Press Releases
Van Hollen, Cardin, Warner, Kaine Urge Biden Administration To Ensure That Seafood Processors Are Able To Hire The Seasonal Workforce They Need
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) and Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) today urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to quickly make available the maximum number of Congressionally-authorized H-2B visas in order to ensure that seafood processors in Maryland and Virginia have the seasonal workforce they need ahead of the seasonal start date on April 1.“In the rural and remote coastal regions in our states, even in a time of high unemployment, … Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Prince George’s County Congressional Delegation Announces $1.2 Million in Emergency Funding for COVID-19 Response
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer and Anthony G. Brown (all D-Md.) today announced $1.2 million in federal funding to strengthen Prince George’s County’s vaccination plan.“As Prince George’s County ramps up its COVID-19 vaccination levels, this new emergency federal funding will help ensure vaccine distribution is more efficient, easier to navigate, and reaches as many county residents as possible with the new COVID-19 Vaccine Management … Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Van Hollen, Cardin, Senators Introduce “No Check, No Sale” Bill To Close The Charleston Loophole
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) introduced legislation with twenty-four of their Senate colleagues to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 hours, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. The gap in existing law has allowed thousands of gun sales to prohibited buyers, including the sale of the firearm used by the shooter in the deadly attack at Charleston’s Emanuel AME … Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Van Hollen, Courtney Introduce Bicameral Bill to Halt Costly and Redundant Trump-Era Nuclear Program
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Congressman Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) introduced the Nuclear SLCM Ban Act, legislation to prohibit research and development, production, and deployment of the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (N-SLCM) and its associated nuclear warhead. This program, which was reinstated by President Trump after its initial withdrawal by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and retirement by President Obama in 2013, has been shown to be both redundant and … Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Baltimore Delegation Announces More Than $420,000 for Critical COVID-19 Research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes and Kweisi Mfume (all D-Md.) today announced $424,875 in federal funding for the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) to research the lasting effects of COVID-19 on the brain.“There’s much we don’t know about the long-term effects of COVID-19. With this new round of federal funding, scientists and researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore will be able to better understand the impacts … Continue Reading
March 03, 2021
Van Hollen on White House Meeting: It’s Time to Invest in a Quantum Leap Forward to Cure Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Other Diseases that Plague American Families
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement regarding his meeting with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and a bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers to discuss the future of fighting cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases in the United States:“Even as we battle COVID-19, families are still facing the pain and loss that cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other devastating diseases leave in their wake. It’s time that we take a quantum leap forward … Continue Reading
March 03, 2021
Van Hollen, Cardin, Trone Announce More Than $3.5 Million for Western Maryland Community Health Center
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressman David Trone (D-Md.) today announced $3,565,694 in federal funding to support Tri-State Community Health Center in Hancock, Md.“This new federal funding will help support frontline health workers in Western Maryland as they continue to fight COVID-19 and provide affordable, high-quality health care to residents. Community Health Centers, like the Tri-State Community Health Center, are critical partners in our efforts to beat this … Continue Reading
March 03, 2021
Van Hollen, Cardin, Murphy, Senators Reintroduce Legislation to Require Universal Background Checks to Reduce Gun Violence
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) joined Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and a number of their Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Background Check Expansion Act to expand federal background checks to all gun sales. Under current federal law, unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check prior to transferring a firearm. Research indicates that, due to these exceptions, as many as a quarter of all gun sales in the United States may occur … Continue Reading
March 02, 2021
Van Hollen Statement in Support of Cecilia Rouse to Serve as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement regarding his vote to confirm Cecilia Rouse to serve as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors:“I strongly support the nomination of Cecilia Rouse to chair the Council of Economic Advisors. Dr. Rouse’s career has focused on strengthening labor markets for American workers, improving our education system, and addressing the structural inequities that stand in the way of making the economy work for all Americans. … Continue Reading
March 02, 2021
Van Hollen Statement in Support of Gina Raimondo to Serve as Commerce Secretary
