U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA), co-sponsor of the House companion bill introduced by Rep. David Trone (D-MD) and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), issued the following statement after the Public Safety Officer Support Act passed by unanimous vote in the Senate. The bill, which previously passed in the House with 402-17 votes, would amend the federal Public Safety Officers’… Read more »
Originally published in The Washington Post.
Inspired by the mental health toll that the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot took on first responders, the U.S. Senate passed a bill Monday night that creates a pathway for families of officers who die by suicide to access death benefits.
The unanimous passage of the Public Safety Officer Support Act means it now heads to President Biden’s… Read more »
U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA) today reintroduced the Facial Recognition Ban on Body Cameras Act, legislation to prohibit federal law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition technology (FRT) and other biometric surveillance tools on footage from body cameras. The bill would also prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from purchasing body… Read more »
U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA) and Chip Roy (R-TX) today introduced legislation to reform and strengthen public transparency requirements for senior officials in the Executive Branch. The Transparent Leadership Act would require the publication of schedules and speeches for the heads of Executive Branch agencies.
“The American people deserve to know what public officials who lead… Read more »
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Public Safety Officer Support Act, introduced by Rep. David Trone (D-MD), with strong bipartisan support. The bill would amend the federal Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program (PSOB) to add coverage for first responders who are disabled or who die by suicide as a result of service-related traumatic events. Under current law the PSOB… Read more »
Today, members of the Northern Virginia congressional delegation sent GSA Administrator Carnahan a letter in support of relocating the FBI Headquarters to the Springfield location. The letter was signed by Reps. Connolly, Beyer, Wexton, and Senators Warner and Kaine.
“The Springfield, Virginia site, which the federal government already owns and underutilizes, is the best… Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today introduced legislation to rename the post office in Arlington on George Mason Drive (currently designated “Arlington Post Office”) after local letter carrier Jesus Collazos. Collazos immigrated to Northern Virginia from Colombia in 1978 and worked for 25 years as a USPS postal carrier in Arlington. He died of COVID-19 early in the pandemic.
“Jesus Collazos was… Read more »
Originally published on Washington Post
A D.C. retirement board has granted a full pension to the widow of a District police officer who was injured confronting rioters at the Capitol insurrection and later took his own life.
The ruling is a victory for Officer Jeffrey Smith’s wife, Erin Smith, who says her husband’s death by suicide nine days after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot was… Read more »
Originally published on Patch
The federal government's latest omnibus spending bill passed Congress this week, and Rep. Don Beyer said it includes funding for projects in his Northern Virginia district.
Beyer, who represents Virginia's 8th congressional district, said all of his community project funding requests were included in the federal spending bill. The spending bill is… Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who represented fallen MPD Officer Jeffrey Smith, today welcomed the D.C. Police and Firefighters’ Retirement and Relief Board’s determination “that Officer Smith sustained a personal injury on January 6, 2021, while performing his duties and that his injury was the sole and direct cause of his death.” Officer Smith died by suicide days after he responded to the… Read more »
