick leahy in a one-on-one race in the secret balloting. that from "politico" this morning about what could happen in the 114th congress as republicans take control, and democrats who are now chairman of committees will become the top ranking on each of these committees. also, speaking of security, this from "the hill." nancy pelosi, the minority leader for democrats, lending advice for caucus ahead of the committee leadership elections. nancy said monday that security should not be the deciding factor. in a letter, she once again endorsed fellow california -- for theive ranking spot for the energy and commerce committee in the next congress. john from maryland, a republican. good morning. caller: i just want to remind people that used -- that this used to be armistice day. it was the cease-fire stopping hostility for the first world war. they actually did not consider if the ending of the war,

barbara mikulski past many, harry reid not allow a vote on one of those. they have been 2000 amendments introduced in the last year. 20 votes. you talk about alaska, he has been in the senate six years. he has never had a roll call vote on an amendment with his name on it on the floor of the united states senate. no senator elected in 2012, 2 years ago, elizabeth, has not had a single vote on a single amendment on the floor of the united states senate with her name on it. these are senators who offered hundreds and hundreds of amendments and harry reid says no. he has type the senate in knots to protect his members from having to take any votes on anything of substance. only president comes out and says it is my policies that are on the ballot and they vote with me, that to me makes this a referendum much more on the president and his policies and the fact that nothing it's them with a democrat-controlled senate, which is why i had the editorial to but the republicans back to regular order where we will have votes on amendments and deal with budgetary issu

i know to senator mcconnell, mikulski, shelby, the appropriators over there that i know are serious aboutreturning to the day when those bills can be passed, the job can be accomplished and not done by cr. the dust will begin to settle. what harry reid's attitude is now coming in off of this very bad night, that the democrats had. quickly, because i want to involve the audience in this, we will see at the next two years, the message of last night is translated by new members and members coming back from the trenches. this is a time to fight the president, this is the time to repeal obamacare, repeal obamacare. we have serious issues that need to be addressed. the appropriations process, certainly. you had issues that will seriously affect the economy. can tax reform be addressed? steve and i are involved -- i chair a board called center forward. we try to bring ourselves together to bring senate members across the aisle, house numbers across the aisle, together over issues, specific topics to try to show what kind of give and take is going on. i hope we see more of that. >> on the questio

i served at that time with one woman, barbara mikulski.i have seen this institution change, for a lot of reasons. one reason has changed for the good is because of women. it has changed. women think differently than men, and i'm so impressed with the women i have in my caucus, that i wanted to reach out to them because they represent what america is all about. [indiscernible] >> i've said that many times since the election. this is not get even time. i do not intend to run the democratic caucus like the republican caucus has been run. i'm not going to do that. for example, i just told amy we have a lot of bills that are bipartisan bills. she is going to get me a list of those and were going to sit down and see if we can get the republicans to agree that they want to pass bipartisan bills. we want to legislate. we are not forestalling. we want to move on to the next congress with a record of accomplishment. >> can i ask why you wanted to be part of the democratic leadership, and what message you believe voters were sending? >> i believe in

i know we're working with barbara mikulski on those issues. >> what should middle america ?xpect higher salaries? more access to higher education question -- education? more access to health care? or will they wait for it to trickle down? >> the point is we're going to break through the gridlock and grow american jobs. the american economy has not recovered as any of us would have wanted. we are in this recession. we are kind of coming out of it. but i tell you what, there are hands of government regulation trying to crack down on agriculture, small businesses. we have rate increases coming from obamacare. 30%-70%. i was a small businessperson for 21 years with my wife. i know what this does to the bottom line. if you want to grow jobs and increase pay, you have to get the federal government out of the way. think about the jobs we could start tomorrow if we approved the keystone pipeline. most of those are trade union jobs. they pay pretty well. that's two years of putting american workers to work. that's not trickle down. that's real live jobs that count and make a differen

chairman mikulski. i'll join senator blount in thanking you for your leadership of this committee.o the many witnesses who have testified today, i want to thank you for the vigorous discussion of the administration's emergency funding request to deal with this global public health crisis. and remind all of us that the ebola outbreak in west africa has been characterized as one of the most severe public health emergencies we've faced in modern times. emphatically agree with your characterization that our first priority is to protect american lives and that the single best way for us to protect american lives is to engage vigorously in the work and the fight against ebola on the ground in west africa. this emergency funding request provides support for every facet of what's needed to keep americans safe first by strength beening and bolstering our readiness here in the united states but principally by ensuring that we contain ebola in liberia, in sierra leone, in guinea and preventing its spread to neighboring countries. i did want to take a moment to share that i recently had my thi

i know that hal rogers is toking with barbara mikulski address those issues.ess when we know what the facts are. >> [inaudible] what should middle america, the american public expect? access toaries, more higher education, more access to health care, or more trickle-down economics? >> i think the point is we are going to break through the gridlock and grow american jobs. the american economy has not recovered as any of us would have wanted. we have been in this recession, we are kind of coming out of it, but i'll tell you what -- there dead hands a government regulation trying to shut down people in my part of the world. agriculture, small business. you have rate increase is coming under obamacare and small businesses. i'm sure you have heard about it. 30% to 70%. these are all real, live issues. i was a small business person with my wife. i know what this stuff does to the bottom line. you will to grow jobs, increase pay, you've got to get several governments out of the way where it is not needed. think about the 20,000 american jobs we could start tomorrow i

mikulski: thank you, madam president. i wish to speak on a legislative matter on which we will be voting later on this evening. i yield myself ten minutes. the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. ms. mikulski: thank you, madam president. i'm here to say that -- i want to say that in a few minutes, we will be voting on the child care and development block grant reauthorization bill. i'm here to urge my colleagues to vote for final passage. this bill. >> thord by myself -- this bill is authored by myself working shoulder to shoulder with senator richard burr of north carolina under our chair and ranking member senators harkin and alexander. in this bill we've shown we can work together to get things done. we've worked across the aisle and across the dome with our counterparts in the house. madam president, today we have an opportunity to pass a bill that will actually help american families with one of the biggest challenges they face: affordable child care. everywhere i go in maryland, i hear young mothers and no

she was recently surpassed by barbara mikulski of maryland. she not only had longevity. she was very influential in terms of veterans affairs. prior to her experience in the house, she also had volunteered for the red cross. she had become an advocate for servicemen returning from world war i. 1940'spublicans in the briefly regained the majority in the 80th congress, she becomes one of the very first women to chair a major congressional committee. she chairs the veteran affairs committee and the 80th congress and again in the 83rd congress when the control flip-flopped back and forth. she was a republican. this and allew other american artifact programs on our website, c-span.org /history. you are watching american history tv all weekend, every weekend, on c-span3. to join the conversation, like us on facebook. week, american history tv's reel america brings you archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century. [no audio] [sound of movie projector] >> american history tv recently visited the macarthur memorial in norfolk, virginia, a symposium for the world wa

she was recently surpassed by barbara mikulski of maryland. she not only had longevity. she was very influential in terms of veterans affairs. prior to her experience in the house, she also had volunteered for the red cross. she had become an advocate for servicemen returning from world war i. 1940'spublicans in the briefly regained the majority in the 80th congress, she becomes one of the very first women to chair a major congressional committee. she chairs the veteran affairs committee and the 80th congress and again in the 83rd congress when the control flip-flopped back and forth. she was a republican. >>