Just as he did during his 22-month campaign, Ben Cardin’s first day in the Senate revolved around assertions that U.S. troops must be pulled out of Iraq — regardless of the president’s opinion to the contrary.
Before being sworn in to the office, the former congressman told The Examiner that he’s looking forward to his Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s hearing next week to gauge and then make policy recommendations regarding Iraq.
“It will give us a record of what’s happening today — the Iraq Study Group report got a good start on this, and we’ll look at it more,” he said Thursday before becoming Maryland’s 62nd senator.
As for recommendations from President Bush to increase the number of troops, the junior Maryland lawmaker said the exact opposite needs to happen.
“The right policy is to start bringing our troops home,” he added. “There should never be an announced time schedule, but there should be a game plan.”
Just below Iraq, his other priorities include improving education, raising the minimum wage, making health care affordable and universal and devoting more federal funds to public transportation.
While speaking to a room full of supporters and family members, Cardin broke from his characteristically subtle personality and cracked a joke about just this problem when he said he would have gone to visit more local businesses while campaigning “but I kept getting stuck in traffic.”
At Cardin’s former stomping ground, the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi has led a charge to rush high-priority legislation through in the first 100 hours of the session, an idea the new senator insists is realistic.
“In the Senate that would not work,” he said. “Our agenda’s the same [as in the House] — things just work a little differently, more slowly in the Senate.”
On Thursday, the higher-ranking legisltaors held a special session designed to enhance bipartisanship in the severely divided Senate.
“I’m looking forward to a frank discussion,” Cardin said, noting that he’s optimistic both political parties can work together. “[Senate Majority leader Harry] Reid wanted to start with the family talking together … and that’s what we’re doing.”
