Press Releases
Van Hollen, Wyden, Rounds and Eshoo Call for Securing U.S. Capitol Phone Networks in Bipartisan Letter
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), along with Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and 20 members of the House and Senate requested to encrypt phone calls between the chambers to protect communications against foreign surveillance.“Congress must secure itself from the serious threat posed by foreign spies,” the members wrote. “Please take immediate action to encrypt, in bulk, all internal calls and other electronic communications between the Senate, … Continue Reading
May 19, 2020
Van Hollen, Coons, Collins Push for First Responders Support in Next Relief Package
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), along with a number of their colleagues, sent a bipartisan letter to Senate Leadership encouraging additional support for first responders in the next COVID-19 relief package.The lawmakers detailed the following priorities for first responders:Bolster Assistance to Firefighter Grant, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER), and Department of Justice grant funding, including for the … Continue Reading
May 18, 2020
Van Hollen Statement on Decision by Bay States, Advocacy Groups to Sue EPA
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement regarding the decision by Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia as well as Chesapeake Bay advocacy groups to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their lack of enforcement of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) pollution reduction targets. “The Chesapeake Bay is not only a national treasure but a vital economic driver in our region. To protect and restore it, the EPA should use … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Van Hollen Statement on the House Passage of the Heroes Act
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement on the House of Representatives passage of the Heroes Act, legislation to provide more funds to support coronavirus relief and response:“The House has done its job, and now the Senate must act. Despite what Mitch McConnell thinks, our families, front-line workers, small businesses, and state and local governments have urgent needs now as our economy teeters on the brink. The Heroes Act focuses on the immediate … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Van Hollen, Cardin Urge Trump Administration to Provide Relief for Seafood Industry
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.), along with U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) and Congressman Robert Wittman (R-Va.) have sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, urging him to help Maryland and Virginia’s seafood industries resolve current labor shortages by issuing or re-allocating additional H-2B visas, while protecting the health and safety of seafood workers per CDC guidelines.The … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Van Hollen, Cardin Call for Future COVID-19 Response Legislation to Protect Access to Dental Care for All Americans
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), along with a number of their colleagues, sent a letter to Senate leadership asking that any future COVID-19 response legislation includes strong measures to maintain dental coverage for Americans who have lost their employer-based benefits and to ensure access to pediatric and adult dental coverage through the Medicaid program. Joining Van Hollen and Cardin in sending the letter were U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Richard J. … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces $25 Million to Help Seniors and Individuals With Disabilities Live Independently
The Maryland congressional delegation, including U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John P. Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Andy Harris, M.D., Anthony G. Brown, Jamie B. Raskin, and David Trone announced the award of $25,212,690 through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) for the continuation of the Money Follows the Person (RCMFTP) demonstration program. By making home and … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Van Hollen, Merkley, Collins, Murkowski, Tester Urge Congressional Leaders to Support Vulnerable Students Amid Coronavirus Crisis
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Jon Tester (D-MT), as well as a bipartisan group of almost 40 senators, pressed congressional leadership to include in the upcoming coronavirus relief package significant funding for the Federal TRIO Programs (TRIO), which are integral to supporting vulnerable students and their families that have been impacted by the virus.The senators’ letter comes as the economic fallout of the … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Van Hollen, Stabenow, Senators Urge Action to Ensure Worker Safety as the Trump Administration Pressures Meat Processing Plants to Open
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), along with a group of 27 Democratic Senators, raised new concerns about the Trump Administration’s Executive Order that has pressured meat processing plants to open without verifying the necessary safety measures to protect workers and the food supply. In a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, the Senators outlined recommendations for ways the Administration should improve worker safety.“While we … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Van Hollen, Schatz, Senators to Trump: Instead of Deflecting Blame for Failing COVID-19 Response, Fully Invoke Defense Production Act
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and three other senators in calling for President Trump to stop leveling blame on others for his mismanagement of the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and urging him invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to dramatically increase domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing supplies. The president's decision to fire the Pentagon’s point person for the DPA yesterday … Continue Reading
May 14, 2020
