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Floor Statements

May 17, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 984, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act and I want to thank my fellow Virginian, Congressman ROB WITTMAN for introducing this bill, and the gentleman from Utah, Chairman Bishop and the gentleman from Arizona, Ranking Member GRIJALVA, for their leadership and cooperation in bringing the bill to the floor. Four hundred ten years ago, the first English settlers founded Jamestown, Virginia. The founding of Jamestown represented a first step in the creation of our great Republic, and the success of this colony is owed to the help of the indigenous people of Virginia.
Issues:Civil Rights

May 4, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I remind my colleague that her vote for this bill could increase premiums for people with breast cancer in Tennessee by over $38,000. Mr. Speaker, let's begin with a few facts: Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, costs have gone up at the lowest rate in 50 years; Those with preexisting conditions get insurance at the standard rate; Instead of millions of people losing their insurance every year, 20 million more people have insurance; Personal bankruptcies are down 50 percent.
Issues:Committee on Education and WorkforceHealth Care

May 2, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. Mr. Speaker, under current law, if an employee wants to work overtime, put the money in the bank where it can earn interest, and use it to cover the cost of taking some time off later with the permission of the employer, he can do that today without this bill. But under H.R. 1180, instead of getting paid for overtime work in the next scheduled paycheck, the employee might not get paid until as much as a year later, when his employer decides to let him take that comp time. This legislation simply weakens the protections available in the Fair Labor Standards Act--the original family-friendly workplace law--at the very moment that we really ought to be strengthening the law.
Issues:Committee on Education and WorkforceEconomy and Jobs

May 2, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a remarkable woman who has dedicated the last 40 years of her life to serving the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia--my friend, closest adviser, and chief of staff, Joni Ivey. Joni was born and raised in Newport News, Virginia. She grew up in Newsome Park and was one of seven children of Willie and Carnetta Ivey. She graduated from Carver High School in 1971, the last graduating class of the segregated high school that was closed when local schools were racially integrated. Joni went on to attend Christopher Newport University and graduated from Norfolk State University.

May 1, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1242, the 400 Years of African-American History Commission Act, which was introduced earlier this year by Senators Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, Roy Blunt, and Cory Booker. I was proud to introduce the House version, which has the support of Representatives TAYLOR, RICHMOND, WITTMAN, BEYER, MCEACHIN, LEWIS, COMSTOCK, CONNOLLY, GRIFFITH, GOODLATTE, and many others. I would like to thank Chairman Chaffetz, Ranking Member Cummings, Mr. Comer, and Mr. Connolly for their assistance in bringing the bill to the floor today. This bill would establish a commission to begin the planning of programs and activities across our Nation to recognize the contributions of African Americans since their first arrival as African slaves in the English colonies at Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619, almost 400 years ago.
Issues:Civil RightsEducation

April 28, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention and recognize the Eastern Star Lodge No. 13 in Hampton, Virginia. Eastern Star Lodge No. 13 is celebrating its 150th Anniversary tomorrow and has worked in continuous and faithful service to the Commonwealth of Virginia over this time. Prince Hall Masonic lodges have a long history in the Commonwealth, tracing their history to 1775 when Prince Hall and fourteen other free blacks joined a British army lodge of Masons stationed in Boston, Massachusetts and, following their departure, formed their own lodge: African American Lodge No. 1. Prince Hall became the lodge's first Grand Master.

April 25, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor ``The First Lady of Song'', Ella Fitzgerald on her 100th birthday. Born on April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia, Ella Jane Fitzgerald went on to define Jazz music for more than half a century. Fitzgerald's career first began when she performed at an amateur night contest at the Apollo Theater in 1934. She was just 17 years old and received first place. After overcoming a tumultuous childhood, Fitzgerald recorded her first major hit, ``A-Tisket A-Tasket,'' in 1938 just four short years after her appearance at the Apollo Theater.

April 6, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise with great pride to call attention to a group of young students who have distinguished themselves, their school, their community, and the city of Portsmouth, Virginia. The I.C. Norcom Greyhounds boys' basketball team had a remarkable season and I believe the Greyhounds deserve formal recognition for their accomplishments. On March 10, 2017, the I.C. Norcom Greyhounds beat the Northside Vikings of Roanoke, Virginia, to win the Group 3A boys' state basketball championship, becoming the first basketball team, boys or girls, to win four consecutive state championships. The Greyhounds completed their 2017 season with an impressive 22-8 record.

April 5, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1304, the Self-Insurance Protection Act, purports to protect stop-loss insurers from being regulated at the Federal level. It appears that we are considering a bill that is a solution in search of a problem. I am not opposed to stop-loss insurance or the purpose of stop-loss insurance. It can be helpful in shielding employers from unforeseen risks in many instances when they choose to self-insure and want to protect themselves from unexpected and unusually high expenses. Now, while many self-funded plans, in conjunction with the purchased stop-loss, look like a traditional fully insured plan, stop-loss coverage itself is not regulated at the Federal level. There is no indication or suggestion that the administration would seek to regulate stop-loss insurance, so the bill prohibits Federal regulation of stop-loss insurance.
Issues:Committee on Education and WorkforceEconomy and JobsHealth Care

March 27, 2017
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the budget is about choices, and those choices involve arithmetic. Apparently, the Republican strategy on the budget does not recognize arithmetic. When you start with a deficit, their strategy to deal with the deficit is to increase defense spending and to pass massive tax cuts. That will not end up helping the deficit. As we have seen with the choice in health care, they made bad choices. Whatever you think about the Affordable Care Act, their plan was demonstrably worse. Their plan would increase the number of people uninsured by 24 million, bring higher prices and worse policies, but tax cuts for millionaires. What I couldn't understand was not what were the ups and downs for politics, but who was for that--24 million more uninsured, higher prices, and worse policies?
Issues:Economy and JobsFederal BudgetTaxes