In The News
President Donald Trump signed a bill Tuesday inspired by the late Henrietta Lacks, a Baltimore County woman whose cells were used for medical research without her consent. The Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act requires the federal government to publish a report on government-funded cancer research trials, including the amount of participation by underrepresented populations and describing the barriers to participation. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives approved the bill in December before it headed to Trump’s desk to be signed about two weeks before he leaves office. The late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Baltimore Democrat, championed the bill before his death in 2019. Cummings was worried about the lack of participation by people of color in clinical trials for cancer research. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who succeeded Cummings in the 7th District, took up the cause in the House. Maryland’s U.S. senators, Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, supported it in the Senate. Other Maryland members of Congress, including Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Rep. John Sarbanes and Rep. David Trone, also supported the bill.
The long-awaited federal coronavirus relief bill — paired with an expansive government spending package — contains millions of dollars specifically for initiatives in Maryland, but President Donald Trump threw its fate into question Tuesday night when he blasted the bipartisan package and suggested he may not sign it.... The spending bill also would fund smaller programs authorized through the conservation act, such as the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Program, a National Park Service initiative that aims to increase public access to environments in the bay watershed. That program was given $3 million. “I’m particularly proud of our successful effort to secure record-level funding for the Chesapeake Bay Program and to include funding for several other beneficial Bay initiatives,” Maryland Rep. John Sarbanes, a Democrat, said in a news release."
A bill inspired by the late Henrietta Lacks, a Baltimore County woman whose cells were used for medical research without her consent, is headed to President Donald Trump’s desk following a push by Maryland lawmakers. The Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act would require the federal government to publish a report on government-funded cancer research trials, including the amount of participation by underrepresented populations and the barriers to participation.... Other Maryland members of Congress who co-sponsored the bill include: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, all Democrats. Lacks’ oldest son, Lawrence Lacks Sr., said in a statement that his mother is now finally getting her rightful due for her role as “the Mother of Modern Medicine. “As the world celebrates Henrietta Lacks’ 100th birthday this year, it is only fitting that this law builds upon her legacy by ensuring equitable access to advances in cancer treatment for all people,” he said.
The Sackler family, which owns opioid drugmaker Purdue Pharma, "placed insatiable taste of personal wealth over lives of families they have destroyed," Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said Thursday. Purdue Pharma "launched an incredibly destructive, reckless campaign to flood our communities" with OxyContin, the company's extended-release oxycodone product, she said during a hearing on the role of the Sackler family and the company in the opioid epidemic.... Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) asked Sackler about the "patient saving cards" that he said were "supposedly intended to expand access to OxyContin" but "were consistently tracked and evaluated because Purdue knew these cards were a powerful way to keep patients on opioids longer. Is that right?" "My understanding was the patient saving cards were designed to help people afford their medication," Sackler replied. Sarbanes called that "a perfect answer, because it represents the way in which the narrative you put together -- everything that was in fact designed to take advantage of people and exploit their weakness was presented by Sackler and Purdue as trying to help those patients ... This is why thousands of people across the country became addicted, because of the rosy story and narrative that you painted."
Members of the Maryland congressional delegation and several other members of Congress gave tributes to former Maryland Sen. Paul Sarbanes on the Senate and House floors Tuesday evening in a Special Order Hour, remembering him for his strong principles and work ethic. Sarbanes (D) died Sunday at the age of 87. Over his 40 year political career, Sarbanes was most well-known for being first to compose articles of impeachment against President Nixon and for the Sarbanes-Oxley act– the law that is credited with providing transparency and oversight for corporations after the Enron scandal. “Transparency, accountability and ethics were the watchwords of Paul Sarbanes,” Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said on the House floor Tuesday night.... “He loved the state of Maryland, and especially the Chesapeake Bay,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in his speech commemorating the late senator. “He took on the mantle of forging and strengthening the federal partnership to clean up his beloved Chesapeake Bay.” Though leaders commemorated his signature legislation, they also spoke of personal relationships with Sarbanes — calling him their role model, mentor and friend. “Paul Sarbanes was known as a senator’s senator,” Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) said. “For his integrity, for his commitment to public service, for his strong commitment to principles.” On Tuesday morning, Sens. Van Hollen and Cardin submitted Senate Resolution 797 to honor Sarbanes’ life and achievements and express condolences to his family. “He had an inherent integrity that was always strengthened by always striving to meet the expectations of all who put their confidence in him,” the late senator’s son, Rep. John P. Sarbanes (D-Md.), said. “In politics he was motivated by the burning conviction that every individual has dignity and the potential to succeed if given a fair shot.” Rep. Sarbanes said that recently his father sat down to film 20 hours’ worth of oral history, during which he discussed his life and career. He recounted stories that he was proud of, from getting affordable housing for senior citizens in Baltimore to helping a rural post office on the Eastern Shore drop a discriminatory new policy. “It really conveyed who he is and what he cares about,” Sarbanes said. Sarbanes said he remembers one time that he came home and his dad was sitting in the living room, revved up about something. The elder Sarbanes banged on the side of the couch and said “I’m for the little guy, I’m for the little guy.” “He might as well in that moment have been stating his purpose in public life,” John Sarbanes said. “That’s what motivated him from the moment he got up in the morning to the moment he went to bed at night....” Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) said…. “ He will always be, in my mind, the image of what a senator is.... He thought that there was no greater honor than in being a public servant.” Reps. David J. Trone (D-Md.), Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), Andy Levin (D-Mich.) and Anthony G. Brown (D-Md.) also gave speeches honoring Sarbanes, along with Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed legislation to authorize the development and construction of a national monument to fallen journalists, including the victims of the Capital Gazette massacre in 2018. The bill, passed with unanimous consent, authorizes a privately-funded memorial to be constructed on federal lands within the District of Columbia to honor journalists, photographers and broadcasters killed in the line of duty. The House of Representatives passed the bill by a voice vote in September. It now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. Maryland's Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin were original cosponsors of the measure.... The bill's House sponsors included Reps. John Sarbanes and Elijah Cummings. Cummings signed onto the bill in August 2019, two months before his death. The legislation authorizes the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation, an initiative of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, to establish the memorial on certain federal property off of the National Mall. The Annenberg Foundation and the Ferro Foundation have contributed $300,000 toward the effort.
Mercy Medical Center was awarded more than $10 million in federal funding Tuesday to help continue the fight against the coronavirus, congressional leaders said. Authorized under the Stafford Act from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the funding will help create 32 new isolation and treatment rooms for COVID-19 patients in the Mary Catherine Bunting Center at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, lawmakers said. The funding of $10.4 million was announced by U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Steny Hoyer, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Andy Harris, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin and David Trone. “This emergency funding to expand COVID-19 treatment rooms will help ensure the dedicated professionals at Mercy Medical Center can continue their vital work, while increasing Maryland’s hospital capacity and reducing overcrowding to keep healthcare workers and Marylanders safe,” the lawmakers said in a news release. “We remain committed to securing additional federal funding to provide our healthcare workers and hospitals with the resources they need to get us through this public health emergency.”
