Editorials
It might shock the voting public to hear this coming from a Democrat, but I support responsible reductions in government spending and borrowing. I have always said: Budgeting is the science of priorities.
The Baltimore area has received millions of federal dollars to advance local efforts to create jobs, make health care more convenient, fight drug addiction and reduce the crime that comes with it. For example, the Community College of Baltimore County last year received funding to expand its training program for truck drivers — with the goal of enrolling more women and veterans.
A lot of attention has been given recently to reimbursing victims of the despicable and increasingly pervasive crime of food stamp theft. Criminals are using skimming devices to steal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits off of the elect
My office continues to hear from many of you regarding unacceptable mail service. Your complaints have not fallen on deaf ears. Although USPS is an independent agency under the Executive Branch – it receives no tax dollars and Congress has no jurisdiction – I have done everything I can to restore mail delivery to the level my constituents expect and deserve.
When counselors working Baltimore’s crisis hotline answer the phone, they don’t always know what to expect. It could be an individual with a manic spouse. It could be a young man who has lost his job and is contemplating suicide or a nurse overcome with depression from the COVID-19 pandemic.
I am proud to represent Dundalk, whose citizens I hear from frequently. You ask thoughtful questions, offer valuable insight and often make me think twice on long-held policy positions. So it was with great surprise that I read the “open letter” published in last week’s Eagle containing dubious data and debunked myths. I welcome this opportunity to respond to its most reckless claims:
Former congressman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) served together as the chairman and ranking minority-party member of the House Select Permanent Committee on Intelligence.
Fresh off his acquittal – when the United States Senate sent a clear message that President Trump is, in fact, above the law – the President is behaving exactly as we should expect.
When it comes to national security, good intelligence is the best defense. The key to good intelligence is facts, data, unvarnished analysis, and no politics. That this bears repeating in today, as we face threats from domestic terrorism to nuclear weapons, is alarming to us as the former chairman and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee.
It was the fall of 2007, and I was at a briefing with the Director of National Intelligence – at the time, Adm. Mike McConnell – and Melissa Hathaway, the director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Task Force. We huddled in a secure, windowless room in the U.S. Capitol. I wasn't surprised they were asking a member of Congress for money.