Senate Update: Split Screen: Standing up to MAGA in Washington as We Deliver for Maryland

As the leaves begin to turn, we are reaching a critical moment both for Congress and for the future of our democracy. After months of grandstanding from MAGA Republicans in the House, I'm encouraged that we finally passed a bipartisan continuing resolution to keep the federal government running through December 20th. The fix will only last for three months, meaning that we’ll have to come back to negotiate a full funding bill in December. A temporary fix is not ideal, but a short delay is certainly better than a government shutdown that would needlessly disrupt essential government services and leave tens of thousands of federal employees working in Maryland temporarily without pay. 

When we return after the election to finish our fiscal year 2025 funding legislation, House Republicans must stay on this bipartisan course so we can get the job done by the end of the calendar year. Delaying any further would be a great disservice to the American people.

As part of that funding package, Team Maryland’s top priority will be ensuring 100 percent federal support for the replacement of the Key Bridge. We have been there to help other states during their times of need, and we’re urging our colleagues to stand with us now.

Also in the coming weeks: the election. In Maryland, mail-in voting has already begun, and early in-person voting begins on October 24th. If you can spare just a minute, click here to visit the Maryland Secretary of State's website to check your voter registration and make a plan to vote – by mail, early in-person, or on Election Day. Our democracy is a work in process, not a finished product, and it depends on your participation.  

Now that we’ve previewed coming attractions, I want to take a moment to look back on what was a very busy summer. For me, it was a study in contrasts. In Washington, we spent the long, hot months facing off against MAGA extremists in our efforts to restore reproductive rights for women and secure equal opportunity for working families. During breaks in the action at the Capitol, I was able to spend time visiting communities across our great state and highlighting our wins to make life better for all Marylanders.  

I’m proud of all we did over the summer to fight for our values in Washington D.C. and deliver results for Maryland.

Fighting for Women and Families 

Since 2022, when the ultraconservative Supreme Court ignored 50 years of precedent to overturn Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights have been under assault around the country. States have enacted extreme abortion bans that rob women of their bodily autonomy and endanger their lives. As hardline courts and state legislatures erase women’s rights, Congress needs to act. We have given Senate Republicans multiple opportunities to protect women's health care and reproductive rights. They have voted no every single time.

What have they rejected? The right to access birth control. The right to receive abortion care across state lines. The right of doctors to provide reproductive care. The right of patients to have privacy in their healthcare decisions. And more.

This year, the danger to reproductive rights has expanded into a new domain: in vitro fertilization (IVF). Many American families struggle with fertility issues, and IVF is a source of hope for them. In February, an extreme ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court endangered IVF across the nation. Senate Democrats wrote legislation to protect IVF. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of the GOP fell in line to obstruct our efforts to pass this bill.

MAGA Republicans in the Senate are not only threatening to turn back the clock on America’s hard-earned rights; they are also impeding our progress in fostering equal opportunity for every American. One of our best tools to create that opportunity is the Child Tax Credit, which we expanded in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan. This provision lifted 2.9 million children—including 52,000 Maryland children—above the poverty line, cutting overall child poverty in America by half. Families felt the difference: full meals, bills paid on time, and even a little financial cushion saved up in the bank.

Unfortunately, this transformative legislation expired in 2022. This year, we worked with House Republicans to write a new compromise plan that, while imperfect, would revive the expanded Child Tax Credit and lift 500,000 above the poverty line, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

But even though this bill passed the House with an overwhelming bipartisan vote, Senate Republicans are standing in its way. We won’t stop fighting to pass the Child Tax Credit. Plain and simple: it is an essential investment in our children and in our future.

Ensuring an Ethical Supreme Court

In recent years, we have watched the Supreme Court, stacked with ultra-MAGA appointees, veer further and further into extremism. We have seen a flood of unprecedented, dangerous rulings, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed women’s reproductive rights, and the end of Chevron Doctrine, which gave government agencies the ability to promote worker safety, ensure clean air and water, protect consumers, and more. The Supreme Court largely shielded Donald Trump from accountability for his actions on January 6th, and in so doing effectively put the presidency itself above the law. This undermined one of the most fundamental ideas in our Constitution: the president is not an all-powerful king. 

