Media

I was deeply saddened to learn about the death of my friend and former Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel.

The Obama Administration's announcement that federal civilian employees will receive an across-the-board pay raise of 1.0 percent in 2016, and a 0.3 percent adjustment for cost of living in the regions where they work, is a step in the right direction of fairly compensating the federal civilian workforce for the wide range of services it performs for all Americans.

It is very disturbing to hear that the August 6th Metro train derailment occurred after a Metro employee deleted a portion of an inspection report showing the defect.

I join in thanking Dr. Lowery for her leadership and service to the state of Maryland over the past three years and for her work to improve the quality of education provided to our students.

I was proud to see the extraordinary work in the development of space technology taking place at Maryland Aerospace, Inc. in the Fifth District.

I have been a strong supporter of the National Wildlife Refuge System and I was pleased to visit Patuxent Research Refuge today to tour research buildings undergoing renovations and to meet with a college student who recently participated in the Youth Conservation Corps summer employment program at the Refuge.

Today marks a new beginning for Prince George's County Public Schools and I was happy to welcome students at the new International High School at Largo High on their first day with Dr. Maxwell and Principal Alison Hanks-Sloan.

Today, I visited J. F. Taylor to learn more about the important work they are doing in St. Mary's County providing a range of quality products and services to their customers, including the U.S. Department of Defense.