Why it Matters

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) spent last week pushing new legislation on affordable housing and clean energy while using social media to challenge the Trump administration on government spending, civil liberties, and U.S. foreign policy. Van Hollen introduced bipartisan legislation with Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) that would allow the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to lease underutilized postal land for affordable housing development without requiring the sale of federal assets. He also helped secure more than $800,000 in federal funding to renovate a community food center in Baltimore County, and continued pressing his Power for the People Act, which would require large technology companies to bear the electricity costs generated by their data centers rather than passing them to ratepayers.

What They're Talking About

Affordable housing and postal land: The Delivering Americans Affordable Homes Act would authorize USPS to lease, not sell, underused properties for housing development while giving the agency a new revenue stream. Maryland's Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day called it an "innovative solution" to the nationwide housing shortage.

Van Hollen tied housing costs to the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, writing on social media: "Earlier this year, Trump told the country he wants to 'drive housing prices up.' Now, thanks to his illegal Iran war, everything from raw materials to mortgages are more expensive. He is pricing generations of Americans out of the American Dream, and he doesn't give a damn."

Data centers and clean energy: Maryland is home to a growing concentration of data centers in the D.C. metro area and Baltimore corridor. The Baltimore Sun has reported that data centers account for nearly two-thirds of a jump in PJM (Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland Interconnection) regional power supply costs, from $2.2 billion to $14.7 billion in a single year. Van Hollen's Power for the People Act would place guardrails on that growth. Van Hollen wrote on Aug. 12: "Working families and our environment can't afford to bear the brunt of Big Tech's race to the bottom."

Government spending: Van Hollen called out what he described as $900 million in White House construction projects, writing: "As most Americans are struggling to make ends meet, Trump is spending $900 million of YOUR taxpayer dollars for yet another personal vanity project. Talk about waste, fraud, and abuse."

Foreign policy and civil liberties: Van Hollen drew national attention for calling on U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to resign, saying in a video posted to social media: "He should be defending Americans and defending American interests. He's failed to do so. He should resign today." He also questioned intelligence underpinning the Iran threat narrative, telling the Washington Post: "I have no doubt that Iran would like to see the president gone, but this all seems a little fantastical."

On immigration enforcement, Van Hollen criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practices, stating: "This is Big Brother stuff. ICE has collected the DNA of lots of US citizens, including children and those who've never been convicted of a crime. This is a blatant violation of people's privacy. We cannot give another dime to fund ICE's continued abuses."

In the News

Five news articles covered Van Hollen this week. The Baynet reported on both the USPS housing bill and the $800,000 federal award for AfriThrive Inc.'s community food center in Essex, which serves African diaspora, immigrant, and low-income families. The funding, secured alongside Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), will be used to upgrade kitchen, cold storage, and food pantry infrastructure.

Van Hollen also drew national attention for his calls on U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to resign. The New Republic quoted Van Hollen questioning intelligence underpinning the Iran threat narrative.

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