Maryland Senators Withdraw Federal Funding Requests for Two Baltimore Nonprofits, for Projects of $3 Million and $1 Million
Baltimore, Maryland — Maryland's two U.S. senators, Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen, were reported on October 27 to have withdrawn requests for federal funding for two Baltimore nonprofits, after investigations raised questions about the organizations' finances. The requests were submitted on April 20: each senator filed a request seeking $3 million for KEYS Empowers, a human services organization, for the same project, and Van Hollen also requested $1 million for the North East Housing Initiative (NEHI). Both withdrew the requests after learning of the investigations, and Congress has not yet approved the fiscal 2027 budget. KEYS Empowers was raided by the FBI in September, and its executive director, Mujahid Muhammad, subsequently resigned from the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners; the raid itself does not establish that wrongdoing occurred. An April 30 report by the Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Health said KEYS Empowers should return more than $400,000 to the state, about half the state funding it received over three fiscal years, citing overfunding, discrepancies in records and inadequate documentation. NEHI faces a federal inquiry involving a cryptocurrency donation, federal tax liens and multiple lawsuits, and its chief executive, Garrick Good, resigned this month.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：巴尔的摩市中心Pratt Street一带天际线（资料图）。Daniel Case 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Photo: The Pratt Street skyline in downtown Baltimore (file photo). By Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
