Robert Scott

Robert Cortez "Bobby" Scott is a Democratic politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 3rd congressional district since 1993. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Newport News, Virginia, he earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School. Before entering national politics, Scott served in the Massachusetts National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve and practiced law in Newport News for nearly two decades. His legislative career began in the Virginia General Assembly, where he served in the House of Delegates from 1978 to 1983 and in the Senate of Virginia from 1983 to 1993. Upon his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, Scott became the first African-American member of Congress from Virginia since the Reconstruction era and the first American of Filipino heritage to serve as a voting member of Congress. He has held significant leadership roles, most notably serving as the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor from 2019 to 2023. Throughout his tenure, he has focused on legislative initiatives related to education equity, labor rights, and criminal justice reform, including co-authoring the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 and the First Step Act of 2018.

Representative Scott's policy positions generally align with the Democratic platform. In education, he advocates for increasing federal funding for K-12 schools, expanding access to early childhood education, and making higher education more affordable through Pell Grant increases and student loan reform. On healthcare, he is a staunch supporter of the Affordable Care Act and has co-sponsored the Medicare for All Act. Regarding criminal justice, he emphasizes evidence-based prevention over incarceration, having sponsored the Youth PROMISE Act and the Death in Custody Reporting Act. On economic issues, he is the lead sponsor of the Raise the Wage Act, which seeks to increase the federal minimum wage, and he supports strengthening collective bargaining rights for workers. He also advocates for environmental protection, voting rights, and stricter gun control measures, such as universal background checks.