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WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan, which invests nearly $130 billion in K-12 education. “The American Rescue Plan is the most significant investment in K-12 education in generations. This relief package will provide schools the resources they need to comply with CDC guidelines, protect students and staff, and make up for lost time in the classroom. Throughout the past year, school leaders have been calling on Congress to help address the unprecedented challenges facing students, parents, educators and communities. The American Rescue Plan is evidence that we were listening.
The House of Representatives isn’t dealing with just COVID-19 relief. Members also voted Tuesday night on a labor law introduced by a senior member of the Virginia delegation. Virginia is one of 27 states that has what some people call a “right to work” law, which union supporters sometimes call a freeloader law. That’s because it allows people who aren’t members of unions and don’t pay union dues to benefit from higher wages and working conditions negotiated on their behalf by unions. That’s why Congressman Bobby Scott of Newport News introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which creates what he calls a “fair-share fee” allowing unions and employers to assess fees supporting the cost of collective bargaining.
WASHINGTON (AP/WAVY) — The House has approved Democratic legislation sponsored by Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott (3rd District) that would invigorate workers’ unions following decades of court defeats and legislative setbacks. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which passed Tuesday on a 225-206 vote, would block so-called Right to Work laws across the country and generally make it easier to organize a union. It would also prohibit companies from hiring replacements for workers on strike. Scott, the bill’s lead sponsor, is also the chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor.
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), by a vote of 225 to 206. “By passing the Protecting the Right to Organize Act today, the House has taken a critical step to secure workers’ right to join a union. Labor unions are essential to rebuilding America’s middle class and improving the lives of workers and their families. Unfortunately, over the past 70 years, union membership has dropped to the lowest level since just after the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was first enacted.
WASHINGTON, DC – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021 (PRO Act) during a press conference hosted by the AFL-CIO. “The Protecting the Right to Organize Act is grounded in the basic idea that, in America, hard work should pay off. For generations, our nation’s labor unions have ensured that workers receive a fair share of the profits they produce. Unfortunately, union density has fallen to its lowest level since the National Labor Relations Act was enacted in 1935. The impact of that trend is clear: While corporations and the wealthy continue to add to their fortunes, workers and their families are being left behind.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act. The bipartisan legislation would eliminate the federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and retroactively apply it to those already convicted or sentenced. The sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine, at one point as high as 100 to 1, helped fuel the mass incarceration epidemic. 81% of individuals convicted of crack cocaine offenses in 2019 were Black, while historically 66% of crack cocaine users have been white or Hispanic. In 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act reduced the sentencing disparity from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1, and in 2018 the FIRST STEP Act made that reduction retroactive.
Issues:Civil Rights
WASHINGTON, DC – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 379,000 jobs in February with the unemployment rate at 6.2 percent. “Even as we begin to see the end of this pandemic on the horizon, the impact of COVID-19 on workers, families, and businesses will be felt for years to come. Despite today’s jobs report, the economy remains more than 9 million jobs behind where we were at the start of the pandemic.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the For The People Act, a sweeping anti-corruption legislative package to clean up Washington, protect and expand voting rights, and increase the security of our elections: “Every American should have an equal voice in our democracy regardless of who they are, where they come from, or how much money they have. Virginia has already implemented many of the reforms in this package and they were all very successful in ensuring Virginians could securely exercise their right to vote in the 2020 election.
Issues:Civil RightsVoting Rights
Scott: House Passage of Justice In Policing Act Marks A Necessary Step To Reform Policing in America
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1208, the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act: "Last summer, Americans across the country protested the murder of George Floyd by law enforcement. They marched to demand an end to police misconduct and more accountability in our criminal justice system. Today, the House responded by passing the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act.
Issues:Civil Rights
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – On Friday, March 5th, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, will host a virtual roundtable with superintendents from across Hampton Roads to discuss the funding for K-12 schools included in the House-passed version of the American Rescue Plan. The roundtable will focus on how President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act will help schools safely bring students and school staff back into the classroom and make up for lost learning time. Last week, the House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan, which will help schools re-open safely, ramp up vaccination efforts, and provide additional direct cash payments to working families.