Press Releases
Van Hollen, Benson Welcome Home Recently Pardoned Marylander Curtis Brooks
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, Maryland State Senator Joanne Benson, and other local leaders welcomed Curtis Brooks home to Maryland. Curtis was released last Monday, and returned to Maryland this week, after serving over 20 years in prison and following the commutation of his sentence by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. "Today shows the triumph of hope over despair and is a clear example of the power of persistence in ensuring that justice prevails. I am so pleased to welcome … Continue Reading
July 08, 2019
Van Hollen, Udall, Leahy Request GAO Investigation into Full Costs, Legal Compliance for Trump Fourth of July Event
For weeks, the Interior Department has failed to disclose information on costs and planning to Members of the Appropriations Committee to Members of the Appropriations Committee U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) along with Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) requested a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the costs and impacts associated with President Trump's expanded Fourth of July events and into whether the expenses complied with longstanding … Continue Reading
July 08, 2019
Van Hollen and Markey Introduce Legislation to Create a National Climate Bank
Will leverage $35 billion in public funds to fund as much as $700 billion in total investment into projects that support clean energy, reduce emissions Today, Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), members of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today introduced the National Climate Bank Act, legislation that would create a federal bank to leverage public and private funds to invest in clean energy technologies and infrastructure. The National Climate Bank … Continue Reading
July 08, 2019
Van Hollen, NOAA designates new national marine sanctuary in Maryland
Today, Senator Chris Van Hollen along with Senator Ben Cardin, Representative Steny Hoyer, Governor Larry Hogan, Charles County Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins, II, Esq , and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the designation of a new national marine sanctuary to protect the remains of more than 100 abandoned steamships and vessels built as part of America's engagement in World War I. Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary, about 40 … Continue Reading
July 03, 2019
Van Hollen, Cardin Announce More than $1.5 Million for STEM Programs at Morgan State University
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) today announced more than $1.5 million in federal grant funding over three years for Morgan State University through the National Science Foundation (NSF). This award funds the implementation of an evidence-based, experiment-focused teaching model in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs that will train Morgan State University faculty in innovative ways to engage undergraduate STEM students. "Not only is … Continue Reading
July 03, 2019
Van Hollen, Congressional Black Caucus Team Up to Push for Woodson Medal of Honor
Today U.S. Senator Van Hollen (D-Md.) and 51 members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), including CBC Chair Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Dwight Evans (D-Penn.), and Marc Veasey (D-Texas), and Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif), wrote to the Acting Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy requesting a formal review to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Corporal Waverly B. Woodson, Jr., one of the Forgotten Heroes of … Continue Reading
July 03, 2019
Van Hollen Introduces Bill to Authorize Honorary Promotion of Bethesda Veteran Charles McGee
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has introduced legislation to authorize the honorary promotion of Colonel (Ret.) Charles E. McGee, United States Air Force to Brigadier General. Col. McGee, a resident of Bethesda, Md., served with the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, completing 136 combat missions. He completed an additional 100 combat missions in the Korean Conflict and 173 combat missions in the Vietnam War, amassing a record three-war total of combat missions - 409 - of any Air Force … Continue Reading
July 01, 2019
Van Hollen, Senators Demand Answers from HUD for Hiring Eric Blankenstein
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) along with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) are demanding answers on HUD's hiring practices following press reports that disgraced former CFPB political appointee Eric Blankenstein was hired as Senior Counsel of HUD's Office of General Counsel, just one month after resigning from CFPB. Blankenstein, while employed at CFPB, was under investigation for racist and … Continue Reading
June 28, 2019
Van Hollen, Senators: Census Should Stay on Schedule, Omit Citizenship Question
Senators Urge Secretary Ross To Print Census Materials Without Citizenship Question, Avoid Delays Today U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen joined a group of 28 senators in calling for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to meet the administration's previously set deadline of July 1 to begin printing materials for the 2020 Census and move forward without adding a politically motivated question about citizenship. Their call comes a day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration's … Continue Reading
June 28, 2019
Van Hollen, Cardin Announce New Legislation to Support Programs that Provide Summer Jobs for Young People
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) today announced the introduction of new legislation that would authorize $100 million in additional annual funding for youth summer jobs programs like Baltimore's YouthWorks. The Youth Summer Jobs and Public Service Act (S. 2036) would direct five years of federal funding to communities with high concentrations of low-income youth to support the expansion and development of summer employment programs that provide meaningful … Continue Reading
