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April 20, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement: “While nothing will bring George Floyd back to his family and loved ones, the verdict was just. Derek Chauvin was afforded the due process that George Floyd was denied and found guilty by a jury of his peers. This verdict is a start, but it does not absolve Congress and the federal government of our responsibility to reform policing across the country, and it is a reminder of the need for the Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act."
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April 16, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12), co-founder and co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, and House Committee on Education & Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) introduced the Community Access to Resources and Education (CARE) for Families Act today. The CARE for Families Act will help improve maternal and infant health outcomes by strengthening partnerships between health care providers and local nutrition services. A copy of the bill is available here. “We have an unacceptable maternal health crisis in this country that disproportionately impacts Black women and their babies.
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April 16, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks on the House floor in support of H.R. 1195, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. “I rise in support of H.R. 1195 – the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. Over the past year, we have voiced exceptional praise for health care and social service workers, who have risked their lives to care for ourselves and our loved ones.
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April 15, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) announced today that FEMA has begun accepting applications for funeral assistance for Virginians who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. The funeral assistance program is part of the American Rescue Plan that was passed by Congress and signed by President Biden earlier this year. “We have lost far too many people to the COVID-19 pandemic, and funeral costs far too often add tremendous mental and emotional stress to the grieving process,” said Congressman Scott.
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April 15, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks on the House floor in support of H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and help end gender-based wage discrimination. “Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act. When President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, our country codified the basic idea that all workers should earn ‘equal pay for equal work regardless of sex.’ Regrettably, more than five decades later—and after the passage of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Act Pay—that promise remains unfulfilled.
April 15, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th Excellence in Virginia Government Awards hosted by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). “I was honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the L. Douglas Wilder School at VCU,” said Congressman Scott. “Many people often highlight that I was the first African-American to serve in Congress from the Commonwealth since Reconstruction, but I like to remind them that I achieved that on the day I was sworn in.
April 15, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for a federal investigation into the police conduct and treatment of Donovon Lynch and Army Second Lieutenant Caron Nazario. On Tuesday, April 13th, Congressman Scott personally spoke with Attorney General Garland and was assured that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) takes these matters seriously. DOJ usually does not publicly announce their intent to conduct an investigation. “The residents of Hampton Roads deserve transparency, accountability, and most of all, they deserve the truth about these incidents,” the Congressman wrote.
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April 14, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Labor, Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) released the following statement in response to new guidance issued by the Department of Labor for retirement plan sponsors, fiduciaries, record-keepers, and participants regarding cybersecurity. “The Biden administration is showing they understand there is too much at stake for too many families for us to ignore the reality that cybersecurity and retirement security go hand in hand.
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April 14, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott delivered the following testimony before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure during the committee's Member's Day Hearing:
"Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves and members of the Committee.
"I represent the 3rd congressional district of Virginia where the Chesapeake Bay meets the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth Rivers, which presents both challenges and opportunities. My district is home to the Port of Virginia, one of the largest and busiest ports on the eastern seaboard. With 95 percent of our nation’s trade moving by water, it is essential that the port is able to maintain operations. The 3rd district is also home to multiple shipyards and neighbors Norfolk Naval Station, the largest naval base in the U.S.
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April 13, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – More than 75 House Democrats wrote in support of the Department of Labor’s proposals to withdraw two Trump-era rules that strip workers of critical protections from wage theft. The Independent Contractor Rule and the Joint Employment Rule would cost workers billions every year if they went into effect. The Independent Contractor Rule narrowed the Department’s interpretation of who is considered an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)- thereby narrowing who is eligible for certain protections, such as minimum wage and overtime. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the rule would rob workers of more than $3 billion every year.
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In The News
April 15, 2021
In The News
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott (D-3rd District) has formally asked for the Justice Department to investigate two recent high-profile cases in Hampton Roads involving Black men and police, the fatal police shooting of Donovon Lynch in Virginia Beach and the threatening traffic stop of Army 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario in Windsor. Scott said he has also spoken in person with Attorney General Merrick Garland about launching probes into the incidents, in addition to sending a formal request in writing. “We deserve transparency, accountability, and most of all, the truth about these incidents,” Scott said.
