Press Releases & Statements
Cardin, Mikulski Announce Federal Grants for Water Infrastructure Projects in Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-Md.) have announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDARD) has awarded a total of $4.739 million in grants and loans to Queen Anne's and Talbot Counties for water and waste-disposal projects and pre-development planning purposes. "All Marylanders deserve clean, safe water. Modern and reliable water infrastructure protects public health, supports job creation and improved the state of the Chesapeake… Continue Reading
June 16, 2015
Cardin Introduces Measure to Streamline Competitive Service Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), along with a bipartisan group of senate colleagues, Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), today introduced legislation to allow federal agencies to streamline their hiring process, cutting duplicative services and saving taxpayer money. The Competitive Service Act would allow federal agencies to review and select job candidates from other federal agencies' "best qualified list" of applicants, c… Continue Reading
June 16, 2015
MADE in MD: Cardin Spotlights Route 1 Revitalization at Mobern Lighting
JESSUP, Md. - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Friday toured Mobern Lighting, a designer and manufacturer of energy efficient lighting solutions that has doubled its workforce and sales in the last three years, before being joined by Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman and small business leaders for a roundtable discussion on local economic development. The visit to Mobern Lighting was the latest stop of Senator Cardin's "Made in MD" jobs tour that highlights the diversity of Maryland pro… Continue Reading
June 16, 2015
Cardin Discusses Business Community Priorities with Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce
EDGEWATER, Md. - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and member of the Senate Finance Committee, recently joined the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce to discuss issues affecting the region's business community. Senator Cardin's opening remarks covered a wide range of topics, including the importance of protecting the health of the Chesapeake Bay and providing maximum consistency, clarity and fairnes… Continue Reading
June 12, 2015
Cardin Statement on Flag Day 2015
BALTIMORE - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) released the following statement in celebration of Flag Day on Sunday, June 14: "In the summer of 1777, as Americans battled for their independence in the Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress met to draft the Articles of Confederation, the first framework for an independent American government. On the battlefield, colonial troops fought under a patchwork of unit or regimental flags, yet the delegates were committed to uniting the thirte… Continue Reading
June 12, 2015
Cardin Holds Open Forum with Agency Leaders, Federal Employees at Social Security Administration Headquarters
BALTIMORE - U.S Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) today joined employees and leadership at the headquarters of the Social Security Administration (SSA) for a wide-ranging, town hall-style discussion that explored a wide range of issues, including federal agency budgets and the recent data breach that impacted millions of federal workers, international trade agreements and the unrest in nearby neighborhoods. Senator Cardin provided a broad Capitol Hill update to the audience of about 100, then heard fro… Continue Reading
June 11, 2015
Cardin Introduces Bill to Strip Oil and Gas Companies of Environmental and Public Health Exemptions
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), has introduced a bill to remove loopholes that exempt oil and gas companies involved in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) from the Clean Water Act. The FRESHER Act (Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydraulic-fracturing Environmental Regulation) creates consistent national standards that are needed to protect water resources by requiring oil and gas c… Continue Reading
June 11, 2015
Cardin Statement on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month 2015
BALTIMORE - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) issued the following statement recognizing June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. This Saturday, June 13, marks the 40th Celebration of Pride in the Nation's Capital. Baltimore Pride celebrates its 40th anniversary later this summer. "For more than four decades, June has been a month of great significance for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community across the United States. This June should be just as momen… Continue Reading
June 10, 2015
Cardin Decries Party-Line Vote to Overturn Clean Water Rule
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), issued the following response after the committee voted along party lines, 11-9, to overturn the Clean Water Rule: "Today's committee vote to overturn the Clean Water Rule was a dangerous, shortsighted and partisan step away from good governance, public health and commonsense environmental protection," said Senator Cardin. "The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army… Continue Reading
June 09, 2015
Cardin Legislation Holding Assad and Others Accountable for War Crimes in Syria Passes Senate Foreign Relations Committee
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued this statement following committee passage of the Syrian War Crimes Accountability Act of 2015. The legislation authored by Senator Cardin would establish a Syria-specific standard of reporting and accountability for crimes against humanity. Since 2011, at the start of the Syrian conflict, Senator Cardin has been pressing to hold President Bashar al-Assad and others involved in human ri… Continue Reading
