November 19th: Today I praised Majority Leader Reid for successfully consolidating health reform bills previously approved by the Senate HELP and Finance committees. Click here to watch my floor speech delivered in favor of the bill.

I've told the people of Maryland that I would only support a health care reform bill if it accomplished three things: first, it needs to bring down the cost of health care in America; second, it needs to provide an affordable, quality insurance option to every American; third, it needs to do this in a fiscally responsible way. I am pleased that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that Senator Reid has brought forward accomplishes these three goals.

I'm particularly pleased that this bill will help middle-income families. Insurance companies will no longer be allowed to discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions, nor will they be able to cancel coverage when someone gets sick and needs medical care. Lifetime caps on benefits will be abolished while preventive care and wellness, which save lives and save money, will be covered at little or no cost.

November 17th: Today I chaired a hearing entitled "Cybersecurity: Preventing Terrorist Attacks and Protecting Privacy in Cyberspace." The hearing included witnesses from key federal agencies responsible for cybersecurity, as well as representatives of the private sector. It reviewed governmental and private sector efforts to prevent a terrorist cyber attack that could cripple large sectors of our government, economy, and essential services.

This is a very sobering subject. The government has a responsibility to protect our government and its citizens from cyber-attacks from those who would misuse cyberspace and technology. As technology advances, we are much more vulnerable and may not even know when we've been attacked. Our security can be threatened by taking information that is sensitive to our national security and even altering our programs so that our transportation, energy, or financial systems could be under cyber attack. That's very concerning and requires that we take very aggressive action.

I am encouraged to see the level of attention the Obama Administration is paying to this issue at the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Security Agency. I think every agency is taking this issue very serious and is working very hard. We have to make sure their efforts are coordinated, consistent with our laws, and if the laws need to be changed we should review the options. The nature of the changing technology also heightens the government's responsibility to balance the counter-measures that protect us with the protection of civil liberties. Overall, we need to pay much more attention to cyber security.

November 10th: U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) today sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates requesting an accounting of how many troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have been prescribed antidepressant medications while deployed. Senator Cardin expressed his concern that there may be a connection between the reported use of such prescription medications and the record-high suicide rate among active-duty soldiers.

As a nation, we ask so much of our men and women in uniform without knowing the full extent of the mental trauma inflicted by combat. We can take steps to limit multiple deployments and extended separations, but we also must work to remedy the strains and deteriorating mental health of so many of our combat troops. It is imperative that we determine if DOD is prescribing anti-depressants to its service members appropriately. My concern is not the long-term efficacy of these drugs, but the sheer volume and manner in which these drugs are being administered to our troops overseas.

Click here to read the letter Senator Cardin sent to Secretary Gates

November 5th: Today the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 11-1 to send S. 1733, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act to the full Senate for consideration.

This is a good bill for our country and the entire world and I am proud to be associated with it. It's a good bill for our national security, economic security and our environment, all of which are at a critical crossroads. For our national security, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act moves us toward energy independence so that we don't have to rely on countries who disagree with our way of life for our energy needs. To strengthen our economy, it uses American technology to create American jobs. To protect our environment, it restores America's leadership position in the world by demonstrating that we, as a nation, are serious about reducing pollution and combating the effects of climate change.

This is a good bill for Maryland. Our state is already a leader in alternative and renewable fuels and Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act creates high quality jobs by investing in home-grown technology at places like Algenol in Baltimore where they are making fuel from algae; like those at Volvo-Mack Truck in Hagerstown where they are making hybrid trucks; like those at Chesapeake Geosystems, a Maryland company that's an east coast leader in geothermal heating; and like those at DAP that makes spackling that is used in weatherizing homes and businesses.