News

Today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee leaders introduced H.R. 756, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2017. The bill addresses unfunded liabilities of the United States Postal Service (USPS), makes reforms to keep mailing costs affordable for consumers, and encourages innovation, all without additional borrowing capacity from the U.S. taxpayer. Bill cosponsors Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Reps. Mark Meadows (R-NC), Dennis Ross (R-FL), Gerr... Read more

By Nicole Ogrysko A month into 2017 and some lawmakers are thinking about next year’s pay raise for federal employees. The Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act, which Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) reintroduced Tuesday, would give federal employees a 3.2 percent pay raise in 2018 — a 2 percent pay increase plus a locality pay adjustment of 1.2 percent in 2018. There has been no word yet from President Donald Trump about a pay adjustment for federal employe... Read more

"For too long Republicans have bullied our federal workforce, falsely painting the civil servant as the scapegoat for all our country's problems." - Rep. Connolly Read more

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) and his office were able to get a Fairfax County green card resident, who was detained Saturday evening, released. Ahmed Mohedian and his wife were detained after returning from Iran, where Mr Mohedian was receiving medical treatment. Ahmed Mohedian is 71 and has a heart condition. Connolly’s office was able to connect him with immigration attorneys who helped secure his release around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Connolly issued the following statement regarding Preside... Read more

Hiring freeze: A mindless way to manage By Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) Contrary to "alternative facts" being spread throughout Congress, our federal workforce accomplishes heroic feats on a daily basis. For example, thanks to Dr. Burke Healey and his colleagues at the Department of Agriculture, last year our country avoided a potentially catastrophic avian influenza outbreak that could have threatened the health of 1.8 million Americans. And due to the foresight and advanced planning of Amy Mer... Read more

On Monday evening, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) was unanimously elected Vice-Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Connolly was also named Ranking Member of the Government Operations Subcommittee, a position he held in the previous Congress. “As the House’s primary investigative committee, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee has a responsibility to exercise thorough oversight of the Executive Branch, no matter who is in the White House. Our Committ... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement on President Donald J. Trump’s federal hiring freeze: “An across-the-board federal hiring freeze is a mindless way to manage. It fails to differentiate critical from non-critical issues. It fails to take into account the need to actually beef up certain capabilities in the federal government, like cybersecurity. This Executive Order, coupled with many of other anti-federal workforce policies being proposed in Congress, will have ... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement after President Donald J. Trump’s Inaugural address: “A troubling inaugural address. President Trump offered a dark, dystopian, and defiant inaugural speech that begins a new presidency without aspiration or reconciliation. It failed to unify or reach out to the entire nation, and insists on Trump's view of patriotism and triumphalism. Its insistent nationalism can only encourage Moscow and disconcert our allies.” Read more

Melanie Zanona People traveling to Donald Trump's inauguration on the National Mall won't be using an iconic bridge that links the Arlington National Cemetery to the Lincoln monument. The Arlington Memorial Bridge, built in 1932, is shut down to vehicular traffic from Thursday to Saturday because it has been placed under weight limits after being deemed structurally deficient. To some, the decaying bridge is a symbol of the need for the United States to spend money on its crumbling roads and br... Read more

The Chairman needs to stop using attacks and erroneous threats against civil servants as a means to distract from the President-elect's obvious conflicts of interest. Read more