Press Releases
Van Hollen, Brown, Colleagues Seek Answers on Reports of JPMorgan Robo-Signing
Today, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Committee members Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), sent a letter to JPMorgan Chase seeking to better understand the company's credit card collection practices, including reports that JPMorgan has resumed the practice of robo-signing to sue customers. Brown and … Continue Reading
February 07, 2022
Van Hollen, Colleagues Look Forward to the FDIC Getting Back to Business
Today, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, led by Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and including Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), in issuing the following joint statement regarding Marty Gruenberg stepping into the role of Acting Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Gruenberg, a … Continue Reading
February 07, 2022
Van Hollen, Brown Urge Treasury Department to Provide Covid-Related Tax Relief Due to Global Supply Chain Disruption of Vehicles
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in a follow-up letter to U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urging her to provide tax relief to auto dealers experiencing inventory shortages due to global supply chain issues. Pandemic-related supply chain disruptions have impacted businesses and consumers, with slow-downs and factory closures, particularly with semiconductors, leaving businesses with drastically lower inventories. These disruptions … Continue Reading
February 07, 2022
Van Hollen, Carper, Portman Call for Administration to Relaunch a Comprehensive Tariff Exclusion Process
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) in sending a bipartisan letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai calling for the Administration to establish a more comprehensive exclusion process for imports from China subject to tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in order to allow more small businesses and manufacturers to access relief. Following the expiration of the previous Administration's tariff … Continue Reading
February 07, 2022
Van Hollen, Hassan Introduce Legislation to Restore Full Funding for Educational and Early-Intervention Services for Children with Disabilities
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) in introducing legislation to restore full funding for educational and early-intervention services for children who experience disabilities. The Senators were joined by Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), as well as Representatives Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). Children and families' need for early intervention and pre-school special education … Continue Reading
February 04, 2022
Maryland and Virginia Senators Urge WMATA CEO to Use Final Months to Set Metro on Right Track
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) and Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) met virtually Thursday with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration (WMATA) General Manager and CEO Paul Wiedefeld to thank him for his service and discuss challenges the transit agency is facing with its rail cars and the need to confront the long-term realities of ridership impacted by the pandemic. After the meeting, the senators said it was a productive discussion, during which … Continue Reading
February 04, 2022
Van Hollen, Warner, Brown Call on SEC to Update Human Capital Disclosures so that Companies Report the Number of Employees Who Are Not Full-Time Workers
Today, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senators Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require companies to report on how many workers they employ who are not classified as full-time employees, including independent and subcontracted workers. "We believe that the disclosure of this data is critical to fully capture companies' human capital management. We applaud the SEC for focusing on strengthening human … Continue Reading
February 03, 2022
Van Hollen, Padilla Urge Administration to Form Advisory Group to Support Native Americans Living in Urban Areas
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) in a letter to the Biden-Harris Administration calling for the creation of an Urban Indian Interagency Work Group that would identify the needs of urban American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) and implement strategies to support Native Americans living in urban settings. "In light of the goals you outlined in the Biden-Harris Plan for Tribal Nations, specifically to ensure that urban AI/ANs receive … Continue Reading
February 02, 2022
Bipartisan Resolution Reaffirming U.S. Support for the Belarusian Pro-Democracy Movement Unanimously Clears the Senate
The bipartisan resolution reaffirming U.S. support for the Belarusian pro-democracy movement, introduced by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) alongside Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), unanimously cleared the Senate. The resolution calls for free and fair elections, reaffirms bipartisan support in the Senate for the pro-democracy movement, free media and the Belarusian people and condemns Lukashenka's acts of transnational repression. The resolution, led by … Continue Reading
February 02, 2022
Van Hollen, Hyde-Smith, Peters, Portman Make Bipartisan Push for Independent Investigation Into USPS Delivery of Free Materials for the Blind & Physically Handicapped
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) sent a letter to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Office of the Inspector General requesting that Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb investigate the USPS Free Matter for the Blind or Other Physically Handicapped Persons program. The Senators' request follows testimony provided by a Marylander last year to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General … Continue Reading
January 28, 2022
