Dear Friends,
I spent the last few days in Ocean City for the Maryland Association of Counties Summer Conference, which I will discuss later in this newsletter. I have not seen the National Guard on the streets of the District, the checkpoints set up in the streets or the vitriol growing for these kinds of fascist tactics so close to home. One person was so frustrated that he threw a sandwich at the extra police presence. That person is now charged with a felony.
While I was gone, President Trump announced he'd like to extend this unnecessary show of force past the allotted 30 days of his supposed public safety emergency. You can see from the dashboard above, compiled by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), that crime is down. President Trump alluded to this federal action as potentially the basis for a federal crime bill and a special unit that can be deployed to cities with crime issues. This is not a plan that any lawmaker should get behind. Senator Chris Van Hollen, when he wasn't standing up for the rights of immigrants being illegally detained, accused President Trump of a "raw authoritarian power grab" for federalizing the District of Columbia's police department.
I encourage you to use your voice and follow Senator Van Hollen's suggestion of sharing your stories about how the Trump administration's decisions impact your life. You can share that on the Senator's website.
President Trump is taking advantage of the fact that the District of Columbia is not a State and claiming emergency powers to federalize a local police department, despite an apparent lack of emergency conditions. The District is our neighbor, and we must consider how this will impact us here in Montgomery County. The idea of using the National Guard for everyday policing brings up many concerns that we have never considered. It has never been the practice or policy of the Federal government to deploy troops for policing purposes. I want to thank Maryland Governor Wes Moore for showing leadership by calling out the President and vowing not to authorize the National Guard in Maryland to police the District.
The National Guard, people with regular civilian jobs, are not trained to be police officers. They don’t know the laws or rules of policing. They’re trained in combat, not police work. If this weren’t enough, Trump’s plans would extend to overhauling cash-bail policies and replacing D.C.-area judges he dislikes – all of which may impact us.
He even appears to be creating new criminal statutes on the fly, declaring that those who "even think about destroying a statue or monument" will be jailed for years. It’s especially alarming because one of the statues he’s restoring to the District is that of a Confederate General, an actual traitor and supporter of slavery. I find that disgusting. Would people go to jail for thinking about committing a crime? How is that legal? He doesn't know. And yet, this is the same person who pardoned criminals for attacking our Capitol building and attacking police officers on January 6th.
Part of the President’s plan is to move everyone experiencing homelessness out of the city. He said they should be relocated far from the Capitol, but his plan does not seem to include providing housing for the homeless. From our perspective, we’re concerned that more people experiencing homelessness will be pushed across the border into the County, putting stress on our existing resources without providing needed funding.
Montgomery County leads our region in offering supportive services and long-term solutions to those experiencing homelessness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we built a large shelter to give men and women more options for temporary shelter while we helped them find a long-term fix. We are doing a lot, but our resources aren’t unlimited, and they won’t be able to address a large influx of vulnerable people into the County.
The annual homeless count, which took place in January, found that we have seen the number of homeless families jump. This pressure from the federal government to make homelessness a crime won't help. Because we anticipate an increase in unsheltered individuals in Montgomery County, we have met with our service providers, outreach teams, emergency shelter and drop-in center leaders, and asked them to track the number of people coming from the District in need of services.
I hope COG can coordinate help now that homelessness is in this administration's crosshairs. Between Maryland and Virginia, there is an opportunity to offer humanity and dignity in the absence of such empathy in the District of Columbia.
Montgomery County’s Continuum of Care is a coordinated system to reduce homelessness. Our Services to End and Prevent Homelessness, part of the County’s Department of Health and Human Services, has a shared vision: access by all people to safe, affordable housing and opportunities to improve quality of life. We want to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring and have been making good progress throughout most of the year through our Short-Term Housing Assistance Resolution Program (SHARP). SHARP reduces barriers to housing for families experiencing homelessness by providing rental assistance and supportive services.
Our Department of Health and Human Services is central, providing integrated programs like behavioral health and child and family services. Its ongoing focus is improving access, identifying gaps and enhancing coordination for individuals with complex needs. This comprehensive, compassionate and strategic framework is a world away from simply moving people out of sight.
This is all unprecedented and unpredictable. Using the military for routine crime enforcement is a dangerous and slippery slope – particularly when we have a president, a convicted felon, who thinks he can invent crimes from his imagination. We can plan, but we won’t know how we will be impacted until we see more from federal authorities. I fear that forcing the people experiencing homelessness to leave the District will magnify the problems we have to deal with here, whether it is trying to house people or feed people. We will continue to do the humane thing to help those in need, as we always do in Montgomery County.
MACO Panel on Federal Impacts
I want to thank Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman for her leadership and recognize her office's work in reporting the potential financial challenges our State faces due to the displacement of our federal workforce. In this report, you can read the Office’s analysis of the impact of the federal workforce on our economy.
The report shows the vast difference in salaries between private-sector and federal-sector employees. Jobs tied to the federal government earn 73% more than the average private-sector job in Maryland, as seen below.
Not only are federal jobs higher paying, but there are many more federal jobs outside the D.C. borders than anywhere else in Maryland. Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties have more than 50,000 federal workers residing in each County, respectively, as of the end of Fiscal Year 2023.
Our region has long relied heavily on the federal government. We used to be considered recession-proof because the government didn’t experience the ups and downs of the economy, like a recession. But that has changed over the last 15 years, and we’ve been working to diversify our economy and capitalize on our strengths in life sciences and related industries while broadening the types of companies we attract.
