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 Wheaton, was one of 68 House members who sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood March 23 calling for more action from the …
Sunday, February 3, 2013
The shift is no surprise and, in fact, was part of a key political move.
- GOVERNMENT
-
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, November 30, 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 …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Scenes from the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee's viewing party for Election Night 2012.
Some 150 Democratic boosters and party leaders gathered at the Hilton Hotel on Rockville Pike to watch the Election Day results, which doubled as a viewing party for results from the presidential race and for U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen’s run at the newly redrawn 8th Congressional district. When Patch arrived at around 10 p.m., Van Hollen had already steamrolled past Republican challenger Ken Timmerman for the win. So all attention keened in on the large projection screen at the front of the room toggling back and forth among the TV news networks for updates of the presidential race. Cheers went up when up as George Allen conceded his Senate race in Virginia to Democrat Tim Kaine, then again as the Democrats secured control of the Senate. …
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 …
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Rep. Chris Van Hollen focused his speech Wednesday night on finance, something he and Rep. Paul Ryan often face-off about in Washington.
- ELECTIONS
-
Thursday, September 6, 2012
By DAVID GUTMAN/Capital News Service Rep. Chris Van Hollen offered a sharp rebuke to Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan at the Democratic convention Wednesday, saying of their proposals, "If you refuse to ask the wealthiest to pitch in, then you hit everyone else much harder." The prominent convention speech, focused on budget issues, served to underline Van Hollen's role in the party: He has become the Democrats' answer to Ryan. The two share a common rise to the top of the political scene. They're both in leadership positions on the House Budget Committee, they both play dual roles as number-crunching policy wonks and political attack dogs, and pretty soon one will literally be playing the role of the other. But Van Hollen, from …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
“I don’t think Pepco gets it that they’re the Darth Vaders of the utility companies,” said Del. Ben Kramer (D-Distr. 19).
County, state, and national legislators came to Kemp Mill Tuesday night to sympathize with their constituents and to hear their grievances against Pepco after last week’s prolonged power outage. More than 60 Kemp Mill residents gathered for their quarterly civic association meeting at the Kemp Mill Elementary School at 7:30 p.m., but finding it locked, drove over en masse to the Kemp Mill Synagogue. Many of the residents told stories of how Pepco had told them their power had been restored when in reality it had not. Margie Epstein, who has lived in Kemp Mill for 30 years, lost power for five days. "I had just gone to the grocery store on Friday," she said. "I had to throw it all out." Now she wanted to hear from her elected …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Three high school students in the Wheaton area received a Van Hollen Public Service Award.
Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen announced the recipients of the 2012 Van Hollen Public Service Award for outstanding community service yesterday. The public service award program recognizes graduating students for their contributions to their school and/or their community. Each participating high school in Maryland’s Eighth Congressional District was invited to select an outstanding student for this special recognition. Congratulations to the winners from Wheaton-area high schools:
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Work by high school artists from the 8th District is on display at VisArts in Rockville through May 17.
A John F. Kennedy High School student and Albert Einstein High School student received awards in the Congressional Art Competition for High School Students, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr.'s office and on display in Rockville through May 17. This is the 10th year that Van Hollen (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington personally congratulated the young artists, presenting them with certificates of participation and recognition in the national competition, which began in 1981. An awards ceremony on April 30 at VisArts included competition participants, their families, teachers and competition sponsors and organizers. The juried exhibit of 95 selected entries is on view in the Kaplan Gallery at VisArts in Rockville. More than 260 …
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Early unofficial results are in for Maryland's primary.
Update, 10:31 p.m.: Rep. Chris Van Hollen continues to hold the lead in the Democratic congressional primary with almost 90 percent of the votes. While, Democratic challenger George English has about ten percent of the votes. On the Republican side, Ken Timmerman continues to lead with almost 45 percent of the votes, followed by Dave Wallace with slightly more than 36 percent of the votes. In the Maryland senate race, incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin still holds a commanding lead of the Democratic primary with 73 percent of the votes, with the closest challenger, Maryland State Sen. Anthony Muse pulling in almost 16 percent so far. Original Story: The night isn't over, but with early, unofficial results reported incumbent Rep. Chris Van Hollen …
MG Kemp Mill
11:48 am on Monday, April 1, 2013
Education and common sense are helpful - for the pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. Seems like the common cure these days is to blame drivers or add fences to areas. Neither of these helps in solving one of the core problems: lack of safety basics being practiced by the pedestrian or cyclist. more ›