Summary
Congressman Don Beyer is serving his third term as the U.S. Representative from Virginia’s 8th District, representing Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and parts of Fairfax County. He serves on the House Committees on Ways and Means and Science Space and Technology, and is a Co-Chair of the New Democrat Coalition’s Climate Change Task Force. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1998, and was Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under President Obama.
Jeff Jordan has heard the call to serve his state and country. He has seen with his own eyes the misery of people suffering under Socialist ideologies, and fervently prays for America’s future. As a true Patriot, Jeff is committed to the American dream and will continue working, defending, and loving the United States. He is driven to protect against the immorality and injustice that has gained favor and popularity in recent years.
OnAir Post: US House District 8 – VA 2020
News
Beyer Government page , – July 22, 2020
July 22, 2020 (Washington, D.C.) – The House of Representatives today passed the No Ban Act, legislation to overturn President Trump’s executive order banning persons from certain countries from traveling or immigrating to the United States. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), a co-lead on the bill who introduced legislation to stop Trump’s Muslim Ban after witnessing chaos and turmoil at Dulles Airport created by the ban in January of 2017, spoke in favor of the legislation during debate:
[Remarks as delivered]
“Madam Speaker, I rise in support of [Congresswoman] Judy Chu’s NO BAN Act.
“In the words of John Lewis – ‘When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to do something.’
“The NO BAN Act is doing something.
“It is stating in clear, powerful legislation that America will never again let racism or religious intolerance be a barrier to lawful immigration.
“We will not allow ignorance or xenophobia to dictate America’s immigration policies. Our strength has always – always – been our diversity.
“A functional Muslim ban or a ban of entire countries simply because they comprise a race or a religion that some president does not like – is not just evil, it is stupid.
“Watch which American communities recover most quickly from the pandemic: those with the most diverse populations.
“I stand here today, as I stood at [Dulles] Airport at the onset of the ban, to ensure our immigration system cannot be hijacked by hatred.
“I yield back.”
Don Beyer
Current Position: US Representative for US House District 8 since 2015
Affiliation: Democrat
Candidate: 2020 US Representative
Former Position(s): Lt. Governor from 1990 – 1998
Rep. Beyer’s signature work as lieutenant governor included advocacy for Virginians with disabilities and ensuring protections for Virginia’s most vulnerable populations as the Commonwealth reformed its welfare system in the mid-1990s. Rep. Beyer was Virginia’s Democratic nominee for governor in 1997.
For more information, go to Don Beyer’s post.
Jeff Jordan
Jeff Jordan comes from a fifth consecutive generation family of service in military uniform, all combat veterans. “Serving my country has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime.”
Altogether, he served two tours each at Fort Meade, Fort Belvoir, and South Korea; one combat tour each in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jeff also served in both the Washington State and Texas Army National Guard – and several assigned tours with the National Guard Bureau at Arlington Hall Station in Arlington, Virginia.
For more information, go to Jeff Jordan’s post.
Issues
Civil Rights
Don Beyer
Equality
I support full equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals. I support legislation to ban workplace discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation and believe those protections were valuable additions to the re-enactment of the Violence Against Women Act passed in the last Congress.
I also strongly support marriage equality. Everyone must have the right to marry, regardless of sexual orientation, and to pursue a family. I will work to block legislation seeking to ban the rights of same sex couples.
Jeff Jordan
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Economy
Don Beyer
We need to continue our economic recovery with a middle class economic action plan that works for all American families. We must raise the minimum wage, ensure equal pay for equal work, end government shutdowns, and promote tax policies that empower the working class and middle class.
Families are forced to stretch their dollars too far. Our minimum wage has been stagnant for over two decades. Women are the breadwinners in 40 percent of American households but aren’t guaranteed equal pay for equal work. Affordable housing is on the wane, especially in many urban and suburban communities, forcing people to live far from their jobs. We need strong work retraining programs to ensure that all Americans benefit from our 21st century economy.
Women’s Economic Empowerment
The best way to ensure true financial security for middle class families is to support women in the workforce. Working women make up almost half of the American labor force and serve as primary breadwinners in over 40 percent of American households. In addition, a growing percentage of women are single mothers; more than half of women under 30 who give birth do so outside of marriage and consequently serve a significant economic role for that child. Yet women still have no guarantee of equal pay for equal work. We must declare this era in American life as the past, not the present.
See post for more info.
Jeff Jordan
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Education
Don Beyer
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Jeff Jordan
“We need to teach our youth how to think, not what to think!” ~ Jeff Jordan
Our educational institutions have increasingly become indoctrination institutions, teaching young minds what to think and not how to think, centering their worldview on emotional rather than rational constructs, and denying and defaming any views or ideas that differentiate from the collectivist agenda. Federal policy must return our educational institutions to their former prominence as bastions of diversified thinking and discussion. Taxpayer funding should be denied to those institutions that fail their responsibility to uphold those democratic ideals.
Environment
Don Beyer
Climate Change and the Environment
Stopping the harmful consequences of global climate change is the existential crisis of our generation. We cannot continue pumping pollutants into our air at no economic cost.
Fourteen of the fifteen hottest years on record have been in this century. Global temperature changes are causing prolonged droughts, extreme weather events, and rising sea levels.
On the House Committees on Ways and Means and Science, Space, and Technology, I continue to advocate to fulfill our responsibility to leave this world better than we inherited it. In the 116th Congress I am also serving as Co-Chair of New Democrat Coalition Climate Change Task Force.
