barbara mikulski

Rep. Donna F. Edwards is planning to run for the Senate seat that will be left open by the retirement of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, making her the second candidate to jump into the high-profile primary.

By John Fritze

Mar 9, 2015

Whatever her accomplishments, Maryland's Barbara Mikulski should not be honored for occupying a Senate seat for several decades

Everyone is an important person to Barbara Mikulski, and therein lies the political genius that resulted in her being elected five times to the House of Representatives and then five times to what had been the ultimate boys club — the U.S. Senate. It is not a genius of calculation. It is a simple but miraculous ability to connect.

When Barbara A. Mikulski first stepped onto the Senate floor in 1987, she saw only one other female senator. They were required to wear skirts and were prohibited from using the male-only gym. But as the retiring Maryland Democrat prepares to relinquish the title of "dean of the Senate women," she leaves a political environment that is fundamentally changed — from access to the treadmills to the possibility that a woman could ascend to the presidency.

By John Fritze

Mar 7, 2015

If voters in the Palmetto State get a chance to know Maryland's former governor better, his presidential chances might improve tremendously

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid endorsed Rep. Chris Van Hollen's bid for Senate on Friday -- adding high-profile support to the candidate who is moving more quickly than any other to replace Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski in the 2016 election.

WASHINGTON -- Benjamin Jealous, the former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is considering a run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski -- the latest high-profile figure said to be looking at the race.

By John Fritze

Mar 6, 2015

WASHINGTON — Like many people in Maryland, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski was all but certain she would seek another term next year.

By John Fritze

Mar 4, 2015

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Montgomery County Democrat and fast-rising star in his party, told supporters Wednesday that he will run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski next year -- becoming the first to formally jump into a race that more than a dozen people are considering.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, said Wednesday that she will consider running for the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski.

Former Del. Heather R. Mizeur, who gained statewide recognition in Democratic circles last year with a spirited campaign for governor, is considering a run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski's decision to retire in 2016 has thrust Maryland into an unexpected contest for that coveted seat and could put several House districts in play for the first time in more than a decade.

By John Fritze

Mar 3, 2015

President Barack Obama offered his praise of Sen. Barbara Mikulski

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake could decide "within weeks" whether or not to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, according to an mayoral aide.

By Luke Broadwater

Mar 3, 2015

Of course, talk of Senator Mikulski's potential successor has already begun in earnest. But there will be plenty of time to discuss what to expect from a post-Mikulski Maryland and Congress.

By Thomas F. Schaller

Mar 3, 2015

Martin O'Malley leads a list of logical candidates who could succeed Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who will announce her retirement on Monday.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley says he won't run for the seat of retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski.

By John Fritze

Mar 3, 2015

WASHINGTON — Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski's startling announcement Monday that she will not seek reelection in 2016 after a four-decade career in elected office set off a political free-for-all as Maryland's most powerful Democrats began to position themselves for the opportunity to run for a rare open seat.

By John Fritze

Mar 2, 2015

Barbara A. Mikulski, a 4-foot-11 Highlandtown activist, fought a highway that threatened southeast Baltimore. She broke into politics when women on Baltimore's City Council were still called girls — and rose to become a U.S. Senator, a leader of the Appropriates Committee and the longer serving woman in Congress.

Fire companies, children and businesses benefitted from Senator's efforts

Barbara Mikulski's decision to retire from the U.S. Senate signals the end of a ground-breaking career for a one-of-a-kind Baltimorean

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski announced her retirement Monday in Baltimore.

By John Fritze

Mar 2, 2015

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, a longtime advocate for the National Institutes of Health, offered new details on Thursday of legislation she has introduced to increase funding for medical research -- adding her voice to a growing debate in Congress over research grants.

A Salisbury manufacturing plant threatened with closure more than 20 years ago is once again slated to be shut down, a blow to the Eastern Shore city which is still working its way back from the recession.

By Natalie Sherman

Feb 2, 2015

More funding coupled with reforms could help the NIH secure our next generation of researchers — and could get bipartisan support.

Changes in Congress, a new governor and the resignation of the man who oversees the federal government's real estate portfolio will not endanger Maryland's quest to become the new home for the FBI and its 11,000 employees, state leaders say.

