Congresswoman April McClain Delaney Visits District Stakeholders to Discuss Priorities for 119th Congress
Congresswoman April McClain Delaney Visits District Stakeholders to Discuss Priorities for 119th Congress
FREDERICK, MD – This week, Congresswoman April McClain Delaney connected with district stakeholders, organizations and businesses to check in and hone shared priorities for the 119th Congress.
On Thursday, Rep. McClain Delaney stopped by Thales Defense, where she toured the headquarters and met with more than 100 employees during a town hall. Thales Defense employs nearly 1,000 people across its facilities in Frederick and Montgomery Counties and has partnered with numerous federal agencies to develop cutting-edge communications technologies, including for U.S. military service members in the field. Thales largely depends on federal contracts—$370 million annually—for its research and development programs. Rep. McClain Delaney continues to strongly support private-public partnerships as they drive innovation and job creation in Maryland and across the country.
Later in the week, Rep. McClain Delaney hosted meetings with the Frederick and Washington County Farm Bureaus to discuss this year’s anticipated Farm Bill and how broadband infrastructure and greater access to capital could benefit farms across the state—a question that she raised at last week’s House Agriculture Committee hearing. Over 95% of Frederick County’s more than 1,300 farms are family-owned and dependent on capital to maintain or grow their operations. Internet access is similarly critical to these farms. Today, over 30% of farms in Washington County and over 15% of farms in Frederick County still lack access to the internet and are thus effectively shut out from broadband technology that could better assess and analyze crop and soil conditions and increase yields. As reported in the Washington Post, many USDA grants remain frozen by the President’s Executive Order, despite a federal court’s decision to release the funds to farmers in need. Cuts to funding mechanisms and the staff who manage them are continuing through DOGE, potentially causing serious delays in repayment to farmers who have already invested in their land under the promise of federal reimbursement. These issues are personal for Rep. McClain Delaney, whose father was a potato farmer in Idaho.
After joining the Montgomery County Delegation Call on Friday morning, Rep. McClain Delaney visited Family Healthcare of Hagerstown, which is heavily reliant on HHS funding, to discuss contingency plans with its team if the Administration’s funding cuts move forward. Family Healthcare was established in the early 1990s as an affordable, accessible healthcare center for Hagerstown and has since been designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center. This center plays a critical role in the community as Washington County is currently designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area, which means that there are 3,500 or more patients per provider. According to the Center, 62% of its patients are Medicaid recipients, who may be impacted by the deep funding cuts expected to affect the federal program, as currently written in the House Republicans’ reconciliation bill. In Maryland's 6th District, more than 109,000 people depend on Medicaid/CHIP to access care—56,000 of whom are children.
“I am so humbled to meet with just some of the many businesses and organizations in our district working to build a brighter, safer future for our communities,” said Rep. McClain Delaney. “I believe Maryland’s 6th District is a microcosm of America, and these hardworking Marylanders are delivering a blueprint of how we can better support our families and our economy through more affordable health care, environmental stewardship and next-generation R&D. Sadly, many of these organizations are facing serious challenges in the face of severe federal funding cuts and layoffs by the Administration—including to our agricultural, health care and national security sectors. My office continues to offer assistance to impacted federal employees and other Marylanders dependent on these services and programs under threat.”
For updates, follow Rep. McClain Delaney at @RepAprilDelaney.
Congresswoman April McClain Delaney was elected in 2024 to serve Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett Counties. In Congress, McClain Delaney is focused on improving US competitiveness and innovation, protecting our natural environment and championing policies that represent the values and priorities of Maryland’s 6th District.