Press Releases

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today on reports that Donald Trump asked James Comey to end the FBI’s criminal investigation of Michael Flynn: “Congress must seek answers and all available evidence of reports that Donald Trump dissuaded former FBI Director James Comey from pursuing an investigation into Michael Flynn’s contacts with Russian officials. We also urgently need… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer welcomed Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s Executive Directive 11, announced at Alexandria Renew yesterday, which requires Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality to establish new environmental safeguards that would reduce carbon pollution from power plants. “While the Trump Administration and EPA Administrator Pruitt abdicate responsibility to address the global… Read more »

Vice-Ranking Member of the House Science Committee Rep. Don Beyer last week led a bipartisan group of more than 100 Members of the House of Representatives in urging Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke to keep Atlantic and Pacific oceans off-limits to new oil and gas leases. The Representatives wrote: “We do not believe that new oil and gas exploration or production… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement on the passage of “Trumpcare” in the House of Representatives: “The passage of Trumpcare is a dark stain on the history of the House of Representatives. Republican leaders forced this bill on the country without knowing what effect it would have on millions of Americans and one sixth of our economy. They don’t know what this updated… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer made the following statement today on the omnibus bill, which is expected to be signed into law this week: “This omnibus funding bill represents the product of a bipartisan agreement, and as such required compromise from both sides. It does not contain everything I’d like, but the most important thing is that we reached a deal that will keep the government open without the… Read more »

Reps. Don Beyer, David Cicilline, Bill Pascrell, and Pramila Jayapal yesterday led 106 House Democrats in calling upon President Trump to help innocent Syrians by rescinding his Executive Order suspending the Refugee Admissions Program and to maintain support for humanitarian aid programs that assist Syrians in crisis. “It is time for the United States to step up and show the world that… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s call for a “good ‘shutdown’ in September:” “There is nothing ‘good’ about a government shutdown that would furlough 800,000 federal employees indefinitely, including nearly 70,000 in Northern Virginia. The federal government does not turn on and off like a light switch. Critical medical and scientific… Read more »

Vice-Ranking Member of the House Science Committee Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement on President Trump’s Executive Order to expand drilling and petroleum exploration in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans: “This decision by President Trump is another gift to the fossil fuel industry from an Administration that has shown unprecedented hostility to environmental protection.… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer and Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) today announced that they have introduced legislation to halt permits for seismic airgun blasting on the Atlantic seaboard. Petroleum companies use seismic blasting in their surveying process, but the practice has significant, adverse effects on marine species. The Atlantic Seismic Airgun Protection Act would halt the practice. “The… Read more »

With time running out to keep the federal government open when funding expires, Virginia Congressmen Don Beyer (D-VA) and Rob Wittman (R-VA) have drafted legislation to protect federal employees’ pay in the event of a government shutdown.  The Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act would guarantee back pay for all furloughed workers if Congress and the White House are unable… Read more »