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November 19, 2019
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a rule to undermine nondiscrimination provisions in federally funded health and social service programs. “This proposal to remove some of the nondiscrimination standards for both secular and religious HHS grantees is the Administration’s latest attempt to weaken civil rights protections in federally funded programs.
November 15, 2019
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education agreed to provide documents – which had first been requested in November 2018 – regarding its refusal to provide debt relief to defrauded students under Borrower Defense. “For the past year, we have been asking the Department to explain why they are refusing to provide debt relief to more than 210,000 defrauded borrowers.
November 12, 2019
Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the passing of former Delegate Mary T. Christian: “I was saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Mary Christian. As an educator, the first black woman to serve on the Hampton School Board, and a longtime member of the House of Delegates, Dr. C. was a pillar of the Hampton community.
Issues:
November 6, 2019
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in response to a press report alleging that the Department of Labor illegally diverted taxpayer money away from successful Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs to fund Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs), an unproven concept that would weaken quality standards and worker protections. “We have repeatedly asked the Department of Labor about allegations that it misused money that Congress allocated for Registered Apprenticeship programs. It now appears the Department’s responses have been inconsistent with its actions.
Issues:
November 1, 2019
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos threatening to subpoena her testimony after she declined a formal invitation to appear at a Committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday, November 19. The hearing will examine the Department’s refusal to provide debt relief to nearly 60,000 students who were defrauded by Corinthian Colleges, a defunct for-profit college chain.
November 1, 2019
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 128,000 jobs in October with the unemployment rate at 3.6 percent. “Today’s report– combined with other recent economic data – raises more questions about the impact of the Trump administration’s policies on the American economy. Despite 108 consecutive months of private-sector job growth (75 of which were under the Obama administration) wages for American workers are still failing to keep pace with the cost of living.
October 31, 2019
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC –TODAY, Representatives Bobby Scott (VA-03), Rob Wittman (VA-01), and John Sarbanes (MD-03), all co-chairs of the bipartisan Chesapeake Bay Task Force, introduced bipartisan legislation to provide more resources to Chesapeake Bay conservation efforts. The Chesapeake Watershed Investments for Landscape Defense (Chesapeake WILD) Act will create a new grant program to assist local entities with their work on the ground restoring and protecting fish and wildlife habitats throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Issues:
October 31, 2019
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 660, a resolution to establish further procedures for the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump: “Every Member of Congress swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, and today’s vote was part of adhering to that solemn obligation. This resolution will establish procedures for how the House of Representatives will go forward with public hearings as part of the next phase of the impeachment inquiry.
Issues:
October 31, 2019
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education issued final changes to federal requirements on institution accreditation. “Students and parents view college accreditation as a seal of approval from the federal government. By rolling back standards for accreditors, the Department is undermining a key driver of institutional accountability, further exposing students and taxpayers to fraud and abuse at the hands of low-quality schools.
October 29, 2019
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the passing of former Governor Gerald L. Baliles: “I was saddened to learn of the passing of my friend and our former governor, Gerald Baliles. As the Commonwealth’s 65th governor, Jerry governed with a calm, yet passionate demeanor that allowed him to secure historic investments in transportation, education and the clean-up of the Chesapeake Bay.
Issues:
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In The News
October 15, 2019
In The News
The Democratic-controlled House is expected Tuesday to release a plan to make college more affordable and schools more accountable for students’ success, reviving fraught efforts to reauthorize the main federal law governing higher education. Compared with some of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates’ higher education proposals, including student debt forgiveness, the House bill is pretty tame.
October 11, 2019
In The News
There’s something about FAFSA — that particularly nosy form that students and parents fill out in order to get financial aid for college — that can get in the way of young people actually making it to and through college. And Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-Newport News, says he plans to do something about it.
August 5, 2019
In The News
Sharing a tale of his own about an insurer’s red tape over eye-drops he needed, Rep Robert C. Scott, D-Newport News told staffers and patients at the Hampton Roads Community Health Center’s Portsmouth clinic that the House of Representatives is working on several fronts to tackle the high cost of medication.
Scott said Congress is working on several fronts to address prescription drug costs, with measures looking at more transparency about pricing, new requirements that drug companies justify to big price increases to regulators and measures to encourage competition by generic drugs.
Issues:
July 17, 2019
In The News
After nearly seven in 10 voters in Arkansas decided to increase the state’s minimum wage, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, is betting the four GOP members of Congress who represent that state will have a tough time voting against his proposal for a gradual increase in the federal minimum. That federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Arkansas began raising its minimum in 2014, and voted again last November for another increase.In fact, says Scott, even by 2021, the $11 an hour minimum wage that Arkansas voters set will be higher than the gradual increases his measure would phase in. Scott aims to bring the national minimum to $15 an hour in gradual steps over the next six years.
July 10, 2019
In The News
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — The residents of City Line and Paula Maria Village apartments on the Peninsula are on the front lines of the rising threat of climate change. Congressman Bobby Scott, city leaders and Florida Representative Kathy Castor (D), the chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, toured these neighborhoods Tuesday to learn more about the economic and social impact that flooding has on these communities. They say what they’ve learned today puts them on the right track towards change.
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July 9, 2019
In The News
When the Supreme Court made its landmark ruling in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case, declaring racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-3rd, was 7 years old. Sixty-five years later, much has changed for the longtime congressman, the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee.
June 19, 2019
In The News
In a commencement address filled with hope, US Congressman Robert “Bobby” Scott ’73 said this to BC Law’s Class of 2019: “I can’t wait to see the best that is in all of you. Our future is brighter because you took the harder path forward. In life and work you will be tempted to choose the easier path. But when faced with the temptation to take the easier route, I hope you remember the Jesuit principles that Boston College Law School seeks to instill in each of its students: public service, social justice, and a commitment to excellence.”
April 11, 2019
In The News
Top House Democrats are pushing the White House for more information on why it decided to back an attempt to toss out the Affordable Care Act. In letters to key Trump administration officials dated Monday, Democratic House committee chairmen questioned the decision to support a lawsuit challenging the law known as Obamacare. They asked for a pile of documents from the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Office of Management and Budget related to how the White House decided to back the legal challenge and who in the administration agrees with the court’s finding that the ACA is unconstitutional.
January 17, 2019
In The News
WASHINGTON (WAVY) -- Top Democrats in Congress have introduced a bill to gradually increase the federal minimum wage. Congressman Bobby Scott, the chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, was joined with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Bernie Sanders, and working class Americans at a press conference speaking on the “Raise the Wage” Act. The bill would gradually increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2024. The last time Congress voted to increase the minimum wage was in 2007. It went into effect in 2009.
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August 22, 2018
In The News
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) — Investing in summer jobs for young people was the topic of conversation at a roundtable Tuesday morning in Newport News. Congressman Bobby Scott hosted the discussion which focused on the city’s Summer Training and Enrichment Program, STEP. He said investing in young people makes a difference, and the federal government must do its part. Scott was in Newport News to discuss how the community can support young people through a summer jobs program like STEP.