Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) and Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08) today led 87 Representatives in urging Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to reinstate longstanding policy that requires factories and industrial operations to limit toxic air pollutants. In January, EPA announced the roll back of the “once in, always in” policy—critical guidance in place since 1995—without providing notice to the public or opportunity for comment. This policy institutes importan... Read more

Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) today sent a letter to the Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking an investigation of EPA Senior Adviser to the Administrator Albert Kelly. Kelly was appointed to oversee the Superfund program without qualifications in environmental protection; he had previously provided EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt a series of bank loans for business deals in Oklahoma. Kelly was permanently banned from the banking indus... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s announcement that the EPA would implement so-called “secret science” standards for agency rulemaking: “The idea that Scott Pruitt, the least transparent and least science-friendly Administrator in the history of the EPA, is suddenly concerned about the transparency of scientific studies is nonsense,” said Rep. Beyer. “This attack on science is another reminder of the endemic ... Read more

Today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Representatives Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.) sent a letter to Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) transmitting new documents that they have obtained regarding the security sweep of his office performed prior to construction. The lawmake... Read more

This week the number of investigations into embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s ethics lapses and wasteful spending grew substantially, and more may be announced in coming weeks. The latest wave of investigations came as the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report saying that Pruitt had broken laws when he ordered the installation of a $43,000 “secure privacy booth” without informing Congress: The General Accountability Office has already determined that Pruitt ... Read more

Today, Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), and Don Beyer (D-VA) sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeking information about allegations that the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Department of Justice are engaging in illegal political discrimination when hiring immigration judges and members of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). “We are writing to express our grave concern regarding allegations we have received from whist... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a Congressional investigative agency, determined that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt violated the Antideficiency Act by installing a $43,000 “soundproof privacy booth” without informing Congress: “Now that we know that Scott Pruitt’s secrecy extended to the point of breaking the law, the next question Congress needs answered is how many other laws Pruitt has broken,” said Rep. Beyer. “We are onl... Read more

“The President’s sudden decision to attack Syria is a dangerous abuse of his constitutional authority. "The atrocities committed by the Assad regime are appalling and require a measured response, but that response must be part of a larger strategy, and approved by Congress. The Constitution and the War Powers Resolution require congressional authorization for the use of military force, and claims that action in Syria would be justified by the post-9/11 Authorization simply are not valid. "Instea... Read more

Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Rep. Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to President Donald Trump and a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt expressing grave concerns about stunning new revelations they received this week from Kevin Chmielewski—a long-time supporter and campaign aide of President Trump who served as Pruitt’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at EPA. In their let... Read more

Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and David Cicilline (D-RI) today led 64 House Democrats calling for the immediate dismissal of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. In a letter to President Donald Trump, the Representatives raised Pruitt’s unethical behavior, wasteful use of taxpayer money, and numerous actions which contravened the EPA’s mission. The Representatives wrote: “Pruitt worked out a special deal on housing rent with the wife of an industry lobbyist who represents companies regulated by the EPA and ... Read more