Cardin Statement on Possible ICE Raids in Baltimore and Nationwide

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, released the following statement in response to reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will conduct large-scale raids beginning this weekend in Baltimore and other cities nationwide. "The federal government cannot be in… Continue Reading

As Trump Administration Goes to Court to Destroy Health Care Protections, Cardin and Senate Democrats Advocate Health Care Bill of Rights

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) joined colleagues in introducing a new resolution in support of a health care bill of rights, in response to yesterday's oral arguments in the Texas v. United States lawsuit. The Trump administration is pushing the court to throw out the entire Affordable Care Act - a decision that would rip health care away from an estimated 20 million or more Americans. A decision undoing the ACA would also eliminate the patient protections established by the law, … Continue Reading

Cardin, Van Hollen Announce $1 Million for Hagerstown Regional Airport

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) have announced $1 million in federal funding for the Hagerstown Regional Airport (HGR) through the Department of Transportation (DOT). The grant will be used for terminal expansion and land acquisition. This follows an $875,000 grant from the same federal source in September of 2017 to help the airport manage adverse weather conditions. "Federal support for Hagerstown Regional Airport has been a tremendous asset for Wester… Continue Reading

Cardin, Van Hollen Announce $90,000 for Bay Bridge Airport Environmental Study

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) have announced $90,000 in federal funding for the Bay Bridge Airport (W29) through the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). These funds will be used to study the environmental impacts of planned future improvements to the airport. "Small airports are key to the function and growth of local businesses. The Bay Bridge Airport serves as a hub of commerce all across the region. Funding for this study is critical to the futu… Continue Reading

Cardin, Van Hollen Announce More than $1.5 Million for STEM Programs at Morgan State University

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) today announced more than $1.5 million in federal grant funding over three years for Morgan State University through the National Science Foundation (NSF). This award funds the implementation of an evidence-based, experiment-focused teaching model in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs that will train Morgan State University faculty in innovative ways to engage undergraduate STEM students. "STE… Continue Reading

Cardin Statement on Independence Day 2019

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) issued the following statement commemorating Independence Day 2019. "On Thursday, July 4, 2019, we will mark the 243rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This day allows us all to join together as a community to proudly celebrate our shared history and values. To create a 'more perfect union' as our founders endeavored, we must remember that this is a day about no one person. Rather, it is a day about our nation coming together as a whol… Continue Reading

Maryland Senators Announce New Legislation to Support Programs that Provide Summer Jobs for Young People

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) today announced the introduction of new legislation that would authorize $100 million in additional annual funding for youth summer jobs programs like Baltimore's YouthWorks. The Youth Summer Jobs and Public Service Act (S. 2036) would direct five years of federal funding to communities with high concentrations of low-income youth to support the expansion and development of summer employment programs that provide meaningful… Continue Reading

Maryland Members Meet with FAA, Urge Action on Ongoing Noise Issues

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, as well as Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings, Dutch Ruppersberger, and Jamie Raskin (all D-Md.), met with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell to discuss the ongoing community concerns surrounding the development of NextGen flight paths at both Baltimore-Washington International and Ronald Reagan National Airports. The new paths have created significant noise issues, and to date, the FAA has b… Continue Reading

Cardin, Van Hollen Introduce Resolution Honoring Slain Marylander Alex Villamayor, Calling for Justice and Accountability

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) have introduced a resolution honoring the life of Alex Villamayor, a young American citizen born in Maryland who was tragically murdered four years ago in Paraguay. The resolution calls for justice and accountability in his worrisome case, where his death was initially covered up and the FBI was prevented from properly investigating his death. "Alex Villamayor was a smart, compassionate young Marylander whose life and tre… Continue Reading

