Press Releases

Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx today announced three new federal appointees to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Board of Directors, exercising his newly-granted authority under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Under the FAST Act, Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and the federal government may appoint four members each to the 16 member… Read more »

Congressmen Don Beyer (D-VA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) led 49 other Members of Congress in writing to thank President Obama for the Department of the Interior’s decision to remove the Atlantic Ocean from the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program.  The decision removes the Atlantic from any offshore drilling plans until 2022. “Offshore drilling… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer expressed his strong approval of the Paris Agreement, signed today as part of a celebration of Earth Day in a ceremony in New York City.  “The Paris Agreement contains the kind of bold action needed to address climate change,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “Climate change represents the most significant threat to future generations. Our commitment today is crucial to… Read more »

Congressional representatives from Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia wrote Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx to immediately endorse the National Park Service’s (NPS) FASTLANE Grant application, following news that the District of Columbia agreed to join as a local sponsor. The FASTLANE grant program requires federal land management agencies to apply jointly with a… Read more »

Citing constraints on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that prevent it from carrying out its mission to enforce gun safety laws, Congressman Don Beyer introduced the ATF Enforcement Act today.  In addition to removing procedural blocks that prevent the ATF from protecting American families, the bill would also allow the ATF Director position to bypass… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer today marked Equal Pay Day, the point in the year when women’s wages finally catch up to what men were paid the previous year, by pointing to the effects of the wage gap, and the steps which Congress could take to address it. “Women deserve to earn exactly what men make for the same work, and not one cent less,” said Rep. Beyer. “On average women make only $0.79… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer released the following statement after Secretary Tom Perez announced the Department of Labor’s new rule to protect low and middle income Americans planning for their retirement from conflicted financial advice: “I strongly support the Department of Labor’s final conflict of interest rule. Secretary Perez has done remarkable work to protect retirement savers and… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer hailed President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the United States Supreme Court. “Chief Judge Garland is a superb choice,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “He boasts  unassailable credentials and I urge the Senate to move forward with consideration of this impressive nominee.” Garland is Chief Judge for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the court on which… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer welcomed today’s announcement from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell to protect Atlantic states, including Virginia, from offshore drilling. “One of the first things I did in Congress was join my fellow Virginia Congressmen Gerry Connolly and Bobby Scott in urging Secretary Jewel to block offshore drilling in Virginia,”… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer released the following statement after the announcement this afternoon that the Washington Metropolitan Area Metro Authority (WMATA) will suspend Metrorail service for 29 hours beginning at midnight tonight: Our office has been in contact with the Office of Personnel Management.  We have urged them to allow unscheduled leave for federal employees, and I urge… Read more »