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April 19, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and nine other Democrats submitted a public comment to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) about their request for information on whether to retain, rescind, or modify the 2014 Election Rule. The Obama-era rule streamlined the NLRB’s process for union elections, eliminating unnecessary litigation and delays which companies have used to suppress workers from organizing. Ranking Members Scott and Murray have repeatedly asked the Board for relevant information on how the 2014 Rule was working so the public can see whether it needs to be changed. The limited evidence the Board has produced clearly disproves business groups’ critiques of the rule—making it clear that this attempt to roll back the rule is simply a political attempt to make it harder for workers to join a union.
April 18, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, was presented the Congressional Champion of Children Award from Child Care Aware. Child Care Aware is an organization dedicated to ensuring the child care system supports all children and families. Recently, Congressman Scott worked to ensure the FY18 omnibus appropriations bill included an increase of $2.37 billion in the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), including specific language to ensure that parents were not sending their children to places of neglect and harm. “It is a real honor to receive this award,” said Scott. “I promise to continue working with all of you, and with the rest of the early learning community. Protecting children from neglectful providers and increasing funding for early learning is only the first step.”
Issues:
April 16, 2018
Press Release
Washington, D.C. - Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director, Dr. Jeff Pon, responded last week to a bipartisan letter sent by Representatives Scott Taylor (VA-02), Bobby Scott (VA-03), Walter Jones (NC-03), and G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) about the delay in establishing Virginia Beach-Norfolk (VA-NC CSA) as a new locality pay area. President Trump's Pay Agent, which consists of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Director of OPM, and the Secretary of Labor, is responsible for administering the locality pay program based on recommendations from the Federal Salary Council. Since 2015, the Council has been recommending to the Pay Agent that Virginia Beach-Norfolk be established as a separate locality pay area, which will assist with recruitment and retention efforts for the approximate 30,500 civilian federal employees who reside and work in this region.
April 14, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump, in conjunction with France and the United Kingdom, launched airstrikes against the Syrian regime, following a brutal chemical weapons attack on civilians in Douma: “I am deeply disturbed by the Assad regime’s continued use of chemical weapons against innocent Syrian civilians. This and the many other crimes against humanity committed by the Assad regime, which are in violation of international law, must be addressed by the entire international community.
April 13, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – House and Senate Democratic Committee health leaders called on the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed rule that would encourage the sale of junk health plans that will undermine consumer protections, sabotage the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces, and expose consumers to great financial risk. The proposed rule, published on February 21, 2018, would extend the allowable duration of short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plans from three months to up to 12 months. House Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), House Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA), Senate HELP Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), and Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) requested the withdrawal of the rule in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
April 12, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after House Republicans released text of their Farm bill. “The Republicans’ newly released Farm Bill is the latest attack on the economic security of American families and workers. The proposed changes to SNAP, including punitive work requirements, would put food out of reach for many. Because SNAP is tied to eligibility for other vital federal programs, the proposed changes to SNAP will keep families from accessing public benefits they rely on to meet basic needs, including home heating assistance and school lunches. The evidence is clear that access to nutritious foods is paramount for children’s health and development.
Issues:
April 12, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressmen A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) and Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, hosted a briefing on Protecting Students’ Civil Rights to amplify the importance of preserving critical civil rights protections for students in light of recent hostile scrutiny from the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans. “Discriminatory discipline practices in our nation’s schools hurt our children, particularly students of color and students with disabilities,” said Congressman Donald McEachin. “The briefing this afternoon – and the valuable information shared by the expert panelists – highlights those disparities, and the work that must be done to address and improve school climate. We should be strengthening, not removing, important protections for our nation’s students – such as the 2014 Discipline Guidance Package discussed today. I once again urge the administration and Secretary DeVos to advance evidence-based preventative measures that protect students’ civil rights.”
Issues:
April 11, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) asking Departments to examine federal programs that support working families. “The Trump administration and Congressional Republicans want to pay for their $1.5 trillion tax cut for the wealthy and corporations by undermining federal programs on which millions of working families depend. By adding unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and punitive work requirements, this executive order is likely to make it more difficult for families to access federal programs that help them make ends meet.
Issues:
April 5, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the eighth anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, which took the lives of 29 coal miners. “Since the Upper Big Branch Mine (UBB) explosion that took the lives of 29 coal miners eight years ago, all five independent investigation reports by state and federal agencies agree that the mine operator violated multiple safety standards. Key safety controls, such as water sprays, were disabled which enabled a small fire to be sparked that led to a devastating disaster. Inadequate rock dusting enabled the fire to propagate into a massive coal dust explosion.
April 4, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), ranking member of the House Committee on the Judiciary released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled, “Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities.” The ranking members requested that the GAO investigate disparities in discipline policies and practices applied to students of color, boys, and students with disabilities.
