Ben Cardin
United States Senator from Maryland
Incumbent
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
Born	Benjamin Louis Cardin (1943-10-05) October 5, 1943 (age 68) Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Myrna Edelman Cardin
Children	Deborah Cardin Michael Cardin
Residence	Baltimore, Maryland
Alma mater	University of Pittsburgh (B.A.) University of Maryland (J.D.)
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Judaism[1]
Website	www.cardin.senate.gov

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. National Journal rates him as the third most liberal Democrat in the Senate.^[2]

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[link]

Cardin was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Dora (née Green) and Meyer M. Cardin (1907–2005).^[3] 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.^[4] His father, Meyer Cardin, 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.^[5]

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[link]

Maryland House of Delegates[link]

Cardin served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1986. First elected while still attending law school,^[4] he served in the seat once held by his uncle, Maurice Cardin, who had decided to not run for reelection so that his nephew could instead pursue the seat. He was chairman of the Ways & Means Committee from 1974 to 1979, then Speaker of the House until he left office. At age 35, he was one of the youngest Speakers in Maryland history.^[4] As Speaker, he was involved with reform efforts involving Maryland's property tax system, school financing formula, and ethical standards for elected officials.^[6]

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

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.

On the floor of the House, Rep. Cardin calls for the withdrawal of all troops from Iraq by 2007, June 12, 2006.

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 capital 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 individuals 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.^[6]

Cardin has also advocated, via proposed legislation, welfare reform. His bill to increase education and support services for foster children between ages 18 and 21 was signed into law in 1999.^[6] He authored bills to expand child support, improve the welfare-to-work program, and increase the child care tax credit.^[6]

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 House 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-supported medical care for the elderly. He has also received scores of 100% percent from the League of Conservation Voters and the NAACP, indicating stances that are in favor of environmental protection and civil rights. Cardin was also one of 133 members of Congress to vote against the 2002 Iraq Resolution.^[7]

Rep. Cardin (at podium) joins Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (center) (R-MD) and Jo Ann Davis (left) (R-VA) in calling for a study of homeland security needs of the National Capital region, including Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Committee assignments[link]

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[link]

2006 U.S. Senate election[link]

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.^[8] 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.^[9] Cardin became the third consecutive Representative from Maryland's 3rd Congressional District to be elected Senator (following Sarbanes and Mikulski).

Committee assignments[link]

Cardin currently serves on the following Senate Committees in the 112th United States Congress:

• Committee on Finance
  • United States Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Health Care
  • United States Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Taxation & IRS Oversight
  • United States Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions & Family Policy
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
  • Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife (Chairman)
• Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs
  • Subcommittee on European Affairs
  • Subcommittee on African Affairs
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Co-Chairman)

Caucus membership[link]

• Senate Oceans Caucus

International experience[link]

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.^[10]

Honors[link]

Cardin testifying before the U.S. House Ways and Means subcommittee on Human Resources.

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); Goucher College (1996); and Villa Julie College (2007).

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[link]

On a list by Congressional Quarterly of the members of Congress who were most supportive of President Barack Obama's legislative agenda in 2009, Cardin was tied for fifth most supportive Senator with five other Senators.^[11]

Cardin 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.^[12] Cardin also supports Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, which gives DOJ the tools to target those site owners who are engaged in illegal digital piracy.^[13]

In 2007, Cardin supported the United States Public Service Academy Act. The Act would serve to create "an undergraduate institution devoted to developing civilian leaders." Like the Military Academies, this would give students 4 years of tuition-free education in exchange for 5 years of public service upon graduation.^[14]

Cardin is also pro-Israel and pro-India.^[15] He supported civilian nuclear cooperation with India.^[16]

In November 2011, Cardin's intended update of the 1917 Espionage Act upset some public disclosure advocates. They complained that it "would make it harder for federal employees to expose government fraud and abuse."^[17]

Family[link]

Cardin married high school sweetheart Myrna Edelman, a teacher,^[18] on November 24, 1964. They have a daughter, Deborah. Their son Michael committed suicide in 1998 at age 30.^[19] 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."^[20] 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, though he ultimately decided to seek reelection to the House of Delegates.

Election history[link]

Footnotes[link]

• Ben Cardin at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Congressional Quarterly Voting and Elections Collection

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Ben Cardin

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ben Cardin

Wikinews has related news: Russian police to 'check' officer allegedly involved in large theft and murder

