Rep. Don Beyer pledged today to fight any Republican proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as a new study from George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health and the Commonwealth Fund suggested that such a repeal would have dire effects on Virginia’s economy. “The Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act will have disastrous consequences for Virginia,” said Rep. Beyer. “Hundreds of thousands of our neighbors will lose life-saving, affordable health ... Read more

Congressman Don Beyer today applauded the Obama Administration’s decision to deny all applications for permits to pursue petroleum exploration in the Atlantic Ocean through seismic airgun blasting. Beyer introduced bipartisan legislation in July to halt the practice along the Atlantic seaboard. “Airgun blasting threatens important species, including critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, as well as our coastal communities.” said Rep. Don Beyer. “Marine life and ocean biodiversity are... Read more

Last night, House Republicans began the 115th Congress by making it harder to investigate corruption among their own. Their effort to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics is deeply hypocritical following a campaign in which they called the Washington region a “swamp” and their political opponents “crooked.” It speaks volumes that the first act of the incoming majority will be to make itself less accountable to the people. This provision, included as part of the GOP rules package, i... Read more

Members of Congress Don Beyer, Steny Hoyer, Gerry Connolly, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and John Delaney released the following joint statement in opposition to the ‘Holman Rule’ included in the proposed Rules package: “Today, the House of Representatives will consider a rules package that aims to further undermine civil service employee protections by stripping away necessary safeguards. Reinstating the so-called “Holman Rule” would allow any Member of Congress to simply offer an amendment that coul... Read more

As the 114th Congress drew to a close last week, the House and Senate passed the America COMPETES reauthorization which included text from Rep. Don Beyer’s Science Prize Competitions Act. The measure encourages federal agencies to use prize competitions as incentives for innovation in scientific research. The President is expected to sign the larger bill, including Rep. Beyer’s provision, into law before the end of the year. “I’m so pleased that we ended this Congress on a bipartisan note, passi... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today on President-elect Trump’s recent nominations: “The trio of Scott Pruitt for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, and Gov. Rick Perry for Secretary of Energy confirms our worst fears about President-elect Trump's intentions on climate change and the environment. “As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Scott Pruitt organized and led a national push to oppose the EPA. He made himself the mouth... Read more

Congressional representatives from Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia urged Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx to support the National Park Service’s (NPS) FASTLANE grant application for $60 million to complete Arlington Memorial Bridge repairs, a project estimated to require upwards of $250 million. The letter was sent by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Representatives Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly, Barbara Comstock, and Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. Earlier this year... Read more

Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement today on his vote against final passage of the continuing resolution (CR): I voted today against the continuing resolution (CR), which would fund the U.S. government for four months. Although there are components of the CR that I support, such as funding for Flint, Michigan’s water crisis, the CR also all-too-conveniently sets the stage for a more conservative and destructive long-term funding vehicle come April. Today’s effort was a le... Read more

This week, Representative Don Beyer introduced the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2016 to begin reversing the tide of habitat loss and fragmentation for U.S. fish, wildlife, and plant species. Wildlife corridors are stretches of habitat that allow species to move from one area of habitat to another for such purposes as accessing resources, establishing new territories, shifting ranges, promoting gene flow, and adapting to the impacts of a changing climate. Corridors have been successfull... Read more

Congressman Beyer demanded answers at a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the rapidly rising rates for policy holders of the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). He expressed the anguish of constituents who contacted him about their premium increases, some of which went up by as much as 126 percent, in an exchange with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). “The sudden FLTCIP rate increases shocked and upset many of my constituents,” said Rep. Don Bey... Read more