Press Releases

June 9, 2016 (Washington, DC) – Members of the National Capital Region House delegation today wrote Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta expressing concern over the din from military helicopters in their communities. The group offered their assistance in helping Department of Defense (DOD) and FAA complete a report… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer wrote House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s (SST) Chairman Lamar Smith today, in response to his missives to seventeen state attorneys general, including Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and eight environmental organizations requesting documents related to their work on climate change. The Smith letters, signed by thirteen Republican SST… Read more »

The Department of Labor (DOL) today issued its final ruling to adjust eligibility for overtime labor among salaried workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Congressman Beyer welcomed the DOL’s expansion of overtime protections, which will give an estimated 4 million workers a raise in pay.   “Today’s announcement by DOL will greatly expand earning power for working… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer released the following statement on his vote against the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act: Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer today hailed the 100th cosponsor in the House of Representatives for the Freedom Of Religion Act. The bill, introduced by Beyer last week with a group of Democratic co-leads,‎ would block the use of religious litmus tests as a means to prevent immigrants, refugees, and international visitors from attempting to enter the United States. “It is wonderful that the… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer, joined by two dozen other Members of Congress, urged ongoing pressure from the State Department on Egyptian officials to cease their harassment of the media, human rights organizations and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The letter, spurred by a request from the Fund for Global Human Rights and supported by Amnesty International, Freedom House, Human Rights… Read more »

In response to political rhetoric vilifying select religious groups and increasingly hostile rhetoric toward religious freedom in the immigration system, a House delegation, including Reps. Don Beyer (VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Keith Ellison (MN), Joe Crowley (NY), Jan Schakowsky (IL), Mike Honda (CA), Betty McCollum (MN), André Carson (ID), introduced the Freedom of Religion Act today to prohibit the use of religious litmus tests as a means to ban immigrants, refugees, and international visitors trying to enter the United States. Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today after investigators presented their findings on the 2015 smoke incident at L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) board. The investigator’s findings were critical of the coordinated emergency response. They also highlighted persistent safety deficiencies at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit… Read more »

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 »