Oversight

The Hill |  Nearly 100 Democratic lawmakers called on President Trump to back federal climate change initiatives. In a letter, 96 House members urged Trump to heed warnings included in his administration’s national climate assessment released last month which spoke of the harsh economic repercussions climate change would reap on the U.S. “We write to convey our… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement on the Trump Administration’s proposal to significantly weaken protections for wetlands and waterways under the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction: “Trump’s proposed rule to gut the Clean Water Act’s environmental protections for streams and wetlands will put at risk the water sources that tens of millions of Americans depend upon,” said… Read more »

The Hill |  A major Republican donor gave former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt $50,000 for his legal defense fund before he stepped down in July. In an ethics filing the EPA released Thursday, Justina Fugh, the agency’s top ethics official, said the donation was “believed to be in cash” and that Pruitt did not seek ethics advice on receiving it.… Read more »

Rep. Beyer today called for swift consideration of his bill, the bipartisan Atlantic Seismic Airgun Protection (ASAP) Act, following an announcement by the National Marine Fisheries Service that the Trump Administration had formally approved permitting for seismic blasting in the Atlantic ocean. Beyer said: “Coastal states, communities, small businesses, political leaders from both… Read more »

The Hill |  The Trump administration took a major step Friday toward allowing testing for offshore oil and natural gas under the Atlantic Ocean. The National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is letting five companies commit “incidental” harassment of marine mammals like whales and dolphins as part of… Read more »

McClatchy |  The Trump administration on Friday approved permits for seismic testingon the Atlantic Coast, a prelude to offshore oil drilling and move that is sure to antagonize Republican governors and lawmakers in the Southeast, whose support the president will need in a 2020 re-election bid. The National Marine Fisheries Service, an arm of the U.S. Commerce Department,… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today on the National Climate Assessment, after the Trump Administration’s release of that document over a holiday weekend: “The National Climate Assessment makes it clear that climate change is killing Americans now. It also makes it clear that the level of danger will grow over time, that inaction will be far costlier than confronting the… Read more »

Falls Church News Press |  U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, issued the following statement today on the National Climate Assessment, after the Trump Administration’s release of that document over a holiday weekend: “The National Climate Assessment makes it clear that climate change is killing Americans… Read more »

The Hill |  Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) on Sunday dismissed President Trump's claim that he hasn't visited U.S. troops overseas because of a "busy schedule." Beyer noted in a tweet that Trump has frequently spent time as president golfing and visiting his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "Asked by Chris Wallace why he has has not visited American troops stationed in Iraq or… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today in reaction to President Trump’s announcement that he would nominate Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler to the position of Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “Andrew Wheeler has already demonstrated that he will be a terrible EPA Administrator, through his proposals to roll back the Clean Power Plan and weaken… Read more »