Opinion Pieces

The 2023 film Oppenheimer conjures a dramatic story of how the top-secret Manhattan Project harnessed the power of nuclear fission for the controversial weapon that ended World War II. At the dawn of 2024, we are poised to harness the power of a different type of transformative energy — nuclear fusion. Fusion energy is the energy of our sun and the stars. It is the source of all other… Read more »

Originally published in MSNBC.  If he ever had it in the first place, Speaker Kevin McCarthy has lost control of the House of Representatives. For weeks, he has been unable to pass procedural legislation designed to keep the government open, much less move our annual bipartisan spending bills. This impasse has created the serious prospect of the first government shutdown since 2019.… Read more »

Originally Published in The Bulwark Much of the country watched the opening of the 118th Congress descend into chaos earlier this month as Rep. Kevin McCarthy struggled to consolidate support for his bid to become speaker of the House. The once-in-a-century contestation of the speaker vote was even more dramatic from the vantage of those of us inside the room. We watched our colleagues… Read more »

Originally Published in the Falls Church News Press Saturday marked the 49th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision that granted women the right to safe and legal abortion. While the constitutional right to bodily autonomy has been repeatedly affirmed, a case currently before the Supreme Court has put reproductive rights in jeopardy. A decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson… Read more »

Originally Published in The Hill If there is anything last week’s jobs report illustrates, it’s that our economy is on the right track. With 943,000 jobs added last month — the second consecutive month above 900,000 — the United States has regained 75 percent of the jobs lost from the pandemic, a testament to the Biden administration’s successful national vaccination campaign… Read more »

I read a fascinating, if discouraging, survey this week comparing the number of friendships we have today versus that of 30 years ago. The number of those who confess to having zero friends has increased from three percent to 13 percent, while those boasting 10 good friends or more has fallen from 33 percent to 12 percent. I dare not wade into sociology, psychology, and cultural… Read more »

Originally Published in Scientific American The existential threat of the climate emergency poses perhaps the greatest danger to human health and prosperity we have ever faced. And it carries with it a particular challenge: even with current growth in renewable energy development, a significant portion of future energy is projected to be supplied by… Read more »

Originally Published At CNBC There’s the human cost of police misconduct. Unarmed Black Americans are killed by police officers with appalling frequency. For young Black men, police violence is one of the leading causes of death.  A year ago, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on the neck of George Floyd for more than 9 minutes, murdering him.… Read more »

Originally Published in the Connection Newspapers U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) submitted requests for federal funds for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. The Fiscal Year 2022 Community Project Funding Program will provide targeted funding for local projects across the country. “The Community Project Funding requests I submitted on behalf of Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer: Please Get Vaccinated Originally published in the Falls Church News Press As of this week, every Virginian adult aged 16 and older is eligible to get a free Covid-19 vaccine. This vaccine will save your life. It will save lives of your family, your friends, your neighbors and coworkers. For over a year our country has undertaken a historic vaccination… Read more »