Updates

Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today voted to pass the Heroes Act (H.R. 6800), a critical relief package to address the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency and provide desperately needed support for American families, essential workers, small businesses, hospitals, health care providers and state and local governments.

Voter guide: John Sarbanes, Congress, District 3
The Baltimore Sun

Why are you running for office?

I am running, as always, to serve the needs of my constituents. In this moment, that means being a steady and trusted voice as we navigate the ferocious challenge of the coronavirus pandemic. On the policy front, I will bring my background in the health field – seventeen years representing health care providers in Maryland – to inform our deliberations in Congress on how to address this public health crisis. Along side the full-court press on public health, I will continue my work to strengthen our democracy by ending the influence of big money in politics, protecting the right to vote and ensuring that public officials work for the public interest. To make progress on the most pressing issues we face – including designing a health care system that serves everyone -- we need a government that responds to the many, not the money.

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Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and the Maryland Congressional Delegation today announced $205,723,600 to increase Maryland’s COVID-19 testing capacity.

Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was authorized through the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. This new federal funding follows a recent announcement of nearly $7 million to help Maryland’s Community Health Centers increase COVID-19 testing.

Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today joined U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, along with Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger and Kweisi Mfume (all D-Md.), to announce $4,258,843 in new federal funding to reduce crime and improve public safety in Baltimore City.

Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) today introduced a discussion draft of the Coronavirus Oversight and Recovery Ethics Act (CORE Act), a bill to ensure stronger oversight, accountability and transparency in the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Rick Bright and the Pandemic Path Not Taken
Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker

Many Americans are replaying, in their minds, the steps they have taken and the choices they have made with regard to the coronavirus crisis, but perhaps few with such tragic force as Rick Bright, who testified in a House hearing on Thursday. Bright, who in April was transferred from his position as the head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, had caused a “commotion,” as one colleague put it, by urging more action at pandemic-planning meetings as far back as January and February. At the hearing, Representative John Sarbanes, a Democrat of Maryland, who had a pewter-gray mask around his neck—the members lowered their masks when speaking or, in some cases, when seated—asked Bright to return to that period. “I am sure that there are specific conversations, e-mails, moments in time that you remember like they happened yesterday,” Sarbanes said. Could he recall any particularly haunting ones that had caused a “sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach?”

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Republicans and Democrats barrel toward collision on voting by mail
Zach Montellaro, POLITICO

Americans want to be able to vote by mail in November — but Democratic proposals to require it appear to be going nowhere fast in Congress.... Democrats argue that the public widely supports their proposals — and that the election security grant funding mechanism included in the HEROES Act is of critical importance. “On balance, [voters] think voting by mail is a good idea, and that we ought to expand that opportunity. They also, based on preference or access or other factors, want to make sure that there’s going to be some meaningful in-person voting opportunities,” said Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), who helped shepherd H.R. 1 through the House last year. Sarbanes and other Democrats also said all forms of voting need to be available in November. Those include "expanded vote by mail, significant early voting opportunities, and then safe in-person voting opportunities on Election Day," he said. "We need all three of those things.”

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Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and the Maryland Congressional Delegation today announced $6,975,492 to help 18 Community Health Centers (CHCs) in Maryland expand their capacity to test for COVID-19.

Democrats push to strengthen stimulus oversight in next round of coronavirus legislation
Benjamin Siegel, ABC News

A group of House and Senate Democrats seeking stronger oversight of the massive coronavirus relief programs is introducing a new bill to force companies to publicly report how they're using the funds, and to beef up the oversight of the small business aid program. Introduced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the proposal would strengthen some of the key watchdog provisions in the original $2.3 trillion CARES Act, according to a review of the bill obtained by ABC News.... The proposal, which is being introduced by Reps. John Sarbanes, D-Md., and Pramila Jayapal D-Wash., in the House, would also codify the Federal Reserve's plans to release the names and amounts borrowed in their coronavirus lending programs and require borrowers to share how the funds are being used, along with information about compensation and their workforce -- such as executive salaries and bonuses.

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