Press Releases
Van Hollen, Colleagues Applaud FCC Implementation of Emergency Connectivity Fund Program Created by American Rescue Plan
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-06), lauded the FCC’s unanimous and bipartisan implementation of their legislation, the Emergency Educational Connections Act, and the more than $7 billion in funding for the E-Rate (Education-Rate) program that was included in the American Rescue Plan that became law in March. The lawmakers’ legislation will help close … Continue Reading
May 11, 2021
Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces More Than $543.8 Million in American Rescue Plan Funding for Maryland Colleges, Universities and Students
(Timonium, MD) - Today, Maryland’s Congressional delegation, including U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen as well as Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin and David Trone (all D-MD), announced more than $543.8 million in American Rescue Plan funding for colleges, universities and students throughout Maryland.The funding will help local institutions cope with the severe financial fallout from the COVID-19 … Continue Reading
May 11, 2021
Van Hollen Joins Durbin, Young, Colleagues in Bipartisan Request for Strong FY22 International Affairs Budget
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), member of both the Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and nearly half the Senate in urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to support strong Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 funding for the International Affairs Budget. In a bipartisan letter to … Continue Reading
May 10, 2021
Van Hollen, Blumenthal, Colleagues Call for DOJ Review of Trump Administration Efforts To Protect Fossil Fuel Companies From Accountability For Decades Of Climate Deception
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) along with their colleagues Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) wrote Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting that the Department of Justice review amicus briefs filed during the Trump Administration in support of fossil fuel companies that engaged in decades of … Continue Reading
May 07, 2021
Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces More Than $32.6 Million to Strengthen Global Health Research
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin and David Trone (all D-Md.) today announced more than $32.6 million in federal funding for the Association of Public Health Laboratories, based in Silver Spring, Maryland, to expand domestic and global health research and preparedness efforts.“Infectious disease outbreaks in one country pose a threat to all countries and our public health … Continue Reading
May 07, 2021
Van Hollen, Sullivan Celebrate U.S. Foreign Service Day
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), co-founders of the bipartisan Senate Foreign Service Caucus, announced the introduction of a resolution recognizing “Foreign Service Day,” which takes place today, and that they will soon reintroduce the Foreign Service Families Act. The legislation will help ensure that the Foreign Service is able to attract and retain a world-class diplomatic corps by providing expanded career options and services to eligible family members. … Continue Reading
May 05, 2021
Van Hollen, Warren, Colleagues Urge HHS to Take "Immediate" and "Aggressive" Action to Mitigate and Manage COVID-19 Outbreaks in Correctional Facilities
United States Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging Secretary Xavier Becerra to use new funding authorized by Congress in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and his authority under the Public Health … Continue Reading
May 05, 2021
Van Hollen, Cardin, Trone Announce $260,000 in AmeriCorps Funding to Support Seniors in Frederick
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressman David Trone (all D-Md.) today announced $260,000 in federal funding to the Asian American Center of Frederick. Funding comes from FY21 AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Companion Program and will provide social support for low-income individuals 55 and older.“For more than 25 years, AmeriCorps volunteers have been doing crucial work in Maryland - including providing top-notch assistance and care in our communities. This new funding will … Continue Reading
May 05, 2021
Van Hollen, Hirono, Schatz, Brown, Blumenthal, Menendez, Booker Call for United Airlines to Stop Outsourcing 2,500 Catering Jobs
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) along with their colleagues Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) sent letters yesterday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby about United Airlines’ intention to outsource inflight catering jobs for thousands of workers based in Honolulu, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, and Newark.In the letter to … Continue Reading
May 03, 2021
Maryland Congressional Delegation Secures Additional $727 Million for Students Missing Meals Due to COVID-19 School Closures
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin and David Trone (all D-Md.) today announced that Maryland can extend its Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) nutrition and meals assistance program for eligible Maryland children through June 2021. From August 2020 and with the June extension, the State will issue an estimated $727 million in benefits to help families purchase food … Continue Reading
April 30, 2021
Van Hollen, Young, Cantwell Introduce Bipartisan Pakistan-Afghanistan Economic Package to Promote Stability in the Region As U.S. Military Plans Afghanistan Exit
