Congressman Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations, and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14), Chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, introduced legislation today that would better address domestic violence in the U.S. military. The provisions included in the legislation were also included in the House-passed version of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Specifically, the legislation would create a syste...
Read more
Yesterday, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, sent a letter to the Acting Director of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to request specific information on the health and safety protocols practiced at the Farmville Detention Center, and again demand the release of all detainees in ICE custody for the duration of the pandemic. Yesterday’s letter follows reports of worsening conditions in the Farmville facility, where upwards of 70% of t...
Read more
Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) joined Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA) and 115 Members of Congress in sending a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Attorney General William Barr, calling on the agencies to eliminate the ban on open transgender military service. This follows the June 15, 2020 Supreme Court ruling that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ people from workplace discrimination. On April 12, 2019, the Trump administration banned transgender individ...
Read more
Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, offered an amendment to the Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 7120) requiring that funds paid by the Department of Justice’s civil assets forfeiture equitable sharing program be redirected to public welfare. While several states have passed laws with similar requirements, they are easily sidestepped by state and local law enforcement agencies who can ask the federal government to “adopt” seized assets th...
Read more
U.S. Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and Francis Rooney (R-FL) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led the introduction of a resolution denouncing discriminatory treatment of Iranian Americans. This bicameral, bipartisan resolution comes after earlier this year, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office on the U.S.-Canada border was found to have directed its agents to detain and question Americans of Iranian origin about their faith and military service following the U....
Read more
Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly, chair of the House Government Operations subcommittee, joined Karen Bass, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, House Democratic Leadership, Chairman Nadler, and Senators Harris and Booker, in introducing the Justice in Police Act. The comprehensive legislation would reform police procedures, including banning chokeholds, reforming Qualified Immunity, and establish a national database for police misconduct. “America is crying out for an end to the centuries-...
Read more
Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, released the following statement regarding the unwarranted attack by law enforcement on peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park: "Last night, we watched in horror as law enforcement carried out an attack on peaceful demonstrators exercising their First Amendment rights outside the White House. My horror quickly turned to outrage as it became clear such force was applied solely to clear the way for the preside...
Read more
Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement calling for the release of detainees at the Farmville Detention Center. According to the Washington Post, “As of Sunday, 61 people in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had tested positive for the novel coronavirus,” and Farmville has failed to adequately put into place social distancing procedures to protect detainees. “We are in a public health crisis and these conditions are abhorrent. We all share a commo...
Read more
Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) joined Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MN) and 85 other bipartisan Members of Congress in introducing the All Dependent Children Count Act which would expand the definition of a dependent for the Recovery Rebates for Individual sections of the CARES Act to include: children younger than 19, students 24 and younger, and no age limit for dependents who are disabled. The All Dependent Children Count Act, would update the CARES Act to be reflective and supportiv...
Read more
Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, led 38 Members of the House in sending a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, urging him to exclude COVID-19-related assistance from the public charge determination for immigrants seeking admission or an adjustment of status. On February 24, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule, which requires...
Read more
