This past week, Governor Wes Moore announced energy assistance programs to help lower utility bills for 200,000 Maryland households, published an opinion piece on how to improve young men’s mental health, applauded the SCOTUS decision to uphold birthright citizenship, and a local farmer applauded his work to secure a USDA Secretarial Disaster Declaration.
Governor Moore Announced Energy Assistance To Lower Utility Bills for 200,000 Maryland Households
Maryland is expanding its energy assistance programs, allowing for 200,000 households to receive help with their energy bills.
Residents applying for energy assistance through DHS’s Office of Home Energy Programs (OHEP) will see up to a 32% increase in their benefits.
The new structure, which started on July 1, is designed to offset up to 55% of annual heating costs and up to 47% of electric bills for vulnerable households.
The expansion was granted by the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS).
“In our region and across the country, the rising cost of energy has gotten out of control — But no family should have to choose between paying their utility bill and putting food on the table,” said Gov. Wes Moore. “That’s why Maryland is cutting through red tape and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking Marylanders when they need it most.”
Lower-income households will receive the most support, with assistance amounts varying based on individual household size, utility consumption, and financial circumstances, the governor’s office said.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore: How to improve young men’s mental health
When we talk about men’s mental health, we tend to focus on what men are not doing: Not going to therapy. Not opening up. Not doing the work.
If the hope was to shame men into better mental health, it has not worked.
In Maryland, the male suicide nearly rate is four times the rate for women. Nationwide, suicide has climbed by more than a third since 2010 for young men. In Maryland and the country overall, the data track the same arc: rising deaths of despair, rising loneliness, rising disengagement from school and work.
The data send a clear message: We need to stop treating our young men and boys as problems to be solved, and start treating them as people to be invested in.
Read the full opinion here.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore applauds SCOTUS decision to uphold birthright citizenship
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld birthright citizenship, rejecting President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring that children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.
The justices relied on a long-settled understanding of the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, and more recent federal laws in ruling that anyone born in the country, with very limited exceptions, is a citizen. Trump’s restrictions had been blocked by several lower courts and had not taken effect anywhere in the U.S.
Following the ruling, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore released the following statement:
“As the son of an immigrant, single mom, I would not be here today without the promise that this country makes to every child born on its land: you belong here, no matter where your parents came from or how much money they had in their pocket. For generations, the promise that every child born on American soil is an American citizen has been woven into the very fabric of our Constitution. Today’s ruling affirms that promise.
“This decision is a welcome relief to the immigrant communities across Maryland who have faced relentless attacks from this federal administration over the past two years. The White House does not get to pick and choose who has the right to be an American.
“Every child born in this country is a child of opportunity, regardless of their parents’ immigration status or where their family’s story began. In Maryland, we will continue to support the immigrant neighbors and communities who help make our state stronger every day, and we will never leave them behind.”
More than one-quarter of a million babies born in the U.S. each year would have been affected by the executive order, according to research by the Migration Policy Institute and Pennsylvania State University’s Population Research Institute.
Gov. Moore Takes Action For Farmers
Maryland farmers need support now more than ever.
Over the last few weeks, there have been glimmers of hope. When the cold snap hit, I worried that the challenges facing farmers would go unnoticed. Instead, Governor Moore took action, requesting a federal disaster declaration that would make assistance available to affected farmers.
Farmers like me are now eligible for emergency disaster assistance that will help offset some of the losses and provide a pathway toward recovery.
This disaster declaration is more than financial relief–it’s a reminder of what can happen when leaders work across the aisle to address real challenges facing communities. Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Maryland’s economy and rural way of life. Farmers depend on strong partnerships at every level of government. That cooperation gives farmers hope, providing an important example of how we can rise above politics when livelihoods are at stake.
We need all Marylanders to follow that example.
Read the full opinion here.
Contact: Carter Elliott, IV [email protected]