Van Hollen Statement on Senator Cardin’s Service to the People of Maryland

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement regarding Senator Ben Cardin’s service to the people of Maryland: 

“I salute my friend and our state’s senior Senator Ben Cardin on his extraordinary public service to Maryland and our country. It is a privilege to serve alongside him and in partnership every day for the people of our great state. Senator Cardin is driven by an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of Marylanders, advancing social justice, protecting our environment, and promoting human rights at home and abroad. 

“Senator Cardin has dedicated more than five decades to helping Marylanders from the state house – as the youngest Speaker in our state’s history at the time – to the halls of Congress, now as Chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee. 

“Senator Cardin has made it his life’s work to champion the rights of Marylanders and open the doors of opportunity to more Americans. From increased funding for our schools to bringing more resources to the Chesapeake Bay to expanding health care services and empowering minority, women, and veteran-owned small businesses – Senator Cardin has never backed down from a challenge or taking on special interests. We all witnessed this last week on the Senate floor as he led the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment because, as he said, ‘There is no time limit on equality.’

“Senator Cardin’s work has not only made our nation a better place – it has gone far beyond our borders to make the world a better place. Senator Cardin led the charge to hold Russia accountable for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, passing into law the Global Magnitsky Act, which has had broad and lasting implications on our efforts to protect human rights worldwide. As Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, he has continued the fight against global corruption and worked to promote international good governance. 

“Senator Cardin’s tireless work wouldn’t be possible without the love and support of Myrna and his family. I want to thank each of them because we are all lucky to have a Marylander like Ben as our senior Senator. I am certain that Senator Cardin will continue to work each and every day of this term to move forward on our shared priorities, and I’ll continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder with him and Team Maryland on these efforts. I look forward to accomplishing much more together in the year and a half ahead.”