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March 19, 2021
In The News
Kevin Ring worked on Capitol Hill during the crafting of the 1994 Crime Bill, which imposed tougher prison sentences and bolstered the War on Drugs. As he remembers it, members of both parties were obsessed with appearing tough on crime. “You couldn’t go far enough,” said Ring, who’s now the president of sentencing reform organization Families Against Mandatory Minimums. “Three strikes? How about two strikes? How about one strike? We couldn’t be punitive enough to satisfy what we thought was public anger about crime and drugs.” Over 25 years after the 1994 Crime Bill and 35 years after the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, the War on Drugs is considered by experts and government officials alike to be one of the biggest failures of American governance in the 20th century.
March 10, 2021
In The News
The House of Representatives isn’t dealing with just COVID-19 relief. Members also voted Tuesday night on a labor law introduced by a senior member of the Virginia delegation. Virginia is one of 27 states that has what some people call a “right to work” law, which union supporters sometimes call a freeloader law. That’s because it allows people who aren’t members of unions and don’t pay union dues to benefit from higher wages and working conditions negotiated on their behalf by unions. That’s why Congressman Bobby Scott of Newport News introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which creates what he calls a “fair-share fee” allowing unions and employers to assess fees supporting the cost of collective bargaining.
March 10, 2021
In The News
WASHINGTON (AP/WAVY) — The House has approved Democratic legislation sponsored by Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott (3rd District) that would invigorate workers’ unions following decades of court defeats and legislative setbacks. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which passed Tuesday on a 225-206 vote, would block so-called Right to Work laws across the country and generally make it easier to organize a union. It would also prohibit companies from hiring replacements for workers on strike. Scott, the bill’s lead sponsor, is also the chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor.
January 28, 2021
In The News
On January 6th, then-President Donald Trump incited a deadly insurrection against Congress while we fulfilled our constitutional duty to count the electoral votes of the states. Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the chair of the House Republican Conference, strongly condemned the president, appropriately stating that “[T]here has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.” In the days since this domestic terror attack on our democracy, troubling public reports of the timeline now reveal that several members of Congress, and perhaps even the vice president, were within moments of being captured and possibly murdered by the mob.
January 14, 2021
In The News
When the impeachment of Bill Clinton landed on his desk 22 years ago as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, called a political scientist at U.Va. with a question: what were the grounds, really, for impeachment? “He said, ‘You’re asking the wrong question,’” Scott recalled, pausing for a few moments before headed to the House of Representatives’ chamber to vote to impeach Donald J. Trump for the second time. “He said, ‘the question is, why is impeachment in the Constitution?,’ and the reason is it’s there is for when you can’t wait till the next election or the end of a term to remove someone,” Scott said.
January 7, 2021
In The News
WASHINGTON — Two more members of Congress from Hampton Roads are calling for the removal of President Donald Trump after Wednesday's insurrection in the Capitol by his supporters. 3rd District Representative Bobby Scott and 2nd District Representative Elaine Luria both say Trump needs to leave office immediately. "While there are only 13 days until President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, it is clear there are significant risks to our nation if President Trump remains in office," Scott said in a statement Thursday.
January 4, 2021
In The News
HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Congressman Bobby Scott is calling for a criminal investigation into President Donald Trump after reports that Trump tried to ask election officials in Georgia to “find” votes for a victory. President Trump is heard on tape pleading with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, according to a copy obtained by the Associated Press. Trump tells Raffensperger at one point that he wants him to “find” 11,780 votes for Trump. Scott made the call for an investigation on Twitter and claims that "this behavior is a dangerous threat to democracy and warrants a criminal investigation."
December 16, 2020
In The News
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than two dozen members of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday called on federal prison and health officials for details about how inmates will be vaccinated for COVID-19, questioning whether the most vulnerable prisoners will have priority access. In a letter to Federal Bureau of Prisons director Michael Carvajal and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Dr. Robert Redfield, 26 lawmakers, led by Democratic Representative Bobby Scott, expressed concerns about the prison system’s existing plan for vaccine distribution.
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September 7, 2020
In The News
This Labor Day will be marked by messages of gratitude and reverence for America’s workers. Indeed, our essential workers have performed heroically throughout the pandemic.
But America’s workers need more than a pat on the back today — they need the federal government to do its job by providing real support to workers and their families.
Our nation is facing the worst worker safety crisis in recent history. Meat processing plants, prisons, warehouses, grocery stores, long-term care facilities and many other workplaces have experienced deadly infection outbreaks. More than 150,000 health care workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and at least 671 have died from the virus.