Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger

Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger and his colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee passed two bills funding key investments to the Chesapeake Bay, including a historic $85 million for the Chesapeake Bay Program once slated for the chopping block. The bills now move from the Appropriations Committee to consideration by the full U.S. House of Representatives.

The House Appropriations Committee adopted language proposed by Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger that will end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The amendment is modeled off the Yemen War Powers resolution sponsored by Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) that passed Congress last month with bipartisan support but was vetoed by President Trump.

“America’s fragile shorelines are home to more than half of our country’s population and millions of businesses that supply most of our gross domestic product,” Congressman Ruppersberger said. “Yet current coastal maps and geospatial data are woefully inaccurate, outdated, or even nonexistent. The Digital Coast Act will give local planners and managers the high-tech data they need to make accurate decisions and smart investments that could save people and property.”

In a piece published by SpaceNews, Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger and former Congressman Mike Rogers raise the issue: America no longer owns space. If our government doesn't get in the game and focus on a strategy in space, China and Russia will gladly take the reins. Read more:

Congressman Ruppersberger says he agrees with people who describe the Green New Deal as utopian, aspirational and overly ambitious. But we as Americans have always embraced challenge for the benefit of our country, and that is why he’s supporting it anyway. Please read his full statement here...