Floor Statements
April 29, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4901, which would reauthorize the D.C. voucher program, known as the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, through 2021.
We don't spend enough money on education, so it is hard to justify diverting scarce public resources in order to finance private school education for a handful of students at the expense of the vast majority who attend public schools. Instead, we should focus our limited public resources on initiatives that improve education for all of our children. This is the promise of a public school education in the United States, but the voucher programs undermine that promise while hiding behind the guise of school choice for students in need.
April 28, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 88. This Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval would undo the Department of Labor's final rule that simply ensures financial advisers act in the best interests of their clients with retirement funds.
Now, this is a Department of Labor rule that only applies to workers' retirement funds. In times past, people would retire and receive a defined benefit. They would just retire and get their promised income. But now, we have what are called defined contribution plans, where the money is invested and, over the years, if someone, even a modest-income person, invests over his 40-year career, he could easily amass a fund of hundreds of thousands of dollars, even $1 million if they start early and invest consistently.
April 27, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, more than 60 years ago, Congress responded to the Defense Department's concern that so many children were malnourished, they would be unfit for military service, that they passed the National School Lunch Act as a measure of national security to safeguard the health and well-being of our Nation's children.
Through the enactment of the first Federal child nutrition program, Congress recognized that feeding hungry children is not just a moral imperative, it is vital to the health and security of our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I serve as the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Our committee is tasked with making sure that all children have an equal shot at success, so it is only fitting that child nutrition programs fall within our committee's jurisdiction.
April 20, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia on its 150th anniversary.
Founded in 1866, St. Mark's was originally a mission church of St. James and the congregation grew rapidly. After outgrowing three buildings in their first 50 years, church leaders moved the congregation to a new building in the West End of Richmond. The Georgian Revival style building opened in 1922, was consecrated in 1946, and is still in use today.
April 18, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for getting the title of our State correct. I thank the gentleman from New York and the gentlewoman from Ohio for yielding and organizing tonight's Special Order.
Last week, the House of Representatives failed to pass a budget by the statutorily mandated date of April 15. This failure is unfortunate for our budget process, but perhaps not unfortunate for the American people because no budget is better than the proposed Republican budget that would have been brought to the floor.
Our Nation's budget reflects priorities, but the Republican budget only highlights the wrong priorities. The budget the House Republicans wanted to bring to the floor would be even more devastating to students, working families, and seniors than their previous proposals.
Issues:
March 21, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation today, which provides for a 3-year reauthorization of the Older Americans Act.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Education and the Workforce has been committed to seeing this legislation through. I want to particularly thank, on our side, the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Hinojosa, and Representative Bonamici. I want to thank them and Chairman Kline, Representative Curbelo, and all of the members of our committee, for making the passage of this bill a reality.
March 16, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a talented group of young athletes who have distinguished themselves as giants on the basketball court, making their school, their community, and the city of Portsmouth, Virginia very proud. The I.C. Norcom High School boys basketball team had another remarkable season and I am honored to recognize their accomplishments.
On March 12, 2016, the I.C. Norcom Greyhounds beat the Hopewell Blue Devils 67 to 65, to win the Group 3A state basketball championship. It was truly a remarkable game. In overtime, I.C. Norcom tied the game and with only seconds left on the clock, the Greyhounds' Travis Fields stole the ball from the Blue Devils, successfully hit a jump shot, clinching another championship for I.C. Norcom.
Issues:
March 1, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts not only for yielding, but also for his years of work fighting hunger. He is one of the strongest advocates we have in Congress in fighting the scourge of hunger. I want to thank him for all of those years of good work.
It is my privilege to be the ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. In that perspective, we played an integral role in the reduction of food insecurity and lowering the prevalence of debilitating health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, and others.
February 29, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank the gentleman from New York and the gentlewoman from Ohio for organizing tonight's Special Order to call on our colleagues in the Senate to do their job and provide their advice and consent on the President's upcoming nomination to the United States Supreme Court.
The Constitution is pretty clear on this issue. Article II, Section 2, doesn't say the President might or the President should. It says the President shall nominate, and by and with advice and consent of the Senate, appoint judges to the Supreme Court.
There seems to be some suggestion that, if it is an election year, he ought to skip that process and let the next President make the appointment. They say there is very little precedence for a President nominating somebody in an election year.
Issues:
February 3, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank Congresswoman Watson Coleman for her leadership in coordinating this Special Order, and thank you to the Michigan Representatives who have been working so hard to try to respond to this tragedy.
Madam Speaker, there will be a lot of investigations designed to find out what happened, whose fault it was, whether or not any crimes were committed, and how to prevent this from happening in the future, but there is one thing we know, and that is that children have been poisoned by lead exposure.