Alexandria Congressman split his votes on security funding bills for U.S. allies over the weekend.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) voted for bills to aid the defense of Ukraine, which is under Russian invasion, and Taiwan, which is under the threat of Chinese military action. He voted against defense aid for Israel, which is battling Hamas in a bloody conflict that has killed scores of civilians on both sides.
On the House floor, Beyer said Congress should have voted on the Ukraine and Taiwan bills sooner.
“While it is deeply unfortunate that it took this long for wiser voices to prevail, the House is stepping up today to proclaim American strength and send bold support to Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific,” he said. “The Ukrainian people did not choose this war, Ukraine was invaded by a bloodthirsty tyrant who has designs that go far beyond Ukraine.”
“If allowed to expand unchecked, Russian and Chinese aggression will only make a deadly global confrontation more likely,” Beyer continued. “This moment is long overdue, and we can only hope that the delay will not result in lasting damage to Ukraine’s war efforts.”
On Israel, Beyer expressed concerns about the necessity of U.S. funding as well as the potential for weapons to be used in a way that inflicts more civilian casualties.
“Unlike Ukraine, Israel simply does not need fiscal assistance from the United States at the level contained in this bill,” Beyer said in a statement. “Israel is a wealthy nation with the ability to borrow, and recently-passed appropriations language provided Israel with $3.8 billion. I support humanitarian assistance and have voted in the past to fund defensive capabilities including Iron Dome, but too much of this funding is likely to pay for weapons that recent history says will lead to more civilian deaths.”
The Congressman’s full statement about the Israel vote is below.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement today on H.R. 8034, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act:
“I have repeatedly condemned Hamas’ horrific attacks since October 7 and steadfastly called for the release of all hostages. Since that day, the United States has provided massive and costly military, intelligence, and diplomatic support to Israel. The Israeli government has unfortunately proven unwilling or unable to match that support by adhering to the laws governing U.S. assistance or adequately responding to concerns raised repeatedly by the Administration. Hamas’ destructive tactics do not absolve our allies from their legal obligations to the U.S. or the international community. We must not sacrifice our humanity or our values to the viciousness of our opponents.
“The IDF campaign in Gaza has resulted in far too many civilian casualties, which significantly undercut claims of rigorous targeting or careful adherence to rules of engagement. Too many well-documented incidents have either gone uninvestigated or resulted in pro forma investigations that do not lead to consequences or corrections. The World Central Kitchen strike unfortunately does not stand out because it represents a rare failure, it was unique because the identity of the victims led to internal consequences within the IDF. The disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza, highlighted by the absurdity of the United States airdropping supplies and building a pier while our Israeli allies impede supplies via land crossings and Israeli ports, has only improved in recent weeks due to threats of a change in US policy. This supplemental sends the opposite message.
“Unlike Ukraine, Israel simply does not need fiscal assistance from the United States at the level contained in this bill. Israel is a wealthy nation with the ability to borrow, and recently-passed appropriations language provided Israel with $3.8 billion. I support humanitarian assistance and have voted in the past to fund defensive capabilities including Iron Dome, but too much of this funding is likely to pay for weapons that recent history says will lead to more civilian deaths.
“This bill ties us ever more closely to a Prime Minister who has lost the trust of his people and has demonstrated that he does not deserve ours either. While war has raged in Gaza, the Netanyahu government is engaging in inflammatory tactics in the West Bank and Jerusalem, expanding illegal settlements, and failing to restrain extremist settler violence. They also seem intent on ignoring President Biden’s solid advice to avoid dangerous regional escalation. The Prime Minister in both word and deed has made his opposition to a US-supported two state solution crystal clear. I cannot agree to further assistance that is not tied to verifiable changes in Israeli policy.
“Above all, I am deeply concerned that Israel’s current government is on a path of increasing isolation that jeopardizes Israel’s long term security and is directly at odds with core American values. I cannot in good conscience support this bill, and therefore will vote no.”
Beyer also issued a statement, below, about Ukraine funding.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement today on his vote for H.R. 8035, the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act:
“At last Congress is doing the right thing and taking action to fund Ukraine. This should have happened so long ago, and we can only hope that the cynicism of Republican members that caused this delay will not result in lasting damage to Ukraine’s war effort.
“The Ukrainian people did not choose this war, it was begun by a bloodthirsty tyrant who has designs that go far beyond Ukraine. If allowed to expand unchecked, Russian aggression would make a deadly global confrontation more likely. Though some of my colleagues would like to imagine that they can hide from world events, history has shown many times that what happens in Europe and elsewhere in the world affects our national security. Ignoring expansionism is not a strategy to defeat America’s geopolitical foes, it will only empower them.
