U.S. SENATOR CARDIN MEETS WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE ERIC HOLDER

Washington , DC - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with Eric Holder, President-elect Obama's nominee for Attorney General. Following their meeting, Senator Cardin released the following statement:   "President-elect Obama has made an excellent choice in Eric Holder to be the 82 nd Attorney General of the United States. Mr. Holder has an impressive, lifelong record of public service and broad experi… Continue Reading

U.S. SENATOR CARDIN MEETS WITH WHITE HOUSE BUDGET NOMINEE PETER ORSZAG

Washington , DC - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today met with Peter Orszag, President-elect Obama's nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Following their meeting, Senator Cardin released the following statement:   "These are challenging times for our economy but I am thrilled with President-elect Obama's selection of Dr. Peter Orszag, current director of the Congressional Budget Of… Continue Reading

CARDIN URGES PRESIDENT BUSH TO AUTHORIZE TARP FUNDS FOR U.S. AUTO MAKERS WITHOUT DELAY

Washington , DC - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement urging the President to immediately authorize the use of funds from the Troubled Assets Relief Program following the failure of legislation in the Senate that would have provided General Motors and Chrysler LLC with $14 billion of federal loans in exchange for major restructuring and government oversight.   "The Senate voted la… Continue Reading

CARDIN LAUDS PASSAGE OF BILL TO PROTECT SENIORS' SAVINGS DURING VOLATILE ECONOMIC TIMES

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today praised his Senate colleagues for acting swiftly to protect the savings of America's seniors with unanimous passage of the Technical Corrections to the Pension Protection Act (H.R. 7327). Among other provisions, this legislation places a one-year moratorium on the required minimum distributions found in many retirement plans like IRAs and 401(k)s.  The House of Representatives pa… Continue Reading

SENATOR CARDIN RECEIVES PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD FROM COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS FOR HIS LEADERSHIP ON WMATA FUNDING

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) today received the Elizabeth and David Scull Metropolitan Public Service Award from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) for his leadership in securing dedicated funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).   In 2007, Senator Cardin introduced legislation in the Senate to put WMATA on a sound financial footing.   The legislation, which was enacted into law in October,… Continue Reading

CARDIN TELLS OPM TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO PROTECT FEDERAL WORKERS FROM UNPRECEDENTED INCREASES IN BLUE CROSS-BLUE SHIELD COPAYS

Washington, DC - With just one business day left before the end of Open Season for the Federal Employees Health Plan, U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) released the following statement regarding costly changes to the FEHP Blue Cross-Blue Shield (BCBS) Standard Option health plan, the most popular choice for health plans among federal employees:   "Time is running out for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to fulfill its obligation … Continue Reading

CARDIN AGAIN URGES DOD COMPLIANCE WITH EPA CLEANUP ORDER AT FORT MEADE

Washington , DC - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works' Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee, released the following statement today regarding the Justice Department notification to the Pentagon saying it has no legal authority to resist orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade in Maryland. "The Department of Defense (DOD) has lost its most recent stalling tactic to avoid compliance wit… Continue Reading

CARDIN CALLS ON PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA TO ALLOW MARYLAND AND OTHER STATES TO SET STRICTER AUTO EMISSIONS STANDARDS

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), joined with Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and a bipartisan group of Senators in sending a letter to President-elect Obama urging him to move swiftly to fulfill his campaign promise allowing Maryland, California and more than a dozen other states to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cars and trucks beyond federal levels in an effort to reduce global warning.   … Continue Reading

CARDIN CALLS ON OPM TO PROTECT FEDERAL WORKERS AND REVERSE APPROVAL FOR BLUE CROSS-BLUE SHIELD COVERAGE CHANGES FOR SURGERY

Washington, DC -- U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) released the following statement regarding proposed changes to the FEP Blue Cross-Blue Shield (BCBS) Standard Option health plan, the most popular choice for health plans among federal employees:   "I urge the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to immediately reverse its decision to allow changes to the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Standard Option health plan for federal employees that increases costs and reduces op… Continue Reading

U.S. SENATOR BENJAMIN L. CARDIN STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA'S ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM

Washington , DC - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as co-chair of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), issued the following statement today in response to President-elect Barack Obama's announcement of his national security team.   "President-elect Obama has chosen bold, talented and experienced leade… Continue Reading

