Ben In The News
Maryland’s congressional delegation meets with Baltimore mayor, police commissioner to discuss ways to quell violence
by Jessica Anderson
Members of the Maryland congressional delegation doubled-down in promising their support for reducing Baltimore's violence at a Monday meeting with city leaders. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin said he called for the delegation to meet with Mayor Brandon Scott and Police Commissioner Michael Harrison at City Hall in response to the "unacceptable" level of violence in the city. "Our strong desire is to help you bring down the violence in Baltimore. We know it's not an easy situation. The current level … Continue Reading
July 02, 2021
In bid for cooperation, Maryland senator seeks Chesapeake Bay funding for Pennsylvania with his first out-of-state earmark
by Jeff Barker
One request stands out among dozens made by Maryland lawmakers seeking millions in federal dollars for projects benefiting the state. That's because the project isn't actually in Maryland. In an unusual approach to a long-standing problem, Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland told The Baltimore Sun this week that he wants to direct money to Pennsylvania farmers to help them curb damaging runoff that flows from the Susquehanna River into the Chesapeake Bay. Cardin's $2.2 million request… Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Chesapeake Bay Report Card: ‘How Did We Wind Up Not Getting an A-Plus?’
by Josh Kurtz
Days after the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) released its annual report card on the health of the Chesapeake Bay, some of the study's authors met virtually Thursday with U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) to discuss what can be done next to ensure the Bay's health. Using two dozen metrics - many dealing with environmental factors, but others taking into account socioeconomic conditions of communities in the Bay watershed, as well as the health of specific Bay… Continue Reading
June 22, 2021
Sen. Cardin: More Republicans Likely To Support Era Ratification Deadline Removal
by Bryan Renbaum
U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said Tuesday that he believes more Republicans will eventually decide to back legislation that would remove the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Congress approved the ERA in 1972 and it has since been ratified by 38 states, which is the minimum needed for adoption. However, the legislation required ratification no later than March 22, 1979. On that date only 35 states had ratified the … Continue Reading
June 14, 2021
Maryland Dems want to tighten tax loopholes, favor millionaires surtax
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, both Maryland Democrats, want to tighten up tax loopholes leveraged by the wealthy - including billionaires such as Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett and Tesla Motors founder and CEO Elon Musk. A report by nonprofit media organization ProPublica showed high-profile billionaires - including Bezos, Buffett, Musk as well as financier George Soros and media mogul Michael Bloomb… Continue Reading
May 20, 2021
Cardin wants more federal oversight, national standards for local police
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., wants to see more federal oversight and more uniform national standards for local police departments. Cardin introduced federal legislation on Thursday that includes a $25 million push to investigate alleged police civil rights violations. Cardin's measure also calls for increased U.S. Department of Justice oversight and investigations into local police activities as well as more standardized data reporting and accreditation requirements for lo… Continue Reading
April 27, 2021
Could Biden infrastructure bill turn Baltimore’s Highway to Nowhere into a city park? | COMMENTARY
by Dan Rodricks
Gov. Larry Hogan and the so-called moderates he treated to crab cakes in Annapolis last week think of infrastructure in the most conventional terms - fixing roads and bridges. Hogan is a 20th Century road warrior when it comes to prioritizing public dollars; he killed a major transit system for Baltimore, put the money into suburban and rural roads instead, advocated wider highways and a third bridge over the Chesapeake Bay. When you're a Republican, you tend to think inside the box, an… Continue Reading
April 13, 2021
Obstacles and expectations loom as Democrats draft Biden’s $2T infrastructure bill
by Sarah Ferris and Marianne Levine
President Joe Biden is reassuring skeptical Republicans that he's willing to give ground on his signature infrastructure package - underscoring exactly how much work his own party has left to do. Many of the biggest components of Biden's mammoth spending plan remain in flux, including how far Democrats should go, how to pay for it and how to logistically get it to the president's desk. That's not to mention that half of Biden's proposal isn't even public yet. "The ques… Continue Reading
March 26, 2021
Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center announces third iteration of US-Colombia Task Force co-chaired by Senators Cardin and Blunt
WASHINGTON, DC - March 26, 2021 -??? Following an event with Colombian President Iván Duque and US-Colombia Task Force co-chairs Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), the Atlantic Council's Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center announced that Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) will serve on this Atlantic Council Task Force for its third iteration. Representative Crenshaw will bring to the Task Force valuable experience as a member of the House Committee on Energy and Comm… Continue Reading
March 23, 2021
Corruption Is a National Security Threat. The CROOK Act Is a Smart Way to Fight It.
