Van Hollen, Cardin Secure Senate Passage of Increased Funds for Chesapeake Bay Program

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) announced that they have secured an additional 3 percent increase in the Environment Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program. This will provide $2.28 million more to the Bay Program, in addition to the $3 million increase that the Senators worked to secure within the Senate Appropriations Committee process.

The Bay will receive a total of $78.28 million in funding, an increase of $5.28 million from Fiscal Year 2019. This is the first boost in funding for the Bay Program since Fiscal Year 2015. These funds were passed by the full Senate today within the Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Interior, and Transportation Appropriations legislation.

“The Chesapeake Bay Program is absolutely essential to protecting and restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and a clean Bay is essential to a healthy economy. This funding increase will help boost our clean-up efforts. We fought hard for this increase in funds, and are pleased to have secured this investment despite the President’s continued efforts to cut the program by 90 percent. I will keep fighting to provide the resources necessary to support the Bay,” said Senator Van Hollen, a member of the Appropriations and Environment and Public Works Committees.

“A healthy Bay means a healthy economy and this cannot be accomplished without a strong federal partner. It has been heartening to see such ongoing, bipartisan support for the Chesapeake Bay,” said Senator Cardin, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “We will continue to find every opportunity to increase the resources available for the Chesapeake Bay Program and others that contribute to the health of the Bay and with it our regional economy.”

###