October Update - Federal Shutdown

As I write this, the federal shutdown has stretched over two weeks. The impacts of the shutdown are significant but in an area like ours--so closely tied to the federal government--the effects can be deeply felt. If you are being adversely affected, here are some important resources:
State of Maryland: Maryland Workers Impacted by the Federal Government Shutdown
Montgomery County: Resources for Workers Impacted by Recent Federal Government Actions
Pepco: Pepco Providing Expanded Customer Support Measures Amid Government Shutdown | Pepco - An Exelon Company
WSSC: WSSC Water Expands Customer Assistance Programs to Offer Greater Relief Amid Financial Uncertainty | WSSC Water
What is the shutdown all about? I think it can be fairly complicated to consider how we got to the point where Democrats decided to use a shutdown to achieve policy ends when for about 30 years it has been considered a Democratic Party red line and why trust between the majority and minority parties is so low. But in its simplest form, it is all about healthcare. I did a brief explanation of this with my daughter that you can watch here.
Congressional Democrats are asking for is an expansion of "Premium Tax Credits," a tax benefit that has been in place since 2021 to make Obamacare (also known as healthcare from the Affordable Care Act) more affordable. Without extending these tax credits, the cost of healthcare will rise for many Marylanders. 
Obamacare has been successful in Maryland. Prior to Obamacare, 12% of the population was uninsured. Today it is 6%. That means many people now have access to healthcare for themselves and their families beyond the emergency room.
The two major access points for expanding access to insurance were (1) Medicaid expansion, for some of the neediest families, and (2) Access to obtain insurance through the Obamacare exchanges, which have varying levels of subsidies depending on income. And, in case you were wondering, neither Medicaid or exchange subsidies are available to undocumented immigrants.
The President and Republican Majority in Congress made changes to Medicaid through legislation--called reconciliation--that I have discussed before. Now they are allowing the premium tax credits to expire. If the premium tax credits expire, many more Marylanders will not be able to afford healthcare and will drop out. But that does not just affect them, shrinking the pool of insured will increase health insurance premiums on all of those still buying healthcare.
In Maryland, that means an average increase of 13.4% for insurance premiums. In the years the premiums applied, increases were between 2.1% and 6.2%. Still a challenge for many but much better than a 13.4% increase.
Maryland has done what it can on its own. The Maryland Insurance Administration approved increases by the Maryland providers that were 3.7% lower than what the insurance companies requested (absent that action, the increase would have been 17.1%). And we passed HB 1082, which would create state-level subsidies for three years to help mitigate the impacts. But the real long-term solution lies in Congress and now--as Marylanders are starting to get insurance premium notices in the mail and making their end of year decisions about healthcare enrollment--is the time for Congress to act.
I will just share one more observation about the shutdown. The current president is the first I am aware of who does not even aspire to or pretend to lead and represent all of the people. He has openly stated that he is weaponizing the shutdown against blue states and what he calls "Democrat Programs" (perhaps he means programs created under Democratic Presidents like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid). And this is after months of non-shutdown-related similar talk and action. For those who say the harm he is inflicting is so great that the Democrats should simply fold, I am reminded of an episode of The West Wing (a common thought process for Democratic politicians of a certain age).
In the fifth season premiere of that show, President Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen) has relinquished the presidency to the Speaker of the House (played by John Goodman) because his daughter has been kidnapped. In the Situation Room, the Chief of Staff is advising against a certain military operation because, he says, if the U.S. does it, the kidnappers will kill the First Daughter. John Goodman responses calmly, "They're going to kill her anyway."
That is how I feel about the President's threats to blue states, government programs, and federal employees. Whatever he is doing or threatening to do during the shutdown is on his to do list anyway and if healthcare affordability is worth fighting for, now is the time to do it.

DELEGATION UPDATE
Last month, I shared the dates of the Montgomery County Delegations fall hearings. One of those hearings, the Joint Priorities Hearing, has been rescheduled to November 17th at 7pm. Learn more at www.montgomerycountydelegation.com.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
​Great news for economic development in Maryland. In response to a bill I sponsored in 2025, the Attorney General is creating a fast-track review pilot program for existing franchisors they have already reviewed to help them continue to expand their business concept to more franchisees. This balances business friendly policies with consumer protection for franchisees. And it is also worth noting that my work on this issue came entirely from constituent feedback and concerns.

