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.
Education is truly the great equalizer in our society. Learners of all ages depend on access to quality education at every level, from pre-school through K-12 to higher education or career and technology education. I will continue to advocate for federal education policies that enable students to succeed in the classroom, educators across our state to be excited about teaching, and parents and community advocates to have a voice in the education of their children. I am committed to providing funding for early childhood education, teacher and principal training, civic and government education, the arts, and environmental literacy curriculum, literacy and mental health supports for our students.
With students and families facing ever-increasing student debt loads, now is the time to provide affordable, high-quality educational opportunities that allow students to invest in their educational goals without taking on generational debt. In 2019, I introduced the Strengthening American Communities Act to create a debt-free pathway for students to earn an undergraduate degree if they commit to public service for at least three years after graduation and to accelerate the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program for existing public servants to pay down their student loan debts. I also support the America’s College Promise plan which would allow academically successful students to earn the first two years of their college degree tuition-free at a community college or Minority Serving Institution such as Maryland’s four Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I will continue to advocate for students and parents who have already taken out student loans to be allowed to refinance those loans at today’s lower interest rates and for student loan servicers to be required to provide borrowers with accurate and complete information. Finally, I support allowing hardworking Maryland students with high debt to income ratios to fulfill their obligations by paying a percentage of their discretionary income, as through the Department of Education’s Income Driven Repayment Plans. These and other steps to relieve crippling student loan debts are critical to empowering this generation to participate fully in our economy, ultimately benefitting all Americans.