“I urge the Senate to pass this legislation with all possible speed so that Ukraine can get the help it needs as quickly as possible. I commend the Biden Administration’s work that has been so effective at forging and keeping together the consensus of our allies to support and sustain Ukraine. It is my deepest hope that this victory in Congress, though much delayed, will help to make possible Ukraine’s ultimate victory on the battlefield.”
The bill passed the House today with robust bipartisan support, and is expected to clear the Senate and be signed into law by the President with other national security legislation in the coming days.
An Alexandria man has been charged after allegedly trying to bring a loaded gun onto a flight at National Airport over Easter weekend.
TSA officers detected the gun at a security checkpoint and airport police confiscated it.
This is the tenth gun TSA stopped at the airport during the first three months of 2024, putting this year on roughly the same pace as 2023, when 39 guns were stopped at DCA checkpoints.
More, below, from a TSA press release.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport stopped an Alexandria, Va., man from carrying his handgun onto a flight on Saturday, March 30.
The .40 caliber gun was loaded with 12 bullets.
The gun was detected as the man entered the security checkpoint. The X-ray unit alerted the TSA to take a closer look inside the carry-on bag. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police confiscated the gun and cited the individual on a weapons charge. TSA does not confiscate firearms, law enforcement does.
Guns are not permitted through the security checkpoint and the man now faces a stiff financial civil penalty from TSA. The penalty for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.
“This marked the third gun that our officers detected during the month of March, which is a very busy period due to spring break travel,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Bringing a loaded gun to an airport security checkpoint delays these spring break travelers. However, more important is the fact that bringing a loaded gun to a checkpoint is a security risk that our officers take seriously, which is why this individual now faces a federal financial civil penalty.”
TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and gun owners have a duty to ensure they are not violating any local firearm laws. Additionally, contacting the respective airline could reveal any additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
Bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint carries a federal civil penalty because TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a gun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating circumstances. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because a concealed carry permit does not allow a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online. Additionally, if a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
Last year, 6,735 firearms were caught at airport security checkpoints nationwide and 93 percent were loaded.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is addressing a key constituent concern — airplane noise — through the just-signed CHIPS Act.
The $280 billion bill is primarily focused on boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing, but contains other scientific research provisions. Among them is wording from Beyer to “bolster NASA’s efforts to reduce emissions from the aviation industry while also reducing the impact of airplane noise in airport-adjacent communities.”
“Climate change and aircraft noise have always been two of the most consistent constituent concerns in my district,” Beyer said in a statement yesterday. “I wrote a bill to address both problems – the Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act – which President Biden just signed into law.”
The legislation “authorizes NASA to accelerate its work on electrified propulsion systems and the integration of multiple technologies and airframe concepts to achieve noise and emissions reductions,” Beyer’s office said in a press release.
The roar of jet engines from airliners arriving at and departing from National Airport has long been a concern of Arlington and Alexandria residents, particularly those who live along the flight paths near the Potomac River. Beyer has frequently pledged to address the noise issue from commercial airliners and military helicopters, writing letters to top federal officials about flight paths and attaching legislation to larger bills.
The full press release is below.
President Joe Biden yesterday signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law, which included the first NASA authorization passed by Congress in over five years. That section of the Act, Title VII of the science division, included the full text of Rep. Don Beyer’s Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act. Beyer chairs the House Science Committee’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics; he introduced the Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act to bolster NASA’s efforts to create the next generation of climate-friendly aviation while also reducing the impact of airplane noise in airport-adjacent communities.
“Climate change and aircraft noise have always been two of the most consistent constituent concerns in my district. I wrote a bill to address both problems – the Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act – which President Biden just signed into law,” said Beyer. “As the climate crisis continues to harm American communities, ensuring we are also tackling aviation emissions is vital. This piece of legislation does just that by making the necessary investments to develop the technology to make cleaner flight a reality in addition to driving innovation that would reduce aircraft noise pollution.”
This legislation sets a goal for cleaner, quieter airplanes, accelerating NASA’s aeronautics work on reducing greenhouse gas and noise emissions. Specifically, this bill:
- Establishes the ambitious goal of commercial airplanes emitting 50 percent less greenhouse gas compared to the highest performing aircraft in 2021 as well as being net-zero by 2050.
- Challenges NASA to work with industry partners to carry out flight tests by 2025 that will enable industry to bring a new generation of more sustainable airplanes into service between 2030 and 2040.
- Authorizes NASA to accelerate its work on electrified propulsion systems and the integration of multiple technologies and airframe concepts to achieve noise and emissions reductions.
- Requires NASA to provide data and insight on new technologies to help the FAA’s work to ensure the safe and effective deployment of these technologies.
Text of the Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act is available here.
If you think today is hot, bad news: tomorrow is going to be worse.
