A third-generation Marylander, Ben Cardin has been a national leader on health care, retirement security, the environment and fiscal issues while representing the people of Maryland in the U.S. Senate, and before that in the House of Representatives. Currently serving as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has worked across party lines to further U.S. national security and to ensure that good governance, transparency and respect for human rights are integrated into American foreign policy. First elected to the Senate in 2006, Senator Cardin also is a senior member of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, which is at the forefront of rebuilding our economy. He is a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and the Environment & Public Works Committee.

One of Senator Cardin’s proudest accomplishments was leading the fight to guarantee access to dental care for children in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, following the tragic loss of a 12-year-old Prince George’s County boy who died after complications that followed an untreated tooth infection. He continues to fight for dental coverage for adults and older Americans.

Serving as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee during his first four years in the Senate, Senator Cardin also developed a reputation for defending civil rights at home and has sought to find a balance between protection of civil liberties and national security. He is the lead sponsor of legislation to prohibit racial and religious profiling by all levels of law enforcement, restore voting rights for former felons, and remove the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. He has been a proud cosponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.