Judiciary
More on Judiciary
July 19, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), a member of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus, issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act: “The U.S. Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization upended 50 years of legal precedent and rolled back the rights of women all over the country. Justice Thomas released a disturbing concurring opinion where he made it clear that the right to marriage equality should also be reversed by the Court. That is why I co-sponsored and voted for the Respect for Marriage Act which would guarantee protections for same-sex marriage which were granted by the Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
Issues:Civil Rights
July 15, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 8296, the Women's Health Protection Act, and H.R. 8297, the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act: “With its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court erased nearly 50 years of legal precedent and fulfilled the Republican Party’s longtime goal of destroying reproductive health freedoms, and now they are engaged in a nationwide campaign to criminalize women’s reproductive health decisions. I voted to defend freedom and women’s right to make decisions about their health care.
Issues:Civil RightsHealth Care
June 24, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: “I believe Roe v. Wade was correctly decided nearly 50 years ago. A woman has the right to make her own health care decisions. Today’s Supreme Court decision is fundamentally wrong and a significant setback for individual freedom.”
Issues:Civil RightsHealth Care
June 24, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), a Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, entered the following statement into the Congressional record for the debate on S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: “Madam Speaker, I rise today to share my concerns regarding the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. While I support the underlying bill and appreciate that several Republican Senators finally came to the table to work with Democrats to address our nation’s gun violence epidemic, I remain troubled by the legislation’s possible expansion of the federal death penalty and the creation of broad new criminal offenses that may disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities.
Issues:Gun Safety
June 22, 2022
WASHINGTON – Representatives Bobby Scott (VA-03), Steve Chabot (OH-01), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX- 18), and Tom Emmer (MN-06) introduced the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Reauthorization Act. The legislation would reauthorize for five years the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), a critically important grant program which allows states and localities to develop programming that connects those with mental illness and substance abuse issues with evidence-based and comprehensive treatment within the criminal justice system. Among the reforms in the bill are the centering of suicide prevention as a key goal of the program, increasing access to case management services, bolstering the roles of co-responder and crisis intervention teams, training law enforcement, and continuing strong support of mental health courts.
Issues:Civil Rights
May 25, 2022
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Today, President Biden signed an historic executive order (EO) to advance effective, accountable policing and criminal justice practices that will improve public trust and strengthen public safety as the nation marks the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. “Americans from all walks of life took to the streets after the senseless murder of George Floyd to protest police brutality and demand accountability, transparency, and reform to our justice system,” said Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03). “That is why I was very grateful to see President Biden mark this solemn anniversary of Mr. Floyd’s murder with action. The President’s executive order seeks to improve public trust between communities and law enforcement with enhanced transparency and accountability measures. An important part of achieving this goal is comprehensive data collection of use of force and deaths in custody.
Issues:Civil Rights
September 28, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1693, the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act: “For years, we have known that harsh drug sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine have created a racially disparate impact on Black communities. The bipartisan EQUAL Act is the next step on the long road toward eliminating this unfair sentencing disparity. In 2009, I led the effort in the House to eliminate this disparity in the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act.
Issues:Civil Rights
September 2, 2021
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision against blocking SB8, a state law that effectively bans abortion in Texas: “Women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies and their health care. That has been understood by courts and lawmakers for decades. The Supreme Court failed to block SB8, which clearly violates the precedent set fifty years ago in Roe v. Wade, especially insofar as it makes no exceptions for the life and health of the mother. This law jeopardizes the health and safety of women all over the country, and this ruling opens the door to further abortion restrictions in other states.
Issues:Civil RightsHealth Care
July 29, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) introduced the Restoring Justice for Workers Act, legislation to end forced arbitration clauses and protect workers’ ability to pursue work-related claims in court. The bill would overrule the 2018 Supreme Court decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis that allowed employers to continue to require workers to sign forced arbitration clauses. These arbitration clauses, which are often buried in the fine print of employment contracts, prevent workers from banding together to enforce their legal rights.
July 21, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Don Bacon (R-NE) applauded the passage of the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act out of the House Judiciary Committee 36 to 5. The bipartisan legislation would eliminate the federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and retroactively apply it to those already convicted or sentenced. “The failed war on drugs, which started 50 years ago, has devastated lives, families and communities across our country. For decades, the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine has been used to fuel a mass incarceration epidemic that has unjustly put millions behind bars for too long and cost taxpayers billions of dollars without benefiting public safety.