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Prince George's County delegation warns proposed continuing resolution would cut Medicaid and harm federal employees
Summary
Local delegates hosted Reps. Steny Hoyer and Glenn Ivey and Sen. Chris Van Hollen on March 14 to warn that a House Republican continuing resolution would slash Medicaid (cited at roughly $880 billion) and create instability for about 100,000 federal workers in Prince George's County.
Delegate Andrea Harrison opened the Prince George's County delegation's virtual meeting on March 14 and welcomed U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey and Sen. Chris Van Hollen to brief members on federal budget and court developments.
"We have about a 100,000 federal employees in Prince George's County," Rep. Hoyer said, arguing that a House funding bill passed on the floor was "inadequate, dangerous," and would "traumatize federal employees." He warned of deep program cuts tied to a reconciliation plan that he and others characterized as aiming to cut about "$880,000,000,000," a figure he said would include substantial reductions to Medicaid.
Why it matters: delegation members stressed that Prince George's County's large federal workforce and Maryland's fiscal position make federal funding decisions locally consequential. Hoyer noted the state's own budget challenges and warned federal cuts would complicate lawmakers' work in Annapolis.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he planned "to vote against the Republican CR and against cloture on the CR," and urged a short-term, 30-day continuing resolution to allow regular appropriations work to continue. "My view is that this House CR is bad for lots of reasons," Van Hollen said, adding it would give the administration broader discretion over spending and could worsen political and programmatic outcomes.
Rep. Glenn Ivey described ongoing outreach and legal activity tied to federal employment issues and said the delegation will hold town halls to explain implications for constituents. "We're doing another town hall meeting on Tuesday night... and then we're gonna have a Medicaid town hall kind of roundtable next week," Ivey said, urging constituents to attend to learn how federal decisions could affect local services.
Delegation members asked for practical guidance about reinstated probationary employees after recent injunctions; lawmakers cautioned enforcement remains a question and urged constituents to press supervisors and unions to ensure compliance with court orders.
The meeting closed with a motion to adjourn; members were reminded they needed to be on the floor by 10:00. The Senate's action on the continuing resolution was expected later the same day, and delegation leaders said they would continue outreach and coordination depending on that vote.