June 27, 2019
Van Hollen Statement on Passage of Annual Defense Bill
Includes Van Hollen Provisions to Protect American National Security Interests Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement on the Senate passage of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which includes Senator Van Hollen's Otto Warmbier Banking Restrictions Involving North Korea (BRINK) Act and funding for many other Maryland priorities. "I'm pleased that the Senate was able to come together on a bipartisan basis to pass this … Continue Reading
June 27, 2019
Van Hollen, Toomey Otto Warmbier BRINK Act Passes Senate as Part of NDAA Bill
Today, U.S. Senators Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), announced the passage of the Otto Warmbier Banking Restrictions Involving North Korea (BRINK) Act within the Senate's FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill was also co-sponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Their legislation is designed to offer foreign banks and firms a stark choice: continue business with … Continue Reading
June 27, 2019
Van Hollen, Cardin Introduce Resolution Honoring Slain Marylander Alex Villamayor, Calling for Justice and Accountability
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) have introduced a resolution honoring the life of Alex Villamayor, a young American citizen born in Maryland who was tragically murdered four years ago in Paraguay. The resolution calls for justice and accountability in his worrisome case, where his death was initially covered up and the FBI was prevented from properly investigating his death. "Alex's death was a tragedy and cannot be forgotten. As we seek to honor his life and his … Continue Reading
June 27, 2019
Van Hollen, Senators Introduce Legislation to Stop Trump Administration Proposal to End Protections for Homeless Transgender People
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined a group of Democratic Senators in introducing new legislation to block a proposed rule at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that would strip away protections for homeless transgender people. The Ensuring Equal Access to Shelter Act, is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Jack … Continue Reading
June 27, 2019
Approaching First Anniversary of Mass Shooting at Capital Gazette, Maryland Senators Renew Call for Gun Safety Legislation
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) today reflected on the first anniversary of the deadliest newsroom shooting in American history and called upon their Republican colleagues in the Senate to enact commonsense gun safety measures immediately. "Friday marks one year since we lost Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith, and Wendi Winters. On this day - and every day - we should celebrate their lives and commemorate their good works. But this is not … Continue Reading
June 27, 2019
Maryland Members Meet with FAA, Urge Action on Ongoing Noise Issues
Yesterday, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, as well as Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings, Dutch Ruppersberger, and Jamie Raskin (all D-Md.), met with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell to discuss the ongoing community concerns surrounding the development of NextGen flight paths at both Baltimore-Washington International and Ronald Reagan National Airports. The new paths have created significant noise issues, and to date, the FAA has been unable … Continue Reading
June 26, 2019
Van Hollen Statement on Border Supplemental
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) submitted the following statement on the Senate border aid bill: MR. PRESIDENT, This morning, Americans woke up to a picture of a 25-year-old father lying facedown holding his infant daughter. They both drowned crossing the Rio Grande River. The border policies implemented by this Administration have life or death consequences. Congress should be doing everything in its power to make sure that our southern border is safe and secure and that … Continue Reading
June 26, 2019
Van Hollen Presents Far-Reaching Economic Proposals at EPI’s Taxing the (Very) Rich Conference
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen discussed his proposals to improve our tax code and boost the U.S. economy at the Economic Policy Institute's Taxing the (Very) Rich Conference. The full text of the Senator's remarks is below: Thank you very much. Let's give it up for Thea and all the good work she does. Thank you to Thea Lee. And I am glad to be off of Capitol Hill right now and with all of you, as we plan what we need to do as we go forward in the coming years on Capitol Hill. I want … Continue Reading
June 26, 2019
Van Hollen, Senate Colleagues Call for Investigation at USDA Amid Reports of Scientific Data Suppression
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and several Senate colleagues, sent a letter to Ms. Phyllis K. Fong, the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to request an investigation into potential instances of suppression and alteration of scientific reports, documents, or communications produced by USDA. The Senators also called for the Inspector General to investigate instances of retaliation and political decision-making at USDA, which has reportedly affected … Continue Reading
June 26, 2019
Van Hollen, Cardin Announce $496,985 for Chesapeake Research Consortium
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) have announced $469,985 in federal funding for the Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) in Edgewater, Maryland through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These funds will assist both the CRC and the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) in maintaining and restoring the health of the Bay by improving scientific research, fostering technical information exchange, and promoting education and stewardship … Continue Reading