Van Hollen, Cardin, Trone Announce More Than $3 Million in Federal Funding for Washington County’s Head Start Program
Today, Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressman David Trone (all D-Md.) announced $3,006,066 in federal funding for Washington County's Head Start Program. The award comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and will be used to provide additional resources and support to low-income families. "For over 40 years, Head Start of Washington County has served our community by ensuring that children of all backgrounds can reach their full potential," said the … Continue Reading
January 27, 2022
Van Hollen, Cardin Urge President Biden to Take Immediate Action to Implement “Ghost Gun” Safety Measures
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) urged President Joe Biden to take immediate action to finalize regulations addressing the threat of unserialized firearms - commonly referred to as "ghost guns" - to prevent violence and save lives in Maryland and across the nation. Following an incident last week at Magruder High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, in which a student allegedly shot and critically injured a classmate with a ghost gun and with the number of … Continue Reading
January 27, 2022
Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces Over $7 Million in American Rescue Plan Funding to Support Health Care Workers’ Mental Health
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie Raskin, and David Trone (all D-Md.) announced $7,307,365 in American Rescue Plan funding for health and public safety workforce resiliency training and health care worker mental wellness programs at Johns Hopkins University, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic … Continue Reading
January 27, 2022
Van Hollen, Cardin Join Bipartisan, Bicameral Call for IRS to Provide Relief for Taxpayers as IRS Faces Extensive Processing Backlogs
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, and Ben Cardin, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee (both D-Md.), joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide penalty relief for taxpayers amid extensive, ongoing processing backlogs at the IRS. "While the COVID-19 pandemic has strained every … Continue Reading
January 26, 2022
Van Hollen, Cardin, Trone Announce $11 Million in Federal Funding for the Appalachian Development Highway System in Maryland
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressman David Trone (all D-Md.) announced $11,072,956 in federal funding for Maryland to continue construction of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) including the last remaining section of "Corridor N" that runs through Western Maryland. Funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included a $1.25 billion investment over five years towards the completion of the ADHS. The ADHS is comprised of … Continue Reading
January 25, 2022
Van Hollen, Warnock Press Defense Department to Protect Servicemembers, Military Families from Inadequate Private Base Housing
Following a recent $65 million settlement between the U.S. government and a private housing company guilty of fraudulent and untruthful monetizing practices, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) in a new oversight effort to protect the nation's servicemembers from unsanitary, unsafe living conditions at military base housing facilities operated by Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC) LLC. In a new letter to the Department of Defense, the Senators … Continue Reading
January 25, 2022
Van Hollen, Cardin, Colleagues Urge Biden Administration to Require Medicare to Cover Costs for At-Home Rapid COVID-19 Tests
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) joined Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee Health Care Subcommittee, and a group of their Senate colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to extend their guidance requiring insurance companies to pay for rapid tests to include Medicare. Currently, most private insurance companies are required to cover the cost of up to eight over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests per person, per month, … Continue Reading
January 20, 2022
Van Hollen, Durbin, Bipartisan Colleagues Urge President Biden to Include Funding for Emergency International Food Aid in Any Supplemental Request to Congress
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in a bipartisan letter to President Biden urging him to include funding for emergency international food aid in any upcoming supplemental request to Congress. Recently, the Biden Administration provided an additional $308 million in aid and eased procedures for humanitarian groups. However, the Senators noted in their letter that both the United Nations and World Food Programme (WFP) indicate far more is needed to … Continue Reading
January 20, 2022
Van Hollen, Menendez, Colleagues Sound Alarm Following Reports of High Denial Rates for At-Risk Afghans Seeking Humanitarian Parole into U.S.
United States Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) in writing to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to express concern over reports of high denial rates for Afghans seeking humanitarian parole into the United States in the wake of the Taliban's takeover and the use of an untenably high standard of proof to determine eligibility for the more than 35,000 Afghans who … Continue Reading
January 20, 2022
Van Hollen, Warren, Murphy, Khanna Call on President Biden to Overhaul U.S. Counterterrorism Policy
United States Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) sent a letter to President Biden expressing concern about the United States' targeting criteria for drone strikes that has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, with little accountability. In the letter, the lawmakers call on the President to overhaul U.S. counterterrorism policy to center human rights and the protection of civilians, only using … Continue Reading