In the Fifth Congressional District, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer is a tireless fighter for economic development and a leader in creating jobs. He has helped create and save nearly 23,000 jobs by supporting federal facilities and associated businesses located in and around the Fifth District, including NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Indian Head, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the FDA at White Oak, and the future NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park.
Congressman Hoyer is fighting to address our nation's deep deficits and debt, and is actively engaged in the effort to put our country on a fiscally sustainable path. He believes that it is immoral to expect future generations to pay for the excess spending of this and previous generations. He introduced and successfully helped enact into law the pay-as-you-go principle - or "PAYGO" - a proven tool for fighting debt that that helped create budget surpluses in the 1990s. Like families across the country, Congress must make the tough choices to determine our real priorities and not spend beyond our means. PAYGO also forces Congress to look harder for wasteful spending that can be cut.
Congressman Hoyer has called on Congress to enact a deficit reduction plan that recognizes the need to create jobs in the short term while bringing down our deficit over the long term. He supports a solution that puts all options on the table, including spending cuts, increasing revenues, cutting waste in defense spending, and strengthening entitlements while protecting seniors and the most vulnerable and preserving the Medicare guarantee. He has urged both parties to compromise on a balanced approach that asks all Americans to contribute their fair share.
Congressman Hoyer is committed to reducing the deficit, and has urged both parties to work together to put our nation on a fiscally sustainable path while making the investments we need to have a strong economy.
Congressman Hoyer is strongly committed to ensuring Maryland schools continue to be among the best in the nation and students have the education and skills they need to succeed.
He is also a strong supporter of Full-Service Community Schools, modeled after the highly successful Judy Centers throughout Maryland, which coordinates educational and social service programs through collaborative partnerships with school districts and community-based organizations. By placing services under one roof, Congressman Hoyer believes schools can more effectively and efficiently provide families with access to services they might not easily have access to otherwise.
Congressman Hoyer also helped enact the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which saved taxpayers money, made critical investments in higher education by significantly increasing funding for Pell Grants, made loan repayment more affordable by expanding the Income Based Repayment program, and provided $2 billion to strengthen our community colleges. Additionally, he supports investing in education for disadvantaged students and students with disabilities, providing additional funds for teacher professional development and protecting Pell Grant funding for needy students pursuing higher education.
Congressman Hoyer strongly supports environmental standards that keep our land, air and water clean.
Congressman Hoyer strongly supports environmental safeguards that keep our land, air and water clean. He has supported every major environmental bill since he was elected to Congress. Congressman Hoyer has secured millions of federal dollars to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and the Patuxent, Potomac, Anacostia, and St. Mary's Rivers, and to replenish the oyster population of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
The Fifth District is rightly proud of its parks and open green space, and Hoyer has supported them by securing federal funds to add 8,000 acres to the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, expand Piscataway Park, and helped acquire 6,000 acres in Charles County for the Douglas Point Project.
Congressman Hoyer believes strongly in the environmental, economic and national security benefits of reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil and bolstering our clean energy economy. He has supported legislation to improve energy efficiency to save families and businesses money, spur innovation and create good-paying jobs, lessen our reliance on foreign energy, and reduce the carbon pollution that causes global warming.
The Fifth Congressional District is home to thousands of federal employees and retirees, both military and civilian. Congressman Hoyer is proud to represent them and has led the fight on issues important to public servants, including securing fair pay and benefits, with a strong focus on ensuring pay parity between military and civilian personnel.
Congressman Hoyer has consistently opposed efforts to reduce the wages, benefits, and hours of federal employees in a misguided attempt by some to bring down our nation’s deficit on the backs of middle-class families. Federal employees have already contributed more than $182 billion toward deficit reduction through freezes to cost-of-living-adjustments and changes to retirement benefits.
Throughout his career, Congressman Hoyer has also advocated for quality health care coverage, a solid retirement system, and fair working conditions for federal employees in Maryland and throughout the country.
Congressman Hoyer has been a champion for firefighters, law enforcement and other first responders. He has fought to ensure that these brave men and women are provided with adequate resources to keep our communities safe and has worked to address the quality of life issues that are unique to those who protect us.
Working closely with firefighters from Maryland and around the country, Congressman Hoyer helped establish the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which helps equip and train local fire and EMS departments throughout the country. Over $15 million has been awarded to Fifth District fire departments since the program's creation in 2001. He also helped establish the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program, which enables career and volunteer fire departments to hire new firefighters, recruit and retain volunteers, and provide relief to the thousands of local fire stations across the country short of staff.
He has also worked to ensure our local police departments have the equipment necessary to fight crime and protect our communities. Working with his Washington Metropolitan Area colleagues, Congressman Hoyer has spearheaded the effort to combat the gang problem in Prince George's and Montgomery Counties by helping establish and fund the Joint County Task Force. Congressman Hoyer also supported the COPS Hiring Recovery Program, which has strong support from Fifth District Police Departments.
