Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Francis Rooney (R-FL) have introduced the Commission to Verify Iranian Nuclear Compliance Act. The bipartisan legislation would establish a Congressional-Executive commission with bipartisan-appointed staff to oversee implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement. The Commission would include 16 Members of Congress (8 from the Senate and 8 from the House of Representatives) and 4 representatives from the Executive Branch (representing the Department of State,...
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Rebecca Kheel A bipartisan pair of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would create a commission to oversee the Iran nuclear deal, as President Trump approaches a deadline to certify whether Tehran is in compliance. “Increasing public transparency surrounding the Iran deal’s implementation is a critical priority,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in a statement Wednesday. “Congress has a role to play in effective oversight of this agreement, and we must assert that role regardless of whet...
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Today, Congressmen David Price (D-NC) and Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement after the Trump Administration refused this week to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to a two-state solution. In March, following the President’s remarks that, “I’m looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one both parties like,” Connolly and Price sent a bipartisan letter signed by 191 members of Congress urging the President to clearly reaffirm the United States’ longstanding, b...
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Betsy Woodruff As chaos unfolded at the nation’s airports, Trump administration officials issued clear directives: treat lawyers’ calls like “protests” and keep duly elected representatives out. On the chaotic day the Trump administration’s travel ban went into effect, high-level Homeland Security officials directed their staff at airports around the country to stiff-arm members of Congress and treat lawyers with deep suspicion. Members of Congress say they’re shocked by the orders, uncovered i...
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Max Greenwood Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) accused President Trump on Thursday of threatening special counsel Robert Mueller by saying that the former FBI director would cross a line if his investigation into Russian election meddling delves into the Trump family's finances. "He was basically saying, 'I'll fire you if you go beyond this limit,' and he has no legal right to set that limit," Connolly told CNN's Jake Tapper. "Yes, it's within his constitutional purview to fire the special counsel, ...
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Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) sent a letter to Vice President Pence urging he rescind the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity’s directive for sensitive voter data. Connolly said the directive “is a thinly veiled effort to carry out voter suppression on a national scale. States should not comply.” The Vice President serves as chair of the Commission. On June 28, Vice Chair of the Commission Kris Kobach sent letters to all 50 states and the District of Columbia direct...
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In advance of President Trump’s G20 visit, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) led a bipartisan letter urging the Trump administration to review a list of judges for human rights violations and possible sanctions. The letter was signed by Representatives Chabot, Deutch, Engel, Harris, Kaptur, Kelly, Meeks and Sires. In their letter the Members wrote that, “Over the past three years, Russian officials have executed a brutal crackdown on basic liberties in Crimea. Russia has subjected Crimeans who r...
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Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va) In the wake of World War II, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took noble action to ensure that the unrelenting conflicts that had defined the early 20th century wouldn’t doom future generations. His vision was clear: “to defend life, liberty, independence and religious freedom, and to preserve human rights and justice” in their own lands, the global community would need to come together and create a post-war organization that would protect the sovereignty of all...
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Virginia Representatives Don Beyer and Gerry Connolly issued the following statement today on the case of Dr. Radwan Ziadeh, currently under consideration by the Department of Homeland Security: “The Department of Homeland Security's announcement that it intends to deny asylum to Virginia resident Dr. Radwan Ziadeh, a Syrian legal scholar and human rights advocate, is completely nonsensical. Dr. Ziadeh was accused of engaging in terrorist activity after helping arrange peace conferences that wer...
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Richard Lardner Legislation that would hit Russia with economic sanctions and limit President Donald Trump's authority to lift the penalties faces an uncertain future in the House despite the bill's heavily bipartisan backing in the Senate. Instead of moving for a quick vote to build on the burst of momentum created in the Senate, where the measure won 98 votes last week, the Republican leadership in the House has sent the sweeping sanctions package to the Foreign Affairs Committee for a review....
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