Press Releases 2019

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 266,000 jobs in November with the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent. “Today’s jobs report illustrates the central challenge facing our economy. Even as the unemployment rate hits a 50-year low, wage growth for American workers remains modest. It is notable that after a decade of consistent economic expansion, working families across the country are still struggling to cover their basic essentials.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam directed his administration to pause efforts to seek federal permission to tie work requirements to Medicaid coverage: “I applaud Governor Northam for his leadership in securing bipartisan support to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and I am very pleased to know that Virginia is suspending efforts to impose harmful work requirements on people seeking coverage under the newly-expanded Medicaid program.

Washington, D.C. – Education & Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal released the following joint statement: “Next week, the House of Representatives will pass the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. We have now received enough guidance from CBO to bring the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to the Floor and to reinvest its savings in one of the most transformational improvements to Medicare since its creation.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House Intelligence Committee released its report as part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry against President Trump: “The facts are uncontested. President Trump invited Ukraine to intervene in our next presidential election and leveraged desperately needed military aid and a high-profile visit to the White House to promote his scheme.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House voted to pass H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, a proposal to protect health care and social workers from workplace violence. The bipartisan legislation forces the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a standard requiring employers to implement violence prevention plans, which are proven to reduce workplace violence.

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor abandoned its proposed rule to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to operate patient lifts in health care settings. “The Department of Labor’s decision to abandon its rollback of child labor protections is a victory for the safety of workers and patients.

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.

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.