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement regarding his vote to confirm Gina Raimondo to serve as Secretary of the Department of Commerce: “As Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo will take on challenges that directly affect my home state of Maryland, including fighting for an inclusive economy with shared prosperity that truly works for everyone. The struggles of low income and minority communities’ hardest-hit by the pandemic have shone a harsh light on … Continue Reading
March 02, 2021
Following Aftermath of Insurrection, Van Hollen, Menendez Demand Greater Accountability and Transparency in Corporate Political Spending
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, reintroduced the Shareholder Protection Act of 2021 to ensure public companies are more transparent and disclose their political spending activities to their shareholders.Following the events of January 6th, 2021, corporate America’s response to the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol demonstrated precisely why corporate political spending is … Continue Reading
March 02, 2021
Van Hollen Statement in Support of Miguel Cardona to Serve as Secretary of Education
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement regarding his vote to confirm Miguel Cardona to serve as Secretary of Education:“After four years of Secretary DeVos’s efforts to promote greater privatization of our education system and dismantle the civil rights of students, Miguel Cardona is the person we need to restore the promise of America’s schools. A former public school teacher who went on to be a leader in the same district where he was once an English … Continue Reading
March 01, 2021
Van Hollen Announces Banking Subcommittees for 117th Congress
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement in coordination with the announcement that, in his role on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, he will serve as a member on the Subcommittee on Economic Policy; the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development; and the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection:“Americans need an economy that works for them, not against them. But too often the wishes of … Continue Reading
March 01, 2021
Van Hollen, Coons, Tillis, Colleagues Reintroduce Resolution to Establish a Senate Human Rights Commission
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), co-chairs of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, in introducing a resolution to establish a Senate Human Rights Commission, modeled after the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. House of Representatives. If passed, the resolution would create a bipartisan commission to examine human rights violations through regular briefings and events and promote human rights initiatives in the … Continue Reading
March 01, 2021
Van Hollen, Murphy, Dems Urge Senate Leadership To Prioritize Behavioral Health Needs Of Children In Next Covid-19 Relief Package
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, on Monday joined 6 Democrats in urging Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to include targeted funding for the behavioral health needs of our nation’s children through the expansion of the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) program in the next COVID-19 relief package. In a letter, the senators emphasized the rise … Continue Reading
March 01, 2021
Van Hollen, Markey, Merkley, and Sanders Call on Biden Administration to Reinstate Humanitarian Assistance to Yemen
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Administrator Gloria Steele calling for robust diplomacy and a reversal of the Trump administration’s decision to suspend U.S. humanitarian aid in northern Yemen. On March 27 2020, USAID suspended more than $50 million dollars of humanitarian … Continue Reading
March 01, 2021
Van Hollen, Heinrich Urge Administration to Consider COVID Vaccination Strategy Prioritizing First Doses
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) sent a letter to White House Coronavirus Task Force Response Coordinator Jeff Zients urging the Administration to consider a new COVID-19 vaccination strategy that prioritizes first doses in order to better protect Americans from highly transmissible variants of the disease.The Senators begin, “As a threat rises from new disease variants, we write to request your consideration of a new strategy to maximize the … Continue Reading
March 01, 2021
Van Hollen, Tester, Crapo, Moran Push to Provide Disabled Veterans Full Military Benefits
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has joined Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and a group of their colleagues in introducing the Major Richard Star Act, bipartisan legislation to provide combat-injured veterans with less than 20 years of military service their full benefits.Currently, more than 42,000 military retirees with combat-related injuries qualify for retirement pay for their service from the Department of Defense (DoD) and for disability … Continue Reading
February 26, 2021
Van Hollen, Menendez Reintroduce Bill to Promote Corporate Diversity
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) in reintroducing legislation that would require public companies to disclose information related to the racial, gender, ethnic makeup, and veteran status of corporate boards and senior management. The Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2021 addresses shortcomings in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) diversity disclosure rule. Congressman Gregory Meeks (N.Y.-05) is introducing … Continue Reading
February 26, 2021
Van Hollen, Warren, Pressley, Lee, Kelly, Bass, and Colleagues Reintroduce Bicameral Legislation to Require Federal Government to Collect and Report Coronavirus Demographic Data – Including Race and Ethnicity
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), and Karen Bass (D-Calif.) in reintroducing the bicameral Equitable Data Collection and Disclosure on COVID-19 Act. The bill would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to collect and report racial and other demographic data on COVID-19 testing, treatment, vaccination, and fatality rates and use all … Continue Reading
