La Plata, MD – U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen [D – MD] met with the Charles County Commissioners and leaders from the towns of Indian Head and La Plata Thursday, April 20 and tried to be positive, but he noted it’s getting harder to do.
“We have lots of challenges going forward,” he admitted, saying that the Trump Administration is threatening to cut education and environmental programs while promising to increase military spending. “There are a couple of areas where we need to be on full alert.”
Van Hollen noted that health care legislation, while not specific to Charles County, would have had disastrous effects throughout the state. “If the version in the House of Representatives had passed it would have had a very negative impact on the state of Maryland,” he said. “Patients and people who are directly insured through the Health Care Act would have lost their coverage. It would have had a negative impact on the state budget and you would see that hit local jurisdictions as well.
“Maryland has a unique system in respect to how we fund our hospitals,” Van Hollen added. “I don’t know if we’re out of the danger zone. The proposed budget will call for significant cuts to Medicaid. There is a proposal to get rid of TIGER transportation grants. If you wipe out the funding source, you wipe out the ability to fund projects. Those grants have been used by Charles County.”
While speaking in favor of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s plan to designate Mallows Bay as a National Marine Sanctuary, saying, “I think it will bring new tourism dollars here,” he also decried Republican efforts to kill funding for the Chesapeake Bay restoration.
“The president’s budget wipes out funding entirely for the Chesapeake Bay,” he said. “There is bi-partisan feeling that would be a bad thing. A strong healthy bay is an ecological treasure and a huge driver to our economy here in Maryland. The bay is a huge magnet for tourism and the boating industry. If you have an unhealthy bay, you lose those sectors.”
Charles County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kimberly Hill told the Senator that Charles County Public Schools are worried about cuts at the federal level.
“You’re right to be worried,” Van Hollen said. “I am worried as well. This is a so-called skinny budget that is very thin on detail. It cuts [the] NIH [National Institute of Health] by close to $6 million, it gets rid of the Chesapeake Bay program and makes a 17 percent cut to the department of education. It’s hard to make a 17 percent cut without impacting programs.
“I oppose removing any funds from the education system,” he added. “I share your concerns. It’s one of those battles I think is going to be front and center. This administration is taking this in the wrong direction.”
Commissioner Ken Robinson [D – District 1] expressed concern over the Trump proposal to cut federal workers.
“We have thousands of people commuting to the District [of Columbia] from the county every day,” Robinson said. “A lot of those are federal workers.”
“In the big picture, the administration is talking about deep cuts to federal agencies, which would also impact the people benefitting from those services. But in this area it means you could see very negative impact on the economy. If this budget were to pass as proposed, it would have a very negative drag on the economy.”
“That is not the way we want to reduce traffic,” Robinson said.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com