Member of U.S. Senate, January 4, 1977 to January 3, 2007. Member, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, 1977-2007 (ranking minority member, 2003-07; chair, 2001-02). Member, Foreign Relations Committee, 1977-2007 (subcommittee on near eastern & south asian affairs, 1977-2007; subcommittee on european affairs, 1981-2007; subcommittee on african affairs, 1997-2007; subcommittee on international economic policy, export & trade promotion, 1977-2007). Member, Committee on the Budget, 1993-2007; Joint Economic Committee, 1995-2007. Chair, Maryland Congressional Delegation.
Member, U.S. House of Representatives, 1971-77 (representing 4th Congressional District, 1971-73, & 3rd Congressional District, 1973-77). Member, Judiciary Committee; Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee; Select Committee on House Reorganization.
Member, Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 2 (Baltimore City), 1967-71. Member, Judiciary Committee, 1967; Ways and Means Committee, 1968-71. Vice-Chair, Baltimore City Delegation, 1968.
Legislative draftsman, Department of Legislative Reference, 1961 session of General Assembly.
Administrative assistant to Walter W. Heller, Chair of President's Council of Economic Advisers, 1962-63.
Executive Director, Charter Revision Commission, Baltimore City, 1963-64.
Born in Salisbury, Maryland, February 3, 1933. Attended Wicomico County public schools; Wicomico Senior High School, Salisbury, Maryland; Princeton University, A.B., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1954; Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford University, first class B.A., honours in School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, 1957; Harvard University School of Law, LL.B., cum laude, 1960. Law clerk to Judge Morris A. Soper, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1960-61. Attorney. Associate, Piper & Marbury, 1961-62; Venable, Baetjer and Howard, 1965-70. Member, Maryland State Bar Association. Delegate, Democratic Party National Convention, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004. International Advisory Board, Walters Art Museum. Legislator of the Year, Congressional Fire Services Institute, 1998. Congressional Recognition Award, International Association of Fire Fighters, 1999. Friend of Education Award, Maryland State Teachers Association, 2000. John V. Kabler Memorial Award, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, 2002. Paul H. Douglas Ethics in Government Award, University of Illinois, 2003. Rolfe Award for Extrordinary Impact on Policy in Economics, Business, and Finance, Women's Economic Roundtable, New York, 2003. Inducted into American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2004. Cox, Richardson, Coleman Award, Harvard University Law School, 2004. Champion of Science Award, Science Coalition, 2004. Advocacy Award, Easter Seals Greater Washington-Baltimore Region, 2004. Thomas Kennedy Award, House of Delegates, 2005. Restore America Hero Award, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2005. Profile in Stewardship Award, Scenic Rivers Land Trust, 2006. Outstanding achievement in greenways preservation award, Kodak American Greenways Awards (Eastman Kodak, National Geographic Society, & The Conservation Fund), 2006. Reginald V. Truitt Environmental Award, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 2007. Foreign Language Advocacy Award, Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 2007. Public Service Champion of the Chesapeake, Chesapeake Conservancy, 2016. Member, Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, Baltimore. Married to Christine Dunbar Sarbanes, who died March 22, 2009; three children; seven grandchildren. Died in Baltimore, Maryland, December 6, 2020.
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