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Press Releases

April 14, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump, in conjunction with France and the United Kingdom, launched airstrikes against the Syrian regime, following a brutal chemical weapons attack on civilians in Douma: “I am deeply disturbed by the Assad regime’s continued use of chemical weapons against innocent Syrian civilians. This and the many other crimes against humanity committed by the Assad regime, which are in violation of international law, must be addressed by the entire international community.

April 13, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – House and Senate Democratic Committee health leaders called on the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed rule that would encourage the sale of junk health plans that will undermine consumer protections, sabotage the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces, and expose consumers to great financial risk. The proposed rule, published on February 21, 2018, would extend the allowable duration of short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plans from three months to up to 12 months. House Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), House Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA), Senate HELP Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), and Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) requested the withdrawal of the rule in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

April 12, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after House Republicans released text of their Farm bill. “The Republicans’ newly released Farm Bill is the latest attack on the economic security of American families and workers. The proposed changes to SNAP, including punitive work requirements, would put food out of reach for many. Because SNAP is tied to eligibility for other vital federal programs, the proposed changes to SNAP will keep families from accessing public benefits they rely on to meet basic needs, including home heating assistance and school lunches. The evidence is clear that access to nutritious foods is paramount for children’s health and development.

April 12, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressmen A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) and Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, hosted a briefing on Protecting Students’ Civil Rights to amplify the importance of preserving critical civil rights protections for students in light of recent hostile scrutiny from the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans. “Discriminatory discipline practices in our nation’s schools hurt our children, particularly students of color and students with disabilities,” said Congressman Donald McEachin. “The briefing this afternoon – and the valuable information shared by the expert panelists – highlights those disparities, and the work that must be done to address and improve school climate. We should be strengthening, not removing, important protections for our nation’s students – such as the 2014 Discipline Guidance Package discussed today. I once again urge the administration and Secretary DeVos to advance evidence-based preventative measures that protect students’ civil rights.”

April 11, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) asking Departments to examine federal programs that support working families. “The Trump administration and Congressional Republicans want to pay for their $1.5 trillion tax cut for the wealthy and corporations by undermining federal programs on which millions of working families depend. By adding unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and punitive work requirements, this executive order is likely to make it more difficult for families to access federal programs that help them make ends meet.

April 5, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the eighth anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, which took the lives of 29 coal miners. “Since the Upper Big Branch Mine (UBB) explosion that took the lives of 29 coal miners eight years ago, all five independent investigation reports by state and federal agencies agree that the mine operator violated multiple safety standards. Key safety controls, such as water sprays, were disabled which enabled a small fire to be sparked that led to a devastating disaster. Inadequate rock dusting enabled the fire to propagate into a massive coal dust explosion.

April 4, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), ranking member of the House Committee on the Judiciary released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled, “Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities.” The ranking members requested that the GAO investigate disparities in discipline policies and practices applied to students of color, boys, and students with disabilities.

April 2, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the eighth anniversary of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA). “The higher education reforms and investments made in SAFRA were historic in size and scope. As working families struggled to recover from the Great Recession, SAFRA brought relief to millions of students and parents. Notably, SAFRA made higher education more accessible and affordable by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award and indexing it to inflation; establishing the direct lending program that stopped using billions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize corporate lenders; and strengthening investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs).

March 28, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) sent a public comment letter urging Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to withdraw a harmful proposed rule that would allow hospitals, doctors, and other individuals and institutions to deny care to patients based on religious beliefs. The Members raised concerns that the HHS’s Office for Civil Rights’ proposed rule would ultimately allow for greater discrimination in America’s health care system.

March 27, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the passing of Linda Brown, who, as a young child, was at the center of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that ended legal segregation in public education: “The courage and conviction of a nine-year-old girl named Linda Brown and her family serve as a powerful marker in our nation’s long march toward educational equity. The 1954 landmark Supreme Court case that bears her name etched a powerful phrase into this country’s history: ‘separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.’ Yet today, more than 60 years after this decision, millions of public school students remain segregated by race and relegated to under-resourced, over-disciplined, and unequal educational opportunities. While the era of legal Jim Crow may be history, educational discrimination continues to threaten equal access to a quality public education. The work of Linda Brown is far from over.