Congressman Hoyer played a key role in the passage and enactment of the Affordable Care Act, which includes critical insurance reforms that put patients – not insurance companies – in control of their health care, while ensuring that the U.S. health care system continues to be the best in the world.
The Affordable Care Act is making a significant difference for Maryland families. Thanks to the law, up to 2.5 million Marylanders with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, cancer, or diabetes – including up to 320,000 children – no longer have to worry about being denied coverage or charged higher prices. Additionally, thousands of young adults in Maryland have gained health insurance because they can now stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26; and over 1.5 million Marylanders on private insurance have gained coverage for at least one free preventive health care service such as a mammogram, birth control, or an immunization. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the uninsured rate in Maryland is currently 6.1 percent, down from 12.9 percent in 2013. Through the Maryland Health Connection and our state’s expansion of Medicaid, over 400,000 Marylanders have enrolled in quality, affordable health care coverage.
Congressman Hoyer believes that Congress must continue to work to improve health care access and affordability and to strengthen the ACA and ensure all Americans can access affordable health coverage.
Congressman Hoyer is also a strong supporter of Social Security and Medicare, and has opposed efforts to privatize them. He is an advocate for ensuring their strength and long-term solvency and has fought to restore fiscal discipline to the federal government to ensure that these programs will be available for future generations. Congressman Hoyer has worked hard to strengthen the Medicare program and help ensure seniors can see their doctors. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Medicare costs – from premiums and deductibles to overall program spending – have slowed to well below the levels projected before the law passed.
Congressman Hoyer has also worked to improve and modernize the Social Security program by voting for investment in technology to enable the Social Security Administration to more efficiently process the increasing number of retirees and claims. He supported efforts to increase funding at Social Security to reduce the hearings backlog, prevent a backlog recurrence, and improve the speed and quality of services for retirees.
Congressman Hoyer believes that a Member of Congress’s highest duty is to keep America safe, strengthen our national security, and protect our homeland from attack. He is a leader in Congress on national security issues, has advocated for smarter and stronger policies to step up the fight against terrorist organizations that would do us harm, and remains unwavering in his commitment to the members of our armed services. He is also a strong supporter of investing in programs that adequately equip our first responders for response to potential domestic attacks and increase protections at our ports and borders.
Congressman Hoyer has been the lead advocate for Southern Maryland’s military installations at the federal level and was instrumental in the BRAC process in preserving 9,000 jobs at Patuxent River Naval Air Station while adding over 5,000 new jobs; protecting 3,000 jobs at Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center; and securing the future of Webster Field, St. Inigoes. Hoyer has worked closely with the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance, the Indian Head Defense Alliance, the Patuxent Partnership, the Chambers of Commerce and local officials working to ensure that these three military installations are protected.
Congressman Hoyer is a strong advocate for our veterans, and has worked tirelessly to ensure that America’s veterans receive the respect, care, and benefits they earned through their service to our nation. While Congressman Hoyer has strongly supported historic increases in funding for the Veterans Administration, improving the quality and efficiency of care in our nation’s VA facilities, he is also a strong proponent of accountability in how the VA spends those resources.
Congressman Hoyer worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs Baltimore Regional Office on improving the claims process for Maryland veterans to ensure they receive their benefits in a timely manner and with fewer errors. He is also dedicated to eliminating homelessness among veterans. He worked to secure funding to assist nearly 200 veteran families who are homeless or at risk for homelessness in St. Mary's, Charles, and Calvert Counties. Additionally, he joined the Tri-County Council of Southern Maryland and other stakeholders to ensure an accurate count of the homeless population in the Fifth District, which was critical to receiving additional housing vouchers for homeless veterans.
Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District is one of the fastest growing areas in the State of Maryland. Congressman Hoyer has worked very closely with state and local officials to ensure that our transportation infrastructure is prepared to meet the needs of Fifth District residents, businesses, and Federal facilities.
Over the years, Congressman Hoyer has helped secure the reconstruction of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, the restoration of the Suitland Parkway, federal funding for Metro rail capital improvements, and the Southern Maryland Commuter Bus Initiative. He continues to secure funding for the ongoing construction of the Purple Line, a 16.2 mile light rail line which will connect Prince George’s County and Montgomery County.
In 2017, Congressman Hoyer sponsored legislation to establish the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission to improve the safety and reliability of Metro. He believes that a sustainable and reliable source of funding is the only way to address Metro’s long-term capital needs.
Promoting a strong economy, creating jobs, and standing up for the middle class continue to be Congressman Hoyer’s top priorities.