STATEMENT ON WORLD AIDS DAY

December 1, 2008, marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. This is a day to celebrate life and to redouble our commitment to conquer a pandemic that has left tens of millions around the world living with HIV or AIDS, including one million in the United States alone. As a member of the U.S. Senate, I will continue to support increased funding for the medical researchers, doctors and healthcare workers who are leading the fight against this disease daily, alongside the children, men an… Continue Reading

CARDIN, MIKULSKI ANNOUNCE $60,000 FOR IMPLEMANTATION OF HARRIET TUBMAN BYWAY PROJECT

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD), announced today that the Federal Highway Administration has awarded the Maryland State Highway Administration $60,000 to implement the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway .     "Harriet Tubman was a true patriot who became the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad," said Senator Cardin.   "She believed in liberty and freedom and she helped hu… Continue Reading

SENATORS CARDIN AND SPECTER APPLAUD FDIC FOR PROTECTING IOLTA ACCOUNTS

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) today applauded the decision by Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), to approve their request that the FDIC provide full deposit insurance coverage under the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP) to Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA).   The FDIC under the TLGP guarantees certain non-interest-bearing accounts and today's decision will extend that guarantee… Continue Reading

CARDIN CO-SPONSORS BILL TO PROTECT RETIREMENT SAVINGS DURING VOLATILE ECONOMIC TIMES

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today voiced his support for the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (H. R. 3361), which will protect the savings of America's seniors invested in individual retirement plans with a one-year moratorium on the required minimum distributions (RMD). The legislation Senator Cardin is co-sponsoring was introduced by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Memb… Continue Reading

CARDIN, SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE, ANSWER OBAMA'S CALL-TO-ACTION ON GLOBAL WARMING

Washington , DC - U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD ), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), joined Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and fellow EPW committee members S enators Tom Carper (D-DE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), today in announcing an aggressive legislative agenda for the 111 th Congress to combat global warming and create jobs. Their announcement came in response to the challenge laid down earlier this week … Continue Reading

CARDIN-MIKULSKI LEGISLATION TO HONOR HARRIET TUBMAN GETS NATIONAL PARK SERVICE BACKING

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) today praised the National Park Service for its thorough and complete report strongly supporting the creation of two historic parks, one in Maryland and one in New York, to honor the life of Harriet Ross Tubman, the most famous "conductor" of the anti-slavery resistance network known as the Underground Railroad.   In July, Senators Cardin and Mikulski, joined by Senators … Continue Reading

TEAM MARYLAND FULFILLS ITS PROMISE TO HELP MARYLAND'S WATERMEN

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (Both D-MD) and Team Maryland colleagues Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06), Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07), C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02), Chris Van Hollen (MD-08), John Sarbanes (MD-03) and Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (MD-04) applauded the announcement today that Maryland will receive $10 million to help watermen who have faced economic hardships due to years of declining Chesapeake Bay blu… Continue Reading

SENATORS CALL FOR ANSWERS, URGE SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTEL OFFICIALS TO PURGE PEACEFUL PROTESTERS FROM TERRORIST LISTS

Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (Both D-MD), and Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), in response to news reports that dozens of nonviolent activists were added to state and federal terrorist databases by the Maryland State Police, today sent a letter to senior federal law enforcement, homeland security and intelligence officials to find out why this occurred and what steps are being taken to ensure that it never happens again.  Senators Cardi… Continue Reading

CARDIN, MIKULSKI URGE PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA TO EXPEDITE DOD CLEANUP OF FT MEADE AND FT DETRICK

Washington , DC - U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (Both D-MD) sent a joint letter Thursday to President-elect Barack Obama urging him to bring the Department of Defense (DOD) into compliance with orders from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up hazardous sites at Fort Meade, Fort Detrick, and elsewhere across the country, as soon as his administration takes office.  Since 2003, the DOD has ducked its environmental responsib… Continue Reading

COMMEMORATING VETERANS' DAY

On this 11 th day of the 11 th month, we unite as a nation to honor the brave men and women who have served in our nation's military. For generations, their valor, honor and sacrifice have served as the foundation of America's hope, opportunity and leadership throughout the free world.   To our veterans and their families, I thank you for your dedication to service and country, as well as your strength of character and c… Continue Reading