Bobby Scott | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Education Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Virginia Foxx |
| In office January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | George Miller |
| Succeeded by | Virginia Foxx |
| Chair of the House Education Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Virginia Foxx |
| Succeeded by | Virginia Foxx |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's3rd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Bliley |
| Member of theVirginia Senate from the2nd district | |
| In office January 12, 1983 – January 3, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Herbert Bateman |
| Succeeded by | Henry Maxwell |
| Member of theVirginia House of Delegates | |
| In office January 11, 1978 – January 12, 1983 Serving with Ted Morrison,Alan Diamonstein | |
| Preceded by | Lewis McMurran |
| Succeeded by | Mary A. R. Marshall |
| Constituency | 49th district (1978–1982) 48th district (1982–1983) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Cortez Scott (1947-04-30)April 30, 1947 (age 78) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Relatives | Marcia Price (niece) McKinley L. Price (brother-in-law) |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Boston College (JD) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service |
|
| Unit | Massachusetts Army National Guard |
Robert Cortez Scott (born April 30, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving as theU.S. representative forVirginia's 3rd congressional district since 1993. A member of theDemocratic Party, he is the dean ofVirginia's congressional delegation since 2019, he previously shared the deanship withBob Goodlatte until the latter's retirement that year, and the firstFilipino American voting member of Congress. The district serves most of the majority-black precincts ofHampton Roads, including all of the independent cities ofNorfolk,Newport News (where he resides),Hampton andPortsmouth, and parts of the independent city ofChesapeake.[1] From 2019 to 2023, Scott was chair of theHouse Education and Labor Committee. He has been ranking member on that committee since 2023.
Scott was born inWashington, D.C., and grew up inNewport News, Virginia. He is ofAfrican American andFilipino descent.[2] His father,Charles Waldo Scott, was a pioneering African American surgeon[3] and in 1952 became the first African American appointed to theNewport News school board in the 20th century.[4] Scott's mother Mae Hamlin-Scott, a graduate in chemistry of theUniversity of Michigan, was aneducator who taught science in the Newport News public schools.[5] His sister, Valerie Scott Price, was married to formerNewport News mayorMcKinley L. Price until her death in 2025; making their daughter,state delegateMarcia Price, Scott's niece.
Scott graduated fromGroton School in 1965. He received hisB.A. in government fromHarvard College in 1969 and hisJuris Doctor fromBoston College Law School in 1973. He is a member ofAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He was alawyer in private practice in Newport News from 1973 to 1991.[6]
Scott is anEpiscopalian.[7]
Scott is a former member of theMassachusetts Army National Guard (1970–73) andArmy Reserve (1974–76).[8]
Scott was elected to theVirginia House of Delegates as aDemocrat in 1977 and to theSenate of Virginia in 1982, after a census-based reapportionment changed district numbers (thus, his nominal predecessors were in fact representatives from Northern Virginia). In the Virginia legislature, Scott worked to allow the poor and children greater access to health care, as well as to increase the minimum wage, and increase job training. He also authored legislation providing tax credits to business that provide donations to serving local communities in preventing crime or improving social service delivery.
Scott first ran for Congress in 1986 in the1st district, which included his home in Newport News. He lost toRepublican incumbentHerb Bateman, 56%-44%.[9]
In 1992, theDepartment of Justice directed the Virginia legislature to draw a black-majority district after the1990 census. The legislature responded by shifting most of the black residents of Hampton Roads andRichmond into a newly created 3rd district. Scott won a three-way Democratic primary with 67% of the vote,[10] which wastantamount to election in this heavily Democratic district. In the general election, he defeated Republican Dan Jenkins 79%-21%.[11]
During this period, Scott was reelected every two years with at least 76% of the vote, except in 2004. That year, he was challenged by RepublicanWinsome Sears, a former State Delegate. He won with 69% of the vote, now the second-lowest winning percentage of his career. In 1994, Scott won 79.44% of the vote, defeating Republican Thomas E. Ward. In 1996, he won 82.12% of the vote, defeating Republican Eisle G. Holland. In 1998, he won 75.97% of the vote, defeating Independent Robert S. Barnett. He ran unopposed in 2000, 2002, 2006, and 2008.