June 09, 2015
Cardin Statement on Federal Appeals Court Decision to Reject Challenge of EPA Power Plant Emission Limits
WASHINGTON - U. S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement on the decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to reject a challenge to the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan. "The three-judge panel of the federal appeals court wisely rejected this challenge to the EPA's fore-sighted efforts to addres… Continue Reading
June 09, 2015
National Capital Region Delegation Demands Immediate Action Following New NTSB Report on WMATA
Washington, DC - In the wake of a critical National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, the National Capital Region's Congressional Delegation today called on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to take immediate action to fix a serious safety issue resulting from improperly installed power connector assemblies throughout the Metrorail system. Maryland Senators Ben Cardin, Barbara Mikulski (both D-MD) and Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), joined by Senators M… Continue Reading
June 09, 2015
Cardin, Mikulski Announce Million Dollar Federal Grant to Support Oral Health Care in Maryland Children
BALTIMORE - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-Md.) today announced that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the office of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has awarded a grant in the amount of $1 million over four years to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MDHMH). MDHMH will use the funding to implement programs to reduce the prevalence of oral disease in both pregnant women and infants most at ris… Continue Reading
June 09, 2015
Cardin Welcomes NTSB Safety Recommendation for Metro, Says Safety Fixes Require Full Funding Tied to Accountability
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following statement in response to the latest safety recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) after a series of smoke-related incidents, including the fatal January incident near L'Enfant Plaza. "The NTSB concludes that WMATA's third rail electrical power cable systems are susceptibl… Continue Reading
June 08, 2015
Cardin Continues Conversation with Community Leaders and Business Owners near Epicenter of Baltimore Unrest
BALTIMORE - U. S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) recently continued his ongoing conversations with businesses and members of the communities directly affected by the events that followed the Freddie Gray tragedy. Local residents and business owners in the Matthew A. Henson Neighborhood Association led Friday's frank discussion with Senator Cardin at the Matthew A. Henson Elementary School on how to spur a sustained recovery for local communities. Neighborhood association members and Senator Cardin e… Continue Reading
June 04, 2015
Cardin Responds to EPA Fracking Study
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following response to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) draft assessment of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") activities on drinking water resources in the United States. "The EPA has concluded that hydraulic fracturing activities in the United States can potentially harm clean drinking water supplies. And while not 'widespread,' th… Continue Reading
June 04, 2015
Cardin, Mikulski Push for Reforms to Federal Student Aid Application Process
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-Md.), joined with Senator Baldwin (D-Wis.) and 28 Senate colleagues sending a letter today to the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, urging him to use existing authority to ease the application process for students and their families, and the verification of income process for college and university financial aid offices. Under Sec. 408(a) of the Higher Education Act (HEA), the Secretary of Education can allow students filing… Continue Reading
June 02, 2015
Cardin Welcomes Passage of USA Freedom Act – Reforming FISA, Strengthening Oversight and Protecting Civil Liberties
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after the Senate voted to pass the USA Freedom Act: "We are in constant search of the right balance between maintaining our national security and respecting the constitutional rights of American citizens. I believe we could have been even stronger in our protections, but the USA Freedom Act makes great strides over the existing FISA program. The Second Circ… Continue Reading
June 02, 2015
Cardin Discusses Importance of Second Chances at Innovative South Baltimore Social Enterprise
BALTIMORE - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) yesterday joined the leaders, partners and staff of Second Chance, Inc. to discuss how unique ventures in social enterprise like those underway at the innovative non-profit organization housed inside a sprawling former factory could help answer some of the myriad challenges faced in today's inner cities. In a roundtable conversation that centered on the organization's efforts to hire and train people from adverse backgrounds in the fields of deconstruc… Continue Reading
June 02, 2015
Senate Passes Cardin Resolution Saluting American Craft Brewers
WASHINGTON - Earlier this May, in support of American Craft Beer Week, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), joined by Susan Collins (R-Maine), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), introduced a bipartisan resolution commending America's small and independent craft brewers. The Senate yesterday passed the resolution. With craft brewers in every state in the nation, these breweries provide employment for 115,000 full and part-time workers and generate more than $3 billion in wages a… Continue Reading
