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October 23, 2017
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great champion of religious freedom and my friend, the Reverend Barry W. Lynn, who will soon retire after 25 years as executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and an attorney, Rev. Lynn has paired his two callings and been a leader in the fight to protect our civil rights and civil liberties, especially the First Amendment. His work has helped protect our right to believe (or not) as we see fit and guarantee that the government does not promote religion. Rev. Lynn has been on the frontlines of the fight to ensure that religion is not used as an excuse to discriminate against others, dictate people's private lives, tell others whom they can love, or limit people's access to healthcare.
NORFOLK, VA. (WVEC)-- Members of the Hampton Roads Congressional delegation are offering mixed views on how budget matters may play out in Washington in the weeks ahead. The government is currently operating under what's called a "Continuing Resolution." It expires on December 8, a little over 7 weeks away.
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-3rd District) was blunt.
"The problem is, we're not having a serious discussion," he said. "We start off with a trillion dollar tax cut and suggest it doesn't have to be paid for. Of course it has to be paid for. You either have to raise somebody else's taxes or reduce spending."
October 16, 2017
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 150th anniversary of Colossian Baptist Church in Newport News, Virginia.
Colossian Baptist Church was established in 1867 on Mulberry Island, Virginia. Reverend Henry Harris and Reverend Walter Williams worked together to organize the church along with other members of the First Baptist Church in Hampton and locals from the Island. The group began to meet together with the hope that they could build a congregation born out of community and anchored in faith. These early services were held in a barn on Mulberry Island's Follies Farm, led by Reverend Williams.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy lost 33,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate at 4.2 percent.
“The devastation from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have put millions of Americans out of work. As a result, the job loss reported from the Bureau of Labor Statistics during September reflects the tremendous impact of these hurricanes on Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These numbers underscore the urgency to continue to help these communities recover and for Congress to pass a robust recovery package.
WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Representative Mark Takano (CA-41), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, issued the following statement after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Department of Justice is reversing a policy that protects transgender workers from discrimination. “Attorney General Sessions’ decision to dismiss the Obama administration’s memo to protect transgender Americans under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is yet another example of the Trump administration’s disturbing pattern of rolling back the civil rights of the most vulnerable Americans. In 1989, the Supreme Court found in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins that gender discrimination based on sex stereotyping is a violation of Title VII.
October 4, 2017
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the Republican budget resolution and its intent to fast-track tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and corporations. This resolution, first of all, is not serious. It assumes $800 billion in savings from the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which we know will not happen. We have the Treasury Secretary being quoted as saying that ``massive tax cuts will actually reduce the deficit.......''
Well, we know how that works. You cut taxes for the wealthy and say they are going to pay for themselves. When that doesn't work and the deficit explodes, you come back and demand massive tax and massive cuts in Medicare, Social Security, and education.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), a vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus’ Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, issued the following statement on last night’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada:
“This morning Americans awoke to news of the deadliest mass shooting in our nation’s history. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and the survivors of this horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The frequency of mass shootings are far too common in our country. No one deserves to bear witness to the type of carnage that occurred in Las Vegas last night.
Issues:Gun Safety
September 28, 2017
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1866, but I also stand concerned about the humanitarian crisis going on in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the wake of Hurricane Maria and also the other hurricanes that have been in the area.
More than 3.4 million people reside in Puerto Rico alone--U.S. citizens who are in need of full support of the Federal Government. This is more than the population of Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota, and Alaska combined--U.S. citizens, yet they have no voting Members of Congress.
U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands serve in our military. In fact, Puerto Ricans serve in our military at a rate twice the general U.S. population, and they are hurting. They are fighting to survive, and they are in desperate need of food, clean water, medical supplies, and security.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved a request from the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for $3M in reprogrammed funds that will go towards the Craney Island Eastward Expansion (CIEE) Project. This approval comes after a strong collaborative effort by Congressmen Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Scott Taylor (VA-02) who had been working with OMB to expedite approval of the request.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after reports stated that Republicans are hoping to rush to a vote on their Graham-Cassidy Trumpcare bill with only a scant budget assessment, before the CBO can outline the full consequences of the bill for working families.
“I’m disappointed that Congressional Republicans and the administration have abandoned bipartisan efforts to bring greater stability to the Marketplaces for 2018. Rather than working collaboratively with Democrats to improve coverage and lower costs for hardworking Americans, Republicans have instead chosen to resurrect their ‘repeal and replace’ plan and continue to inject uncertainty into our health care system.