Not only have the decisions of this Court been unabashedly partisan, the conduct of individual justices raises alarming ethical concerns. Justices Thomas and Alito, who have close personal ties to Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, should never have been allowed within a gavel’s reach of the January 6th case. But they ignored calls to recuse themselves, and they ignore calls to create a binding code of ethics – a clear, fair set of rules – for the Supreme Court. This situation is untenable.

If they won't enact one themselves, Congress needs to do it for them. That’s why I support the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, which would require the Supreme Court to adopt an enforceable code of conduct and halt the disturbing behavior of recent years, from justices becoming increasingly involved with partisan politics to receiving lavish gifts from powerful special interests.

This bill is about fairness. To no one’s surprise, Senate Republicans are standing in our way of passing it.

Our democracy depends on an independent judiciary. The American people deserve to know that the Supreme Court is representing them and the Constitution — not dark money special interests. The highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards. 

Investing in Maryland’s Future

As we face difficult disagreements on the most fundamental issues, Democrats and Republicans in Congress must still forge an agreement every year to fund our federal government. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I work to bring Maryland’s interests and our shared values to these difficult negotiations.

As mentioned earlier, Congress just passed a temporary measure to keep the government running until December 20th, giving us more time to negotiate funding legislation for the 2025 fiscal year. That process is well underway.

Over the past few months, Senate Democrats on the Appropriations Committee engaged with our Republican counterparts to pass 11 of 12 funding bills out of committee with strong bipartisan support – six were approved unanimously. While far from perfect, our compromise reflects the actual needs of this country and should be able to be signed into law.

In the 11 Senate appropriations packages that have passed out of Committee so far, I fought to include critical federal funds for community projects across the state – building on our investments from the previous fiscal year. As we continue working to get these new investments across the finish line, I traveled across the state this summer to mark a few of the wins we secured earlier this year. These projects are about investing in a fairer future, where every Marylander enjoys the same opportunities regardless of their zip code.

Early this summer, I visited Southern Maryland with Senator Cardin and Representative Hoyer. In St. Mary’s County, we highlighted $850,000 to support the creation of the YMCA Great Mills in Lexington Park. Residents have spent eight long years campaigning to get this YMCA built; I am proud that we can help finally get it off the ground.

In Charles County, we delivered $1.45 million in direct federal funding for water infrastructure projects that will protect our environment and improve public health. The benefits will flow downstream, making the water cleaner for every community along the Mattawoman Creek, the Potomac River, and the entire Chesapeake Bay. We also highlighted $5 million secured for the Southern Maryland Rapid Transit Corridor, a vital project to connect Southern Maryland with economic opportunity across the state. In White Plains, we highlighted $912,000 in federal funding for LifeStyles of Maryland, which provides shelter, food, workforce training, and mental health services to the most vulnerable members of the community.

In July, Senator Cardin, Congressman Mfume, and I celebrated the work of Unified Efforts in Baltimore, which since 2012 has provided afterschool and out-of-school enrichment programs for the city’s young people. These initiatives make the entire community safer and help ensure that every child, regardless of their zip code, receives a high-quality education. Today, UniFIED Efforts is building a permanent space for their work in the Penn-North community, and we secured $1.5 million in direct federal funding to support it. This is just one of many projects where federal Team Maryland is working to reverse decades of disinvestment in West Baltimore; I’m proud that we secured $14.6 million of federal funding in the last fiscal year alone. 

In Montgomery County, Senator Cardin and I visited Rockville’s Sunflower Bakery to highlight an innovative program that is empowering people with learning differences to succeed in the workforce. The bakery trains young people in pastry arts, hospitality, and food-related industries, combining formal learning with hands-on training and job placement. Senator Cardin and I delivered $75,000 in federal funding to Sunflower Bakery to support these efforts, and we gladly accepted a baking lesson while we were there!