• United States Senator Ben Cardin official Senate site
• Ben Cardin Senate 2006 official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

v t e United States Senators from Maryland Class 1 Carroll Potts Howard S. Smith Harper Hanson Pinkney S. Smith Kent Merrick Johnson Stewart Pratt Kennedy Johnson Whyte Hamilton Whyte Gorman McComas Rayner Jackson Lee France Bruce P. Goldsborough Radcliffe O'Conor Beall, Sr. J. Tydings Beall, Jr. Sarbanes Cardin Class 3 Henry J. Lloyd Hindman Wright Reed R. Goldsborough E. Lloyd Chambers R. Goldsborough Spence Kerr Pearce Hicks Creswell Vickers Dennis Groome Wilson Gibson Wellington Gorman Whyte J. Smith Weller M. Tydings Butler Brewster Mathias Mikulski

v t e Current statewide political officials of the State of Maryland in the United States U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski Ben Cardin State government Martin O'Malley, Governor Anthony G. Brown, Lieutenant Governor Doug Gansler, Attorney General John P. McDonough, Secretary of State Peter Franchot, Comptroller Nancy K. Kopp, Treasurer State Senate Thomas V. Miller, Jr., President Robert J. Garagiola, Majority Leader Allan H. Kittleman, Minority Leader House of Delegates Michael E. Busch, Speaker Kumar P. Barve, Majority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell, Minority Leader Court of Appeals Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge Glenn T. Harrell, Jr. Lynne A. Battaglia Clayton Greene, Jr. Joseph F. Murphy, Jr. Sally D. Adkins Mary Ellen Barbera AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as "Asian" or reported entries such as "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian" or provided other detailed Asian responses. They comprise 4.8% of the U.S. population alone, while people who are Asian combined with at least one other race make up 5.6%.^[1]

The term Asian American was used informally by activists in the 1960s who sought an alternative to the term Oriental, arguing that the latter was derogatory and colonialist. Formal usage was introduced by academics in the early 1970s, notably by historian Yuji Ichioka, who is credited with popularizing the term.^[3] Today, Asian American is the accepted term for most formal purposes, such as government and academic research, although it is often shortened to Asian in common usage.

As with other racial and ethnicity based terms, formal and common usage have changed markedly through the short history of this term. The most significant change occurred when the Hart-Celler Act of 1965 eliminated highly restrictive "national origins" quotas, designed, among other things, to restrict immigration of those of Asian racial background.^[4] The new system, based on skills and family connections to U.S. residents, enabled significant immigration from every nation in Asia, which led to dramatic and ongoing changes in the Asian American population. As a result of these population changes, the formal and common understandings of what defines Asian American have expanded to include more of the peoples with ancestry from various parts of Asia. Because of their more recent immigration, new Asian immigrants also have had different educational, economic and other characteristics than early 20th century immigrants. They also tend to have different employment and settlement patterns in the United States.

As of 2008^[update], Asian Americans had the highest educational attainment level and median household income of any racial demographic in the country, and they attained the highest median personal income overall.^[5][6]

Terminology[link]

The most commonly used definition of Asian American is the US Census Bureau definition of Asian,^[7] chiefly because the Census definitions determine many government classifications, notably for equal opportunity programs and measurements. People with origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent are included in the Census definition of Asia.^[8] The use of a separate "Asian" category in the Census is a recent addition, beginning in 1990. Since then, the Census definitions have varied. The 2000 census divided the Asian-Pacific Islander group and created Pacific Islander ethnicities as a separate category.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "Asian person" in the United States is sometimes thought of as a person of East Asian descent.^[9][10] In vernacular usage, "Asian" is often used to refer to those of East Asian descent or anyone else of Asian descent with epicanthic eyefolds.^[11][12] This differs from the U.S. Census definition^[7][13] and the Asian American Studies departments of many universities consider those of East, South or Southeast Asian descent with or without epicanthic eyefolds to be "Asian".^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]} In the US Census, people who originate from the original peoples of the East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia are classified as part of the Asian race; while peoples from Siberia, Central Asia, and Western Asia are classified as "White".^[22]

Before 1980, Census forms listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups, along with White and Black or Negro.^[23] Asian Americans had also been classified as "other".^[24] In 1977, the federal Office of Management and Budget issued a directive requiring government agencies to maintain statistics on racial groups, including on "Asian or Pacific Islander".^[25] The 1980 census marked the first classification of Asians as a large group, combining several individual ancestry groups into "Asian or Pacific Islander." By the 1990 census, Asian or Pacific Islander (API) was included as an explicit category, although respondents had to select one particular ancestry.^[26][27] In the 2000 census, people reporting Middle Eastern ancestry but not reporting race are presumed to be in the white race category rather than Asian.^[8]

The definition of Asian American has variations that derive from the use of the word American in different contexts. Immigration status, citizenship (by birthright and by naturalization), acculturation, and language ability are some variables that are used to define American for various purposes and may vary in formal and everyday usage.^[28] For example, restricting American to include only U.S. citizens conflicts with discussions of Asian American businesses, which generally refer both to citizen and non-citizen owners.^[29]

In a recent PBS interview, a panel of Asian American writers discussed how some groups include people from the Middle East in the Asian American category.^[30] Asian American author Stewart Ikeda has noted, "The definition of "Asian American" also frequently depends on who's asking, who's defining, in what context, and why... the possible definitions of "Asian-Pacific American" are many, complex, and shifting... some scholars in Asian American Studies conferences suggest that Russians, Iranians, and Israelis all might fit the field’s subject of study."^[31]

Demographics[link]