Collins, King Attend Dedication Ceremony for Rooms Honoring Senators Margaret Chase Smith and Barbara Mikulski

Out of more than 540 rooms in the Capitol, these two rooms are the first to be named after women senators

Click HERE to watch remarks from Sens. Collins and King.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) attended a ceremony dedicating two rooms in the U.S. Capitol in honor of former Senators Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). Out of more than 540 rooms in the Capitol, these two rooms are the first to be named after women senators.

Senators Collins and King were also joined by Dr. Jonathan Rubin, an economics professor at the University of Maine and the Director of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, a nonpartisan, independent research and public service unit of the University of Maine dedicated to advancing Senator Smith’s commitment to civil discourse and integrity. 

“Senators Smith and Mikulski belonged to different parties, but they shared the same qualities of civility and respect for opposing viewpoints,” said Senator Collins. “They were both women of towering stature in integrity and courage. Their legacies are, above all, a reminder of the obligation we have to uphold the values and ideals of our nation in service to the American people.  May all who serve in these rooms keep that obligation today and for years to come.”

“Margaret Chase Smith was an extraordinary lawmaker, an unparalleled trailblazer, and a dear friend,” said Senator King. “Throughout her long career, Senator Smith was a champion for Maine and an advocate for all our people. She brought the Maine values of service over party and patriotism to Washington, including in her Declaration of Conscience – one of the greatest and most important speeches in American history. There is no one more deserving of this honor, and I look forward to seeing her legacy live on in our nation’s Capitol through this room.”

Other Senators who participated in the dedication ceremony included former Senator Mikulski; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); and Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Senators Collins and King co-sponsored the bipartisan resolution, which passed the Senate unanimously in December 2020, to name these rooms after the two trailblazing female senators. S-124 will be designated as the “U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith Room” after Smith, the first woman to serve in both chambers of Congress. S-115 will be named the “U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski Room” in honor of Mikulski, the longest serving female senator and the first woman to serve as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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