A Devastating Cut: Secretary Kennedy Axes MRNA Funding
Last week, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., dropped another bombshell, cancelling nearly half a billion dollars in federal funding for future vaccine development. The target here is vaccines developed through mRNA technology. Moderna is one of many companies that uses mRNA to produce a bird flu vaccine, which the Trump administration defunded last month.
Secretary Kennedy supports this decision by claiming that "data shows these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu." In another claim, he says mRNA vaccines can help "encourage new mutations and can prolong pandemics as the virus constantly mutates to escape the vaccine's protective effects."
Health experts agree that this does not make sense. We have clear evidence that the mRNA-developed vaccines for COVID-19 remain effective at reducing the severity of infection and have saved tens of millions of lives. We also all know that influenza viruses mutate yearly, regardless of which type of vaccine technology is used. One of the significant advantages of mRNA vaccines is that they support faster identification of an effective treatment. It is also significantly faster to produce than other vaccine methods, which allows manufacturers to be more specific to the currently circulating virus strains. The speed of mRNA production meant that the COVID vaccine was available to the public three3to six months earlier than traditional production.
Our research and medical communities are opposed to and deeply concerned about these cuts. They note that these kinds of advancements in medicine were always funded and encouraged, no matter which political party held office—until now. The sad truth is that it is not just a bad decision but also a somewhat dangerous one.
Removing investments in mRNA technology will mean that the U.S. will no longer be the international leader in this crucial biotechnological field and will force us to depend on developments made in other countries that continue to invest heavily in mRNA research. It means a loss of skilled jobs within the U.S. biotechnology sector and strips us of the infrastructure, which is an important tool that helps us respond to emerging threats. And it leaves us reliant on life-saving treatments developed outside our borders. These cuts severely hamper the United States' ability to respond swiftly to future pandemics or emerging pathogens.
Instead, we are reverting to an outdated system for vaccination, which puts lives at risk. It means the work already underway to stop cancer will have to stop. This is a steep price when the argument for cancelling is bogus.
Secretary Kennedy criticized the COVID-19 vaccines that were developed because many people still got sick. The purpose of the vaccine was not to block the virus, but to ensure that it was not as lethal to those who contracted it. On that grading scale, it performed exceptionally well.
Before the vaccines, our hospitals were overwhelmed by patients, many of whom were seriously ill. Hospitalization numbers went down once people started getting the vaccine. Imagine if we had relied on the old system of producing a vaccine. We may still be dealing with this as a national health crisis today.
Don’t believe what you hear from the Secretary. He’s making up facts to fit his narrative and leaning into the growing skepticism of vaccines. Even President Trump’s former surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, came out against this plan, crediting mRNA vaccines for saving more than two million lives. He also said, “People are going to die.” This is not a safe way forward for our nation.
Burnt Hill Winery Grand Opening
I want to note a opening that I was there to celebrate last week at Burnt Hill Farm in Clarksburg. Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks, Secretary of Commerce Harry Coker, Jr. and County Council President Kate Stewart joined me in congratulating the Baker family.
Montgomery County is fortunate to have some of Maryland's most beautiful and productive agricultural lands. More than four decades ago, we established the Agricultural Reserve, a decision that has become a national model for farmland preservation. It remains one of our most important assets. It represents a commitment to preserving our rural heritage, sustaining family farms and protecting our environment.
Agri-tourism plays a significant role in keeping that legacy alive. Whether it’s farm tours, pumpkin patches, wineries, orchards or farmers markets, these experiences connect people with the land, support local producers and show agriculture's real value to our community.
Burnt Hill Farm is the latest example of how preservation and innovation can go hand in hand. This is a pioneering model of animal-integrated regenerative agriculture, estate winemaking and sustainable gastronomy. I thank them for their approach to value-added agriculture. The farm is home to the grand cru vineyard, woodland pigs, long-wool sheep, honeybees, heritage grains and orchards. It all works together as a vibrant ecosystem, producing food and wine with integrity.
The farm will strengthen our economy, create jobs and attract visitors. We want to keep farming viable for future generations. Cheers to the team at Burnt Hill. I know they are working hard to share more of their work on the farm with the public soon.
Ag Fair Open Through Saturday
I want to remind everyone that the Montgomery County Ag Fair ends on Saturday. On Friday and Saturday nights, the gates stay open until midnight.
Kids 11 and under get in for free. Adult tickets are $18 at the gate, or you can save money and buy your ticket online for less than $15. Some free entertainment includes a comedy hypnotist, stilt walkers, chainsaw carving and live music.
Parking onsite is $20, but we’re encouraging people to take advantage of the free parking and shuttle buses from the Montgomery College Rockville and Germantown campuses. Shuttles start running 30 minutes before the fair opens and until closing each night.
Every summer, our County Fair is where people of all ages come together to have fun, celebrate our agricultural heritage and enjoy time with family and friends. I hope you can enjoy it before it is over.
Tax-Free Week in Maryland Ends Saturday
Shop Maryland’s Tax-Free Week ends this Saturday, Aug. 16. The tax holiday allows families to stretch their dollars, especially as we near the start of the school year.
Here’s what’s eligible:
- Clothing and footwear — sweaters, shirts, slacks, jeans, dresses, robes, underwear, belts, shoes and boots — priced at $100 or less per item.
- Backpacks and bookbags — the first $40 of the purchase is tax-free.
See this FAQ for more information or call 1-800-MD-TAXES (638-2937).
Under certain circumstances, online purchases can also qualify, but I see this as a good way to save on back-to-school essentials and support our local retailers.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
