Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) called on Speaker Ryan to immediately bring up the Families of Fallen Servicemembers Act, bipartisan legislation with Congressman Tom Rooney to ensure the immediate payment of military death benefits to survivors of fallen servicemembers during federal government shutdowns or any other circumstance when federal spending authority lapses. The legislation now... Read more »
Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement on the GOP tax plan: “The tax plan before us today would be a disaster for Northern Virginia. The GOP plan caps the state and local income deduction. It caps the mortgage interest deduction. And it phases out the medical cost deduction. Our district, where 50 percent of tax filers claim a SALT deduction, is one of the top congressi... Read more »
Today, Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and John Katko (R-NY) introduced the Education Assistance to Realign New Eligibilities for Dependents (EARNED) Act, bipartisan legislation that would add an additional category of servicemembers eligible to transfer entitlement to post-9/11 educational assistance. Currently, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 allows certain servic... Read more »
Claudia Grisales As the threat of a federal government shutdown rises, Gold Star families could be among those who pay the price. During a shutdown, a death benefit program for servicemembers that includes an immediate $100,000 payment to each military family could come to a halt. Other payments also could stop in a shutdown: funds that cover funeral, burial and related travel expenses as well as... Read more »
Congressman Gerry Connolly (VA-11) joined Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1) and the rest of the Virginia delegation in sending a letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), Dr. David Shulkin, regarding the VA’s late payment to Veterans Choice Program (VCP) providers. In August of 2014, Congress authorized veterans to access private health providers to assist the overwhelmed VA Health Care syste... Read more »
Jack Corrigan The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee approved legislation on Wednesday that would extend the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative and eliminate the sunset periods for a handful of key consolidation requirements. The committee forwarded the FITARA Enhancement Act to the Senate along with a handful of other bills relating to federal technology, includi... Read more »
Mark Hand Hundreds of Environmental Protection Agency employees are leaving as the Trump administration works to reduce the federal government’s role in protecting Americans from toxic air and water. The staff reductions are occurring at a time when the EPA’s work is proving more valuable than ever. Storms, floods, and deteriorating infrastructure are forcing communities across the country to tur... Read more »
Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) sent a letter the Boy Scouts of America condemning President Trump’s remarks at this week’s quadrennial Boy Scout Jamboree. Connolly called on Randall Stephenson, National President for the Boy Scouts of America, to respond to the President’s remarks in a way that teaches Scouts the valuable lesson that all of us are created equal…and that even the Presiden... Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives adopted Congressman Gerry Connolly's (D-VA) amendment to the Minibus funding bill that would waive the fee for homeless veterans applying for a veteran identification card. The Veterans Identification Card Act of 2015 directs the Veterans Administration (VA) to produce universal identification cards. Connolly's amendment prohibits the VA from charging a homeless... Read more »
On Monday, June 19th at 7:00 PM Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) will host a town hall meeting at the Sunset Hills Montessori School in Reston, VA. Connolly will provide a congressional update and then take audience questions. Due to space constraints, RSVPs are required. You can RSVP here. For additional information please contact our office at: 703-256-3071. When: June 19, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Whe... Read more »
