Letters from Ben
Capital Wheel, National Harbor, Maryland
These are regular letters to constituents about what's happening in Maryland, nationally and around the world. Beginning as a way to share information during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have become a must-read for Marylanders to connect happenings in our nation's capital to daily life.
Home
Dear Fellow Marylanders, Myrna and I have lived in our home since 1993. We have welcomed countless family and friends and watched our granddaughters grow in this house. Our neighborhood is a community we treasure. For us, like so many families, our house is more than a physical structure but a sanctuary of comfort and solace, brimming with cherished memories. It truly is a place to belong. As more Americans are living longer, more are choosing to make their home a central part of their retirement plans. They want to stay and receive health care in their home. Whether you’re a senior preparing for retirement or a young adult who may need to care for an aging family member, home health...
Home
Dear Fellow Marylanders, Myrna and I have lived in our home since 1993. We have welcomed countless family and friends and watched our granddaughters grow in this house. Our neighborhood is a community we treasure. For us, like so many families, our house is more than...
Shutdown the Shutdown
Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy acknowledged a truth this week when he said, “Nobody wins in a government shutdown.” There is no such thing as a “good government shutdown.” The House needs to work with the Senate to avoid such a nightmare,...
Cardin, Van Hollen Join Democratic Lawmakers in Urging President Biden to Take Executive Action to Address Gun Violence Epidemic, Limit Sale of Assault Weapons
WASHINGTON– U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen joined 77 of their Democratic colleagues in the Senate and House in writing a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to take further executive action to combat gun violence and limit the sale of assault...
Never Forget
This year marks the twenty-second anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Millions of Americans remember exactly where they were and what we were doing when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the deadliest terror attacks on American soil. It seemed...
Marching On
Dear Fellow Marylanders. Sixty years ago Monday, August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands of men and women descended on our nation’s capital for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march has become synonymous with Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have...
Letter From Berlin
This summer, I am confident many of you created lifelong memories. Whether it was hiking the Catoctin Mountains or catching some sun at our much-loved Ocean City, I hope you supported small businesses. You most likely did – over 99 percent of America’s businesses are...
Federal Investment Local Impact
Dear Fellow Marylanders, It’s been quite the week. On Friday, I spent the day in Ocean City at the summer meeting of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo). It’s a gathering I look forward to each year, one that brings together over 3,000 local officials from...
Expectations
Dear Fellow Marylanders, We should all be proud of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) that represented our nation at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Each one of the 23 women who were a part of the team trained hard and played hard. Is...
Henrietta Lacks
Dear Fellow Marylanders, Temperatures are high, but fall is right around the corner. With it comes a renewed focus on public health. Students are getting vaccinated before they head back to the classroom, COVID-19 cases are on the rise again and it is time to start...
Dangerously Hot
Dear Fellow Marylanders, I hope you are reading this inside because it’s hot out there. The National Weather Service – headquartered in Silver Spring, Md. – has issued an “excessive heat warning” for the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas for today, Saturday,...
Waiting For a Lifeline
Dear Fellow Marylanders, This week, I led a Senate Finance Health Care Subcommittee hearing on the cost of inaction and the urgent need to reform the U.S. transplant system. I heard from witnesses like LaQuayia Goldring, a Kentucky resident who has been waiting more...
Ethics Matter
Dear Fellow Marylanders, Ethics matter. Integrity and trust matter. These ideals are not Democratic or Republican, but nonpartisan values that allow our society to function. As a United States Senator, a former United States Representative, and past member of the...
Too Many Guns
Dear Fellow Marylanders, As the country celebrated its birthday last weekend, festive block parties turned tragic as gun violence erupted in our own backyard and across the country. It’s been a deadly summer, and we have only made it through the first week in July. In...
Traveling?
Dear Fellow Marylanders, Beach vacations, backyard BBQs, long weekends and fireworks. Independence Day weekend is made for celebrations. The last three years have been rough, as high costs fueled by the pandemic and other global challenges kept many Americans close to...
Tip of the Iceberg
Push it to the states, they said. That’s all we want, they said. One year ago, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down Roe v. Wade and nearly 50 years of women’s reproductive rights with its Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. It was...
Freedom and Independence
Dear Fellow Marylanders, Summer is typically marked by celebrations on July 4th or Independence Day. There is another important day, Freedom Day or Juneteenth, that now is another summer celebration. This year, for only the third time in our country’s history, we are...
Searching for Rainbows
Dear Fellow Marylanders, Pride is celebrated throughout June, when the weather is warm, spirits are high and school is out, but lately it has been far from sunshine and signature rainbows for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community. ...
Deja Vu All Over Again
Dear Fellow Marylanders, I have been having déjà vu for weeks, actually months, anytime I think about the economy. Similar to the fiscal crisis of 2011, Republican lawmakers allowed our country to step precariously close to the cliff’s edge as the U.S. Treasury...
What’s an Earmark?
Dear Fellow Marylanders, The term earmark originated with farmers and ranchers who would cut the ears of their sheep, cattle or other animals in a certain way to distinguish them from others and identify ownership. The term made its way into Congress as a way for...
Still Stay Safe
Dear Fellow Marylanders, I started writing these letters in March 2020 to share helpful information about COVID-19 and how the federal, state and local governments were attempting to marshal resources to keep everyone in this country safe. By the time of my first...
Do No Harm
Dear Fellow Marylanders, All this week, we have been celebrating National Small Business Week. Much has changed in the 60 years since it began in 1963, but our small businesses today are as innovative and resilient as ever. For me, as chair of the Senate Small...
Right Side of History
Dear Fellow Marylanders, This week, a bipartisan majority of the United States Senate officially expressed their support for removing the arbitrary deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and making it the 28th amendment to our Constitution. Let...
Investing in Our Planet
Dear Fellow Marylanders, It’s Earth Day! I know it seems like every day is another commemoration or greeting card holiday, but this one is important. For the last 53 years, the world has used this day to reconnect with our planet, reflect on our relationship with the...
Not Quite Tax Day
Dear Fellow Marylanders, April 15 is Tax Day, right? Don’t panic. This year, due to local holidays, Tuesday, April 18 is the last day to file your taxes before the standard deadline. If you are like me, and one of the 31 percent of Americans who...
More Bullhorns, Fewer Bullets
Dear Fellow Marylanders, On March 27, three 9-year-olds were gunned down inside their Nashville school, along with a substitute teacher, a school custodian and the head of school. By most accounts, this was the 130th mass shooting in the U.S. this year. In total, 65...
We All Have a Sabatino’s
This week I joined President Biden at the White House to help launch the second annual Small Business Administration Women’s Business Summit. The excitement on the White House grounds was palpable, and rightly so. Under this administration, a record number of new...
Outdated
Dear Fellow Marylanders, As a member of the House of Representatives in 1991 and 2002, I voted against going to war with Iraq. The 2002 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF), particularly, was passed under false pretenses. It passed because of the belief...
March Madness
Dear Fellow Marylander, That magical season of March Madness is upon us. Our beloved women’s (2-seed) and men’s (8-seed) Terps basketball teams have made it through the first round of the NCAA Division I tournament. The men’s team took it to the wire on Thursday with...