Issues:
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In The News
February 13, 2018
In The News
PORTSMOUTH, VA - Rep. Bobby Scott had little good to say Monday night about the tax overhaul bill recently approved by Congress. Speaking to about 200 people in a forum in I.C. Norcom High School’s auditorium, the Newport News Democrat spelled out the details of the changes in tax rates and deductions, noting that most of tax reductions go to the wealthiest Americans.
Issues:
October 19, 2017
In The News
NORFOLK, VA. (WVEC)-- Members of the Hampton Roads Congressional delegation are offering mixed views on how budget matters may play out in Washington in the weeks ahead. The government is currently operating under what's called a "Continuing Resolution." It expires on December 8, a little over 7 weeks away.
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-3rd District) was blunt.
"The problem is, we're not having a serious discussion," he said. "We start off with a trillion dollar tax cut and suggest it doesn't have to be paid for. Of course it has to be paid for. You either have to raise somebody else's taxes or reduce spending."
August 18, 2017
In The News
NORFOLK, Va. — At a recent town hall here in Virginia’s second most populous city, Rep. Robert C. Scott patiently took questions from more than two dozen residents waiting in line. The queue stretched to the very back of a high school auditorium with some standing for the entire portion of the two-hour public meeting. Absent was the rancor that has dominated town halls across the country this year — mostly those held by congressional Republicans facing angry crowds, upset over changes the GOP wants to make to the 2010 health care law and expressing steadfast opposition to Donald Trump’s presidency.
August 6, 2017
In The News
WHEN TERRY McAULIFFE became the governor of Virginia, he inherited leadership of a state that had fallen behind in responding to the effects of global climate change and realizing the economy opportunities presented by the new energy economy.
From the beginning of his term, McAuliffe and his team committed themselves to making the commonwealth more resilient and promoting clean-energy technologies that cut carbon emissions and create new jobs.
In fact, McAuliffe and our congressional delegation secured a $120.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund innovative resilience projects in Norfolk. Earlier this year, U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and I introduced the Building Up Infrastructure and Limiting Disasters through Resilience (BUILD Resilience) Act, which is modeled after the National Disaster Resilience Competition that provided the HUD grant.
April 16, 2017
In The News
This weekend, our nation marks the 10th anniversary of the horrific mass shooting that occurred at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. That tragedy claimed the lives of 32 people and left 17 others wounded. The effects still resonate, in our commonwealth and the nation. As we take time to remember, mourn and celebrate the lives of the students and faculty members who died, members of Congress must come together to address the epidemic of gun violence so as to make sure tragedies such as the one at Virginia Tech and so many others never happen again.
Issues:
March 13, 2017
In The News
U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott met with Peninsula health care providers Monday and said they voiced concerns over losing Medicaid funding under a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Last week, the GOP-led Congress released a copy of a bill to replace the ACA called the American Health Care Act. Provisions in the bill call for eliminating the individual mandate and penalties for not having insurance, and using refundable tax credits to help participants pay for care. It also calls for changes to how Medicaid payments for care for low-income, elderly and uninsured people are paid.
Scott held two meetings in Hampton Roads Monday, one at Chesapeake Regional HealthCare in Chesapeake and one at Southeastern Virginia Health System's Physicians Community Health Center in Newport News. The meetings were closed to the media, but in a phone interview after the meetings, Scott said they were productive and gave him good insight to take back to Washington.
Issues:
January 7, 2017
In The News
FOR DECADES, the nation’s leaders were at a stalemate, unable to enact real reform, even though we knew that our health care system was not working for too many Americans.
Before reform, millions lost their health insurance every year. Often, individuals with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, were unable to afford insurance, if they could obtain it at all.
The critically ill hit the lifetime limit of what their insurance policy would cover, forcing them to pay out of pocket for the rest of their care. Families were declaring bankruptcy because of unpaid medical bills. Young adults were getting kicked off their parents’ insurance when they graduated college.
Issues:
November 15, 2016
In The News
U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-Newport News, has championed the ACA. In a statement, Scott said when Republicans talk about repealing the law, people have to remember how broken the American health care system was before the ACA, with millions of people losing health care coverage, those with pre-existing conditions unable to get coverage, and people going bankrupt trying to pay high medical bills.
"The Affordable Care Act solved many of these issues. Americans can no longer be denied access to health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Young adults can now stay on their parents' health insurance until their 26th birthday. The Medicare trust fund is solvent well into the next decade," Scott said.
Scott acknowledged that the ACA hasn't fixed all problems with the health care system, but urges Republicans to build on what's in place, not tear it down.
Issues:
September 4, 2016
In The News
IN THE 1964 LANDMARK decision Wesberry v. Sanders, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that “[n]o right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined.”
Sadly, many state and local governments responded to this assessment by continuing their sordid history of blocking access to the ballot box. To ensure that American citizens were not stripped of this precious constitutional right, Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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March 11, 2016
In The News
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – School nutrition was the topic of discussion at a Norfolk elementary school Friday morning.
Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) talked to students at Richard Bowling Elementary School on East Princess Anne Road.
Representative Scott is a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is tasked with making sure all children have an equal shot at success.