May 21, 2022
Hate + Guns
Dear Fellow Marylanders: Last weekend, when I heard that 10 people were gunned down in a Buffalo grocery store, my mind started racing. While I closed my eyes and took a […]
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All Letters From Ben
May 14, 2022
One Million Lost
Dear Fellow Marylanders: Over the last two years, we have lost family and friends, colleagues and neighbors, while coping with countless other economic, social and emotional challenges brought on by the pandemic. […]
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May 7, 2022
Mother's Rights
Dear Fellow Marylanders: This Sunday, families across our country will come together to celebrate Mother’s Day and the beginning of National Women’s Health Week. Usually, this is an opportunity to recognize […]
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Apr 30, 2022
National Small Business Week
When I first joined the Senate. I asked to become a member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. In the Senate, this is one of the smaller committees, in […]
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Apr 23, 2022
Earth Day Everyday
Dear Fellow Marylanders: Hello and Happy Day-After Earth Day! April presents the opportunity to celebrate several nature-focused holidays, including Earth Day on April 22, Maryland Arbor Day on April 9 […]
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Apr 16, 2022
Freddie Gray
Dear Fellow Marylander: April 19 will mark seven years since the tragic death of Freddie Gray, who was grievously injured while in the custody of the Baltimore City Police. Within […]
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Apr 9, 2022
Justice Jackson
April 9, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylanders: This was a good week in the United States Senate. Thursday, as I voted to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the next […]
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Apr 2, 2022
Equal Rights Always
April 2, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander: In the last few days, we have seen a female nominee for the nation’s highest court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, navigate her confirmation hearings […]
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Mar 26, 2022
The Cost of War (Ukraine)
March 26, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander, As I write, much of the world has been turned upside down by Russia’s unprovoked and unconscionable invasion of Ukraine, which was launched just […]
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Mar 19, 2022
A Fork in the Road to Recovery
March 19, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylanders: We are at a critical decision point in our battle against COVID-19. While still losing far too many Marylanders to the virus, we have […]
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Mar 12, 2022
American Rescue
March 12, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylanders: Two years ago, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to be a global […]
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Mar 5, 2022
Rising to the Moment
March 5, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylanders: This week, I hope you were able to watch President Joe Biden as he delivered his first official State of the Union address. I […]
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Feb 26, 2022
SCOTUS History
February 26, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylanders: I want to describe someone to you. This person graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and cum laude from Harvard Law School after […]
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Feb 19, 2022
Why Ukraine Matters
February 19, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander: By the time you read this email, there is a chance that Russia will have begun its incursion into Ukraine. We don’t know what […]
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Feb 12, 2022
Legitimate Political Discourse
February 12, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander: I write today to express my concerns about a fissure in our nation. On January 6, 2021, thousands of Americans gathered outside the White […]
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Feb 5, 2022
Certain to Improve
February 5, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander: Of all the ways that COVID-19 has tried our resolve, the ongoing lack of certainty – about our economy, schools, health and daily […]
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Jan 29, 2022
Vacancy
January 29, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander: As Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer formally announced his upcoming retirement at the White House this week, he reminded Americans that we live […]
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Jan 22, 2022
Glass Half Full
January 22, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander: I am a glass-is-half-full kind of person. I try to be optimistic as much as possible. Sometimes it isn’t easy. This week was […]
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Jan 15, 2022
Voting Rights Legacy
January 15, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander: Each January, we celebrate the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who gave voice to the civil rights movement and […]
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Jan 8, 2022
The Big Lie and the Ballot Box
January 8, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander: This week marked the first anniversary of one of the darkest moments in our nation’s history. One year ago Thursday, a mob attacked […]
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Jan 3, 2022
Welcome 2022
January 3, 2022 Dear Fellow Marylander: Happy New Year! I start 2022 thankful for the continuing honor of representing Maryland in the United States Senate. The last 12 months […]
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Dec 18, 2021
Fragility and Frustration
December 18, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: This is not what I expected. After armed insurrectionists violated the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, for the first time since a […]
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Dec 11, 2021
Vaxxed and Boosted
December 11, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: Last December, the nation was celebrating the incredible news that COVID-19 vaccines for adults were approved and ready for distribution. Less than a […]
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Dec 4, 2021
Hanging By A Thread
December 4, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: How a nation treats its women is a barometer of its success. Today, in the United States of America, women’s rights are under […]
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Nov 27, 2021
Shop Small. Big Impact.
