Press Releases 2014

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations on the House Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's Anti-Poverty Plan released today: "I strongly commend Chairman Ryan for endorsing sentencing reform in his Anti-Poverty Plan. Studies of mandatory minimum sentencing have concluded time-and-time again that they fail to reduce crime, they waste the taxpayers’ money, they often require the imposition of sentences that violate common sense, and they unnecessarily destroy families and communities. I am pleased that Chairman Ryan has specifically endorsed the Smarter Sentencing Act, which I have introduced with Republican Congressman Raul Labrador of Idaho. Our bill reduces the harm of mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenses by granting discretion to federal judges to sentence below the mandatory minimum.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a joint letter, U.S. Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and U.S. Congressmen Bobby Scott, Randy Forbes, Scott Rigell and Rob Wittman urged Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James to consider Virginia’s Joint Base Langley-Eustis as a location for the future Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC). Locating the new facility there would help minimize the impact of 742 positions being eliminated at Langley-Eustis as part of the Air Force’s consolidation plans announced this week. “Virginia is more connected to the military than any other state,” the members wrote. “We believe the existing infrastructure, military-friendly environment, and close proximity to major commands and other Service installations, make it an ideal location for this headquarters.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan group of House members today introduced legislation that would strengthen support for youth who are victims of sex trafficking. The proposed bills would improve identification and assessment of child sex trafficking victims and enhance existing support for runaway and homeless youth.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott issued the following statement on the passing of former Newport News School Board Chairwoman Effie Ashe: "It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of former Newport News School Board Chairwoman Effie Ashe. Effie spent most of her life in service to her community. For 33 years, she served our nation at Fort Eustis working in several civil service positions, and was often one of the few African Americans on base who worked in an office. She was never drawn to the limelight of public office, but her community and the schools and students of Newport News desperately needed her tenacity and straightforwardness.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) sent a letter to the Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission Patti Saris. This letter comes at the close of the Commission’s comment period on a “drugs minus two” amendment, a proposal that fixes a flaw in the sentencing guidelines that has resulted in excessive sentences for approximately 51,000 currently incarcerated federal drug offenders who have been sentenced since 1987. The Commission has acknowledged that since 1987 the drug guidelines have been higher than necessary for years, due to a miscalculation at the “low end” of the drug sentencing guidelines wherein a low level offense carriers a prison term higher than the mandatory minimum sentence.

NORFOLK, VA – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, U.S. Congressmen Scott Rigell, Bobby Scott, and Rob Wittman, as well as Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim and Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms hosted a regional conference on sea level rise at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. The forum focused on meeting the challenges Hampton Roads faces due to sea level rise and land subsidence and how to promote action at the federal, state and local level to address the region’s needs. The two panels of policy experts and regional stakeholders focused on the urgency of combating sea level rise, which is already having visible impacts on the Hampton Roads region, and can no longer be looked at solely as a long-term challenge.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, June 30, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, U.S. Congressmen Scott Rigell, Bobby Scott, and Rob Wittman, as well as Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim and Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms, will host a regional conference on sea level rise at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. The bipartisan forum will focus on meeting the challenges Hampton Roads faces due to sea level rise and land subsidence and how to promote action at the federal, state and local level to address the region’s needs. The conference will feature two panels of federal policy experts and regional stakeholders that will respectively discuss federal policy needs and the process of coordinating work on these issues across government, academia and the private sector.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott issued the following statement on Virginia's diminished Congressional seniority in the 114th Congress: "With the loss of Frank Wolf, Jim Moran, and now Eric Cantor, the Commonwealth's influence in Congress will be greatly diminished when the 114th Congress convenes next January. I have always enjoyed working with Congressmen Wolf, Moran and Cantor on issues important to Virginia and I look forward to continuing this work for the remainder of this Congress.