News

Tony Ware Employees who refuse to follow an order that would violate a law, rule or regulation would be protected from retaliation if new legislation gets signed into law. The Follow the Rules Act — introduced by Reps. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va. — adds a clarification to the Whistleblower Protection Act spurred by a misinterpretation by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case of Rainey v. MSPB. The bill, HR 657, is intended to protect employees rooting ou... Read more

Morgan Chalfant Lawmakers on Wednesday grilled information security officers at the Department of Education and IRS over a data breach of an information-sharing tool that potentially exposed the personal information of 100,000 Americans earlier this year. The chief information officers at both organizations came under harsh criticism from members of the House Oversight Committee over their handling of the situation, defending themselves against charges they may have violated the law by slow-roll... Read more

On Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 3:30 pm, Congressman Gerry Connolly will hold his 2017 Congressional Art Competition Awards Ceremony at the McGuire Woods Gallery, Workhouse Arts Center, 9518 Workhouse Road, Lorton, VA. “I am pleased to invite all Virginia 11th district student artists, their families, and art educators to join me in celebrating this year’s 2017 Congressional Art Competition Awards Ceremony,” said Congressman Connolly. “This year we had more than 150 incredible submissions from Prin... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Korea, delivered the following remarks on the House floor in support of H.R. 1644, the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act. Connolly recently returned from visiting the Korean Demilitarized Zone. “I rise today in support of H.R. 1644, the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act. I am pleased to cosponsor this bill, which updates and expands the North Korea Sanctions Policy Enhancement Act... Read more

Iulia Gheorghiu Some of the Democratic Party’s most liberal members are hoping to push their party further to the left on environmental issues, prioritizing progressive goals over collaboration with the administration of President Donald Trump. The stance can be seen most clearly with a new bill that aims to transition the U.S. to all-renewable energy by 2050, the “100 by ’50” Act, proposed last week by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-O... Read more

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 657, the Follow the Rules Act, legislation introduced by Representatives Sean Duffy (R-WI) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA). The bill seeks to address a misinterpretation of the Whistleblower Protection Act by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case of Rainey v. MSPB. The legislation would clarify that, under the Whistleblower Protection Act, an employee who refuses to obey an order that would require the employee to violate a law, r... Read more

Jenna Portnoy The Virginia congressional delegation is generally split along party lines over whether the federal government should allow oil and gas drilling off the state’s coast. The issue reemerged last week when President Trump signed an executive order that aimed to reverse an Obama administration moratorium on extracting fuel from the ocean floor. Proponents say offshore drilling would create jobs and drive economic development, while opponents say the environmental and national security ... Read more

Faiz Siddiqui A congressional spending bill set to be voted on this week maintains full federal funding for ­Metro, a positive sign for the struggling transit agency as it seeks continued support from a Republican-controlled Congress, officials said Monday. The bill authorizes $150 million in grant funding through the end of September, but it’s unclear whether Congress will approve funding for the remainder of the 10-year, $1.5 billion federal program — or renew it after the two remaining years ... Read more

Emma Brown Congress is expected to extend the D.C. school voucher program as part of a bipartisan budget deal this week, a move that follows the release of a new federal analysis showing that some voucher recipients in private schools trailed their public-school counterparts on standardized tests. The legislation would re­authorize the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which helps 1,100 low-income students attend private schools, through fiscal 2019. The program is the only federally funded ... Read more

James Tennent While US President Donald Trump has struggled with the realities of passing legislation during his first 100 days in office, there is one realm that seems an easier target but which could have a devastating effect: climate change. Passing a new healthcare bill was not something that Trump and Congressional Republicans could manage before the 100-day milestone but they have found that rolling back Obama-era policies aimed at tackling climate change is much simpler. Through executive... Read more