November 27, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander, I hope you were able to spend time with your loved ones over the holiday. Today is Small Business Saturday, so I also […]
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Nov 20, 2021
Holiday Delivery
November 20, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: Can you believe it is the end of November already? Because of COVID-19, last year may have felt like 3,650 days instead of […]
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Nov 13, 2021
Port Recovery: Biden Back in Baltimore
November 13, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: President Joe Biden was back in Baltimore this week. He was at our Port to celebrate the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act that […]
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Nov 6, 2021
A Decisive Decade
November 6, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: Greetings from Glasgow, Scotland. I’m traveling with a contingent of my congressional colleagues to help answer questions President Biden raised in his remarks […]
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Oct 30, 2021
Platforms for Progress
October 30, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: If you’ve tried catching a train recently in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County or elsewhere in the Washington area, it’s been a rough […]
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Oct 23, 2021
Investing in Women Entrepreneurs
October 23, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: Did you know that our state is home to the highest concentration of women-owned businesses in the country? It is a distinction that […]
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Oct 16, 2021
We Need to Get This Done
October 16, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: I believe in the power of government to have a positive effect on people’s lives. Government is not the answer to every problem […]
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Oct 9, 2021
Kicking the Can Down the Road
October 9, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: As promised, I write you this week with an update on progress made on the on-going and tedious negotiations between Democrats and Republicans […]
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Oct 2, 2021
The Cliff’s Edge
October 2, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: When the United States of America was established, our new nation emerged from the Revolutionary War with about $80 million of debt. Alexander Hamilton, […]
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Sep 25, 2021
Charging Against Climate Change
September 25, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: This week I stepped on the gas pedal in a hybrid Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, one of several electric vehicles U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown […]
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Sep 18, 2021
Small Business Resiliency
September 18, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: This week, as our nation celebrated our small businesses during National Small Business Week, my colleagues in Congress and I continued working hard […]
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Sep 11, 2021
Remembering September 11, 2001
September 11, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since foreign terrorists murdered nearly 3,000 Americans in one of the most horrific attacks […]
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Sep 4, 2021
How A Nation Treats Its Women
September 4, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: How a nation treats its women is a barometer for success. When women’s rights are protected; when women and girls are allowed to […]
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Aug 28, 2021
Afghanistan
August 28, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: For two weeks now, the world has witnessed remarkable, vivid, frightening and at times heartening images coming from Kabul, Afghanistan. Wednesday, though, was […]
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Aug 21, 2021
Voting Rights Under Attack
August 21, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: Easily missed in the recent flood of news about the COVID-19 Delta variant, Afghanistan, the earthquake in Haiti, and nearly $1 trillion infrastructure […]
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Aug 14, 2021
Focusing on Families
August 14, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: This week, we had a marathon session in the Senate that will change the course of America for the better. In the early […]
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Jul 31, 2021
American Heroes
July 31, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: This was a week for heroes. From Tokyo to Washington, D.C., the world has watched Americans demonstrate courage in the face of danger […]
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Jul 17, 2021
Help for American Families
July 17, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: If you are a parent of a child under 18, you may have noticed a welcome surprise in your bank account this week. […]
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Jul 10, 2021
Shot at Normalcy
July 10, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: For many of us, life seems to be returning to a sense of normalcy. Many are back to work, and more can see […]
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Jul 3, 2021
Preserving American Democracy
July 3, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: This will be a very different July Fourth weekend than a year ago. As Maryland and many parts of our nation cautiously emerge […]
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Jun 26, 2021
Pride
June 26, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylanders: Happy Pride Month! Throughout the month of June, we have been celebrating LGBTQ Pride. For more than 50 years, dating back to the […]
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Jun 19, 2021
Juneteenth
June 19, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: Were you surprised that yesterday was a federal holiday? After more than 150 years of unofficial commemorations and a multi-year effort to create […]
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Jun 12, 2021
America is Back
June 12, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: America is back, and most of the world likes us again, but they are worried about the state of our democracy. This week, […]
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Jun 5, 2021
More Voters Voting is a Good Thing
June 5, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: In America, we expect our elections to be fair and follow the law. How we elect our leaders is prominent throughout the Constitution. […]
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May 29, 2021
Countering Anti-Semitism
May 29, 2021 First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did […]
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May 22, 2021
Hold On to That Mask
May 22, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: This week, I was proud to welcome America’s Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, to Annapolis. We met at […]
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May 15, 2021
Restaurants Are Coming Back!