With the U.S.-announced troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is vital that we use all the tools at our disposal to promote lasting peace and economic opportunity and to achieve other vital political objectives in the region. Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) introduced the bipartisan Pakistan-Afghanistan Economic Development Act, legislation to establish Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s border … Continue Reading
April 28, 2021
Van Hollen Statement on Biden Joint Address to Congress
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement regarding President Joe Biden’s Joint Address to Congress:“Tonight President Biden spoke to the country with confidence and conviction; seriousness and resolve; realism about the challenges we face; and optimism about America’s future. It’s been just under 100 days since President Joe Biden took office and the Democratic party gained leadership in the Senate. In this span, we have put our all into building a stronger … Continue Reading
April 28, 2021
Van Hollen Applauds Biden Use of Stepped-Up Basis, IRS Enforcement to Pay for Investments in the Prosperity of Everyday Americans
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen applauded President Joe Biden’s inclusion of measures to close the stepped-up basis loophole and increase resources for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement in order to fund the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. The Senator also announced his intent to Chair his first Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on IRS enforcement.“President Biden’s American Families Plan and American Jobs Plan will … Continue Reading
April 28, 2021
Van Hollen, Cardin Urge President Biden To Increase Refugee Admissions Target
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-MD) joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), and a group of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to issue an updated presidential determination with an increased refugee admissions target for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 as soon as possible. The Senators also urged President Biden to set a target of at least 125,000 refugee admissions in FY 2022 and to set the refugee admissions target at 62,500 … Continue Reading
April 28, 2021
Van Hollen Statement on Vote to Confirm Samantha Power to Lead USAID
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) entered the following statement into the Congressional Record on his vote to confirm Samantha Power to be the next Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development:“Madam President, I rise to voice my strong support for the confirmation of Ambassador Samantha Power to be the next Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. I am confident that she brings the talent, skill, and experience required of … Continue Reading
April 27, 2021
Van Hollen Statement on Meeting with Biden GSA Administrator Nominee Robin Carnahan
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement after meeting Friday with Robin Carnahan, President Biden’s nominee to serve as Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA): “Maryland is proud to serve as the home of many of our federal employees and to house many of our federal agencies. The U.S. General Services Administration is crucial to the success of these agencies, and I appreciated the opportunity to discuss its role with Ms. … Continue Reading
April 27, 2021
Van Hollen joins Blumenthal & Smith in Introducing Legislation to Stop Sexual Harassment in Stem
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) in introducing the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act today to improve the understanding of factors contributing to sexual harassment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, examine impacts of harassment on individuals and policies to reduce it, and spur interagency efforts to mitigate this harassment.“The ongoing culture of sexual harassment in STEM … Continue Reading
April 26, 2021
Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces More Than $12.8 Million from American Rescue Plan Funding to Support Homeless Students
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Andy Harris, M.D., Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin, and David Trone (all Md.) today announced more than $12.8 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan to meet the academic, emotional, social and mental health needs of homeless students across the state.“The COVID-19 pandemic took a massive toll on children and families, with vulnerable communities, such as … Continue Reading
April 26, 2021
Van Hollen, Cardin, Trone Announce More Than $800,000 for New Luke Water Distribution Lines
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressman David Trone (all D-Md.) today announced $802,000 in federal funding to replace the water distribution lines in the Town of Luke. Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development mission area as a part of the Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants Program.“The safety of a community’s drinking water should never be in question. With the closing of the mill, the Town of Luke is working to provide local … Continue Reading
April 23, 2021
Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces More Than $2.8 Million to Strengthen Rural Water Infrastructure
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer and Andy Harris, M.D., (all Md.) today announced more than $2.8 million in federal funding to modernize critical water infrastructure across the state.“As we redouble our efforts to strengthen our nation’s critical infrastructure, this new round of federal funding will revitalize water distribution lines and expand water treatment facilities, providing affordable and clean drinking water and sanitation for thousands … Continue Reading