By Justin George

Jan 26, 2015

Facing an aging population and steady growth in disability claims, the Social Security Administration said Thursday it will expand hours at neighborhood offices across the country — reversing a years-long reduction in service that has frustrated the public and lawmakers.

By John Fritze

Jan 22, 2015

WASHINGTON — A controversial tax on medical devices and a requirement that companies offer health coverage for employees who work a shortened week are being targeted for repeal by the new Republican Congress, an indication the party remains committed to undercutting "Obamacare."

By John Fritze

Jan 12, 2015

The omnibus appropriations bill approved by Congress and signed last month by the president finally closed the book on federal budgeting for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, more than two months late and only after another threat of a government shutdown. Lost in most of the media coverage of this massive legislation is a very significant victory for millions of veterans that will prevent this very type of political gridlock from threatening veterans' benefits during any future budget battles or

Ebola aid and help for Maryland VA patients are made possible by recently-approved spending bill thanks to Mikulski

Maryland and its research universities are among the big winners in recently-approved omnibus spending bill

Federal funds target bay cleanup

The head of Amtrak questioned whether an ongoing study of replacement options for the troubled, 140-year-old Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel is a "waste of time," given what he sees as a massive failure on the part of national leaders to commit adequate funding for major projects along one of the nation's busiest passenger rail system.

By Kevin Rector

Dec 19, 2014

Addressing growing concerns over seafood fraud, a presidential task force called Tuesday for expanded enforcement and a new program to give consumers more information about the origins of the imported fish, crab and other seafood they eat.

By Catherine Rentz

Dec 16, 2014

WASHINGTON — Maryland Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Ben Cardin led a symbolic and unsuccessful effort Tuesday to force a vote on President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, arguing that the agency needs a permanent leader in place before the new Congress is sworn in next year.

By John Fritze

Dec 16, 2014

While the $1.2 trillion compromise spending plan contains plenty of unwanted add-ons, the Senate made the right call in voting for it

Why has The Sun neglected the Jonathan Gruber scandal?

Hours after they passed a $1 trillion government spending bill, Senate Democratic leaders withdrew a scheduled vote this week on President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Social Security Administration -- a move that appeared to derail her chances for confirmation.

The Senate was speeding toward final approval of a $1 trillion spending bill late Saturday after muscling past opposition from conservative Republicans — an effort that would end any possibility of a government shutdown until next fall.

Senate Democrats on Saturday moved to advance the confirmation of Social Security Administration nominee Carolyn W. Colvin, despite opposition from Republicans that had appeared to undermine her chances this month.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers narrowly averted a government shutdown late Thursday night and approved a $1 trillion spending package after a dramatic day on Capitol Hill in which House members in both parties raised objections to portions of the massive spending measure.

By John Fritze

Dec 11, 2014

Obama's hypocrisy is revealed in decision to release CIA report that puts Americans in jeopardy

Maryland will see hundreds of millions in federal cash to build the Red Line, dredge the Port of Baltimore and to clear a backlog of rape kits, among other provisions in a massive budget deal reached by congressional negotiators on Tuesday.

By Erin Cox

Dec 9, 2014

Eastern Shore wind project should be scrapped

If the Great Bay wind project is killed, it will be a terrible loss for Maryland. Governor O'Malley's visionary plan for Maryland to lead in clean energy jobs and investment will be set back. Somerset County, Maryland's poorest, will be deprived of a $200 million investment, 500 construction jobs and $44 million in new tax revenues. Over 200 landowners would lose untold millions in royalty payments. Mr. Hoyer created this fake crisis by meddling in a process that he himself passed a law to

A day after Ferguson grand jury ruling was announced, people demonstrated across the Baltimore by lying on sidewalks, blocking streets and holding rallies between City Hall and the Inner Harbor

Democrats looking for answers after getting shellacked at the polls should talk to voters, not to each other

There was a time that Maryland's congressional delegation included as many women as men. . Remarkably, in 1984, Maryland voters elected women to half of the state's seats in Congress: Reps. Helen Bentley, Beverly Byron, Marjorie Holt and Barbara Mikulski. Yes, In the election of 2014, exactly thirty years later, our Congressional delegation is not as gender balanced as it once was. While many able men serve in elected office, Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Rep. Donna Edwards are the only women