Defense & National Security

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the Iran Deal: "I am currently in the process of reviewing the Iran deal. In my review I will consider not what could or should have been in the deal, but how the deal compares to the alternative of no deal at all. It is important to remember that this agreement is not just with Iran, but with the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Germany and other industrialized nations to ensure that if Iran violates any aspect of the agreement, economic sanctions can snap back into place.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott, Randy Forbes, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Robert Hurt, Dave Brat, and Don Beyer urged the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations to oppose language in the House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that that would jeopardize funding for a Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) at Fort Pickett. The delegation believes the proposed language is a form of protest against the selection of Fort Pickett over other possible sites and part of a broader attempt to derail the process.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) along with U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA-3), Randy Forbes (R-VA-4), and Rob Wittman (R-VA-1) applauded the U.S. Navy for signing a more than $4 billion contract to award the construction of the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) to Newport News Shipbuilding. “Today’s announcement marks an important step forward in designing and building the second in this new Ford class of aircraft carriers,” said Sen. Warner. “This contract will allow Newport News Shipbuilding to plan for the future and provides stability and predictability for its workers, the world’s best shipbuilders.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on his No vote on H.R. 1735, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016: “I support a strong national defense and our men and women in uniform, but I could not support this year’s National Defense Authorization Act in its current form. “The bill shields the Department of Defense from sequestration by moving billions of Defense Department funding into the Overseas Contingency Operations Account, which is exempted from sequestration. Democrats and Republicans all agree that sequestration is bad policy and must be addressed, but using accounting gimmicks to protect only the Defense side of the budget ledger while still allowing sequestration to arbitrarily cut education, transportation, health care and every other vital function of government is irresponsible and irrational.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Virginia Congressional delegation announced that the U.S. Navy will position its newest carrier, the Gerald Ford, at Naval Station Norfolk for the next several years given its unique capabilities and capacity. This will provide an additional aircraft carrier to the region until 2018 when the USS Lincoln returns to its home port. In addition the Navy has decided to reverse an earlier decision and will maintain Little Creek as a deep water amphibious port and homeport four amphibious ships at Little Creek through 2020. The delegation worked with the Navy to fund critical infrastructure upgrades for Little Creek, including a $30 million electrical grid upgrade in 2012.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Representatives Bob Goodlatte, Bobby Scott, Randy Forbes, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Morgan Griffith, Robert Hurt, Scott Rigell, Dave Brat, Don Beyer, and Barbara Comstock wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel expressing their continued support for the 11 aircraft carrier fleet in advance of the release of the President’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget proposal. In 2014, the House and Senate Armed Services Committee secured full Fiscal Year 2015 funding for the refueling and overhaul of the USS George Washington (CVN-73). In making the case for maintaining the 11 aircraft carrier fleet beyond 2015, Virginia delegation members cited the ability of aircraft carriers to respond rapidly throughout the world to military and humanitarian crises.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the President’s State of the Union Address: “Thanks to the leadership of this President and the resilience of the American people, our economy has emerged from one of the worst economic recessions since the Great Depression. But, as the President mentioned tonight, even with a growing economy, far too many hardworking American families are still not feeling the benefits of this growth. Wages remain stagnant for most workers, yet continue to grow exponentially for the top one percent. Congress must heed the President’s call to refocus our efforts to enact policies that truly benefit the middle-class by expanding opportunity for all.