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Over
the
last
few
weeks,
our
nation
has
faced
heart-breaking
tragedies
and
huge
challenges—from
the
slaughter
in
Las
Vegas
to
the
ongoing
humanitarian
crisis
in
Puerto
Rico.
In
both
cases,
the
nation
has
come
together
to
express
sympathy
and
prayers.
But
much
more
is
needed
to
reduce
the
daily
carnage
from
gun
violence
and
to
provide
life-saving
relief
to
our
fellow
Americans
in
Puerto
Rico.
Meanwhile,
the
Senate
Budget
Committee,
on
which
I
serve,
debated
and
voted
on
a
budget
and
tax
plan
for
our
country.
As
discussed
below,
I
am
sorry
to
report
that
the
plan
that
passed
the
Committee
would
gravely
harm
Maryland
and
the
nation.
That
plan
is
scheduled
to
be
debated
and
voted
on
this
week
in
the
full
Senate.
I
also
serve
on
the
Banking
Committee,
and,
as
discussed
below,
I
recently
had
the
opportunity
to
grill
the
CEO
of
Wells
Fargo
and
the
former
CEO
of
Equifax
about
their
scandalous,
anti-consumer
conduct.
I
am
grateful
for
the
input
I
receive
on
these
and
other
issues
from
my
fellow
Marylanders
and
Americans.
Our
democracy
is
strengthened
by
an
active
and
engaged
citizenry.
Chris
Van
Hollen
U.S.
Senator
Reducing
Gun
Violence
We
must
never
become
numb
to
the
carnage
from
gun
violence,
from
the
daily
toll
in
our
neighborhoods,
to
massacres
like
Las
Vegas
and
Sandy
Hook,
and
so
many
others
before
and
in
between.
This
is
not
normal.
We
are
united
in
mourning
the
victims,
but
we
must
also
unite
to
take
common-sense
steps
to
reduce
the
death
count.
Practical
measures
include:
requiring
universal
criminal
background
checks;
requiring
licensing
like
we
have
in
Maryland;
limiting
the
number
of
rounds
in
magazines;
and
closing
the
loopholes
that
make
it
easy
to
convert
a
semi-automatic
weapon
into
a
fully
automatic
killing
machine.
These
measures
will
not
end
all
gun
violence,
but
they
will
save
lives.
That
is
why
I
joined
my
colleagues
in
introducing
five
bills
to
strengthen
our
gun
laws
and
protect
our
communities.
Our
thoughts
and
prayers
won’t
end
the
bloodshed—we
must
put
politics
aside
and
take
action.
Responding
to
Natural
Disasters
In
the
past
month,
our
country
was
hit
by
a
series
of
hurricanes.
The
scale
of
the
devastation—from
loss
of
life
to
loss
of
homes—has
been
staggering.
The
situation
in
Puerto
Rico
and
the
Virgin
Islands
remains
critical.
Our
fellow
Americans
there
continue
to
suffer
from
lack
of
fresh
water,
electricity,
and
urgently-needed
medical
care.
They
deserve
the
same
level
of
emergency
response
that
FEMA
and
the
federal
government
provided
in
Houston
and
Florida.
Once
emergency
assistance
has
been
provided
in
all
these
places,
we
must
begin
the
process
of
rebuilding.
The
rebuilding
effort
should
not
repeat
the
mistakes
of
the
past.
We
must
build
to
last.
Otherwise,
we
will
put
lives
at
risk
and
waste
taxpayer
money.
That
is
why
I’ve
introduced
legislation
to
ensure
our
national
infrastructure
is
capable
of
withstanding
floods—putting
back
in
place
the
common-sense
standards
that
President
Trump
rescinded
just
weeks
before
these
hurricanes
hit.
We
must
also
recognize
that
the
frequency
and
intensity
of
these
hurricanes
is
another
way
Mother
Nature
is
telling
us
that
we
are
poisoning
the
planet
with
carbon
pollution.
It
is
gross
negligence
for
the
EPA
Director
to
be
rescinding
the
Clean
Power
Plan
but
especially
sinister
in
the
face
of
overwhelming
evidence
of
the
costs—in
lives,
jobs,
and
property—of
reversing
our
efforts
to
confront
the
reality
of
climate
change.
