Benjamin L. Cardin has been a national leader on health care, retirement security and fiscal issues since coming to Congress in 1987. In 2006, he was elected to succeed Paul Sarbanes in the U.S. Senate. In the Senate, he serves on the Foreign Relations, Judiciary, Environment and Public Works, Budget and Small Business Committees.

Sen. Cardin represented Maryland's Third Congressional District in the House from 1987-2006. His legislation to increase the amount Americans can save for retirement was enacted into law in 2001. His proposal to expand Medicare to include preventive benefits such as colorectal, prostate, mammogram, and osteoporosis screening also was enacted into law. He also authored legislation to improve the Medicare Part D drug benefit for seniors.

In the House, he often was a voice for our most vulnerable citizens. He introduced legislation to help those leaving public assistance get the job training, education and childcare needed to succeed. In 1999, his bill to increase education and support services for foster care children between ages 18 and 21 was signed into law.

Sen. Cardin has a long-standing interest in foreign affairs and human rights. He 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 2003-2006. In the 110th Congress, he has been appointed Co-Chairman of the Commission, and is currently Vice President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly.

In 2002, as a member of the House, he voted against giving the President the authority to go to war in Iraq. He has called on President Bush to present the American people with a plan to bring our troops home.

As a Maryland legislator, Mr. Cardin served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 1986. He was Speaker from 1979 1986. As Speaker, he reformed Maryland's property tax system, the school financing formula and the ethical standards for elected officials.

A 1967 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law (1st in his class), he earned his B.A. degree in 1964 from the University of Pittsburgh (cum laude). He also holds honorary degrees from the University of Baltimore School of Law (1990); University of Maryland at Baltimore (1993); Baltimore Hebrew University (1994); and Goucher College (1996).

Sen. Cardin is married to Myrna Edelman Cardin.