In the Nov. 4 vote, the Jewish community in the Maryland suburbs has two outstanding members of Congress who deserve re-election. Chris Van Hollen (D-District 8) and John Delaney (D-District 6) serve their districts well, and we endorse them.
Mr. Van Hollen has been an able legislator as well as a national party leader. As we wrote when we endorsed him in 2012, “he is a proven leader and friend.” Nothing has changed to alter our opinion.
As the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, he has championed the cause of public disclosure of the names of campaign contributors in an attempt to make the political process more transparent.
Since his election to the House in 2002, Mr. Van Hollen has demonstrated an interest in issues of concern to his Jewish constituents. Last year, he wrote to the Federal Trade Commission, urging it to take Jewish community needs into consideration as the agency deliberated over the merger of two funeral home giants.
To his credit, Mr. Van Hollen has been instrumental in keeping the case of Alan Gross, a Potomac resident imprisoned in Cuba, on the Obama administration’s radar. Mr. Van Hollen has gone to Cuba to meet with officials there and with Mr. Gross, a USAID worker who was convicted of crimes against the Cuban state.
Like Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Delaney has worked to publicize the plight of a Jewish constituent unjustly imprisoned. Three years ago, Warren Weinstein, also a USAID worker, was kidnapped by al-Qaida in Pakistan. In August, Mr. Delaney introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for President Obama’s administration “to use all the lawful tools at its disposal to bring Warren Weinstein home.”
A first-term legislator, Mr. Delaney has put forward legislation to address the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges. In lieu of congressional agreement on rescuing the national infrastructure, Mr. Delaney proposed a public-private infrastructure bank to pay for this critical need.
Both legislators are good friends of Israel. They share similar views about threats from Iran and the Islamic State: Cautious optimism about negotiations over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and support for Mr. Obama’s no-American-boots-on-the-ground strategy against ISIS.
Both men represent our area well. And from the apparent lack of serious competition, it appears that others acknowledge the same thing.
