Press Room Services Legislative Issues The Capital City Maryland, District 8 The Congressman
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Headshot of Congressman Chris Van HollenChris Van Hollen was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 8th Congressional District in November 2002 and was reelected in 2004 with 75% of the vote. Rep. Van Hollen serves on the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Government Reform. He is also the Vice Chair of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, a Co-Chair of the Congressional Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force, and a Vice-Chair of the Democratic Task Force on Tax Policy and the Budget.

Rep. Van Hollen has been recognized for his efforts and leadership in a range of areas of including education, foreign policy, environmental protection, protecting the rights of federal employees and civil rights. Roll Call newspaper named him one of the “rising stars” in Congress and the Washington Post noted that Van Hollen “has distinguished himself as a shrewd legislative player.” In his first term, he was singled out as the “Outstanding New Member of the Year” by the Committee for Education Funding, which is the nation’s largest and oldest non-partisan education coalition, and he has already received numerous other awards for legislative leadership.

Rep. Van Hollen has demonstrated his legislative expertise by offering numerous successful amendments on the House floor and in committee. He has also been recognized nationally for being a key leader in the effort to close a loophole that has allowed lenders to pocket billions of taxpayer dollars at the expense of college students.

In the fight for fair treatment of federal employees, Rep. Van Hollen achieved major victories on the floor of the House when – despite veto threats from the Bush Administration – his amendments to roll back President Bush’s privatization rules passed with bipartisan support.

Rep. Van Hollen has had extensive legislative success in getting amendments attached to bills in committee (including the 9/11 Commission bill, Head Start and Department of Defense Reorganization). He has also been a key leader in highlighting the gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to funding for No Child Left Behind, IDEA (special education), and Head Start.

At the local level, Rep. Van Hollen has been successful in securing federal support for critical transportation initiatives, community policing, regional homeland security efforts, education programs and community development projects.

Prior to his election to Congress, Rep. Van Hollen served in the Maryland General Assembly from 1991 to 2002 -- four years in the House of Delegates and eight years in the State Senate, where he was Vice Chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee and Chair of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee. During his service in the Maryland legislature, he authored landmark education funding legislation, the Patient Protection Act, the Clean Energy Incentives Act, the Chesapeake Bay Protection Act and was a key Senate leader in the passage of Maryland's gun safety law. For his broad-ranging legislative achievements, the Washington Post called Rep. Van Hollen “one of the most accomplished members of the General Assembly."

The son of a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, Rep. Van Hollen was born January 10, 1959 in Karachi, Pakistan and lived in Turkey, Sri Lanka, and India. After receiving a graduate degree in public policy and national security studies, Rep. Van Hollen worked in the 1980s as a professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as the Legislative Assistant for national security issues to U.S. Senator Charles Mathias.

Rep. Van Hollen is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. He holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College.

Rep. Van Hollen and his wife, Katherine, live in Kensington, Maryland with their three children - Anna, Nicholas, and Alexander.

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News
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9/14/2006
Van Hollen, Truth Squad Award "Golden Drain" for Waste, Fraud and Abuse
Washington, D.C. - Earlier today, the Truth Squad on Waste Fraud and Abuse awarded Secretary of (full story...)

9/12/2006
Van Hollen, Emanuel Announce Real Earmark Reform
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representatives Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) announced they (full story...)



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Speeches
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9/28/2006
Chris Van Hollen Floor Statement on FISA
Washington, D.C. - We all understand that electronic surveillance is a vital tool in the war (full story...)

9/27/2006
Military Commissions Act of 2006
Washington, D.C. - Mr. Speaker, we now know what the Administration wanted to hide from the (full story...)



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Capitol Hill Office
1419 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5341
Fax: (202) 225-0375
Rockville Office
51 Monroe Street, Suite 507
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: (301) 424-3501
Fax: (301) 424-5992
 
Mount Rainier Office
3409 Rhode Island Avenue
Mount Rainier, MD 20712
Phone: (301) 927-5223
Fax: (301) 927-6122

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