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Last legislative session, the General Assembly passed a local bill I cosponsored to try and improve the oversight and performance of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC). I received this update from WSSC on some of the bill’s requirements.
Although I have some questions about implementation, I think the stress testing provision will help us understand future potential costs and challenges from the water utility: https://tinyurl.com/3hsjxe5h

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At the beginning of October, the Washington Post highlighted several new bills taking effect.
The new tiered fines for automated speed enforcement described in the article will ensure that the worst actors pay the most. There remains no charge for going 11 mph over the limit, the fine remains $40 for 12-15 mph over, and then the fine escalates from there in tiers. Don’t want to pay over $100 for speeding in Maryland? Don’t go 20 mph or more over the speed limit. In addition to saving money, you are reducing safety risk to yourself and others around you.
Eric’s ID law was brought to us by an advocate and allows those who choose to have their state licenses or identifications indicate certain, often hidden differences (like autism).
Late rental fee changes ensure that renters are charged based on what they actually owe, not the total rent if they partially paid.
And the Organized Retail Theft Act did not go through my committee, but I heard about it from local retailers trying to deal with shoplifting/retail theft rings that are often reselling in dark corners of the Internet.

BUDGET UPDATE
The Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates met just before the government shutdown to update its revenue forecast. The good news is fiscal year 2025 revenue ended stronger than expected and the economy has had a lot of resiliency in the face of federal changes. The reduction in the estimate for fiscal year 2026 of $19 million is largely attributed to changes in federal law. Read all of the materials here.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
Because of a provision of the state budget, the Maryland Transit Administration has to submit a bimonthly report on the Purple Line's progress. Below are the key charts from this month's report. There are no changes to the overall schedule at this point.

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After a cyclist, Sarah Langenkamp, was killed riding her bike along River Road, the State Highway Administration prepared a Needs Analysis for the roadway, which you can read here. They are now undertaking some of the initial recommendations from the analysis to enhance the existing bike lane. As I write this, a person is in critical condition after being struck on the roadway, apparently while crossing under the Capital Crescent Trail overpass. The Needs Analysis included recommendations to improve that crossing.
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On Old Georgetown Road, the bike lanes installed after the deaths of two young people along the roadway have been quite controversial. A provision in the state budget requires reporting on the bike lanes in response to some of the concern. You can read the most recent report here.
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Mark your calendar for next summer’s District 16 Metro closures (July 6-September 6). Metro is leveraging Purple Line tie-in work at Bethesda Metro Center to do significant maintenance across Grosvenor, Medical Center and Bethesda stations. It will be a long two months for those—like me—who commute via Metro or otherwise rely on it.

POLITICAL NEWS
I am excited to announce that the Montgomery County Career Fire Fighters have endorsed my campaign for re-election and have also endorsed my seatmate, Senator Sara Love.

COMMUNITY NEWSEvery year, the Maryland General Assembly receives a report on the County Hotel and Conference Center (located in District 16). The fiscal year 2024 report is in. Things are on a better path than recent reports. Functions, room nights, total covers, spending, output, and total jobs are still down from FY 2019 (pre-COVID) but up from FY 2022. Total covers are actually up from FY 2019.
Importantly, in fiscal year 2024, the state contribution to the hotel and conference center is a debt service contribution of $1.6m and was more than offset by tax revenue to the state. That was not the case in fiscal year 2022 and other COVID-impacted years.
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District 16’s Little Flower school is one of the state’s Blue Ribbon schools, declared by Governor Moore at the state level after the national program was shutdown. Congratulations! Learn more here.
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Condolences to the family of diplomat Sandra Vogelsang, a long-time District 16 resident who recently passed away.
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Congratulations to two District residents on joining the Montgomery County Library Board, Marilyn Schiff and Kavita Mohan.