In 2010, Congressman Hoyer and House Democrats launched the ‘Make It In America’ agenda, which was originally focused on boosting a declining American manufacturing sector. Since the plan was introduced, 19 ‘Make It In America’ bills have been signed into law. Over the past several years, as the nation emerged from the recession and domestic manufacturing strengthened, the Make It In America plan was updated to reflect a changing economy. In the fall of 2017, Congressman Hoyer launched the ‘Make It In America’ listening tour to hear from Americans across the country about the economic challenges and opportunities they face in their communities. In July 2018, Congressman Hoyer unveiled an updated Make It In America plan that focuses on expanding entrepreneurship, helping workers get the skills that employers need, and rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure.
Knowing that small businesses are the backbone of our economy, Congressman Hoyer has strongly supported legislation to give tax credits to small businesses who hire new employees, restore the flow of credit to small businesses, and help stop corporations from sending American jobs overseas. He also helped pass legislation to create jobs through innovative programs that increase home energy efficiency and spurring the American auto industry.
Congressman Hoyer is proud to represent civilian defense employees who work at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center, Webster Field, Joint Base Andrews, the Pentagon, and other defense installations across the region. He has been a strong advocate for these hardworking civil servants, fighting to secure fair pay and parity between civilian personnel and the uniformed personnel they work alongside.
Congressman Hoyer strongly opposes across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, which resulted in furloughs for many defense employees in 2013. These furloughs threatened military readiness, undermined the mission of our defense installations, harmed our local economy, and impeded our ability to recruit and retain a skilled federal workforce. Additionally, the furloughs came on top of the $138 billion that federal employees across the country have already contributed toward deficit reduction through freezes to cost-of-living-adjustments and changes to retirement benefits.With budget cuts and the threat of sequester looming in Fiscal Year 2016, Congressman Hoyer believes Congress must take action to replace the sequester and avoid the possibility of unnecessary and costly furloughs in the future.
Congressman Hoyer is fighting to address our nation's deep deficits and debt, and is actively engaged in the efforts to put our country on a path to a balanced budget. He believes that it is immoral to expect future generations to be burdened with the spending of this and previous generations. He introduced and successfully helped enact into law the pay-as-you-go principle - or "PAYGO" - a proven tool for fighting debt that that helped create budget surpluses in the 1990s.
Under the PAYGO law, Congress must pay for all new policies that call for new entitlement spending or reduce revenue, so that they add nothing to our deficit. In short, like families across the country, Congress must make the tough choices to determine our real priorities. PAYGO also forces Congress to look harder for wasteful spending that can be cut.
Congressman Hoyer has called on Congress to enact a big, bold, balanced deficit reduction plan that recognizes the need to create jobs in the short term while bringing down our deficit over the long term. He supports a solution that puts all options on the table, including spending cuts, increasing revenues, cutting waste in defense spending, and strengthening entitlements while protecting seniors and the most vulnerable and preserving the Medicare guarantee. He has urged both parties to compromise on a balanced approach that asks all Americans to contribute their fair share.
Congressman Hoyer has the privilege of representing the residents of Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. The Fifth Congressional District includes Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties, as well as parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties. It is bordered by the Chesapeake Bay on the east and the Potomac River on the west. The district is the site of St. Mary’s City, the first European settlement in Maryland.
Congressman Hoyer has fought to improve the quality of life for Fifth District citizens by helping create jobs and strengthen the local economy, making important investments in transportation infrastructure, expanding educational opportunities, improving the environment, and preserving important cultural resources.
The Fifth Congressional District is home to significant Federal facilities including the Patuxent Naval Air Station, St. Inigoes, Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, USDA’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, National Archives II, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. It is also the location of the University of Maryland at College Park, Bowie State University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and the College of Southern Maryland.
Seniors in the Fifth Congressional District benefit greatly from Social Security and Medicare, so Congressman Hoyer is a strong supporter of these important programs and has opposed efforts to privatize them. He has been an advocate for ensuring their strength and long-term solvency and has fought to restore fiscal discipline to the federal government to ensure that these programs may be available for future generations.
Congressman Hoyer has worked to improve and modernize the Social Security program by voting for investment in technology to enable the Social Security Administration to more efficiently process the increasing number of retirees and claims. He supported efforts to increase funding at Social Security to reduce the hearings backlog, prevent a backlog recurrence, and improve the speed and quality of services for retirees.
Congressman Hoyer has also worked hard to strengthen the Medicare program and help ensure seniors can see their doctors. The newly enacted health insurance reform law extends the fiscal solvency of the Medicare program, while improving Medicare benefits and chronic disease coverage and reining in waste, fraud and abuse. The new law also lowers prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the Medicare Prescription Drug “Donut Hole” over the next few years.