News

Lori Aratani Wheelchair attendants, baggage handlers and food workers at Reagan National and Dulles International airports will get a boost in pay starting next year – the result of a two-year campaign for higher wages. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s board of directors voted 15 to 1 to approve the plan, which will require companies that do business at the airports to pay a base hourly wage of $11.55 starting in January. In all, 4,500 workers – responsible for keeping terminals ... Read more

Billy House and Anna Edgerton There may be only one way for Speaker Paul Ryan to avoid a government shutdown: Ask his Democratic counterpart, Nancy Pelosi, for help. The problem is, the two don’t have much history of deal-making together. They don’t even know each other that well. But after spending weeks trying -- so far unsuccessfully -- to ram through legislation to undo Democrats’ signature health-care law, Ryan will almost certainly need Pelosi’s support to keep the government open after Ap... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement on General Manager Paul Wiedefeld's proposed Metro reforms: "This is a strong business plan proposed by Metro General Manager Wiedefeld that will require big sacrifices by jurisdictions and labor. A tough sell but some necessary medicine. Metro still needs more federal financial support." Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement on the passing of former Virginia Delegate Jim Scott: "Virginia has lost a quiet, gentle but forceful advocate for all who feel powerless. Jim Scott was a voice for civil rights, women's rights and LGBT rights because he believed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States meant what they said. Unusual for a politician, Jim was self-effacing. A natural mentor, he promoted talent and sought to bestow ... Read more

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement in response to the administration’s announcement that it has lifted the federal hiring freeze. “I welcome the announcement that the administration is lifting a federal hiring freeze that accomplished nothing. Since its inception, I have insisted that an across-the-board hiring freeze is a mindless way to manage. Unfortunately, the administration is replacing one arbitrary policy with another. Instead of proposing solutions for better, m... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly released the following statement after today's acts of vandalism at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia and Little River United Church of Christ: "I am shocked and saddened by the anti-Semitic vandalism committed against the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia and the vicious graffiti used to deface Little River United Church of Christ. An attack on one faith is an attack on all. Such acts of hate and bigotry are un-American and are antithetical t... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement on U.S. airstrikes in Syria: "We must respond to the use of chemical weapons. We should have responded in 2013 and it was Congress that balked. A fifty-nine cruise missile strike can't be a substitute for a policy going forward. Congress and the new Administration must begin a dialogue and debate about our Syria policy." Read more

As Congress prepares to begin work on the 2017 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation, a bipartisan coalition of 15 regional members of Congress today urged their colleagues not to further overburden operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by adding more flight traffic. In their letter, the members point out that when Congress established the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) in 1986, it was charged with operating, promoting and protecti... Read more

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Gerry Connolly, along with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin, Mark Warner, Chris Van Hollen and Representatives Steny Hoyer, Eleanor Holmes Norton, John P. Sarbanes, John Delaney, Don Beyer, Barbara Comstock, Anthony Brown and Jamie Raskin, have sent a letter to Congressional appropriators calling for continued federal investment in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for safety and other improvements to Metrorail. The delegation stated tha... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FL) reintroduced the Families of Fallen Servicemembers First Act, bipartisan legislation 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. “With another government shutdown looming, Congress should take action to safeguard grieving military families,” said Connolly and Rooney. “T... Read more