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June 8, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (MA-01), and Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) issued the following statement after the Department of Justice told a federal court that it will not defend the key patient protections in Affordable Care Act. The brief, filed yesterday in Texas v United States, breaks with the Department’s longstanding tradition of defending laws enacted by Congress regardless of whether it supports the underlying policies. “The Justice Department’s refusal to defend the Affordable Care Act in federal court is a stunning attack on the rule of law, the stability of our health care system, and Americans’ access to affordable health care.
June 7, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after voting for H.R. 3249 the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act of 2018, which would establish a grant program that is supposed to curb gang activity: “Once again, we were asked to vote on a crime bill that was not subject to a hearing. We have no input from experts as to the value and effectiveness of this grant program. In the absence of expert advice in developing this bill, I supported it because it authorizes evidence-based and data-driven intervention and prevention initiatives. These programs are essential to reducing violent crime and include juvenile justice programs, drug and mental health treatment, and violence-reduction programs.
June 4, 2018
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Supreme Court handed down a ruling in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission: “The Supreme Court’s narrow ruling did not address the core question of whether or not the couple was discriminated against based on sexual orientation. By avoiding the heart of the matter, the Court is allowing a dangerous level of uncertainty to continue to persist. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed to protect people from illegal discrimination from businesses that open their doors to the public.
Issues:
April 27, 2018
Floor Statements
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an institution that has been at the forefront of education in America for the last 150 years. This April, Hampton University is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding. To mark the occasion, I would like to take a moment and recognize the wonderful legacy of this institution of higher education that lives on today. The seeds from which Hampton University grew were planted in 1861. During the Civil War, Fort Monroe, the Union-controlled coastal fortress, was a beacon to slaves in Hampton, Virginia and the surrounding towns. General Benjamin Butler, Commanding Officer of the fort, had issued a declaration that any slaves that made it to Union lines would not be returned to their masters, but declared ``contraband of war.'' Overrun with slaves desiring their freedom, the Union created a camp for the refugees a few miles northwest of the fort. It was in this camp that Mary Smith Peake, a free black woman held classes for escapees under a large oak tree, in violation of Virginia law prohibiting the education of free or enslaved blacks.
Issues:
February 15, 2018
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chair, H.R. 620, the so-called ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017, is an attack on the civil rights of Americans with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA, is a civil rights law passed in 1990 to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in all aspects of society.
I recognize that the ADA falls within the committee jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee, and I am here as the ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce because, if H.R. 620 were to become law, it would have a profound effect on students and workers with disabilities who are trying to learn, work, or just generally access their community.
January 29, 2018
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, unions empower workers with the freedom to negotiate for a fair return on their work and they provide a collective voice to advocate for policies that benefit working people.
Union workers, including those in the public sector, have more access to paid leave, medical and retirement benefits, and higher pay than workers who are not unionized. Children of union members experience more upward mobility than children of workers who are not covered with union contracts, and States with higher union density have stronger workplace protections.
There is a long history of unions helping the least powerful secure dignity on the job. This is the 50th anniversary of the Memphis sanitation workers' strike in 1968. After two workers were crushed in garbage compactors, the Memphis sanitation workers peacefully protested for better pay and safer working conditions. They sought representation from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME. They marched with placards that simply stated: ``I am a man.''