Van Hollen Statement on Biden Budget

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement regarding President Biden’s proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget:

“As our country works to build back from the COVID-19 pandemic, we face an opportunity to create a better, stronger, more inclusive economy. Now is the time to invest boldly in our families, workforce, and our future – while tackling the challenges our country faces ranging from our crumbling infrastructure, to our underfunded public schools system, to ongoing racial injustice and inequities in our institutions, to the looming climate crisis, to the gun violence epidemic. These challenges are not small – but I am committed to working with the President to overcome them. President Biden’s proposed budget provides a blueprint to expand opportunity for all and build an inclusive economy with more shared prosperity. I’ve been proud to fight for many of the provisions within this plan, and I will continue working in Congress to see them through.”

This proposal makes crucial investments in key priorities Senator Van Hollen has fought for, including:

·       A historic increase in funding to bolster our education system and expand community schools

·       Resources to address the gun violence epidemic and incentivize adoption of handgun licensing laws

·       Funding to improve equitable access to health care and drive transformational research on diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s – an area that Senator Van Hollen has already sat down with the President to discuss

·       Investments in new housing vouchers and support for families to find homes in higher opportunity areas

·       Funds to tackle the climate crisis and improve our environment – a critical priority for our state as we continue working to protect and preserve the Chesapeake Bay

·       Funding to support the Senator’s HOPE for HOMES Act, legislation to help homeowners retrofit their homes to cut their monthly energy costs, stimulate the energy efficiency market for jobs and suppliers, invest in workforce training for this crucial industry, and combat the climate crisis by promoting clean, energy efficient technology

·       Funding to remedy past federal road projects that ignored harmful impacts and split communities, such as Baltimore’s Highway to Nowhere, as included in the Reconnecting Communities Act and a pilot program authored by Senator Van Hollen in 2019

·       Funding for crucial transit systems including WMATA and other regional transit programs

·       Funding for a subsidized jobs program to help address the long-term unemployment crisis facing over 4 million Americans

·       Modernization of the international affairs budget and an end to the use of the Overseas Contingency Operations account as a slush fund

·       Funding to support the Senator’s Federal Capital Revolving Fund Act of 2021, legislation to improve the funding process for large federal building projects and save taxpayer dollars by reducing wasteful spending on expensive leases

It also is funded through pay-fors Senator Van Hollen has proposed and supported including closing the stepped-up basis tax loophole and increasing funding for IRS enforcement to close the tax gap.