May 15, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: Eating out at a restaurant with friends or family is something I have truly missed during this pandemic. Not having that time to […]
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May 8, 2021
Teacher Appreciation Week
May 8, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: Teachers are super heroes. Think of all the extraordinary things we ask teachers and everyone who supports our children at school to accomplish […]
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May 1, 2021
Investing in American Families
May 1, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: What a difference 100 days makes. America is back on track and it feels pretty good. In Maryland, nearly 2 million of us […]
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Apr 24, 2021
Justice
April 24, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: All eyes were on Minneapolis this week, as former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted for the murder of George Floyd. America’s justice […]
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Apr 17, 2021
Stop the Hate
April 17, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: Hate is on the rise in America and it has not subsided or tucked itself back in the shadows despite the last election […]
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Apr 10, 2021
The Other Public Health Crisis
April 10, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: This week, five people were killed within a 24-hour period in Baltimore, including a 14-year-old. Five people were shot, although not fatally, on […]
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Apr 3, 2021
Defining Infrastructure
April 3, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: What is infrastructure? There has been a good deal of talk lately about rebuilding our infrastructure in Maryland and across the country. It’s […]
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Mar 27, 2021
Georgia On My Mind
March 27, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: More Americans voted in the 2020 presidential election than in any previous election in our nation’s history. More than 159 million Americans voted […]
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Mar 20, 2021
Patience
March 20, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: One year ago, almost to the day, I first wrote to you about COVID-19 and the global pandemic that was only just beginning […]
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Mar 13, 2021
Game Changer
March 13, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: It’s been one year since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. We may get back to a new normal, but life will never […]
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Mar 6, 2021
Heroes of the Pandemic
March 6, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: Throughout March we celebrate Women’s History Month. It is a time to look back on the incredible contributions that women have made to […]
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Feb 27, 2021
Rebuilding America
February 27, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: The good news: positivity rates for COVID-19, at least in Maryland, are dropping, along with hospitalizations and deaths. Vaccination rates are up and, […]
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Feb 20, 2021
For the Love of Baseball
February 20, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: I miss baseball. I know that the Orioles have not been very good lately, but they are still my hometown team and I […]
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Feb 13, 2021
American Presidents
February 13, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: For many, Presidents’ Day usually is not a holiday that inspires deep philosophical reflections. But this year is different. On Monday, as we […]
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Feb 6, 2021
Celebrating Black History Month
February 6, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: Every February, we mark Black History Month by coming together to highlight the achievements and contributions of Black Americans to our national story, […]
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Jan 30, 2021
Patient and Ready
January 30, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: Let’s talk about the COVID-19 vaccine again. Last month, after the first vaccines were approved for use in the United States, I urged […]
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Jan 23, 2021
An Inauguration Like No Other