Finally, Senator Cardin and I were in Ocean City for the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) Conference. This gathering highlights the work of local, state, and federal government officials from across our state who are working together to solve problems for Marylanders.

While on the Shore, we took the opportunity to highlight some additional local investments – including in the Army Corps of Engineers’ work to protect Assateague Island, a jewel of the mid-Atlantic, from erosion and storms. To help the Army Corps of Engineers preserve the island for future generations, Senator Cardin and I secured $900,000 in direct federal funding.

We also joined the leaders of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, one of our state’s fantastic HBCUs, to celebrate over $1 million of direct funding for its new Veterinary Medicine Program – the first program of its kind in Maryland and the second HBCU veterinary program in the country. Fifty percent of Maryland families own a pet – and that includes our family, which wouldn’t be the same without Sashi, our chocolate lab. When our pets need care, we’ll soon be able to count on UMES graduates.

Last but not least, Senator Cardin and I stopped by the Harborside Bar and Grill, birthplace of the Orange Crush. You might have seen that our neighbor in Delaware recently declared the Orange Crush to be the official drink of their state, despite the drink’s origin here in Maryland. Since this move, we’ve taken a stand for Maryland’s superior Orange Crush, and it only seemed right to round off a day on the Shore where it all started.

These are just a few of the visits we made this summer. I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to catch up with so many Marylanders from our Eastern Shore to Baltimore, and lots of places in between!

Protecting a Fair Playing Field for our Olympic Athletes

This summer, I took the opportunity to tune into one of my favorite events – the Olympics. Every two years, the Olympic and Paralympic Games unite the world to celebrate patriotism, excellence, and friendly competition. They are an opportunity for us to express not only our national pride, but also our home-state pride for the Marylanders who represented our country in Paris. Of the 126 medals that Team USA won at the Olympics and 105 at the Paralympics, 12 and nine were secured by Marylanders.  

I want to congratulate each of the 18 Maryland athletes who elevated Team USA at the Olympics and the eight who represented us at the Paralympics, as well as the countless coaches, trainers, teammates, relatives, and neighbors back home who made their successes possible. Whether or not they won medals, they represent the best of our state.

Every athlete made tremendous sacrifices to achieve at a high level and represent their home country at the games. To honor their commitment, and to protect the Olympics’ integrity, we need to know that athletes are competing on a fair playing field. But, unfortunately, we don’t have certainty that that is the case. In April, the New York Times revealed that months before the 2021 Tokyo Games, 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a prohibited substance that enhances athletes’ performance. The organization in charge of ensuring fair sport at these competitions, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), failed to fully investigate the Chinese findings and failed to disclose the situation to the public. The Chinese swimmers who tested positive won three gold medals in Tokyo, and the public only learned about their test results three years later. This incident continues a troubling pattern at WADA: not enough transparency, not enough accountability.

The need for action is clear – and has been expressed by athletes like Maryland’s own Katie Ledecky. This summer I also met with Olympians Michael Phelps, a Maryland native, and Allison Schmitt. They stressed the importance of securing accountability and transparency from WADA. Our athletes deserve to know they’re competing against a clean field. That’s why I worked with a group of bipartisan colleagues in the House and Senate to introduce the Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act, legislation to ensure the United States has the tools to hold WADA accountable. I have also worked in my role on the Appropriations Committee to include similar language within our annual funding bill.

I was so proud to watch all our Maryland athletes compete this summer, and I’ll keep working to ensure they get the fairness, transparency, and accountability they deserve. 

I'm glad to share some of what we’ve been doing this summer to deliver for Marylanders and to move our country forward. We are promoting fairness, from the Supreme Court to competition at the Olympics. We are fighting for Americans’ freedoms and access to economic opportunity. And we are laying the groundwork for a better future – a future in which every Marylander and every Maryland community can thrive. 

I’m grateful for your support in this mission, 

Chris Van Hollen