Press Releases 2021

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the House voted to approve the American Rescue Plan, which provides nearly $40 billion for institutions of higher education. “The COVID-19 pandemic is causing severe financial hardship for institutions of higher education and the students they serve. The American Rescue Plan provides significant relief to help colleges weather the pandemic, including more than $800 million for Virginia institutions alone, and delivers emergency support to students facing food insecurity, homelessness, and other hardships.

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan, which invests nearly $130 billion in K-12 education. “The American Rescue Plan is the most significant investment in K-12 education in generations. This relief package will provide schools the resources they need to comply with CDC guidelines, protect students and staff, and make up for lost time in the classroom. Throughout the past year, school leaders have been calling on Congress to help address the unprecedented challenges facing students, parents, educators and communities. The American Rescue Plan is evidence that we were listening.

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), by a vote of 225 to 206. “By passing the Protecting the Right to Organize Act today, the House has taken a critical step to secure workers’ right to join a union. Labor unions are essential to rebuilding America’s middle class and improving the lives of workers and their families. Unfortunately, over the past 70 years, union membership has dropped to the lowest level since just after the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was first enacted.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act. The bipartisan legislation would eliminate the federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and retroactively apply it to those already convicted or sentenced. The sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine, at one point as high as 100 to 1, helped fuel the mass incarceration epidemic. 81% of individuals convicted of crack cocaine offenses in 2019 were Black, while historically 66% of crack cocaine users have been white or Hispanic. In 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act reduced the sentencing disparity from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1, and in 2018 the FIRST STEP Act made that reduction retroactive.

WASHINGTON, DC – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021 (PRO Act) during a press conference hosted by the AFL-CIO. “The Protecting the Right to Organize Act is grounded in the basic idea that, in America, hard work should pay off. For generations, our nation’s labor unions have ensured that workers receive a fair share of the profits they produce. Unfortunately, union density has fallen to its lowest level since the National Labor Relations Act was enacted in 1935. The impact of that trend is clear: While corporations and the wealthy continue to add to their fortunes, workers and their families are being left behind.

WASHINGTON, DC – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 379,000 jobs in February with the unemployment rate at 6.2 percent. “Even as we begin to see the end of this pandemic on the horizon, the impact of COVID-19 on workers, families, and businesses will be felt for years to come. Despite today’s jobs report, the economy remains more than 9 million jobs behind where we were at the start of the pandemic.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the For The People Act, a sweeping anti-corruption legislative package to clean up Washington, protect and expand voting rights, and increase the security of our elections: “Every American should have an equal voice in our democracy regardless of who they are, where they come from, or how much money they have. Virginia has already implemented many of the reforms in this package and they were all very successful in ensuring Virginians could securely exercise their right to vote in the 2020 election.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1208, the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act: "Last summer, Americans across the country protested the murder of George Floyd by law enforcement. They marched to demand an end to police misconduct and more accountability in our criminal justice system. Today, the House responded by passing the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act.