Foreign Policy

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly, Chairman of the Government Operations subcommittee, released the following statement on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform second interim staff report, “Corporate and Foreign Interests Behind White House Push to Transfer U.S. Nuclear Technology to Saudi Arabia.” “The gravity of this report cannot be ignored. While it’s unsurprising that senior Trump Administration officials ignored obvious conflicts of interest and covered up unethical communications t... Read more

Today, the House of Representatives adopted a measure offered by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the House Government Operations subcommittee, that would provide federal grant funding to states to upgrade cybersecurity protections of their election systems. The measure was included in H.R. 2722 the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act, which passed the House 225-184 today. “Safeguarding our election systems from cyberattacks and data breaches isn’t a partisan issue,” said Chai... Read more

Mike Lillis House Democrats on Thursday introduced legislation to increase the number of refugees allowed into the United States, taking a direct shot at the Trump administration's move to cut the figure drastically. The legislation has little chance of passing through the Republican-controlled Senate, where GOP leaders have consistently backed President Trump's hardline positions on immigration, the central issue of his 2016 campaign and a major plank of his presidency. But it signals that Dem... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to House and Senate Appropriators urging them to protect Coast Guard death gratuities in the event of another government shutdown. “The longstanding purpose of the death gratuity payment is to assist families of deceased servicemembers in meeting their financial needs during the period immediately following a loved one’s dea... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reintroduced the National Security Diversity and Workforce Inclusion Act, legislation that would promote diversity in federal national security offices. Companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD). Connolly was joined by Representatives Meeks (D-NY), Hastings (D-FL) and Bass (D-CA). “Diversity is a unique source of strength for American society, our economy, ... Read more

U.S. Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) introduced H. Con. Res. 42, a resolution to ensure that countries that enter into trade agreements with the United States provide transparent and efficient support in the research and recovery efforts of our nation’s missing service members. Reps. Thompson and Connolly introduced the resolution in advance of Memorial Day Weekend, when the nation pays tribute to our fallen veterans who never returned home. “We have a sacred... Read more

Today, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) joined Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Anthony Brown (D-MD) today in leading a letter to House appropriators requesting language in the fiscal year 2020 transportation appropriations bill that would make grants to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) contingent upon Metro’s certification that it will not award any contract or subcontract for railcars to state-owned corporations. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Representatives ... Read more

By Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, represents Maryland in the U.S. Senate. Gerald E. Connolly, a Democrat, represents Virginia’s 11th Congressional District in the House of Representatives. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have narrowly prevailed in Israel’s election this week — but at what cost? Netanyahu’s full-throated embrace of the far right’s extreme agenda has placed him on a dangerous track that is not in the interest of Israel, the P... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH) reintroduced the bipartisan Global Health Security Act, which reaffirms the United States’ commitment to promoting global health security. The legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Ami Bera (D-CA), Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Rick Larsen (D-WA). The Global Health Security Act seeks to address two main issues – that U.S. glob... Read more

Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, led House Democrats in sending a letter urging the House Committee on Appropriations to deny funds for the implementation of President Trump’s government reorganization plan and the proposed merger of Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General Services Administration (GSA). “We have grave concerns about the Admini... Read more