Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) today visited an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracted facility today in Anne Arundel County to see the effects of the Trump Administration’s family separation policy in person. There they met two fathers, Carlos and Mario (last names withheld for their protection), who had been separated from their young children for months without being able to speak with them. Rep. Beyer said: “Today I went to an ICE-affiliated detentio... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer today called for the resignation of Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump Administration. Beyer said: “Yesterday I witnessed firsthand the cruelty being inflicted upon people seeking asylum in the United States by our own government. The distraught fathers I met at a detention facility represented only two of the thousands of families which have suffered under the Trump Administration’s family separation policy, but their stories were deeply disturbing. Bot... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer today signed on as a cosponsor to the Keep Families Together Act, which would formally abolish the Trump Administration’s recently-enacted policy of separating children from their parents in families seeking asylum at the U.S. border. The legislation, introduced today by Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is the House companion of an identical Senate bill introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA). “Donald Trump’s family separation policy is immoral and Con... Read more

Days after a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study showed dramatic increases in suicide rates across the country, Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and John Katko (R-NY) wrote to House appropriators seeking increased funding for an array of federal suicide prevention programs. Beyer and Katko are the co-founders of the bipartisan House Suicide Prevention Task Force. They wrote: “As you continue FY 2019 Appropriations deliberations, we write to request increased funding for suicide prevention programs. Th... Read more

Reps. Don Beyer (VA-08) and Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) today led 71 Democrats in a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt expressing grave concerns over his May 9th memorandum regarding future National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) reviews and standard setting. The memo asks the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) to consider “adverse social, economic, or energy effects related to NAAQS” during the standard-setting process. This would result in i... Read more

Democratic Members of the Subcommittee on Oversight sent a letter last week to Oversight Chairman Ralph Abraham requesting that he hold a hearing on a White House memo that suggested ignoring climate science was one option the Trump Administration should consider. “Ignoring science and pushing political agendas that may be welcomed by industry, but harmful to the health, safety and security of all Americans should never be acceptable to the Science Committee or its members regardless of their po... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer released the following statement today honoring LGBTQ Pride Month, which began June 1: “Thousands gathered in the nation’s capital this past weekend to celebrate Pride Month, as we honored the triumphs LGBTQ Americans continue to make to advance freedom and equality in our country. Because of the tireless advocacy of LGBTQ leaders, we live in a more just society, and we are closer to confirming the Commonwealth’s old adage, ‘Virginia is for Lovers.’ “With the recent Supreme Court ... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today led a group of US Representatives asking the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to open a criminal investigation into EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt for potential violation of corruption laws. The letter was signed by Reps. Beyer, Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). The members wrote: “We write you with grave concerns that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today led more than 30 Democrats in a letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry opposing the Administration’s baseless plan to use emergency authorities to intervene in planned power plant retirements. The lawmakers urged the Trump administration and Secretary Perry to stop using the false narrative that emergency authorities must be used to prop up coal plants for grid resilience. They wrote: “We write regarding our concerns with President Trump’s directive on “Fuel-Secure Pow... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today had an exchange with an Energy Department official which revealed the Trump Administration is flying blind on both the costs of its proposed bailout for US energy companies, and on the effects that the bailout would have on American businesses, including the manufacturing sector. The exchange between Beyer and Bruce Walker, Assistant Secretary in the Office of Electricity and Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Re... Read more