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April 16, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on his No vote on H.R. 1105, the “Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015”:
“Budgeting responsibly often requires making tough choices but that is not what the Republican Majority has done today. Current law exempts $5.4 million in assets for individuals and $10.9 million in assets for couples from the federal estate tax. As if the current law wasn’t generous enough, the Republican Majority has made the choice to repeal the estate tax entirely and add $269 billion to the deficit over the next decade in order to give 0.2% of the wealthiest deceased Americans a tax break.
Issues:Federal BudgetTaxes
April 16, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) released the following statement today on the passage of the Every Child Achieves Act by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:
“Today's unanimous passage of the Every Child Achieves Act by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions should serve as an example of bipartisanship for the House of Representatives to follow. While today represents another step in a long deliberative process to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a bill worthy of the President's signature will only be achieved when both Democrats and Republicans in both chambers are engaged in finding a bipartisan solution to the real challenges that students, families, teachers, and communities face across this country.
Issues:Education
April 15, 2015
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 150th anniversary of First Baptist Church, Berkley in Norfolk, Virginia.
In 1865, thirty members of Bank Street Baptist Church began praying in a tent abandoned by Union soldiers after the culmination of the Civil War. These meetings were later moved to the homes of the various members. On April 15, 1868, these individuals received letters of dismissal from Bank Street Baptist and left to begin a new church led by Reverend Samuel S. Jones.
April 13, 2015
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a significant milestone that occurred 50 years ago this week.
On April 11, 1965, President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The enactment of the ESEA followed the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, guaranteeing all children equal educational opportunities. Unfortunately, communities with high concentrations of poverty have never enjoyed equal rights. So, for the last 50 years, the ESEA has remained the single-largest Federal resource for schools that teach our most vulnerable students.
Issues:Education
April 7, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement today after Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray released details on their agreement on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
“I commend Senators Alexander and Murray for their efforts to bring forward a bipartisan Elementary and Secondary Education reauthorization bill in the Senate. While we recognize this as an important step in the process, there is still work to do to ensure that the needs of our most vulnerable students are met. Students, teachers, parents, and communities deserve a bill that fulfills ESEA’s original civil rights promise – ensuring that all students, regardless of where they live – have access to high quality public education that prepares them for college and the workplace.
March 26, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) applauded the release of a new Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center brief analyzing data from states that have employed a Justice Reinvestment approach. The brief, “Examining the Changing Racial Composition of Three States’ Prison Populations,” examined data from Georgia, Connecticut, and North Carolina and found subsequent drops in prison admissions and prison populations, which were especially pronounced among minority populations.
The Justice Reinvestment Initiative provides federal grants to allow states to conduct comprehensive, data-driven analyses of their criminal justice systems and adopt smart, evidence-based policies designed to reduce corrections spending and increase public safety.
Issues:Civil Rights
March 25, 2015
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Congressional Black Caucus budget, which is a more credible and responsible alternative than the underlying Republican budget.
A nation's budget reflects its priorities, but the Republican budget continues to highlight the wrong priorities. The underlying Republican budget is not a serious plan. It contains trillions of dollars in tax cuts, but claims to be revenue neutral, without showing a dime's worth of tax increases that will be necessary to make it revenue neutral.
It includes trillions of dollars in unspecified cuts, and many of the specified cuts will not be made. For example, are we really going to repeal Medicare as we know it?
March 24, 2015
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the underlying Republican budget for fiscal year 2016, and I also rise to commend the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen) for his strong opposition.
Mr. Chairman, this budget is not a serious plan. It contains trillions of dollars in tax cuts, but it doesn't show a dime's worth of tax increases when they say it is going to be revenue neutral. It includes trillions of dollars in unspecified cuts that will not be made. For example, are we really going to repeal Medicare as we know it?
March 22, 2015
HAMPTON — Monday marks five years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly called the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, was signed into law.
The legislation has provided low-cost medical coverage to thousands of Virginians, and millions of Americans. It's meant to lower the cost of health care, while increasing the number of people covered by insurance. Gaylene Kanoyton, president of the Hampton-based Celebrate Healthcare advocacy group, held a party Sunday at Peninsula Soul Food Restaurant, which opened Friday at the former Captain George's Seafood location on Mercury Boulevard, to acknowledge the anniversary and one of the act's "champions" Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News.
March 21, 2015
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott will join Celebrate Healthcare and other community leaders tomorrow at the Peninsula Soul Food Restaurant in Hampton, Virginia to celebrate the 5th anniversary of President Obama signing the Affordable Care Act into law.
Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, approximately 16.4 million uninsured individuals have received coverage since the law’s provisions took effect in 2010. As of the end of the second open enrollment period, nearly 11.7 million individuals have selected a Marketplace plan or were reenrolled in coverage for 2015. And since 2010, about 5.7 million young adults have gained coverage as a direct result of the Affordable Care Act.
Congressman Scott will discuss these and the many other successes of the Affordable Care Act tomorrow in Hampton.
Issues:Health Care