Today, Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 4.8 million in June and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1%. The unemployment rate was 15.4% for Black workers and 14.5% for Hispanic workers. The 4.8 million new nonfarm jobs... Read More »
Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the Northern Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital in Congress, issued the following statement today on Independence Day festivities ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend: “This weekend Americans across our region and the country will celebrate the birth of our nation in Philadelphia 244 years ago. Washington and other cities will see fireworks, martial disp... Read More »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today wrote to Donald Lemons, Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court, seeking a resumption of the Court’s recently-expired moratorium on eviction cases in Virginia. Beyer’s letter came as Virginians faced rent payment deadlines amid economic devastation caused by the global pandemic. Beyer wrote: “We are in the midst of the worst economic disaster since the Great Depress... Read More »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) hailed the passage of the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act, which was included in the text of in H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, broad infrastructure legislation which passed in the House of Representatives today. The landmark wildlife protection bill would authorize federal agencies to designate National Wildlife Corridors on federal lands to boo... Read More »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today applauded the House’s bipartisan passage of H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, broad transportation and infrastructure legislation. Beyer voted for the bill, which contained a number of provisions he authored. Beyer serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, which helped develop the bill. Beyer’s contributions to the House-passed infrastructure bill include: HR 2795,... Read More »
Rep. Don Beyer today hailed the release of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis action plan, “Solving The Climate Crisis.” The plan recommended the adoption of legislation previously introduced by Beyer: HR 5162, the Green Vehicle Adoption Nationwide (VAN) Act, which would use tax credits to boost production of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, in the section “Building Block: Provide a Nati... Read More »
Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, released the following statement about the introduction today of the American Workforce Rescue Act by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR). The legislation would extend enhanced unemployment benefits past the July 31, 2020 expiration date and... Read More »
Rep. Beyer today joined House Democrats to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and lower health costs and prescription drug prices for all Americans by voting for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act. The House passed the bill, which contains Beyer’s legislation to protect individuals with preexisting conditions, days after the Trump Administration filed a brief asking t... Read More »
Washington, D.C.—Today, Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released a report, “The Administration’s 'Return-to-Work Bonus' Is No Substitute for Enhanced Unemployment Benefits,” showing that millions of unemployed workers would be left without the economic support they need if the Trump administration succeeds in replacing the $600 weekly F... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today introduced legislation designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the federal government through procurement processes. The Smarter Purchasing Act would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lead key government departments in a study to determine how to reflect the larger cost of carbon, also known as “shadow pricing,” when contracting for infr... Read More »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today presided over House debate on H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, before casting a vote to help pass the legislation to make D.C. the 51st state in the Union. Beyer, who represents the Northern Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital, is a longtime supporter of D.C. statehood, and an original cosponsor of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s statehood legisla... Read More »
Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), today released the following statement after the Department of Labor (DOL) reported that 1.5 million workers filed regular first-time unemployment claims (not seasonally adjusted) for the week ending June 20 and another 728,000 filed claims through Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program for gig wo... Read More »
Rep. Don Beyer today hailed the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act by the House of Representatives. The bill, which passed this evening with bipartisan support, represents the most ambitious federal reform of law enforcement powers in decades. “The George Floyd Justice In Policing Act is a step towards justice and accountability. We cannot bring George Floyd or Breonna Taylor or E... Read More »
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) announced that their Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act, which would require uniformed federal police officers to wear body cameras and have dashboard cameras in marked vehicles, passed the House of Representatives today as part of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. Norton and Beyer introduced thei... Read More »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today announced that Wakefield High School senior Kidus Sebil has won the Congressional Art Competition in Virginia’s 8th District. A panel of art educators from the National Art Education Association chose Sebil’s photograph “Half A Man” from dozens of works by Northern Virginia student artists, and Beyer notified Sebil in a congratulatory phone call. Sebil wrote, of his pi... Read More »
