Equality

Virginia Democrats now have the power and responsibility to fix gerrymandering By Rep. Don Beyer - 01/02/2020  Across the country, people are talking about election reform. It’s not hard to figure out why. In all my years in public service, I’ve never seen our political institutions tested as they are now. Hardened partisanship and vitriol rule our collective public… Read more »

Elected Officials Visit Alexandria Businesses to Discuss Paid Family and Medical Leave By Vernon Miles - 12/16/2019 Three elected officials visited businesses across Alexandria as part of an effort to drum up support for a paid family and medical leave bill. Rep. Don Beyer, Del. Carroll Foy and State Sen. Jennifer Boysko — all Democrats — visited three businesses on Friday… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today voted for H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the full strength of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 following the Supreme Court Shelby v. Holder decision, which paved the way for renewed voter suppression and discrimination. In the wake of the Shelby decision, 23 states enacted voter suppression laws, including voter purges, ID… Read more »

Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), and Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), John Sarbanes (MD-03), Don Beyer (VA-08), Anthony Brown (MD-04), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), David Trone (MD-06), and Jennifer Wexton (VA-10) sent a letter to the Chairs of the Armed Services… Read more »

Grassley, Warner demand meeting with FBI in Bijan Ghaisar shooting case BY TOM JACKMAN - 11/20/2019  Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) continued their campaign Wednesday for answers in the 2017 killing of Bijan Ghaisar by two U.S. Park Police officers, which the Justice Department decided last week would not result in federal charges for the… Read more »

Originally published in USA Today.  We have all heard President Donald Trump crow about how his tax cuts have dramatically boosted our economy. But once you look past the very wealthy in our country, it’s apparent that the Republican tax law passed in 2017 has done very little for working Americans. Instead of being a boon for hiring and wages, the Trump plan has been a… Read more »

Reps. Don Beyer and Jennifer Wexton and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton today sent a letter pressing FBI Director Chris Wray to authorize the release of 9-1-1 recordings connected to the November 2017 shooting of Bijan Ghaisar by U.S. Park Police. Their letter came a day after the three Members of Congress joined the Ghaisar family at a Lincoln Memorial vigil marking the two-year… Read more »

Pain still prominent two years after police shooting death of Bijan Ghaisar BY TOM JACKMAN - 11/17/2019  Do two years dull the pain of losing a child? Do the tears flow less easily, two years after learning that your son was shot by police, followed by 10 days of watching him in an irreversible coma, his death, a video showing the shooting, and then a decision to not… Read more »

Justice Department Closes Investigation Into US Park Police Fatal Shooting of Bijan Ghaisar BY MATTHEW STABLEY - 11/14/2019 The Justice Department won't seek federal criminal civil rights charges against U.S. Park Police officers who shot and killed 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar two years ago on the George Washington Parkway. The unarmed Ghaisar died 10 days after being shot multiple… Read more »

'This is not justice': Officers won't face charges in fatal shooting of VCU graduate Bijan Ghaisar BY TOM JACKMAN - 11/14/2019 The two U.S. Park Police officers who fatally shot unarmed motorist Bijan Ghaisar in 2017 will not be charged with any crimes in connection with the incident, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The decision came just days before the second anniversary of the… Read more »