Cardin, Benjamin L. (Benjamin Louis), 1943-

<p>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. 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 efforts.</p>

<p>First elected to the Senate in 2006, Senator Cardin currently serves as Chair of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, which is on the forefront of rebuilding our economy. He is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations, Finance, and Environment & Public Works committees.</p>

<p>Senator Cardin is a leading advocate for the Chesapeake Bay, which is the economic, historical and cultural heart of Maryland. Nationally, he is a champion of protecting our clean air and clean water. He has introduced legislation to restore the health of America's great water bodies and is the leading proponent of investing in improvements to America's aging water infrastructure system while preparing it for the impacts of climate change. His commitment to reduce pollution and protect our environment fuels his work to broaden investments in safe public transit, as well as walking and bike trails.</p>

CARDIN, Benjamin Louis, a Senator and a Representative from Maryland; born in Baltimore, Md., October 5, 1943; attended public schools; graduated from Baltimore City College, Baltimore, Md., 1961; B.A., University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1964; J.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore, Md., 1967; lawyer, private practice; member of the Maryland state house of delegates, 1966-1986, speaker, 1979-1986; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundredth and to the nine succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1987-January 3, 2007); one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1989 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against Walter L. Nixon, judge of the United States District Court for the District Court of Mississippi; not a candidate for reelection to the House of Representatives but was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 2006 for the term commencing January 3, 2007; reelected in 2012, and again in 2018 for the term ending January 3, 2025; chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (One Hundred Seventeenth Congress).

<p>Benjamin Louis Cardin (born October 5, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. Representative for Maryland's 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 2007. Cardin served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1987 and as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1979 to 1987, the youngest person to hold the position in history. In his half-century career as an elected official, he has never lost an election.</p>

<p>Cardin was elected as U.S. Senator to succeed Paul Sarbanes in 2006, defeating Republican Michael Steele, the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, by a margin of 54% to 44%. He was reelected in 2012 taking 56% of the vote. He became Maryland's senior U.S. Senator on January 3, 2017 upon Barbara Mikulski's retirement. Cardin won reelection to a third term in 2018, taking 65% of the vote.</p>

<p>Benjamin Louis Cardin was born in Baltimore, Maryland. The family name was originally "Kardonsky", before it was changed to "Cardin". Cardin's grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. His grandfather, Benjamin Green, operated a neighborhood grocery store that later turned into a wholesale food distribution company. His mother, Dora (Green), was a schoolteacher, and his father, Meyer Cardin, served in the Maryland House of Delegates (1935–1937) and later sat on the Baltimore City Supreme Bench (1961–1977).</p>