Scott defeated Republican Chuck Smith, a formerJAG officer, 70%-27%.[12]
After redistricting, Scott's district was made even safer; he picked up all of Portsmouth and Newport News, as well asPetersburg. In 2008, PresidentBarack Obama had carried the district with 76% of the vote; Scott won the new district with 78%,[13] defeating Air Force officer Dean Longo.[14] He easily won an 11th term with 81.26% of the vote.
Scott joined Obama in kicking off his campaign atVirginia Commonwealth University. The focus of the rally was largely on Obama's timeline for leaving the Middle East.[15]
Scott was unopposed for reelection, winning twelfth term in the U.S. House.
The 3rd was reconfigured as a result of a court-ordered redistricting in 2015. It lost its territory in and around Richmond to the neighboring4th district, but the new 3rd was no less Democratic than its predecessor.
Scott defeated Republican Marty Williams, 66%-33%, the lowest winning percentage of his career.
Scott ran unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election, winning a fourteenth term in the U.S. House.
Scott ran for a fifteenth term and defeated Republican John Collick in the general election.
Scott ran for a sixteenth term and defeated Republican Terry Namkung in the general election.
Scott ran for a seventeenth term and defeated Republican candidate John Sitka III in the general election.
Scott is the first African American Representative from Virginia sinceReconstruction. Also, having a maternal grandfather of Filipino ancestry makes Scott the first American of Filipino descent to serve as a voting member of Congress. His congressional district is the only one with a plurality black population inVirginia. It was created in 1992 and has remained the state's most Democratic district.[16]
Scott's annual Labor Day picnic, usually held at his mother's residence in Newport News, is a major campaign stop for statewide and federal candidates in Virginia.
In 1997, Scott was one of two votes against the creation of a national registry for crimes against children and sexually violent offenders.[17]
On November 7, 2009, Scott voted for theAffordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962).
Scott has voted progressively in the House. He has supported increases in the minimum wage and has worked to eliminate anti-gay bias in the workplace.[18] In 2010, Scott co-sponsored the "Lee-Scott bill" withBarbara Lee to make it easier on individuals who had been on unemployment for 99 weeks without finding work. Of the bill, Lee said, "it is important that we put in place a safety net for those still looking for work. We cannot and will not allow our fellow Americans to fall by the wayside. Congressman Scott and I plan to continue to push for passage of this legislation because it is simply the right thing to do."[19]
Scott supportsLGBT rights. In 2009, he voted in favor of theMatthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a bill that expanded the federalhate crime law to cover crimes biased by the victim'ssexual orientation orgender identity.[20] In 2010, he voted in favor of theDon't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act.[21] In 2019, Scott voted in favor of theEquality Act, a bill that would expand the federalCivil Rights Act of 1964 to bandiscrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,[22] and urged Congress members to support the legislation.[23]
Scott was an outspoken opponent of theBush administration. He opposed thePatriot Act, explaining that officials could abuse their power by promoting anti-terrorist security and develop unfair "racial profiling". In 2002 Scott voted against the Iraq war resolution and did not support any of theBush Doctrine in reference to the Iraq war.[16]
For his tenure as the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee in the 116th Congress, Scott earned an "A" grade from the nonpartisan Lugar Center's Congressional Oversight Hearing Index.[24]
Scott voted with PresidentJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[25]
Scott was one of two Democrats along withNikema Williams who voted against the expulsion of former New York representativeGeorge Santos.[26]
Scott introduced theDeath in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (H.R. 1447; 113th Congress) on April 9, 2013.[27] The bill would require theUnited States Department of Justice to collect data from U.S. states and territories about the deaths of prisoners in their custody.[28] States and territories would face monetary penalties for noncompliance. It would also require federal agencies to report on the deaths of prisoners in their custody.
