In The News
Among the House-passed measures that stalled in the Senate was a political reform bill sponsored in 2018 — and again this year — by U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, a Democrat who represents parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard and Montgomery counties, as well as a section of Baltimore City. The sweeping bill contains ethics reform, campaign finance reform and voting rights protections and was designed, Sarbanes said, to “drain the swamp” in a way GOP President Donald Trump has not. The legislation was reintroduced this week with an announcement by Sarbanes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others with the unstated hope that the Senate would flip to Democrats who would approve the bill.
The U.S. Capitol is under lockdown. A mob seeking to overturn the results of the November 2020 presidential election breached the Capitol building Wednesday afternoon as Congress was set to certify President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s victory. Lawmakers were locked down, Vice President Mike Pence was moved to a secure location and The Associated Press was reporting that at least one person has been shot and taken to a hospital.... Rep. John Sarbanes tweeted at 7 p.m. that "the Capitol is now secure." He decried Trump's rhetoric and the actions of his supporters and said lawmakers would proceed with counting Electoral College votes.
A bill aimed at closing health disparities and honoring the medical contributions of Henrietta Lacks was signed into law. President Trump on Tuesday signed H.R. 1966, the “Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act of 2019.” The measure requires the U.S. Government Accountability Office to complete a study on barriers to participation in federally funded cancer clinical trials by populations that have been traditionally underrepresented in such trials. The bill was sponsored by Maryland’s U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D) and Benjamin L. Cardin (D), as well as Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), who has sponsored the bill since the death of his predecessor Elijah E. Cummings, who originally championed the legislation. Co-sponsors include Maryland Congressmen C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D), John P. Sarbanes (D) and David J. Trone (D).
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.