January 23, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: This week, America started to write a new chapter of history with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Two weeks after […]
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Jan 16, 2021
Living Up to the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
January 16, 2021 Dear Marylanders, Each year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we celebrate the life and legacy of the civil rights icon who changed our nation. The […]
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Jan 9, 2021
A Turning Point
January 9, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander: Well, 2021 was supposed to be the start of a fresh new year. Like other Marylanders, I had wished for a global reset […]
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Jan 2, 2021
New Year, New Opportunities Part 1
January 2, 2021 Dear Fellow Marylander, Happy New Year! We’ve scraped through what possibly was the longest and most consequential year of our lives. As we look at 2020 […]
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Dec 26, 2020
Good Riddance 2020
December 26, 2020 Dear Fellow Marylander: This has been a roller coaster of a year – physically, mentally and emotionally. More than 18.5 million Americans have been infected with […]
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Dec 19, 2020
Vaccines Save Lives
December 19, 2020 Dear Fellow Marylander: This week, media headlines brought incredible news that vaccines for COVID-19 have been approved and are ready for distribution. In fact, the first […]
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Dec 12, 2020
Empty Holiday Tables
December 12, 2020 Dear Fellow Marylander, No one – anywhere, ever – should be without food. The holidays make this simple truth even more clear. They remind us of […]
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Dec 5, 2020
COVID Fatigue
December 5, 2020 Dear Fellow Marylander: Like so many of you, I am feeling incredibly frustrated these days. I know many of you also feel as if you are […]
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Nov 28, 2020
Small Business Saturday!
November 28, 2020 Dear Fellow Marylander: Like so many of our traditions this year, today, Small Business Saturday, will look a little different than it has in years past. […]
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Nov 21, 2020
An Untraditional Thanksgiving
I love spending Thanksgiving with my extended family. I’m sure that you want to spend the holiday with your family, too. In a typical year, when we aren’t fending […]
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Nov 14, 2020
Uniting for the Common Good
Dear Fellow Marylander: After a vicious campaign and polarizing election almost ripped apart our young country, a victorious President Thomas Jefferson in 1801 sought to unify the country in […]
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Nov 7, 2020
Every Vote Counts
Dear Fellow Marylander, The rule of law and our American Constitution have prevailed yet again. Under the cloud of a global pandemic, American voters cast their ballots by mail […]
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Oct 31, 2020
Countering Voter Intimidation and Misinformation
Dear Fellow Marylander: Every American has the responsibility to vote in the ongoing election. Every American should also be informed and empowered to take action in the case of […]
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Oct 24, 2020
Economic Lifelines
Dear Fellow Marylander, This was one of the most frustrating weeks I have experienced since you elected me to represent you in the U.S. Senate. Instead of doing what’s […]
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Oct 17, 2020
Contempt
Dear Fellow Marylander: Nearly 21 million Americans have already cast their ballots in this year’s election. That’s nearly three and a half times the population of Maryland, and it […]
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Oct 10, 2020
Voting is Different This Year
Fellow Marylander: Have you voted yet? For most of my life, since I was eligible to vote, every election I took pride in the ritual of arriving early at […]
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Oct 3, 2020
Let's Get Serious
Dear Friend, The president and First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19. They join a growing list of more than 7.2 million Americans who also have contracted this novel […]
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Sep 26, 2020
No Precedent
Dear Friend, This week, our nation has been mourning the loss of an icon. The diminutive Ruth Bader Ginsburg – Notorious RBG – was a giant among justices and […]
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Sep 12, 2020
Honor. Sacrifice. Courage.
