Media

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement today after the Department of Labor announced that the economy added 215,000 jobs during the month of July, while the unemployment rate held steady at 5.3 percent: “Today’s jobs report shows that our economy is still improving, growing and heading in the right direction. With the sixty-fifth consecutive month of private sector job growth, and the unemployment rate holding at 5.3 percent, our nation continues to recover from the 2008 economic recession. Americans are finding more opportunities to get back to work, and put more money into their pockets.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Today, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott announced that he will host Criminal Justice Reform forums in Richmond on Monday, August 10th and in Norfolk on Tuesday, August 11th. Congressman Scott will be joined by law enforcement officials, judges, and other criminal justice experts. These events are free and open to the public. In addition to hearing from experts in the criminal justice field, Congressman Scott will also discuss H.R. 2944, the Safe, Accountable, Fair, and Effective (SAFE) Justice Act, legislation that he introduced earlier this summer with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI). The SAFE Justice Act takes a broad-based approach to improving the federal sentencing and corrections system, from front-end sentencing reform to back-end release policies. It is also the first bill that addresses the federal supervision system – ensuring that probation does a better job stopping the revolving door at federal prisons.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott released the following statement on the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965: "The Voting Rights Act was one of the most consequential pieces of legislation of the Civil Rights Movement. The right to vote is the very foundation of our democracy. The Supreme Court noted in their 1964 decision in Wesberry v. Sanders that ‘no right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined.’ For the last 50 years, the Voting Rights Act has helped to guarantee that no one’s right to vote is undermined. The law has been instrumental in increasing voter participation, allowing minority communities to elect candidates of their choice, and increasing the number of African Americans and other minorities in elected positions at the local, state and federal levels of government.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after his “NO” vote on the passage of H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act of 2015, in the House of Representatives: “I strongly support accountability at the Veterans Administration (V.A.), and believe that it is critically important that our veterans receive adequate care. However the so-called accountability measures in H.R. 1994 will do little to address the systemic issues plaguing the V.A., such as staffing shortages that result in exorbitant wait times and adverse health complications for veterans.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after his “NO” vote on the passage of H.R. 3236, the Surface Transportation & Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act, in the House of Representatives: “Dressing up a short term extension of the Highway Trust Fund with an important V.A. bill does not overcome the importance of enacting a long term, six-year transportation reauthorization that provides the certainty states and local governments need to plan transportation projects.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the Iran Deal: "I am currently in the process of reviewing the Iran deal. In my review I will consider not what could or should have been in the deal, but how the deal compares to the alternative of no deal at all. It is important to remember that this agreement is not just with Iran, but with the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Germany and other industrialized nations to ensure that if Iran violates any aspect of the agreement, economic sanctions can snap back into place.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after his ‘NO’ vote on passage of H.R. 3038, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, in the House of Representatives: “With the most recent of a series of short-term extension of the Highway Trust Fund set to expire at the end of the month, we need legislation which provides for a long term investment in our infrastructure to create jobs, rebuild America, and ensure that states and local governments have the certainty they need to plan critical projects.