by Senators Ben Cardin and Roger Wicker
Not long ago, America's greatest adversaries were bound together by communist ideology. Today, they most often are defined by political corruption-authoritarian leaders using the levers of government to enrich themselves and ward off political opponents. Corrupt leaders cling to power through patronage networks and exploit rule-of-law jurisdictions, like the United States, to conceal and protect their stolen assets. These leaders are also accustomed to using strategic corruption as a tool of for… Continue Reading
March 10, 2021
Maryland Sen. Cardin: Massive national COVID relief bill contains ‘unprecedented’ assistance for Baltimore
by Jeff Barker
A $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that Congress passed Wednesday contains an "unprecedented" level of funding for Baltimore and other Maryland cities and counties that have been clamoring for help after seeing revenues plunge because of the coronavirus pandemic, state lawmakers said. "This is my 15th year and I don't know of a more important bill that we passed," said U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Baltimore. "The aid to Baltimore City is unprecedented. We have not had a bill that pro… Continue Reading
March 10, 2021
Maryland senators reintroduce bill to install statue of Harriet Tubman in the U.S. Capitol
by Tim Prudente
Maryland's U.S. senators are reintroducing their legislation to erect a statue in the U.S. Capitol to Harriet Tubman, the Eastern Shore woman who led slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Democrats Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, along with Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, announced their legislation Wednesday - on national Harriet Tubman Day. The bill calls for the statue to be paid for with donations and delivered within two years to the Capitol, where it should hold a p… Continue Reading
February 13, 2021
Cardin, Van Hollen React to Impeachment Vote
by Laura Olsen
Maryland Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D) issued stinging rebukes of former President Trump on Saturday after the Senate fell 10 vote shorts of convicting Trump in his second impeachment trial. The Senate voted to acquit Trump on a charge of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol, concluding his second impeachment trial with the same verdict as his first impeachment. In the 57-43 vote, seven Republicans joined every Senate Democrat and indepe… Continue Reading
December 18, 2020
Senators Van Hollen and Cardin introduced the Economic Justice Act on Friday
by Kelly Broderick
On Friday, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin introduced the Economic Justice Act. The Act will provide more than $435 billion in immediate and long-term investments in communities of color to address systemic racism and reverse decades of historic underinvestment. "Our economy currently puts the interests of big corporations and the wealthiest individuals before the needs of everyday Americans," said Senator Van Hollen. "These built-in advantages for the powerful make it harder for… Continue Reading
November 25, 2020
Sen. Cardin: Congress must pass comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill
by Ben Cardin
This is not a time for small measures. As part of a larger package, Congress must get serious about helping small businesses. We support our local communities in Maryland and across the country by supporting our small businesses, many of which are in desperate straits right now. Here in Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan has reimposed new restrictions to control the spread of the virus. The cost of these necessary measures will fall most heavily on small businesses in the food services, hospita… Continue Reading
November 13, 2020
Senator Cardin Hopeful for Change on Immigration, Refugee Resettlement
by Sharon Samber
Senator Ben Cardin sounded cautiously optimistic. As the Maryland Democrat addressed an audience of more than 350 on a HIAS-hosted post-election briefing call on Nov. 12, he enumerated many of the Trump administration's anti-immigration policies. But he was confident the incoming Biden administration will set a new course, restore refugee resettlement, and repair America's broken asylum system. "Change is on the horizon," he said. During his campaign, now-President-elect Biden said he would r… Continue Reading
November 09, 2020
MARYLAND LEGISLATORS PRAISE BIDEN VICTORY: ‘DEMOCRACY AND DECENCY HAVE PREVAILED’
by Suzanne Pollak
The two United States Democratic senators from Maryland hailed the results of the presidential election, predicting it foretold good things for the state's residents. Under a President-Elect Joe Biden's administration, residents who work for the federal government will be respected, climate change will be addressed as well as other issues including gun safety and equity, agreed U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen during a press conference Nov. 9. Biden's message to Build Back Better wil… Continue Reading
October 29, 2020
Senator Cardin & others introduce resolution to recognize Uyghur genocide
by Rebecca Burnett
Thousands of Uyghurs, people of mostly Muslim faith, are being held in hundreds of labor camps across East Turkestan in China. This week, U.S. senators, including Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate the human rights abuses occurring there as genocide. The legislation was introduced by U.S. senators Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and John Cornyn (R-Tx.). Senator Cardin and senators James Risch (R-Id.), Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Or.) joined. T… Continue Reading
October 19, 2020
Cardin assures Orthodox Jewish community: Biden would be a ‘trusted ally’ on Israel
by Jacob Kornbluh
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) assured members of the Orthodox Jewish community on Monday that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden would be a "true trusted ally" who would use his long-standing relationships and credibility amongst world players to "always stand by Israel. Cardin was speaking as a campaign surrogate at a virtual candidate forum hosted by the Orthodox Union, one of two events hosted by the group this week featuring representatives from the presidential campaigns. A poll, conducted… Continue Reading
September 25, 2020
Senators reprimand Metro after scathing audit
by Justin George
Maryland and Virginia's four senators reprimanded Metro on Thursday, citing the release of a scathing audit earlier this month that detailed long-standing and unaddressed problems that have resurfaced within the transit agency's rail control center. Maryland U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both Democrats, and Virginia's Democratic Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, said they had met virtually with Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld this week and were debriefed on the results o… Continue Reading
