Rep. Don Beyer released the following statement after President Donald Trump appointed John Bolton to be his third National Security Advisor, amassing one of the most aggressive and hard-line national security teams in modern political history: “Even for this Administration, the appointment of John Bolton is a monumental step backward. President Trump desperately needs tempered and measured voices around him; Bolton is neither of those things. His appointment carries grave national security impl... Read more

Today, Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) led a bipartisan letter (11 Republicans, 73 Democrats) to the House Appropriations Committee calling for strong funding for the Department of Energy’s clean energy innovation programs: Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program; Energy Innovation Hubs; and Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs). The bipartisan letter comes after the Trump Administration FY19 budget proposal again places these programs at risk. Specifically,... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer yesterday sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD) expressing his dissatisfaction with the DOD’s recently-issued report on the effects of military helicopter noise in the National Capital Region. The DOD report (Summary; Full: Part I, Part II) was developed in response to Beyer’s 2016 amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, and submitted nearly a year after its required due date. Beyer wrote: “Unfortunately, this Report failed to give anything resembling a rob... Read more

“Congresswoman Louise Slaughter was a tireless champion for Democratic values and western New Yorkers for over 30 years. As the first woman to be elected to Congress from western New York and only microbiologist in the legislative branch, Congresswoman Slaughter was truly a trailblazer. I am proud to have called Congresswoman Slaughter my friend, and I am proud to have served in the United States Congress with such a committed and devoted advocate. Her leadership, expertise, and strength will be... Read more

Today, Reps. Don Beyer, Debbie Dingell, and Raúl M. Grijalva led a group of 104 Members of Congress in a letter to the House Appropriations Committee calling for robust funding for Endangered Species Act listing, planning and consultation, species conservation and restoration, and recovery process. They cited the need for increased funding due to the nearly 400 listed species that currently lack recovery plans. The lawmakers wrote: “As you begin to consider fiscal year 2019 Interior and Commerce... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer today led a group of 25 House Democrats warning White House Chief of Staff John Kelly about the growing threat to national security presented by Senior Adviser Jarod Kushner’s continued presence in the White House. The Members cited a series of reports raising red flags about Kushner’s security clearance issues and conflicts of interest, and called upon Kelly to fire Kushner immediately. The Members wrote: “In the wake of the scandal surrounding former White House Staff Secretary ... Read more

“As President Trump’s first Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson was handed a difficult job which he performed poorly. He presided over an unprecedented evisceration of the State Department, often seemed out of the loop, and was, at best, incidental to the formulation of U.S. foreign policy. The damage caused by Tillerson’s brief, tumultuous tenure will take years to repair, and he will be remembered as another example of President Trump’s poor judgment. “It is my hope that the next Secretary of St... Read more

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and 53 House Democrats sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today on the Trump administration’s recent announcement that the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will now consider all permits for importing elephant and lion carcasses into the country on a case-by-case basis. This move will allow more trophy imports into the United States and undermines publi... Read more

“All women deserve to live in an equal and just world. We have seen rapidly growing awareness about the need for gender equality and women’s empowerment over the past year, but America’s leaders sadly have not delivered the kind of results the country deserves. “Women are the primary breadwinners in nearly half of American households, but their pay has not kept pace with their growing importance in our businesses and economy. Women should not have to wait for equality, nor should they have to wa... Read more

We are full of grief for the 17 lives lost in Parkland, Fla., last month. As representatives of communities – Isla Vista, Calif.; Newtown, Conn.; and Alexandria, Va. – which have been the site of major mass shootings, we are keenly aware that their loss is shared by too many families across the country every year. Nationally, the epidemic of gun violence claims tens of thousands of American lives every year. But those of us who have fought in Congress for years for gun reforms – for too little p... Read more