Thursday, April 18, 2013
The congressman accused lawmakers of bowing to special interests after the Senate rejected expanded background checks on firearms. Do you agree?
The U.S. Senate rejected expanded background checks on firearm sales Wednesday, rejecting bipartisan legislation endorsed by President Barack Obama. The bipartisan effort of Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), failed 54-46, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to break a filibuster, The Huffington Post reported. The measure would have expanded the current check system to cover sales of weapons on the Internet and at gun shows. Opponents said the expansion would have set the stage for a national registry of gun owners and said that it would not have prevented tragedies such as the Newtown shootings, HuffPo reports (see Gun Bill Background Check Amendment Fails, Other Key Provisions Follow). In response, U.S. Rep. Chris…
Friday, March 29, 2013
A bipartisan group of congressional members sends a letter to transportation secretary urging him to find ways to reduce fatalities.
Approximately 5,000 pedestrians and bicyclists are fatally struck by cars in the United States each year, representing a decrease of about 20 percent since the early '90s, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fatalities involving bicyclists and pedestrians represent a higher percentage of all roadway deaths now than in previous years, though, argued members of Congress in a letter urging federal transportation officials to enact safety measures they passed last year in the Moving Ahead in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Dist 8), who represents Bethesda, was one of 68 House members who sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood March 23 calling for more action from the …
Friday, February 22, 2013
Rep. Christopher Van Hollen met with Alan Gross in a Cuban prison, where Gross has been detained for more than three years.
Alan Gross, of Potomac, met with Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D-Kensington) on Tuesday in Cuba, where Gross has been detained in prison for more than three years. "Van Hollen met with Gross while on an official congressional trip to Cuba led by Sen. Patrick Leahy" (D-VT), The Washington Post reported. "We discussed a wide range of issues, and I assured him we were doing everything possible to secure his immediate release," Van Hollen said in a statement. "I indicated to President Raul Castro that the release of Mr. Gross is essential if we are going to improve the relationship between the United States and Cuba—something I believe is in the interest of both of our countries," Van Hollen added. Three years ago last December, Gross was …
Sunday, February 3, 2013
The shift is no surprise and, in fact, was part of a key political move.
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, February 3
By Jeremy Barr, Capital News Service Maryland’s redrawn congressional map, which paved the way for a Democratic victory in November, significantly altered the makeup of two of the state’s eight congressional districts, as expected, according to recently released demographic estimates. The 6th Congressional District, which was reshaped to include a swath of heavily Democratic Montgomery County, is now 69 percent white, down from 87 percent in 2010, according to census data. The shift stems from 7 percentage-point increases in each of the populations of African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American residents. The 8th District, represented by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Kensington, experienced a countervailing shift. The district’s share of …
Friday, January 25, 2013
U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen is slated to speak at the rally in front of the Washington Monument.
Montgomery County residents taking part in Saturday's March on Washington to Prevent Gun Violence will see at least one familar face in the crowd: that of U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington, who will speak at the march, according to a statement from his office. Participants in the march will gather at 10 a.m. in front of the U.S. Capitol's reflecting pool. After a silent march from the Capitol to the Washington Monument via Constitution Avenue, participants will hold a rally at the monument at 11 a.m. in which Van Hollen and others will deliver remarks. March participants will include religious leaders, elected officials, victims of gun violence, children’s health and safety advocates and concerned citizens, …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Van Hollen will help the school kick off its sixth annual "Reading Rocks" celebration.
Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D, Kensington) visits Rock Creek Forest Elementary School in Chevy Chase on Thursday, Jan. 10, to officially kick off the school's sixth annual "Reading Rocks" celebration, according to a Montgomery County Public Schools statement. On that day, Van Hollen will read to a group of third-grade students at the school. Other attendees include Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, some members of the Montgomery County Council and Board of Education, the University of Maryland track team, Dr. Frank Stetson (former community superintendent for Montgomery County Public Schools), Sandy Walker (former principal of Rock Creek Forest Elementary School) and Barry Conti (former physical education teacher at the school), …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Judy Gross continues to fight for her husband Alan’s release and has sued the U.S. government for failing to protect him.
It’s been three years since 63-year-old Potomac resident Alan Gross was arrested and jailed in a Cuban prison, but his wife, Judy, hasn’t given up the fight. A day before the third anniversary of Gross’ arrest, religious and political leaders joined Judy to protest her husband’s imprisonment outside the Cuban diplomatic mission, according to a WUSA9 report. Gross was sentenced to 15 years after a Cuban court convicted him of working for U.S. government intelligence. Gross and his supporters maintain he was in Cuba working as a U.S. contractor to bring cell phones and computers to the country. Judy Gross has advocated for her husband since his arrest and now fears for his health, according to the report. “According to Judy Gross, her …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Van Hollen was unanimously re-elected Thursday to serve as ranking member of the House Budget Committee by the House Democratic Caucus.
The U.S. House of Representatives' Democratic Caucus unanimously reelected Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D, District 8) on Thursday to serve as ranking member of the House Budget Committee. "It has been a privilege to serve as ranking member of the Budget Committee for the last two years, and I am honored that my colleagues have reelected me to continue to serve in the 113th Congress," Van Hollen said after his reelection. The House Budget Committee is chaired by Rep. Paul Ryan (R, Wisconsin). In the 112th Congress (2011 to 2012), the committee consisted of 22 Republicans and 16 Democrats. As ranking member, Van Hollen is the most senior member of the committee from the minority party (which, in the case of the House of Representatives, is …
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Republican challenger Ken Timmerman took on incumbent U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen.
Update, 12:43 a.m.: Montgomery County Democrats cheered the victories of Van Hollen and President Barack Obama at a watch party in Rockville Tuesday evening. "My enthusiasm for Barack Obama and for Chris Van Hollen drew me out tonight," said Chevy Chase democrat Mary McMahon. "I'm absolutely ecstatic about our victories." Van Hollen told Patch he was working to get to know his new constituents in the newly re-drawn District 8, meeting with business owners, farmers and students in Carroll and Frederick counties. "I'm looking forward to representing all the people of District 8," Van Hollen said. As election returns rolled in, Democrats clapped and hugged amidst chants of "four more years." "You can see there's a lot of energy here," Van …
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Grant is part of $89 million Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) project.
- GOVERNMENT
- Ben Gross
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Sens. Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, alongside Rep. Chris Van Hollen, on Monday presented officials with a $40 million check for the construction of a new pedestrian tunnel between NIH and Walter Reed. Part of a total of $89 million in grants to both Montgomery County and the State of Maryland for military base realignment (BRAC) related projects, Montgomery County Director of Transportation Art Holmes and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s General Manager Rich Sarles accepted the ceremonial check on behalf of the project. According to the Congressional press release, the BRAC relocation project could bring as many as 60,000 new jobs to Maryland. The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, part of the overall BRAC, …
Captain Cook
5:55 pm on Saturday, April 20, 2013
WHAT?????????????????? THIS DOPE didn't want school security cops - google it AND thanks to boobs like him and Frosh MORE guns are on the street because of their screaming anti guns mouths caused tons of people to BUY more guns!!!! What boobs! more ›