Budget
and
Tax
Plans
I
am
not
going
to
sugarcoat
this:
despite
the
President's
tweets
and
GOP
rhetoric,
the
Republican
Budget
and
Tax
Reform
Plan
is
a
recipe
for
disaster
for
American
families.
It
puts
Medicare,
Medicaid,
and
education
funding
on
the
chopping
block
to
finance
windfall
tax
breaks
for
millionaires
and
billionaires.
Both
our
budget
and
our
tax
code
should
be
focused
on
growing
our
economy,
creating
good-paying
jobs,
and
helping
families
succeed.
What
Republicans
are
proposing
does
the
exact
opposite.
It
eliminates
the
estate
tax,
which
currently
impacts
only
the
wealthiest
5,200
families
in
the
entire
country—literally
two-tenths
of
1
percent
of
taxpayer
estates—while
it
explodes
the
national
debt
by
at
least
$1.5
trillion
(and
likely
trillions
more).
The
proposal
also
ends
the
deduction
for
payments
of
state
and
local
taxes.
Eliminating
this
deduction,
which
is
claimed
by
almost
50
percent
of
Maryland
taxpayers,
will
result
in
a
big
tax
increase
for
middle-class
families.
The
bottom
line:
the
Trump
plan
will
provide
windfall
tax
cuts
to
billionaires
at
the
expense
of
everyone
and
everything
else.
I
would
like
to
work
on
common-sense,
pro-growth
reform
that
simplifies
our
tax
code
and
helps
working
families.
But
the
GOP
plan
is
the
wrong
way
to
start.
Standing
up
for
Consumer
Rights
Recently,
the
Senate
Banking
Committee
held
hearings
to
demand
answers
from
Wells
Fargo
CEO
Tim
Sloan
and
Equifax
former
CEO
Richard
Smith
about
misconduct
by
their
companies.
I’m
deeply
disturbed
by
Equifax’s
security
breach,
which
exposed
the
sensitive
financial
information
of
up
to
145
million
Americans—including
over
3
million
in
Maryland.
But
the
company’s
actions
following
the
breach
are
also
alarming.
In
exchange
for
giving
consumers
temporary
protections
for
losses
that
might
stem
from
Equifax's
own
security
lapse,
the
company
tried
to
get
people
to
give
up
their
legal
rights
to
hold
the
company
accountable
for
damages.
And
as
I
questioned
Wells
Fargo’s
CEO,
it
was
clear
that
they
were
also
trying
to
coerce
consumers
into
giving
up
their
rights
to
sue
Wells
Fargo
for
creating
fake
accounts
and
bilking
thousands
of
customers.
Both
companies
have
tried
to
force
consumers
into
mandatory
arbitration
and
deny
them
the
choice
of
going
to
court.
We
must
protect
the
rights
of
consumers
and
not
just
with
respect
to
these
two
companies.
Republicans
are
currently
working
to
reverse
the
Consumer
Financial
Protection
Bureau’s
new
rule
that
protects
the
right
of
consumers
who
have
been
cheated
to
sue
these
huge
financial
institutions
in
court.
I
am
fighting
hard
to
prevent
Senate
Republicans
from
stripping
away
these
essential
consumer
protections.
Improving Health Care
for
ALL
Americans
After
the
American
public
rallied
to
defeat
the
Trumpcare
plan,
there
has
been
an
ongoing
bipartisan
effort
in
the
Senate
to
improve
and
strengthen
our
health
care
system.
Unfortunately,
President
Trump's
recent
decisions
move
in
the
opposite
direction
and
will
destabilize
the
health
care
system
and
drive
premiums
and
costs
even
higher.
Still,
the
Maryland
Exchange
offers
the
only
affordable
access
to
health
coverage
for
thousands
of
Maryland
families.
Maryland’s
2018
Open
Enrollment
period—when
anyone
can
sign
up
for
health
care
on
the
exchange—runs
from
November
1,
2017
to
December
15,
2017.
To
learn
about
your
options
and
sign
up
for
coverage,
visit
www.marylandhealthconnection.gov.
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