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November 2, 2015
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank the gentlewoman for organizing this Special Order so that we can talk about many aspects of the criminal justice system.
You have asked us to talk about the militarization of communities, also what we can do to improve policing and the problem of mass incarceration. On the term of militarizing the communities, there was an amendment offered a few months ago that would have prevented the Department of Defense from giving local police departments certain military equipment.
Issues:Civil Rights
October 28, 2015
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Congressional Progressive caucus for holding this Special Order on the Working Families Agenda.
Since the Republicans took over the House in January 2011, they have held hearing after hearing to make it harder for workers to form a union, they have attempted over 60 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they have been giving tax cuts to the wealthy, and all that time they have been wasting millions of dollars on the Benghazi Committee.
Enough is enough. The American people deserve better.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on H.R. 1314, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 266 to 167 (Roll call No. 579).
“I support this budget agreement because it provides two years of sequester relief, prevents a 50 percent increase in Medicare Part B premiums, avoids deep cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, and extends the debt limit through early 2017.
“While this is a positive step forward that will allow us to finish work on funding the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2016, I am concerned that we continue to kick the can down the road on cancelling sequestration outright.
October 27, 2015
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1090, the so-called Retail Investor Protection Act.
This bill puts an effective end to the Department of Labor's responsible effort to modernize a fiduciary standard under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, that was implemented 40 years ago.
As we all know, our country's retirement savings landscape has changed significantly since that time. Forty years ago, the majority of retirement assets were held in defined benefit plans and managed by professionals. Forty years ago, employer-based 401(k) plans did not exist and IRAs had just been established.
October 23, 2015
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, today, the House will take yet another vote on the Affordable Care Act. More specifically today, we will vote on whether or not we want to support a budget reconciliation process that will seek to take away health insurance from millions of Americans--but this isn't a new exercise.
In the past 5 years, the House has voted about 60 times to repeal or to undermine the law. There have been multiple lawsuits filed, and countless attacks have been mounted--all with the same goal of turning the clock backwards on the progress we have made.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on President Obama’s veto of the conference report to H.R. 1735, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016:
“While I support a strong national defense and our men and women in uniform, I believe the President was right in vetoing this year’s National Defense Authorization Act and I will vote to sustain his veto.
“The bill in its current form shields the Department of Defense from sequestration by moving billions of Defense Department funding into the Overseas Contingency Operations Account, which is exempted from sequestration. Democrats and Republicans all agree that sequestration is bad policy and must be addressed, but using accounting gimmicks to protect only the Defense side of the budget ledger, while still allowing sequestration to arbitrarily cut education, transportation, health care and every other vital function of government is irresponsible and irrational.
October 21, 2015
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for giving me the opportunity to speak in honor of the recently departed Congressman William Donlon ``Don'' Edwards, a civil rights champion, supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, defender of the Constitution.
I am proud to say that, as a freshman in Congress, I had the honor to serve with Congressman Edwards on the Committee on the Judiciary. I would just like to say a few words about his work on that committee.
Issues:Civil Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that he will be stepping down from his post in December.
“Just this morning, I joined Secretary Duncan at an area elementary school to announce a $237 million federal investment in high quality, early learning for three and four-year-olds in 18 states. This work is at the heart of why Arne has made an outstanding public servant and Education Secretary – his focus on evidence-based solutions to our country’s most pressing education challenges. As secretary, Arne has prioritized K-12 education, pushed for a renewed ESEA that is worthy of the President’s signature, found new ways to make college more affordable and campuses safer, advocated for more fair and balanced school discipline policies, and has focused on ways to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. I’ve been happy to count him as a partner in this work, as I introduced the Youth P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Act and the Youth Justice Act earlier this year.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on passage of H.R. 719, the Continuing Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2016, which will fund the federal government through December 11, 2015:
“While today’s vote avoids another government shutdown, we will be at the brink of another shutdown in December if House Republicans continue to push a partisan agenda. The last time Republicans shutdown the government, it cost the U.S. economy $24 billion and had significant negative impacts on the Commonwealth. Tens of thousands of federal employees throughout Virginia and in my district were furloughed. Our nation’s credit rating was put at risk, and critical investments in education, transportation, defense and medical research were unnecessarily delayed.
September 28, 2015
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in honor of the lives of three civil rights luminaries. I thank the gentlewoman from Houston for giving us this opportunity to honor their lives: Congressman Louis Stokes, statesman and educator Julian Bond, both of whom I knew personally, and activist Amelia Robinson.
These champions of social and economic justice lived their lives just as Pope Francis challenged Members of Congress to do.
Issues:Civil Rights