Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks during today’s floor debate on passing H.R. 2499 Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022. “Across the country, roughly 15,000 firefighters employed by the federal government currently work to fight wildfires, respond to hurricanes, protect military and Veterans Affairs facilities, and keep our communities safe. Like all firefighters, federal firefighters face enormous health risks in order to carry out their heroic work.  On any given day, federal firefighters will be exposed to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, diesel smoke, toxic chemicals, and other serious hazards.

WASHINGTON, DC – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) submitted the following statement for the record in support of House staff’s right to organize and form a union. “I rise in support of ensuring that House staffers have the same fundamental rights to organize and collectively bargain as workers across the nation. Unions play an essential role in providing higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. For decades, unions workers have consistently enjoyed 10- to 20-percent higher wages than their non-union counterparts. The benefits of union membership are so strong that studies show even the children of union workers enjoy greater economic mobility.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), and Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act; comprehensive legislation to put hard-earned wages back in workers’ pockets and crack down on employers who unfairly withhold wages from their employees. This bill would give workers the right to receive full compensation for the work they perform, as well as the right to receive regular paystubs and final paychecks in a timely manner.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA  – Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the establishment of the Chesapeake Bay States’ Partnership Initiative and an investment of an additional $22.5 million in conservation assistance to support voluntary conservation efforts. Earlier this year, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), co-chair of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Taskforce, led a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and President Biden urging the creation of such an initiative and underscoring the need for increased investment.

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 428,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate remained the same at 3.6 percent. “Today’s jobs report reflects another outstanding month of job growth and economic recovery. Under President Biden’s economic agenda and the investments Congress made through the American Rescue Plan, our economy has added 8.3 million jobs and the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6 percent. Moreover, a recent report by the Department of Labor suggests that workers are leaving their jobs for better career opportunities in record numbers.

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) will host a webinar—in coordination with the Office of Federal Student Aid and the Student Borrower Protection Center—to provide constituents with the resources and information they need to seek Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). The PSLF program was designed to offer a pathway to loan forgiveness for eligible borrowers employed by a federal, state, local, or tribal government or nonprofit organization.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after media reports of a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling: “Every woman, regardless of her background or socioeconomic status, deserves the right to make her own medical decisions. That is why I was proud to vote for the Women’s Health Protection Act last fall to protect reproductive rights at the federal level. These reports make it abundantly clear why the Senate must immediately pass that bill and send it to President Biden’s desk

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – TODAY, May 3rd, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) will be joining Congresswoman Elaine Luria (VA-02) for a tour of the USS George Washington and to discuss recent suicides and working conditions aboard the ship while it has been homeported at Newport News Shipbuilding for its midlife refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH). At least seven sailors stationed aboard the George Washington have committed suicide over the course of its RCOH.