Dear Friend, Since the earliest days of this country, America has been blessed with selfless men and women who put country before self. Driven by a profound sense of […]
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Sep 5, 2020
Thank An Essential Worker
Fellow Marylander, It’s Labor Day Weekend. It’s different this year – at least it should be. We still are in the middle of a pandemic. While there remain dangerous […]
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Aug 29, 2020
Be Counted
Friend, Since the founding of our country, an official counting takes place every 10 years to determine how many people are here, in the United States of America, as […]
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Aug 22, 2020
Priority: Mail
In recent weeks, many of us have gained a renewed appreciation for the U.S. Postal Service and its dedicated workers, nearly 100,000 of whom are veterans. President Trump and Postmaster […]
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Aug 15, 2020
Stark Reality
Dear Friend, As U.S. COVID-19 cases surge past 5 million, we must face several stark realities. Americans are suffering in unthinkable ways and need help – now. While the […]
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Aug 8, 2020
Follow the Science
Dear Friend, We are still in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to run rampant across our nation, especially in the Midwestern, Southern and Sunbelt states. […]
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Aug 1, 2020
Extending a Lifeline
Dear Friend, As we close out the month of July, our country continues to rise to challenges on multiple fronts. We have found ways to come together as a […]
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Jul 25, 2020
Voting Like Our Lives Depend On It
Dear Friend, “We must keep the faith, keep our eyes on the prize. We must go out and vote like we never ever voted before. Some people gave more […]
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Jul 18, 2020
Safety First
Dear Friend, Another week has passed as we continue to navigate the best ways to have our country and economy return to a sense of normalcy, post-pandemic. At the […]
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Jul 11, 2020
It Could Happen to You
Dear Friend, I was overcome with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach as I saw the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States […]
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Jun 27, 2020
Freedom of the Press
Dear Friend, This Sunday, June 28, is a day that most people in Annapolis and across Maryland will not forget. It was on this day two years ago that […]
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Jun 20, 2020
Good News/Bad News
Dear Friend: Some good news: Infection rates and hospitalization rates related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are going down in Maryland. State officials reported this week that the number […]
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Jun 13, 2020
Saving Minority Small Businesses, Saving Jobs
Friends, The COVID-19 pandemic is, first and foremost, a public health crisis. But when the economic toll started to hit Maryland and our country fast and hard, it became […]
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Jun 6, 2020
A Collective Pain
Dear Fellow Marylander, Our nation is awash with grief. The murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others at the hands of police and vigilantes have put […]
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May 30, 2020
A Selfless Act of Respect
Dear Friends, My heart broke when I learned that, as of this week, more than 100,000 Americans have died as a result of COVID-19. To put this incomprehensible number […]
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May 23, 2020
Weathering The Storm
Dear Friends, It’s been said that we are all in this storm called COVID-19 together. But like most storms, some of us are bearing the brunt of its attacks […]
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May 16, 2020
Testing Helps Us Fight This Pandemic
Dear Friend, Let’s talk about testing. This week, while in Pennsylvania, the president of the United States said the following: “More testing only reveals more infections and therefore increases […]
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May 9, 2020
Proceed with Caution
Dear Friends, We are not out of the woods yet. More than a month into the statewide shutdown, which was intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, we are […]
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May 1, 2020
Mind the Gap
Dear Friend, Of all the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives, one of the most visible and disruptive has been the closure of our K-12 schools […]
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Apr 25, 2020
State and Local Governments Are on the Frontlines
Dear Friends, Earlier this week, Congress passed an interim emergency relief package that will provide $484 billion to support small businesses, bolster our health care system and expand national […]
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Apr 11, 2020
Stay Home and Stay Safe
Dear Friends, I want to take this opportunity to wish a happy Passover and a happy Easter to those of you who observe the holidays. I hope that these […]
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Apr 4, 2020
All Hands on Deck
Dear Friend, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” Right now, this question is […]
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Mar 28, 2020
Responding to COVID-19
Dear Friends, I hope that you are all staying safe and healthy. This is an extremely difficult time, but I have faith that we will get through the novel […]
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Mar 19, 2020
Hunker Down
Dear Friend, Hunker down. Wash your hands frequently. As Marylanders and everyone in this country learns more about the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) that is spreading around the world, it’s helpful […]
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