t r u t h o u t | Interview With Congressman John Sarbanes

Truthout Original

Interview With Congressman John Sarbanes

Saturday 09 August 2008

by: Christopher Kuttruff, t r u t h o u t | Interview

Representative John Sarbanes (D-Maryland). (Photo: US Congress)

Representative John Sarbanes speaks to Truthout about the election, domestic policy and his experiences as a freshman member of Congress.

Congressman Sarbanes (D-Maryland), despite his brief time in the House, has been active in supporting, and proposing, legislation concerning a variety of issues, including health care, education, veterans' affairs, the environment and other federal policies.

After chairing the health care practice for six years at Venable, LLP, Sarbanes transitioned from his legal career to run for Mayland's Third Congressional District. His policy knowledge and experience with law landed him on several committees, including the Education and Labor Committee, the Committee on Natural Resources and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Listen to the Interview Below

Download MP3

Sarbanes sponsored the Education for Public Service Act (H.R. 2661), which, among other things, forgives student loan debts of individuals working in public service jobs after 120 consecutive payments. Sarbanes has proposed several other bipartisan pieces of legislation for Social Security reform and environmental regulation.

Congressman Sarbanes discussed with Truthout his impressions of working as a US representative in an era or political tumult and social transition.

Comments

This is a moderated forum. It may take a little while for comments to go live.

How great it is to hear the

Sun, 08/10/2008 - 23:20 — Anonymous (not verified)

How great it is to hear the voice of reason. When is the last time you heard that from your Representative? The ones on the hill are so ingrained in the system that they fail to hear the constituents any more. It's very refreshing to hear someone who actually has served and still has a handle on what needs to be done and how corrupt the current system really is. I'm glad it was a radio piece instead of just a transcript. Everyone does transcripts anymore and I am not that good at reading them all. I can listen and eat at the same time. What a pleasure to know there is someone out there actually working for the people of this country instead of against them.

Here's a decent interview of

Sun, 08/10/2008 - 22:43 — kwark (not verified)

Here's a decent interview of a congressman with integrity discussing issues of substance and all several commenters choose to do is complain about the recording format (!) or complain about the people who complain about the format! With folks like this on our side we cannot fail to fail.

To all of you who are

Sun, 08/10/2008 - 17:03 — C.J.Gelfand (not verified)

To all of you who are impatient with the radio, I come from the generation born before TV, and radio was all we had. It served our purposes very nicely. Next time you get irritated with those of us who cannot master today's technology as fast as you, be aware that you can't do everything well either. There are some things we do better than you which are valuable, so be careful before you treat us as obsolete. And put on your listening ears.

The interview was very

Sun, 08/10/2008 - 15:25 — Sylvia from Virginia (not verified)

The interview was very interesting. It's refreshing to hear a freshman congressman speak about our countries possibilities in the same breath as talking about the obstacles regarding the influence of money on making those possibilities become reality. One can only pray that he can keep the integrity of his beliefs and not become one of them! It's great to hear him speak, as he has a way of making a very clear point without sounding too judgmental. With a taped interview you can also "hear between the lines." I was more inclined to listen all the way through and was pleased to learn of the strong convictions of this freshman congressman. We need more like him.

Everyone else in the house

Sun, 08/10/2008 - 14:17 — futhark (not verified)

Everyone else in the house is still sleeping...written transcript, please.

I am very interested in what

Sun, 08/10/2008 - 11:44 — Anonymous (not verified)

I am very interested in what Rep. Sarbanes has to say, but I, too, would like to see a transcript. Consider publishing it in your next issue. I long admired (and voted for) Mr. Sarbanes' father, former Senator Paul Sarbanes who was a great senator in spite of a not too exciting speaking style. Audio has its moments, but can get in the way of transmission. I would like to read what Rep. Sarbanes has to say in the quiet of my Sunday morning--it is a more peaceful experience, and gives me time to reflect upon the substance of his words.

	Your name:
	E-mail: The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
	Comment: * Input format Filtered HTML Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> Lines and paragraphs break automatically. Raw HTML More information about formatting options
	CAPTCHA The following question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Please enter the two words seen below. If you cannot read them you may use the button with circling arrows to get a new one.