In an appearance on Government Matters, Rep. Don Beyer strongly urged federal agencies to increase and improve communications with federal workers and military service members about changes in their paychecks which will begin in the current pay period as a result of President Trump’s payroll tax deferral. His interview came ahead of a Thursday hearing on the payroll tax deferral by the… Read more »
Last night the House of Representatives passed two bipartisan bills coauthored by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who serves as co-chair of the House Suicide Prevention Task Force. The Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act, co-led by Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-MT), which would set up an educational campaign to change American culture confronting suicide and raise awareness for the three-digit suicide… Read more »
Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Francis Rooney (R-FL) today introduced the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act, bipartisan legislation that would direct offshore wind revenues to NOAA’s Coastal Resilience Grants Program. The grant program “funds projects that are helping coastal communities and ecosystems prepare for and recover from extreme weather events, climate hazards, and changing… Read more »
Late last night President Trump made clear that his Executive Order allowing employers to defer payroll taxes until 2021 was intended as coercion, tweeting, “When we win I, as your President, will totally forgive ALL deferred payroll taxes with money from the General Fund.” The Constitution vests tax powers with Congress, meaning the President cannot deliver the political bribe he… Read more »
Across the country implementation of President Trump’s executive order to provide cut-in-half enhanced unemployment benefits continues to result in chaos. The White House initially promised $400 per week would reach unemployed workers “immediately” under the order issued after its negotiators walked away from economic stimulus talks. Administration officials subsequently clarified that… Read more »
Following initial reporting from Federal News Radio on Friday night, the Trump Administration confirmed over the weekend that all members of the United States military in the income range specified by President Trump’s executive order will have their Social Security payroll taxes deferred. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), which administers payroll for Department of… Read more »
Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) today led his National Capital Region colleagues in urging the Administration to make President Trump’s payroll tax deferral program optional rather than mandatory for the nation’s 1.3 million federal workers. Since President Trump’s August 8th announcement of the mandatory payroll tax deferral, federal employees, industry stakeholders, and employers have… Read more »
Today, the Co-Chairs of the Endangered Species Act Caucus Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and Congressman Don Beyer led a letter with over 100 Members of Congress to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipwith opposing the Trump administration’s recent proposal to weaken the Endangered Species Act. The administration’s proposed rule would narrow the… Read more »
Labor Department statistics this morning showed that initial unemployment claims rose again, for the fourth week in a row, to just under 1.6 million total. This report marks the 24th week in a row with more initial jobless claims than any week of the Great Recession, and points again to a stalling economic recovery amid declining government stimulus.
While some headlines wrongly reported… Read more »
17 House Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee today sent an oversight letter to the Trump Administration seeking clarity on the chaotic rollout of the President’s executive order on deferral of payroll taxes.
In their letter, which was led by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), the Representatives pointed to contradictory statements and publications by Trump Administration officials in the… Read more »
