Foreign Affairs
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June 18, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement on stand-alone legislation to grant the President Trade Promotion Authority, commonly known as Fast Track:
“As I did last week, I again opposed Trade Promotion Authority because it lacks sufficient safeguards to ensure that labor standards, environmental standards, and consumer protections are respected in partner countries and here at home. I remain concerned that the Trans-Pacific Partnership — the multi-nation trade deal currently being negotiated by the President and the impetus for today’s vote — is not the best course of action for our economy and America’s middle class.”
June 12, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement on today’s trade votes:
“While I am a strong supporter of Trade Adjustment Assistance that provides needed support to workers who have had their jobs shipped overseas, I was unable to vote for today’s TAA title of the Trade Act. When taken into context, this TAA authorization fell woefully short in our duty to support American workers. It lacked adequate funding, left out a large sector of the economy, and is tied directly to Congress granting the President Trade Promotion Authority.
June 11, 2015
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.
June 8, 2015
Dear Colleague:
As the debate about Fast Track trade authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) continues, we write to address the frequently repeated assertion that the TPP will have the strongest labor and environmental standards ever. To assess whether the TPP is setting a high watermark, we should look to past agreements to see if we are progressing or simply remaking mistakes of the past.
January 12, 2015
By Sean Gorman, Richmond Times Dispatch/Politifact Virginia
Rep. Bobby Scott was appalled by the findings of a Senate report detailing the enhanced interrogation methods used by the Central Intelligence Agency in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Senate report detailed many instances when the U.S. waterboarded suspected terrorists, a drowning-like procedure in which interrogators covered detainees’ faces with a cloth and doused them with water, sometimes until they fell unconscious.
Scott, D-3rd, denounced the waterboarding as a torture method inconsistent with the United States’ image as a "moral authority" and said the report shows the country "failed to lead by example."
"After World War II, we tried, convicted, and in some cases, executed Japanese soldiers for war crimes that included charges of waterboarding," Scott said in a Dec. 9 news release.
December 17, 2014
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement today upon the announcements of the release of American contractor Alan Gross from a Cuban prison where he was held for five years and the restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba:
Issues:Foreign Affairs
December 9, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations on the House Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s redacted summary, released today, of its report on the use of torture by the Central Intelligence Agency:
“The declassified summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report confirms that the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program had a policy of torture in contravention of federal law and international conventions. While the CIA suggests that such tactics were necessary to protect the nation from future terrorist attacks, the report indicates that the relationship between many counterterrorism successes cited by the CIA in support of the policy and the ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ was tenuous at best and non-existent at worst.
September 23, 2014
By Jonathan Costen, 13 NewsNow
HAMPTON - Congressman Bobby Scott said if the United States wants to be successful fighting ISIS in the Middle East, Congress needs to be on board with the effort.
Congressman Scott also said that for too long congress has ignored the constitutional mandate to declare war when war needs to be declared. Dating back to the Vietnam War, "Congress wants to have it both ways, you want to be able to complain when things don't go right and you don't want to take responsibility up front, and we've been able to get away with that for 50-years and there's a lot of support for keeping it the way it is," Scott said. 13News Now interviewed Scott at a military veterans town hall meeting. Scott held the meeting to discuss the challenges veterans face with the Hampton V.A. Medical Center.
September 17, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on his vote in favor of the McKeon Amendment to the Continuing Resolution, authorizing the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to train and equip appropriately vetted elements of the Syrian opposition and other appropriately vetted Syrian groups or individuals to combat ISIL.
“The McKeon Amendment is not a formal authorization for this President or future presidents to use American military force in Syria. It has been argued that the President already has such authorization pursuant to the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations of Use of Military Force. I do not, however, believe these are sufficient authorizations to target terrorist groups that may not have even existed 13 years ago.
September 10, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the President’s address to the nation on ISIL:
“After the execution of two American journalists and numerous human rights violations against Syrian and Iraqi civilians, it is clear that ISIL poses a serious and dangerous threat to the stability of the region and potentially to the United States itself. Tonight, the President laid out a thoughtful but narrowly defined strategy to deal with this immediate threat that includes a broad international coalition of our allies and no American ground troops. The President’s strategy will continue to protect U.S. military and non-military personnel, civilians, and those providing humanitarian assistance in the region. Any additional action, however, should be taken only with the authorization of Congress.