When then-presumptiveDemocratic presidential nomineeHillary Clinton selectedTim Kaine, a U.S. Senator from Virginia, as her running mate in July 2016, speculation arose about who would be nominated to replace Kaine in the Senate should the ticket win. In August 2016, former DemocraticGovernor of VirginiaDouglas Wilder stated that he would want GovernorTerry McAuliffe to appoint Scott to the seat, stating that it "would be good for the commonwealth, good for the Democratic Party, of which Bobby has been most supportive, and great for our nation."[36] On November 8, Clinton and Kaine lost the election and Kaine remained in his Senate seat.[37]
On December 15, 2017, Marsheri Everson (also known as M. Reese Everson), a formercongressional fellow who had worked in Scott's office, alleged that Scott had sexually harassed her in 2013, touching her on the knee and back on separate occasions, then propositioning her with an inappropriate relationship after asking, "if you travel with me, are you going to be good?"[38] Scott strongly denied Everson's claim.[38] Everson was represented by two attorneys, oneJack Burkman, known for his involvement in the conspiracy theories surrounding themurder of Seth Rich[38] as well as his alleged involvement in a scheme to pay women to lie about sexual harassment claims against special counsel and former FBI DirectorRobert Mueller.[39][40] Everson's case against Scott was mutually dismissed in 2021.[41]
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Bobby Scott | 63,364 | 44% | Herbert H. Bateman | 80,713 | 56% | * |
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1986, write-ins received 9 votes.
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Bobby Scott | 132,432 | 79% | Daniel Jenkins | 35,780 | 21% | Write-ins | 261 | ||||||
| 1994 | Bobby Scott | 108,532 | 79% | Thomas E. Ward | 28,080 | 21% | Write-ins | 8 | ||||||
| 1996 | Bobby Scott | 118,603 | 82% | Elsie Goodwyn Holland | 25,781 | 18% | Write-ins | 34 | ||||||
| 1998 | Bobby Scott | 48,129 | 76% | (no candidate) | Robert S. Barnett | Independent | 14,453 | 23% | * | |||||
| 2000 | Bobby Scott | 137,527 | 98% | (no candidate) | Write-ins | 3,226 | 2% | |||||||
| 2002 | Bobby Scott | 87,521 | 96% | (no candidate) | Write-ins | 3,552 | 4% | |||||||
| 2004 | Bobby Scott | 159,373 | 69% | Winsome Sears | 70,194 | 31% | Write-ins | 325 | ||||||
| 2006 | Bobby Scott | 133,546 | 96% | (no candidate) | Write-ins | 5,448 | 4% | |||||||
| 2008 | Bobby Scott | 230,911 | 97% | (no candidate) | Write-ins | 7,377 | 3% | |||||||
| 2010 | Bobby Scott | 114,656 | 70% | Chuck Smith | 44,488 | 27% | James Quigley | Libertarian | 2,383 | 2% | * | |||
| 2012 | Bobby Scott | 259,199 | 81.27% | Dean J. Longo | 58,931 | 18.48% | * | Write-ins | 806 | 0.25% | ||||
| 2014 | Bobby Scott | 139,197 | 94.43% | (no candidate) | Write-ins | 8,205 | 5.57% | |||||||
| 2016 | Bobby Scott | 208,337 | 66.70% | Marty Williams | 103,289 | 33.07% | Write-ins | 714 | 0.23% | |||||
| 2018 | Bobby Scott | 198,615 | 91.02% | (no candidate) | Write-ins | 19,107 | 8.08% | |||||||
| 2020 | Bobby Scott | 233,326 | 68.35% | John Collick | 107,299 | 31.43% | Write-ins | 736 | 0.22% | |||||
| 2022 | Bobby Scott | 139,659 | 67.02% | Terry Namkung | 67,668 | 32.06% | Write-ins | 516 | 0.25% | |||||
| 2024 | Bobby Scott | 219,926 | 69.95% | John Sitka III | 93,801 | 29.84% | Write-ins | 670 | 0.21% |
Military Service: Mass. National Guard, 1970-74; Army Reserve, 1974-76
He received an honorable discharge for his service in the Massachusetts National Guard and the United States Army Reserve.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 3rd congressional district 1993–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Education Committee 2015–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Education Committee 2019–2023 | |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Education Committee 2023–present | Incumbent | |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 14th | Succeeded by |
| Order of precedence of the United States | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