Approaching First Anniversary of Mass Shooting at Capital Gazette, Maryland Senators Renew Call for Gun Safety Legislation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) today reflected on the first anniversary of the deadliest newsroom shooting in American history and called upon their Republican colleagues in the Senate to enact commonsense gun safety measures immediately. "One year ago at the Capital Gazette, five innocent people died while supporting a publication that has long held an unwavering commitment to preserving the freedom of speech in our community. We will remember their liv… Continue Reading

Cardin, Scott Introduce PAID Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) today introduced the Provide Accurate Information Directly (PAID) Act to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide information directly to non-health insurers when settling overlapping claims of Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers. Non-health insurers include liability, workers compensation, and no fault (auto) insurers, as well as self-insured entities such as large retailers, grocers and supermarket c… Continue Reading

Cardin Calls for Quick Action on Emergency Funding, Including Humanitarian Support for Children on Our Southern Border

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) issued the following statement after the Senate approved a bipartisan, emergency supplemental appropriations package. Earlier in the day, he spoke from the Senate floor on the dangerous and inhumane conditions migrant children are enduring in federal custody on our southern border. Audio of his speech can be found here. "The Senate took an important step today by approving emergency funding to provide immediate relief and better protect vulnerable mi… Continue Reading

Cardin, Van Hollen, Colleagues Call for Investigation at USDA Amid Reports of Scientific Data Suppression

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) today joined Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong to request an investigation into potential instances of suppression and alteration of scientific reports, documents, or communications produced by USDA. The Senators also called for the Inspector General to investigate instances of retaliat… Continue Reading

Cardin, Van Hollen Announce $496,985 for Chesapeake Research Consortium

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) have announced $469,985 in federal funding for the Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) in Edgewater, Maryland through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These funds will assist both the CRC and the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) in maintaining and restoring the health of the Bay by improving scientific research, fostering technical information exchange, and promoting education and stewardship act… Continue Reading

Cardin, Van Hollen, Senate & House Democrats Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Rights of Public Sector Workers to Join Unions, Bargain Collectively

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) today joined Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Congressman Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), and other House and Senate Democrats in introducing the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019. This legislation will guarantee the right of public employees to organize, act concertedly, and bargain collectively in states that currently do not afford these basic protections. There are nearly 17.3 million public workers across the … Continue Reading

Cardin, Van Hollen, Colleagues Criticize DOL Proposal to Narrow Definition of "Joint-Employer" Under Fair Labor Standards Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) alongside Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), today submitted a comment to the Department … Continue Reading

Cardin, Portman Call for National Memorial to Fallen Journalists

WASHINGTON - In advance of the one-year anniversary of the fatal Capital Gazette shooting, the most deadly newsroom shooting in American history, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) have introduced legislation that would authorize a national memorial to fallen journalists. The privately funded memorial would be constructed on federal lands within the District of Columbia and would honor journalists, photographers, and broadcasters killed in the line of duty. Senator Chris V… Continue Reading

Cardin, Durbin, Van Hollen, Kaine Introduce NDAA Amendment to Halt Security Assistance to Cameroon

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced an amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to halt all further U.S. security assistance to Cameroon, except for dealing with Boko Haram, until the U.S. Secretaries of Defense and State certify military and security forces of Cameroon have demonstrated progress in abiding by international human rights standards, particularly in rega… Continue Reading

Cardin Statement on Universal Background Check Legislation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin delivered the following statement on the Senate Floor today on the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. Though the House of Representatives passed this common sense legislation in February, Leader McConnell has yet to bring to the floor of the Senate. "The logic here is inescapable. I can't explain to my constituents--nor can Senator Casey explain to his--as to why the universal background check has not been on the floor of the United States Senate for … Continue Reading

Cardin Statement on Juneteenth 2019

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) issued the following statement commemorating June 19, 2019 as Juneteenth. This year's Juneteenth marks the 154th anniversary of the date on which Army General Gordon Granger, in Galveston, Texas, freed the last remaining slaves- two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. "Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom but also a celebration of the spirit. On this important day, we take the time to recognize and honor the hardship and the dignity of the m… Continue Reading