Defense & National Security

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, which funds the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. “I voted in favor of this Consolidated Appropriations Act because it rejects the President’s extreme cuts proposed in his FY26 budget. I commend Ranking Member DeLauro for advancing core Democratic priorities in the bill, including investments in public health, affordable housing and childcare, and safe transit infrastructure, and many others. Democrats were also successful in eliminating dozens of extreme, partisan poison pill policy provisions pushed by Congressional Republicans and President Trump. These provisions would have prohibited access to reproductive healthcare services, eliminated gun violence prevention research, allowed junk health insurance plans, harmed Americans struggling to repay their student loans, cut funding for infrastructure projects in states that did not support President Trump in 2024, and repealed critical worker protections against wage theft.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the United States military conducted a large-scale strike against Venezuela and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. “I am deeply concerned by reports of U.S. military strikes in Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro. There is no question that Nicolás Maduro is a brutal and corrupt leader who has inflicted enormous harm on the Venezuelan people. However, the reprehensible conduct of a foreign leader, absent a clear and immediate threat to the United States, does not give any president the authority to disregard the Constitution.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine along with U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott (all D-VA) issued the following statement: “Despite our senior roles on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, the administration has failed to share any new information that supports this sudden and sweeping move to halt all offshore wind development, including a project off the coast of Virginia that is already almost complete and operational. That silence speaks volumes, especially given the president’s longstanding, well-documented opposition to offshore wind – and the promises he’s made to his donors to put his thumb on the scale against certain energy projects.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after voting for the adoption of H.Con.Res. 61, directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with presidentially designated terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere; and H.Con.Res. 64, directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress: “I voted to stop the Trump Administration from continuing its dubiously legal military actions towards Venezuela.

Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Representatives Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam, James Walkinshaw, Bobby Scott, Jennifer McClellan, and Eugene Vindman, Members of Congress representing Virginia, issued the following statement on Section 373 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2026, which addresses “Manned Rotary Wing Aircraft Safety” in the wake of the January 29, 2025 mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan National Airport that took 67 lives: “We share serious concerns raised by the Families of Flight 5342 and the National Transportation Safety Board about Section 373 of the National Defense Authorization Act related to safety in the airspace around National Airport following the tragic collision in January.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after voting for the final passage of S. 1071, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026: “The FY26 NDAA provides support to servicemembers, guarantees the defense of the American people, and invests in shipbuilding and our national security. This bill includes a 3.8% raise for all service members, extends efforts to improve childcare and military housing, and protects workers from reduction in force at a public shipyard without cause. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Congresswoman Lucy McBath (GA-06) ledother House Democrats in sending a letter to top Trump Administration officials on whether this heavy-handed, legally dubious interdiction effort will have any meaningful effect on drug addiction and drug related deaths in the United States.  “Regardless of the questionable legality of these strikes, an equally relevant question is whether this is even an effective means to curtail drug use in the United States,” the letter reads.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after voting against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026: “The annual NDAA is a bipartisan effort and it should address national security threats. The House Armed Services Committee advanced a strong bill that includes investments in shipbuilding procurement of the third Columbia Class Ballistic Missile Submarine, $1 billion for the Carrier Replacement program, $1.6 billion for CVN-81 currently under construction, and $816 million for Virginia Class submarines, wage increases of 3.8% for military personnel, funding for military dependent students, and commitments to our allies and partners as we continue to face threats around the globe.