If the past is an indication, when women are given a job to do in Congress, they get it done.

For me, one of my earliest memories of politics where I thought that I could do anything was when Walter Mondale of Minnesota picked Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. I literally remember what she wore - the red dress, the white pearls. And I saw that, and I thought, 'Anything is possible.'

It is time for us to make a real commitment to our rural communities by expanding broadband, by supporting our farmers, by building affordable housing and taking on rural poverty. That's how we leave no one behind.

I was one of the first women partners at my law firm, the first woman in my Minnesota prosecutor job, and the first woman elected from my state to the Senate. So advice from women who had done similar things was important for me.

I'm quite into fitness, and I have a fantastic personal trainer who knows me, knows my body, knows when to push me, and knows when not to push me. She doesn't make me do 20 burpees in a row and instead focuses on strengthening my core, telling me we need to focus on making me into 'a tall giraffe'!

If I can get people to accept that a DNA test is nothing to be intimidated about, then we can do tests that determine how well you metabolise certain drugs and test for breast cancer.

I do it because I want to exercise people's compassion and I do it because I really believe that for some reason what I do is important and meaningful.

Doctors' positions and recommendations about drugs, procedures, surgical interventions, health and nutrition are not always based on strong scientific evidence.