At a press conference today, Democratic members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs spoke out against the Trump Administration’s budget proposal, which would cut the international affairs budget by nearly a third. The members underscored that cutting diplomatic and development efforts would harm American security and diminish American leadership on the global stage. At the press conference, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) delivered the following remarks: “You don’t make America great aga...
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Melanie Zanona Washington Metrorail’s system rushed into its massive yearlong repair program known as "SafeTrack," according to a government watchdog report released Tuesday. Metro “did not comprehensively collect and use data on the condition of its assets, analyze project alternatives, and develop a project management plan before starting work,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in the report. In one example cited in the report, Metro did not comprehensively inspect its tracks be...
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Martin DiCaro Metro did not adequately plan for SafeTrack before launching the largest reconstruction program in the rail system’s 40-year history, according to a report released on Tuesday by a government watchdog agency. WMATA “lacked a comprehensive project management plan, which is a key tool to ensure a project is completed on-time, within-budget, and according to quality standards,” the 46-page report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded. Completing SafeTrack will “requi...
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Today, the House Committee and Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD), and Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and Mark Meadows (D-NC) released a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessing the planning and implementation of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) SafeTrack Plan. In a July letter, the Members requested GAO look into the implementation of the SafeTrack program, as we...
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Today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), and Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and Mark Meadows (D-NC) released a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessing the planning and implementation of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) SafeTrack Plan. In a July letter, the Members requested GAO look into the implementation of the SafeTrack program, as well as...
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Special to The Connection: Reps. Don Beyer and Gerry Connolly Republicans hold control of all three branches of government, and therefore have a responsibility to lead the civil service that employs millions of Americans, and every American relies upon for myriad services. The overwhelming majority of federal workers are hardworking people who devote themselves to public service. They secure borders, keep food safe, advance scientific and medical research, deliver our mail, and provide care to m...
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Joe Davidson House Democrats were resolute — and loquacious — but were unable to derail the latest Republican move to significantly weaken federal labor unions. After seemingly endless discussion Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was poised to advance legislation designed to undermine “official time.” It permits union representatives to engage in certain actions while on the government’s payroll. Those actions, by the way, benefit not just union members, but all agen...
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Andy Kroll Congressman Gerry Connolly, a five-term Democrat who represents northern Virginia, marched into his office on Capitol Hill and assembled his staff for an impromptu meeting. "I'm going to the airport," he told them, "and I may be arrested." Two days before, Friday, January 27th, President Donald Trump had signed his now-infamous executive order that temporarily banned refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, plunging the nation's immigra...
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Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement after today's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Russian interference into U.S. elections: "More than three months ago, I led a letter with 15 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee calling for a hearing into Russia’s deliberate interference in our presidential election. The hearing held today offered a thoughtful discussion, but only scratched the surface of this issue. "I was gratified to hear some of my Republi...
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Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) has introduced legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to nationally-celebrated Civil War historian and Northern Virginian, Ed Bearss. Bearss served as the chief historian for the National Park Service from 1981 to 1994, and currently serves as the Chief Historian Emeritus. The legislation is endorsed by Civil War historian and filmaker Ken Burns, the Civil War Trust, historian and author James McPherson, the Virginia VFW and the Bull Run Civil War Rou...
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