Government shutdown ends

Democrats and Republicans couldn’t agree on a new spending bill that was due Friday (1/19). The two parties had a stalemate that largely was due to disagreements over the DACA program and funding for a proposed border wall. This was the first time there’s been a government shutdown where one party controls the White House, Senate and House. Monday (1/22) the House passed a stopgap spending bill that will fund the government for the next three weeks. President Trump signed the bill into law on Monday evening, allowing thousands of furloughed employees to return to work.

Governor Hogan makes proposal to Amazon to bring HQ to MoCo

 MoCo has made Amazon’s new short list of twenty different locations around the US to put their new headquarters. Members of the Montgomery County Democratic caucus met Monday evening to discuss the governor’s proposal. An Amazon headquarters in MoCo would mean a huge economic boost across the state,  and most importantly would make the region less reliant on the federal government and less subject to the economic blow that a government shutdown can have.

Women’s march

On the one year anniversary of President Trump’s election, around 500,000 activists marched on the National Mall. The theme for this year’s march, Power to the Polls, is intended to empower women to vote and to run for office. As well as making an attempt to get women more involved in civic service, the march advocated for a wide range of issues from LGBTQ rights to immigration rights. The march kicks off the year-long campaign by the Women’s March to get women involved in government.

Save a Life Montgomery County

Partnering with the Montgomery County Bar Foundation, multiple county agencies, police, prosecutors, MCPS and private citizens, the Save a Life campaign plans to combat drug abuse in Montgomery County. The group aims at educating those who want to become well informed, are struggling with, or who have a loved one struggling with, substance abuse. The group plans to stay active with meetings and other events through the new year.