Ben Cardin
Ben Cardin | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Maryland | |
Assumed office January 3, 2007 Serving with Barbara Mikulski | |
Preceded by | Paul Sarbanes |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district | |
In office January 6, 1987 – January 3, 2007 | |
Preceded by | Barbara Mikulski |
Succeeded by | John Sarbanes |
103rd Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates | |
In office January 6, 1979 – January 6, 1987 | |
Preceded by | John Hanson Briscoe |
Succeeded by | Clayton R. Mitchell, Jr. |
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 42nd District | |
In office January 6, 1967 – January 6, 1987 | |
Preceded by | Maurice Cardin |
Succeeded by | David Shapiro |
Personal details | |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Myrna Edelman Cardin |
Children | Deborah Cardin Michael Cardin |
Residence(s) | Baltimore, Maryland |
Alma mater | University of Pittsburgh (B.A.) University of Maryland (J.D.) |
Occupation | attorney |
Benjamin Louis "Ben" Cardin (born October 5, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Before his election to the Senate, Cardin was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Maryland's 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 2007.
Cardin was elected to succeed Paul Sarbanes in the 2006 U.S. Senate election, defeating Republican challenger Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele by a margin of 54%-44%.
Early life and career
Cardin was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Meyer (1907-2005) and Dora (née Green) Cardin.[2] The family name was originally Kardonsky before it was changed to Cardin by Cardin's paternal grandparents, Russian Jewish immigrants. His grandfather operated a neighborhood grocery store that later turned into a wholesale food distribution company.[3] His father served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1935 to 1937, and later sat on the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City from 1961 to 1977.[4]
Cardin and his family attend the Modern Orthodox Beth Tfiloh Congregation near their home, with which the family has been affiliated for three generations. He graduated from Baltimore City College in 1961 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in 1964 from the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1967, graduating first in his class. Cardin was admitted to the Maryland Bar that same year, and entered a private practice.
Political career
Maryland House of Delegates
Cardin served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1986. First elected while still attending law school,[3] he served in the seat once held by his uncle, Maurice Cardin, who had decided to not run for re-election so that his nephew could instead pursue the seat. He was chairman of the Ways & Means Committee from 1974 to 1979, and after that Speaker of the House until he left office. At age 35, he was one of the youngest Speakers in Maryland history.[3] As Speaker, he was involved with reform efforts involving Maryland's property tax system, the school financing formula and the ethical standards for elected officials.[5]
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1986, with then-Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Senator Charles Mathias, Cardin ran for Mikulski’s seat representing the 3rd Congressional District. Cardin won the Democratic nomination with 82 percent of the vote and became Congressman in the general election with 79 percent of the vote against a perennial candidate, Republican Ross Z. Pierpont.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Cardin_calling_for_troops_to_withdraw.jpg/220px-Cardin_calling_for_troops_to_withdraw.jpg)
Cardin was reelected nine times, rarely facing serious opposition. In the 2000 round of redistricting, his district was altered to add significant portions of Anne Arundel County, including the state capitol of Annapolis, to his Baltimore-based district. His last two opponents hailed from Anne Arundel and nearly carried the district's portion of that county.
In the House, Cardin was involved with fiscal issues, pension reform, and health care. His legislation to increase the amount people can store in their 401k plans and IRAs was passed in 2001. His bill to expand Medicare to include preventive benefits such as colorectal, prostate, mammogram, and osteoporosis screening was also enacted. He also authored legislation to provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit for chronic illnesses; fund graduate medical education; and guarantee coverage for emergency services.[5]
Cardin has also advocated, via proposed legislation, welfare reform. His bill to increase education and support services for foster care children between ages 18 and 21 was signed into law in 1999.[5] He authored bills to expand child support, improve the welfare-to-work program, and increase the child care tax credit.[5]
In 1998, Cardin was appointed Chairman of the Special Study Commission on Maryland Public Ethics Law by the Maryland General Assembly. In 1997, he co-chaired the Bipartisan Ethics Task Force in an effort to reform ethics procedures in the House of Representatives. He also held leadership positions on the Organization, Study and Review Committee and the Steering Committee of the Democratic Caucus and served as Senior Democratic Whip.
Cardin has been commended for his work with fiscal policy. He has been honored by Worth Magazine and by Treasury and Risk Management for his work protecting retirement plans and government-support medical care for the elderly. He has also received scores of 100 percent from the League of Conservation Voters and NAACP indicating stances that are in favor of environmental protection and civil rights. He was also one of the 133 members of Congress to vote against the Iraq Resolution.[6]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Cardin_bartlett_davis.jpg)
Committee assignments
As of May 2006, Cardin served on the following House committees:
- Member of the Ways and Means Committee.
- Ranking member of the Trade Subcommittee.
- Member of the Human Resources Subcommittee.
- Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
U.S. Senate
2006 U.S. Senate election
On April 26, 2005, Cardin announced that he would seek the U.S. Senate seat of current long-standing senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), following the announcement by Sarbanes that he would not be running for re-election in 2006. On September 12, 2006, Cardin faced a challenging primary battle with other Maryland Democrats, including Kweisi Mfume, Josh Rales, Dennis F. Rasmussen, and Allan Lichtman. Cardin won, however, with 44 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for Mfume, five percent for Rales, and two percent for Rasmussen.[7] He was declared the winner just after two percent of the precincts reporting.
Cardin won election on November 7, 2006, defeating Republican challenger Michael S. Steele 54 percent to 44 percent.[8] Cardin became the third consecutive Representative from Maryland's 3rd Congressional District to be elected Senator (following Sarbanes and Mikulski).
Committee assignments
- Committee on the Budget
- Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Committee on Foreign Relations
- Committee on the Judiciary
- Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
- Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Chairman)
International experience
Cardin has been a Commissioner on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the U.S. Helsinki Commission) since 1993, serving as Ranking Member from 2003 to 2006. In the 110th Congress, he was appointed co-chairman of the Commission, and is currently Vice President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly.[9]
Honors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Cardin_testifying_before_house_subcommittee.jpg/220px-Cardin_testifying_before_house_subcommittee.jpg)
Cardin holds honorary degrees from several institutions, including the University of Baltimore School of Law (1990); University of Maryland, Baltimore (1993); Baltimore Hebrew University (1994); and Goucher College (1996).
From 1988 to 1995, he chaired the Maryland Legal Services Corp. Through much of his political career, he has continued to work with law policy.
From 1988 to 1999, Cardin served on the St. Mary's College of Maryland Board of Trustees, and in 2002, he was appointed to the St. Mary's Advisory Board for the Study of Democracy. In 1999, he was appointed to the Goucher College Board of Trustees.
Policies
- Supports Net Neutrality, as shown by his vote during the 109th Congress in favor of the Markey Amendment to H.R. 5252 which would add Net Neutrality provisions to the federal telecommunications code.[10]
- Supports the United States Public Service Academy Act which would found a civilian counterpart to the five military academies
- Pro-Israel.[11]
- Pro-India. As a congressman, Cardin supported civilian nuclear cooperation with India.[12]
Family
Cardin married high school sweetheart Myrna Edelman, a teacher,[13] on November 24, 1964. They have a daughter, Deborah. Their son Michael committed suicide in 1998 at age 30.[14] He has two granddaughters.
In 2002, Ben’s 32-year-old nephew, Jon S. Cardin, who graduated from University of Maryland law school in 2001, ran for election as a Delegate representing District 11 of western Baltimore County. With state legislative District 11 overlapping Congressional District 3, there were two Cardins on the ticket in this area in 2002. Present at Jon’s swearing in was the oldest living former member of the House of Delegates at 95 years of age, Meyer Cardin, Jon’s grandfather and Ben’s father. Also in attendance was Ben himself, who stated, "The next generation's taking over."[15] After Ben announced that he would vacate his Congressional seat to run for the U.S. Senate, Jon Cardin stated that he was exploring a campaign for his uncle's Congressional seat.
Election history
Footnotes
- ^ Candidate Profile: U.S. Senate: Ben Cardin (D)
- ^ Genealogy of Ben Cardin
- ^ a b c "About Ben Cardin". Ben Cardin for Senate.
- ^ "Baltimore City Supreme Bench". Maryland Archives.
- ^ a b c d http://cardin.senate.gov/about/
- ^ http://cardin.senate.gov/about
- ^ http://www.elections.state.md.us/current_election/results/office_US_Senator.html
- ^ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/youdecide2006/races.html?MD
- ^ http://cardin.senate.gov/biography.cfm
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll239.xml
- ^ http://www.bencardin.com/news?id=0081
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll541.xml
- ^ Linn, Leticia (2006-11-03). "Candidate Profile: U.S. Senate: Ben Cardin (D)". Southern Maryland Online.
- ^ "For Md.'s Cardin, the Delight Is in the Details", The Washington Post, September 3, 2006.
- ^ Two famous-name freshmen begin to carve own niche in Md. House — Balitmore Sun, March 18, 2003
- United States Congress. "Ben Cardin (id: C000141)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Congressional Quarterly Voting and Elections Collection
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- United States Senator Ben Cardin official Senate site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- About.com — Ben Cardin profile
- Ben Cardin Senate 2006 official campaign site
- Ben Cardin
- 1943 births
- Living people
- American Orthodox Jews
- United States Senators from Maryland
- Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland
- Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives
- American Jews of Russian descent
- University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni
- University of Pittsburgh alumni
- St. Mary's College of Maryland
- People from Baltimore, Maryland
- Members of the Maryland House of Delegates
- Baltimore City College alumni
- Maryland Democrats
- Delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention
- Jewish United States Senators