America must continue to be an innovative leader in the fight against global climate change. We need intelligent conservation policies that preserve our natural resources and an energy policy that is not solely focused on drilling, but makes smart investments in clean and renewable energy to lower costs to the American taxpayer while protecting the air, land, and water.
Jeff Jordan
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HealthCare
Don Beyer
All American families should have access to quality healthcare. No family in the United States should face economic ruin because of a health crisis, or have to choose between a trip to the emergency room and heating their home for the month.
President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) was an incredible step toward that reality for all American families. Gender is no longer a pre-existing condition, children have the option to stay on their parents’ plans longer, and students are free to pursue their educational dreams without worrying about health demands.
However, there is still much to do. Millions of the neediest citizens still fall into the gap between Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA’s lowest rate plans, including 140,000 in Virginia. America remains one of only two countries in the world without paid family leave, and women are still at risk of losing their right to choose.
I will fight for further improvements in the U.S. healthcare system, especially for the neediest populations. I will work to provide paid sick, maternity, and family leave for all American workers. And I believe that a woman’s health care choices are her own and should never be dictated by her employer, or by any government.
Jeff Jordan
Jeff Jordan will improve access, and reduce costs of healthcare.
Healthcare is a service, not a right, and the government’s role is to administer policies that facilitate the streamlining of health service processes and systems in a way that improves access and reduces costs. Additionally, healthcare policy should appropriately address the input-side of the system including food safety, standards, and labeling.
Immigration
Don Beyer
It is our responsibility to pass comprehensive immigration reform that secures a path to citizenship for the hard-working people who contribute to our economy and to our communities. They deserve the opportunity to become new Americans
I fully support the DREAM Act: We must ensure that children who came to the United States early in life have the opportunity to succeed by attending college, receiving in-state tuition, and working for a better life for future generations.
Our country has a diverse heritage woven by people from all across the globe. We cannot close our borders and turn our backs on the rest of the world. I will work with my colleagues to achieve the dream of a bipartisan immigration reform package.
Jeff Jordan
“Immigrating to the United States must be done lawfully.” ~ Jeff Jordan
Immigration is a pillar of our national identity, but the rule-of-law is the foundation upon which that and all other pillars stand. The process of immigrating to the United States must be done lawfully. Those who enter illegally must be deported immediately, and the government officials who advocate and vote for sanctuary jurisdictions should be charged with felony obstruction of justice, as well as aiding and abetting criminal activity. Furthermore, they should be held accountable as accessories to every criminal act committed by those here illegally.
Infrastructure
Don Beyer
Transportation
Northern Virginia suffers from some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation. The only way to mitigate the effects of traffic gridlock, and minimize the harmful impact to our environment, is through forward-thinking, multimodal solutions.
We must continue to improve Metro to keep it a safe, world-class transportation system. Forty percent of Metro’s peak ridership is federal employees; a federal role is not only appropriate but necessary. Preserving the $150 million annual federal investment for capital and safety improvements is a top priority.
I look forward to helping extend Metro service at Potomac Yard in Alexandria and to bringing Bus Rapid Transit and eventually Metrorail to Route 1 in Fairfax County.
If you’re interested in learning more about my efforts to combat airplane noise in Northern Virginia, visit our storyboard
Jeff Jordan
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Safety
Don Beyer
Gun Violence
Gun violence claims over 30,000 lives per year, including nearly 20,000 firearm-related suicides. Despite this epidemic, Congress has sadly failed for years to take basic steps to curb gun violence despite overwhelming support for such measures by Americans from all political backgrounds.
It is a major priority for me to enact laws requiring a background check on every gun sale, in order to help keep guns out of the hands of those like to use them to commit crimes. I also support enacting restrictions on weapons designed for the battlefield, which are so often used in the mass shootings that have claimed so many lives in schools, churches, hospitals, theaters, malls, and so on. I have also championed “Extreme Risk Protection Order” laws, also known as “red flag” laws, which empower family members and law enforcement to petition a judge for a warrant to remove guns from those who demonstrate a serious threat to themselves or others.
None of these measures by themselves would completely end gun violence in America, but studies suggest that each of them has the power to save many lives. I will continue to push for these and other gun reforms in the House of Representatives.
Jeff Jordan
Jeff Jordan feels gun safety and education are essential.
To keep (have) and bear (use) arms is the quintessential right of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits governmental infringement upon individual ownership of any arms, guns included, and government officials are obligated to protect that right along with the rest of our constitutional rights when they swear their oath of office. Specifically regarding firearms, any gun control should come in the form of gun safety and education for all citizens, teaching them how to practice and exhibit self-control when handling them.
Veterans
Don Beyer
irginia’s 8th congressional district is home to over 50,000 veterans and active duty service men and women. I am proud to represent a district with such a strong ethic of service. As the son of a 92-year-old Korean War veteran, I am deeply committed to caring for those who sacrifice to protect our freedoms. My father used the G.I. Bill and put his education and skills to work in what became our family business. Our nation must continue to provide those who serve in the military with the necessary resources to adjust to civilian life.
Battlefield scars, whether mental, physical or both, heal slowly. Our Veterans Administration (VA) has a moral obligation to make our troops whole again. After over a decade of war, our troops deserve a robust healthcare system that processes claims efficiently and effectively. If that system breaks down, we in Congress must help it do better. This comes in the form of providing legislative solutions, where veterans’ care is traditional an area of strong bipartisanship, and also in the area of constituent casework. My district office assists constituents with VA benefits. I encourage veterans who require assistance to call us at 703-658-5403.
See post for more info.
Jeff Jordan
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