Press Releases

Today is the fourth anniversary of the mass shooting in Isla Vista, California, which left six people dead and fourteen injured. That incident inspired legislation to enable families and law enforcement to act on warning signs before mass shootings, now called the Gun Violence Restraining Order Act, which received new attention and significant bipartisan support after the Parkland… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today received confirmation that the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Social Security Administration (SSA) had agreed to his request for a review of the decision to close its Arlington field office. The review will “identify and evaluate SSA’s reasons for the field office closure … ascertain SSA’s plans to mitigate any effects on individuals currently served… Read more »

Remarks as prepared: Justice delayed is justice denied. It has been six months since an unarmed Bijan Ghaisar was shot to death by Park Policemen. It has been nearly six months since the FBI initiated its investigation into an incident that happened over the course of a few minutes. Yet we stand here today, knowing no more about that investigation. We don’t know all that happened.… Read more »

Scott Pruitt today admitted in a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to violating federal regulations when he accepted the services of his direct subordinate, Millan Hupp, without paying her [exchange here]. Hupp assisted Pruitt in his housing search last year, Pruitt confirmed, without pay, a violation of the Code of Federal Regulations (administrative law governing federal… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement on Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar’s testimony that he does not “see the premium effect” of the Trump Administration’s efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act: “This comment by Secretary Azar represents the abysmal apathy the Trump Administration shows when it comes to Americans’ healthcare costs,” said Rep.… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s “Back to Basics” memo instructing the EPA to begin factoring “economic effects” into its decisions on setting clean air standards: “Scott Pruitt’s latest attempt to undermine air pollution standards set by the Clean Air Act is illegal and immoral. The only ‘basics’ that his actions would take us ‘back… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement forcefully condemning President Trump’s decision to exit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement: “President Trump’s extremely shortsighted decision to exit the JCPOA is another major step backward for our national security. Simply put, the President’s actions have made a nuclear-armed… Read more »

Today, Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,  Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Judiciary, and… Read more »

Today is the 40th day since news emerged on March 29th that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt rented a condo from the wife of an energy lobbyist. Over those 40 days, hundreds of news reports have exposed so many different facets of Pruitt’s unethical behavior, wasteful spending, and corruption that he has become the subject of 11 federal investigations. Here is a selection of 40 stories… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today again condemned efforts by Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to sabotage the US health care system after they were cited by Virginia’s health insurers as the cause of proposed double-digit rate increases for health insurance premiums: “Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress are inflicting huge pain on Virginia families,” said Rep. Beyer. “I was… Read more »