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Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) joined a virtual Delegation meeting Tuesday afternoon with Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, and Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie Raskin, and David Trone, along with with Governor Larry Hogan and his cabinet, to discuss the Governor’s for the upcoming fiscal year. Central to the conversation were the important federal resources from the American Rescue Plan and opportunities for major infrastructure investments through the American Jobs Plan. Below is a statement released by the Delegation following the meeting:

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) sent a letter to President Joe Biden yesterday urging him to include pay parity for federal civilian employees in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2022 budget. Congressman Hoyer has long advocated for parity in pay increases for both federal civilian employees and military personnel.

This session the Maryland General Assembly passed a package of legislation to reform the culture of police departments and increase transparency between law enforcement and the citizens they serve. For too long, systemic racism and injustice has claimed the lives of countless African Americans. This sweeping package of reform measures is an important step toward putting an end to this discrimination.

During Black Maternal Health Week, I applaud the strong executive actions taken by President Biden and Vice President Harris to address longstanding racial inequities in our health care system – which have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic – and improve health outcomes for Black mothers and mothers-to-be.

The American Rescue Plan has helped quickly accelerate vaccination efforts in our state and I am pleased that more Marylanders are now eligible to receive their vaccine.

The fatal police shooting in Minnesota on Sunday and the horrifying incident in Virginia that came to public attention in recent days, in which a uniformed military officer was the victim of police misconduct during a traffic stop, are the two latest examples of the persistent bias against African Americans in our country. No one can claim surprise anymore why so many African Americans are afraid of encounters with law enforcement.