Unemployment benefits are set to expire for an estimated twelve million Americans tomorrow unless recently-passed appropriations and relief legislation is signed into law. A substantial amount of those benefits, totaling billions of dollars, will be irretrievably lost for those dependent on them unless President Trump signs that bill today. Unlike the larger expiration of unemployment benefits whi... Read more »
Today Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) wrote National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and U.S. Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Michael Rigas, urging them to release plans and guidance regarding COVID-19 vaccine distribution for federal employees. Beyer serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, which has partial jurisdiction over he... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today welcomed a legislative provision he helped secure in the upcoming omnibus spending bill to alleviate the burden on federal workers and military families of repaying payroll taxes previously withheld under President Trump’s executive order. The provision would extend the time period for repayment of payroll taxes to the end of 2021, thereby significantly reducing the imp... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer today introduced the Transparent Leadership Act, which would require the publication of schedules and speeches for the heads of Executive Branch agencies. Beyer began working on the legislation in response to calendar scandals for disgraced ex-EPA Administrator Scott Pruit and disgraced ex-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and introduced it as a similar scandal embroiled disgraced Post... Read more »
House Democrats Propose Roadmap for Biden Administration on Fighting Disinformation Washington, DC -- Today, members of the Congressional Task Force on Digital Citizenship sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden proposing a roadmap for how his administration can confront the threat of disinformation and misinformation and work to counter the danger they pose to our democracy. The letter was led... Read more »
Today the House passed legislation which included a measure requiring any “member of the armed forces (including the National Guard) or federal law enforcement personnel” who “respond to a civil disturbance” to “visibly display” identifying information for the individual and their agency or organization. The legislative text, contained in Section 1064 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDA... Read more »
The reported reclassification of career federal employees at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is likely the beginning of a new campaign of sabotage by the outgoing president against his successor. Operating under President Trump’s recent Executive Order that employs means of dubious legality to bypass federal employee protections, OMB reclassified 88% of its workforce as “Schedule F,” eff... Read more »
Today, Rep. Beyer joined Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and 11 Members of Congress sent a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to request that the forthcoming government funding bill include language that reverses President Trump’s harmful... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who currently serves as Vice Chair of Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, today wrote to Administrator Emily Murphy of the General Services Administration (GSA) warning of “devastating repercussions” for American families if she continues to refuse to initiate a presidential transition. Beyer is set to take over as Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, which is responsible ... Read more »
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who led the Obama Administration’s transition at the Commerce Department in 2008, issued the following statement today on General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy’s letter initiating a presidential transition between outgoing President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden: “It is good for the country that Administrator Murphy finally ascertained... Read more »
