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Press Releases

February 4, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the Ranking Membership of the Committee on Education and the Workforce for the 114th Congress:"With the retirement of Ranking Member George Miller and today's announcement that Congressman Rob Andrews will be leaving Congress at the end of this month, the House Education and the Workforce Committee is losing two staunch advocates for America's students and workers. Their expertise, passion, and leadership on the Committee have improved the lives of millions of Americans.

January 31, 2014
In 1964, the Supreme Court noted in Wesberry v. Saunders, "No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined." While this is certainly true, there is an unfortunate history in our country of blocking access to the ballot box for minorities. For this reason, Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965.The Voting Rights Act contains several important provisions; however, the pre-clearance provision in Section 5 is the essence of the law's protections. Section 5 requires states and jurisdictions with a documented history of discrimination to submit changes to their election laws or procedures to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval.

January 30, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC – Reps. Raúl Labrador (R-ID) and Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), authors of H.R. 3382, theSmarter Sentencing Act, commended the Senate Judiciary Committee today for approving S. 1410, the Senate version of the bill. The Smarter Sentencing Act would reform criminal sentencing laws, empowering judges to make individualized assessments in nonviolent drug cases. This would ensure that limited resources are focused on the most serious offenders, while maintaining public safety.
Issues:Civil Rights

January 30, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC – Reps. Raúl Labrador (R-ID) and Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), authors of H.R. 3382, theSmarter Sentencing Act, commended the Senate Judiciary Committee today for approving S. 1410, the Senate version of the bill. The Smarter Sentencing Act would reform criminal sentencing laws, empowering judges to make individualized assessments in nonviolent drug cases. This would ensure that limited resources are focused on the most serious offenders, while maintaining public safety.
Issues:Civil Rights

January 30, 2014
Fifty years ago this month, President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed anti-poverty legislation and declared a War on Poverty. Fifty years later, we are still fighting to eradicate poverty in the United States.Poverty rates have declined from the 19% that existed in 1964, but we have never seen the rate in single digits and today it is still a troubling 15%. President Johnson said that, "Very often a lack of jobs and money is not the cause of poverty, but the symptom. The cause may lie deeper in our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities, in a lack of education and training, in a lack of medical care and housing, in a lack of decent communities in which to live and bring up their children." Those words could not be truer today.

January 29, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on his Yes vote on the Conference Report on H.R. 2642, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act:"I voted in favor of the conference report on the Farm Bill because it is the best compromise that can be achieved in our divided government. The bill continues to authorize critical funds to preserve and restore the Chesapeake Bay through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. This will allow states in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, including Virginia, to continue to work with the Federal government to ensure that future generations are able to enjoy the Bay. Additionally, the bill includes increased investments in our nation's food banks, which will help ensure that more families can get access to nutritious foods in times of need.

January 28, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress:"Tonight, the President charged Congress to refocus our attention on the everyday economic concerns of middle-class Americans. It has been five years since the Democratic Congress worked with this President in passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which laid the groundwork for our economic recovery.

January 23, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) released a report criticizing and calling for an end to the National Security Agency's (NSA) sweeping telephone metadata collection program. The PCLOB cited the program, currently permitted under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, as having "little unique value" in investigating and preventing terrorism. This comes on the heels of President Obama's speech at the Department of Justice last Friday calling for Congressional action to curb excesses in the United State's surveillance programs. After the report was released, Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-Va.) issued the following statement:
Issues:Civil Rights

January 22, 2014
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on the report and recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration released this morning:"I commend the President for establishing this commission of experts to review election administration in the United States. During the 2012 election, there were numerous reports of severely long lines at the polls throughout Virginia on Election Day, as well as reports of issues with voter registration.

January 17, 2014
House Judiciary Democrats Seek Legislative Action on Comprehensive Surveillance ReformWASHINGTON, DC – Today, Ranking Member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) attended President Obama's address on surveillance reform at the Department of Justice. In his remarks, the President concurred with many of the findings of the Review Group he convened on Intelligence and Communications Technologies–including its recommendation that the government should no longer engage in the bulk collection of telephone metadata at the National Security Agency (NSA). After the President concluded his remarks, Congressman Conyers, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-Va.) issued the following statement:
Issues:Civil Rights