Longest-serving women in Congress

By U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe
(R-Maine)
    Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland recently achieved another stunning milestone as she became the longest-serving woman in the history of the United States Congress, surpassing Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers. Of course, it was at the outset of this 112th Congress that Sen. Mikulski overtook Maine’s legendary Sen. Margaret Chase Smith.
    In the process of paying tribute to Sen. Mikulski, I discovered some interesting information, namely that three out of the four longest serving women in the Congress were actually born in Maine – Congresswoman Rogers, Sen. Smith, and myself as third longest serving woman in both the Senate and the House.
    Sen. Smith of course served Maine and Congresswoman Rogers represented the 5th District of Massachusetts. Both were Republicans, and both were born in Maine. The commonalities don’t end there – far from it. In addition to the overlapping biographical information, it is a point of tremendous pride that all three of us also placed the highest of premiums on serving those who have served our nation by giving every fiber of their being to protect, defend, and secure our cherished freedoms – our courageous men and women in uniform and our veterans.
    Born in Saco, Edith Nourse Rogers authored legislation that made her one of the great champions of our men and women in the military, as well as our nation’s veterans. As a member of Congress, Edith Rogers displayed a work-ethic worthy of her Maine roots and was known as “the busiest woman on Capitol Hill.”
    During her storied 35-year career spanning from 1925 to 1960 – still the longest tenure of any woman in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Rogers counts among her long-lasting achievements the securing of $15 million to develop a national network of veterans’ hospitals in the Veterans’ Administration Act, the creation of both the Women’s Army Corp and the landmark GI Bill of Rights.
    She also proposed the establishment of a Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs immediately after World War II – an achievement that would finally take place in 1989. She was held in such high esteem by our veterans that the American Legion presented her with the Distinguished Service Cross – the first woman ever to receive that prestigious honor.
    The incredible inroads and contributions that Edith Rogers made on behalf of our military, Senator Smith mirrored in the Senate. A lifelong native of Skowhegan, Sen. Smith was also a trailblazer and a woman of phenomenal firsts: the first woman to be elected in her own right to the United States Senate, the first woman to serve on the Armed Services Committee, the first woman to serve on the Appropriations Committee, the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the Presidency by either major political party, the first civilian woman to sail on a United States destroyer in wartime, and the first woman to break the sound barrier in a U.S. Air Force F-100 Super Sabre Fighter – at 800 miles per hour, I might add!
    In fact, that reminds me of the time in 1992 when Sen. Nancy Kassebaum came to visit me in Maine, and we traveled together to see Sen. Smith at her home and library. Sen. Smith gave us a wonderful tour – despite her failing health at the time, and I recall asking her about a bright orange suit I saw that was hanging on one of the walls. And she replied that it was her flight suit from the time she broke the sound barrier. She then told me about how she had initially questioned the less than flattering color tone until she learned that the bright orange would help them find her if she had to eject! But for all of her courage, fearlessness, and monumental leadership, one of Sen. Smith’s indelible achievements was shepherding the historic Women’s Armed Services Integration Act.
    I am forever humbled by the shoulders I have been so proud to stand upon. As I recall the milestones of both Congresswoman Rogers and Senator Smith, especially for our veterans and armed forces, I cannot help but think of how they paved the way for my service as the only Republican woman Senator on the Personnel Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, battling as I was at the time in the late 1990s for the fair and equitable treatment of women in the services, including assurances that men and women would train as they fight – side-by-side!
    For all of their joint accolades, neither Sen. Smith nor Congresswoman Rogers set out to forge news paths for women in politics. In fact, upon winning her first election to the House, Congresswoman Rogers declared, “I hope that everyone will forget that I am a woman as soon as possible.” What we remember about these amazing women, born in Maine, is their great integrity, love of country, and a desire to serve. No wonder, they have inspired legions of women, myself included.