Legislative language mirroring a bill offered by Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Rob Wittman (R-VA) to protect the pay of federal workers during the government shutdown was passed by Congress today as part of a larger temporary funding bill. The inclusion of text of the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act will guarantee that the entire federal workforce receives back pay for the time during w... Read more »
Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), joined by 168 House colleagues, today sent a letter to President Trump expressing their support for keeping the federal government open while pressing for the inclusion of urgent bipartisan priorities in any funding resolution. “Mr. President, it is clear that your budget priorities and ours are in signific... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) today introduced the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act, legislation to guarantee back pay to furloughed workers in the event of a government shutdown. Funding for the federal government expires at midnight tomorrow. “We are working hard to avoid a government shutdown, but if it comes our bill would protect federal workers from the worst... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement after casting his vote against the latest Republican continuing resolution: “House Republicans are now forcing us to take our fourth vote on a short-term funding resolution in as many months. This is appalling and absurd. Like my fellow House Democrats, I spent months imploring my Republican colleagues to take action on key priorities for the American ... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Rob Wittman (R-VA) today introduced bipartisan legislation to protect federal employees’ pay in the event of a government shutdown. The Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Act would guarantee back pay for all furloughed workers if Congress and the White House are unable to come to a funding agreement. “We absolutely do not want to see a shutdown of the federal government, bu... Read more »
Members of Congress from Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia today excoriated a newly-filed amendment to the “Minibus” appropriations bills. The amendment would use the Holman Rule to target federal employees in the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which delivers projections on proposed legislation. In a joint statement, Don Beyer (D-VA), Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-M... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement today on the Trump budget: “While President Trump’s budget will not pass Congress, it is nonetheless a telling statement of Republican priorities: cutting taxes for the wealthy while gutting innumerable programs and agencies that protect the most vulnerable. The Trump budget is rooted in fantasy. It will not generate the constant three percent g... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Vice-Ranking Member of the House Science Committee, along with Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) today led 58 Representatives in pressing Energy Secretary Rick Perry to immediately release funds currently withheld to previously-approved projects at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). They also asked the Secretary to clarify the Department of En... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer made the following statement today on the omnibus bill, which is expected to be signed into law this week: “This omnibus funding bill represents the product of a bipartisan agreement, and as such required compromise from both sides. It does not contain everything I’d like, but the most important thing is that we reached a deal that will keep the government open without the worst bud... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s call for a “good ‘shutdown’ in September:” “There is nothing ‘good’ about a government shutdown that would furlough 800,000 federal employees indefinitely, including nearly 70,000 in Northern Virginia. The federal government does not turn on and off like a light switch. Critical medical and scientific research is ... Read more »
