Records in House define Maryland Democrats

Cardin's climb
Cardin arrived in Congress with one main goal: Get on Ways and Means. Starting in late 1986, he laid siege to the committee. "I had a plan," he explained.

He rounded up support from the delegations of Maryland and other mid-Atlantic states. He persuaded business leaders to put in a word for him. He wrangled a meeting with Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), a coup for a freshman. And he allied himself with Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), who sat on the committee. Cardin, then 43 and a former speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, pitched himself as a government finance expert.

Cardin knew he wouldn't get onto a top-tier committee as a freshman. But he wanted to be first on the waiting list. The chance came in his third year. After Gephardt rose to majority leader in June 1989, Cardin slipped into the Ways and Means seat he vacated.

"It wasn't even contested," Cardin recalled. "I had it sewn up."

The move forced Cardin off the Judiciary and Public Works and Transportation committees. But the vast Ways and Means jurisdiction more than offset the loss of those assignments, enabling him to guard Maryland's interests in tax, trade and health-care issues. For example, he secured a measure to protect the state's unusual system of Medicare reimbursements for hospitals.

Like Mfume, Cardin was a reliable vote for Democratic priorities such as gun control, civil rights legislation, minimum wage increases and abortion rights. Like Mfume, he opposed the 1991 resolution to authorize the use of force against Iraq. (He also opposed the 2002 resolution that led to the war in Iraq.) And, like Mfume, his influence rose after Clinton was elected.

In 1993, Cardin gave Clinton a key vote to help pass NAFTA over organized labor's opposition. In 1994, Cardin helped craft Democratic legislation to answer Clinton's call for universal health-care coverage.

As the Ways and Means health subcommittee labored over the ill-fated bill, Cardin unexpectedly sided with Republicans to support a cap on medical malpractice damages. He also pushed to ease health-care expenses for small businesses.

Although the Clinton health-care initiative died, Cardin's stature grew. He was named a Democratic transition leader when Republicans took over the House. He helped lead a bipartisan ethics investigation into allegations that House Speaker Newt Gingrich had abused tax laws, resulting in a historic vote in 1997 to reprimand the Georgia Republican.

During the Clinton and current Bush administrations, Cardin teamed with Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) -- now the White House budget chief -- on tax and retirement savings measures that became law. One restructured the Internal Revenue Service. Another allowed greater worker contributions to retirement accounts and overhauled pension rules. Portman-Cardin became a rare bipartisan brand in polarized Washington. But generally, Cardin has opposed President Bush on tax cuts, trade bills and other key issues moving through Ways and Means.

'Gutsy guys'
Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.), another veteran from the Class of 1986, said Mfume and Cardin were known for their quick grasp of policy and sharp political instincts.

He described Cardin as "a very, very solid and respected legislator" and Mfume as an "incredibly energetic, gutsy guy. Leads with his heart."

"Both Kweisi and Ben are totally capable of handling complicated issues on their feet, thinking on their own, distilling them to their essence," he said. "There are a lot of people around here who can't."

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