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.
First elected to the Senate in 2006, Senator Cardin currently serves as Chair of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, which is at the forefront of rebuilding our economy. He is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations, Finance, and Environment & Public Works committees.
America is stronger when the Congress and the Executive branch are united on foreign policy. The rule of law, good governance and human rights are the basic structures that allow a nation’s citizens to have a voice, to live in freedom and to prosper. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press are among the foundational human rights worth defending at home and around the world. And we must remember that women’s rights are human rights. Women are the barometer of a nation’s success, and of its stability.
I will always fight to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, encourage tolerance within societies, good governance, battle corruption, and defend the principles of liberty and sovereignty. Currently, I serve as the chair of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission. Through my role as a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and with the Helsinki Commission, I have worked to defend human rights and democratic institutions at home and abroad, advocating for accountability and transparency.