Defense & National Security

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives voted on H.R. 3461, to APPROVE the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed at Vienna on July 14, 2015, relating to the nuclear program of Iran. Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) voted YES on H.R. 3461 (Roll Call No. 493). The House also considered H.R. 3460, a bill to suspend until January 21, 2017, the President’s authority to waive, suspend, reduce, provide relief from, or otherwise limit the application of sanctions pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Congressman Scott voted NO on H.R. 3460 (Roll Call No. 494). Congressman Scott issued the following statement on today’s votes relating to the Iran nuclear agreement:

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement announcing his support for the P5+1 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear agreement: “This month, Congress will be voting on a resolution of disapproval of the Iran nuclear agreement, which, if enacted, would deny the President the authority to waive certain sanctions against Iran. After careful deliberation, I have decided to support the Iran nuclear agreement and will vote against a resolution of disapproval. “This agreement took years of careful negotiations between Iran, the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. It has been heralded as an unprecedented, landmark agreement for nuclear non-proliferation and was immediately endorsed by a unanimous vote of the United Nations Security Council.

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.