Media

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) joined 169 of his Democratic colleagues in signing a letter to President-elect Trump requesting he rescind his appointment of Steve Bannon as White House Chief Strategist. The full text of the letter to the President-elect is below. Dear President-elect Trump: Immediately following your victory, many Americans were optimistic and hopeful that you would take the steps necessary to unify our country following the divisive and contentious election. In your election night speech you said, “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. It is time for us to come together as one united people.” Unfortunately, your appointment of Stephen Bannon, whose ties to the White Nationalist movement have been well-documented, directly undermines your ability to unite the country. As elected representatives of millions of Americans from diverse backgrounds, religions, and ethnicities, we strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to appoint Mr. Bannon to White House Chief Strategist.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added a total of 161,000 jobs in October, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.9 percent. “The October jobs report shows that our economy added 161,000 jobs. The longest streak of total job growth on record continued and U.S. businesses have now added 15.5 million jobs since early 2010. Just last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2016, with strong export growth and continued strength in consumer spending. While we celebrate this progress, we also remain committed to making meaningful investments in our nation’s families and in our economy to ensure that our growing prosperity is broadly shared.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the recommendations of the Center for a New American Security that the President and Congress should cancel the Ford-class aircraft carrier program and other programs at the Department of Defense: “Our national security depends on a modern and technologically advanced military. While there have been issues related to the construction of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy and its primary shipbuilder for the Ford-class have already taken steps to reduce costs and address these issues for the next two aircraft carriers. Cancelling the Ford-class program would have severe consequences for national security and harm efforts to replenish and replace the fleet in the coming decades.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – On October 18, 2016, the Social Security Administration announced that Social Security beneficiaries would only receive a 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2017. Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), a member of the House Democratic Caucus’ Seniors Task Force, issued the following statement on the Social Security Administration’s announcement of the 2017 COLA: “This week’s announcement by the Social Security Administration of a paltry 0.3 percent COLA for our seniors confirms yet again that Congress must act to reform the COLA formula so that future COLAs better account for price increases in consumer goods more utilized by our seniors.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, October 14, 2016, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce will join officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to tour the Buchanan Mine #1 in Buchanan County, Virginia. On Saturday, October 15, 2016, Congressman Scott will also host a roundtable to discuss reforms to the black lung benefits program with miners, medical professionals and legal representatives in Wise, Virginia. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Scott serves as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, which has oversight of federal worker health and safety programs, including mine safety, the Black Lung Benefits Act, and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, as well as pensions and employer-provided health care. Congressman Scott has sponsored the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act (H.R. 1926), which would provide the Mine Safety and Health Administration with tools it needs to better protect miners, including subpoena authority to conduct investigations and inspections. He is also the lead cosponsor of the Black Lung Benefits Improvements Act (H.R. 3625), which would ensure coal companies and their lawyers share all medical evidence with claimants and provide additional legal resources to miners with eligible claims. Congressman Scott is also a cosponsor of the Coal Healthcare and Pensions Protection Act (H.R. 2403), a bipartisan bill that would transfer excess funds from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to cover shortfalls in the UMWA health care and coal miner pension funds.