Van Hollen says federal budget secured $30 million for Southern Maryland projects and $19 million for Indian Head facility

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen told the Southern Maryland delegation on March 20 that the new federal budget delivered funding for several local priorities while leaving unresolved federal immigration-enforcement disputes.

Van Hollen said congressional action this year allowed senators and representatives from Maryland to secure about $30 million in direct investments for projects across Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, including continued support for the Southern Maryland Rapid Transit project and investments for the College of Southern Maryland. He said Indian Head’s surface-warfare center will receive roughly $19,000,000 for a new containment/burn facility meant to increase operational tempo and support local economic development.

“On balance, for almost every federal agency this turned out to be pretty good news,” Van Hollen said. He noted that because Congress passed a budget this year — unlike the prior year’s continuing resolution — previously promised projects were able to be funded.

Van Hollen also warned of what he described as problematic U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and said Senate Democrats have pushed to withhold ICE funding pending reforms. At the same time, he said his caucus has repeatedly sought funding for other Department of Homeland Security offices and urged that agencies such as TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard not be held “hostage” to political disputes in Washington.

“We are gonna keep pressing for those agencies to be fully funded,” he said, citing a Coast Guard facility in St. Mary’s County and other homeland-security needs in the region.

Van Hollen flagged broader federal personnel policy concerns, warning that proposals to convert civil-service positions into political appointments (referred to in the remarks as the ‘‘Schedule F’’ effort) would, in his view, harm public service and are being litigated and debated in Congress.

The senator thanked the local delegation for partnering with his office to secure the funding and encouraged the group to contact his regional staff for details on specific projects.

The meeting did not include a formal vote or legislative action on the items Van Hollen described; he told the delegation his office and regional director Roderick Lewis can provide a more complete list of projects and allocations.