Van Hollen, Cardin, Colleagues Press Labor Department to Speed up Unemployment Disbursements and Address System Shortfalls
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) today joined colleagues in urging the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to speed up Unemployment Insurance (UI) disbursements and to work to address system shortfalls that have contributed to the delays in workers getting their benefits. In a letter sent to DOL Secretary Eugene Scalia, the senators expressed serious concern regarding the significant delays in the processing of UI claims that are preventing workers from receiving their … Continue Reading
May 14, 2020
Van Hollen, Senators Introduce Legislation to Ban “Ghost” Guns as COVID-19 Pandemic Drives Demand for Untraceable Firearms
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), along with a group of their Senate colleagues, introduced legislation to ban “ghost” guns. Reports indicate that the public health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have spurred an increase in demand for and sale of these untraceable weapons.The Untraceable Firearms Act would include ghost guns and their core building blocks - unfinished frames and receivers - and the gun-making kits used to build … Continue Reading
May 14, 2020
Van Hollen, Merkley, Murphy Announce New Work Share Proposal to Help Employers and Workers Weather the Storm
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced new legislation to help small businesses, nonprofits, and workers weather the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and support a safe reopening. On a press conference call, the Senators laid out the details of their proposal, the Rebuilding Main Street Act, which would expand the existing work share program to allow employers to share their payroll costs with the federal government, … Continue Reading
May 13, 2020
Van Hollen, Cardin Join Entire Democratic Caucus in New Amicus Brief To Protect Americans’ Health Care & Slam Republican Efforts To Rip Coverage From Millions Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) joined the entire Senate Democratic caucus today in filing an amicus brief in the case of California v. Texas (formerly Texas v. Azar), the case brought by several Republican Attorneys General and the Trump Administration, which is currently pending before the Supreme Court and represents a direct threat to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and health care coverage for hundreds of millions of Americans. Senate Democrats argue that the … Continue Reading
May 13, 2020
Van Hollen, Jones Call for Investigation into Improper Political Influence on Repeal of Federal Payday Lending Rule
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.), along with several of their colleagues, are calling for Federal Reserve Board Inspector General Mark Bialek to open an investigation into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rulemaking process that led to the repeal of the Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans Rule (Payday Rule). Joining the Senators in the letter are Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Catherine … Continue Reading
May 13, 2020
Following Urging From Van Hollen and Schatz, New National Housing Assistance Website Launched to Help Renters, Homeowners Apply for Relief, Learn About New Protections to Keep Them in Their Homes
Following calls by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), and a number of their Senate colleagues, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) partnered together to launch a new website to help renters and homeowners learn more about all the resources and assistance available to them during the coronavirus pandemic. The website details new housing-related policies, … Continue Reading
May 13, 2020
Maryland Delegation Members Announce More Than $205 Million to Expand Statewide Testing Capacity
Members of the Maryland congressional delegation, including U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John P. Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie B. Raskin, and David Trone announced that Maryland will receive $205,723,600 to expand COVID-19 testing capacity statewide. Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was authorized through the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care … Continue Reading
May 13, 2020
Van Hollen, Durbin, Colleagues Urge HHS to Provide Transparency on Distribution of Remdesivir
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) joined U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and 11 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeking transparency and information regarding the distribution process for the COVID-19 therapeutic remdesivir. The Senators cited significant concerns raised by hospitals, health providers, patients, and medical societies regarding the opaque process under which the federal government is determining distribution … Continue Reading
May 13, 2020
Van Hollen, Booker, Pressley Call for Federal Civil Rights Investigation into Ahmaud Arbery Murder
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), along with more than 80 of their colleagues in the House and Senate, in calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch a criminal civil rights investigation into the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and an independent investigation into local authorities’ handling of the case. The lawmakers urged DOJ to investigate these matters swiftly and thoroughly so that Arbery’s … Continue Reading
May 13, 2020
Following Request from Van Hollen and Klobuchar, Administration Will Provide Flexibility for Immigrant Doctors Assisting in the Fight Against Coronavirus
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) announced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has waived certain restrictions that prevent doctors in the Conrad 30 program from providing medical care at locations - including remotely - other than those specifically approved for their immigration status. Many immigrant doctors want to serve in hospitals where they are most needed during the pandemic - to save lives, reduce the strain on over-worked hospital … Continue Reading