The National Weather Service has already issued a Heat Advisory for Thursday, calling for heat index values of up to 106 in parts of the D.C. region.
The current NWS forecast for Alexandria calls for a high temperature of 97 and a heat index of up to 105.
Forecasters say tomorrow’s heat will be dangerous those who are outside or somewhere without air conditioning. They also recommend staying hydrated, checking on vulnerable relatives and neighbors and making sure kids and pets are not left in unattended vehicles.
The Heat Advisory will be in effect from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. on Thursday.
More from NWS:
URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
102 PM EDT Wed Aug 3 2022…HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 8 PM EDT THURSDAY…
* WHAT…Heat index values up to 106 expected.
* WHERE…Portions of central, north central, northeast, northern and southern Maryland, The District of Columbia and northern Virginia.
* WHEN…From 11 AM to 8 PM EDT Thursday.
* IMPACTS…Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.
Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.
(Updated at 4:30 p.m. on 7/20/22) The man arrested after the fatal shooting of two construction workers in Alexandria over the weekend was set to be tried for weapons and drug charges in Arlington earlier this year, but charges were dropped.
The reason: a ruling that police conducted an unconstitutional search prior to a 2020 arrest.
Francis Deonte Rose, 27, has so far only been charged with burglary in connection to an incident earlier Saturday morning at an Alexandria apartment complex, but additional charges are expected.
Police say two workers, ages 48 and 24, were shot in the head and were “innocent bystanders to the whole situation.” Officers had been called to the Assembly Alexandria apartment complex around 7:30 a.m. Saturday for reports of someone kicking in the doors at “multiple” apartments, our sister site ALXnow reported Monday.
Alexandria police radio traffic at the time suggested that the burglary suspect was the ex-boyfriend of an apartment resident and known to carry a gun.
Rose, meanwhile, has a history of gun charges. In 2019, a then-24-year-old Rose was arrested by Metropolitan Police in D.C. and charges with Carrying a Pistol without a License, Bench Warrant, Possession of Unregistered Ammunition, and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm.
The .45 caliber handgun he was allegedly carrying in the Columbia Heights neighborhood was confiscated, according to an MPD press release.
In October 2020, Rose was arrested again, this time in Arlington.
From Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage, provided to ARLnow:
At approximately 10:23 p.m. on October 17, 2020, officers conducted a traffic stop in the 2300 block of Richmond Highway for a suspended operator’s license. During the course of the investigation, the passenger was found to be in possession of narcotics and a loaded handgun and ammunition were located in a bag alleged to belong to the passenger. Francis Rose, 25, of Washington D.C. was arrested and charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substance (x2), Possession of a Firearm while in Possession of a Controlled Substance (x2), Possession of a Firearm as a Convicted Felon, Possession of Ammunition as a Convicted Felon and Carrying a Concealed Weapon.
Rose was charged with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute cocaine and fentanyl, according to court documents, as well as possession of a gun and ammunition by someone convicted of a felony within the past 10 years.
The charges against Francis Rose, which were then droppedA grand jury indicted Rose in September 2021, and he was set for a jury trial this past February when defense attorneys made a motion to suppress evidence in the case.
That motion was granted by Arlington Circuit Court Chief Judge William Newman, according to court records, and charges were then dropped for a lack of evidence. Rose was later freed.
In all, he was in the county jail from Oct. 18, 2020 until Feb. 23, 2022, according to the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office.
Reached via email by ARLnow, Arlington and Falls Church Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said the case was made impossible to prosecute after the judge’s ruling.
“As court records show, our office attempted to proceed on those charges, but during a suppression hearing, a judge ruled that the police had performed an unconstitutional search and, as the law required, suppressed the evidence in the case,” the county’s top prosecutor said. “Obviously, we could not prove a case without the evidence, and therefore dismissed it.”
“My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the people killed this weekend,” Dehghani-Tafti said.
Asked about the case, an Arlington police spokeswoman said “ACPD does not opine on decisions made by the court.”
The defense motion to suppress the evidence, obtained by ARLnow from the circuit court after the initial publication of this article, argues that both the drugs and the guns should be excluded from any jury trial. It says that officers found the gun in a bag that Rose was wearing but ordered by officers to leave in the car. The bag was then searched and the gun found, followed by the discovery of “a small quantity” of drugs, the motion says.
The motion argues that police had “no authority to order Mr. Rose to leave his cross-body bag in the vehicle” and that the search was predicated on a smell of marijuana that was coming from the car — which was driven by a female companion — but not from Rose himself.
Judge Newman granted the motion.
The defense attorney listed for Rose could not be reached by phone. Her firm’s website notes that challenging police searches is one of the ways it works for clients.
“As a legal term, guilty refers to the legal standard that requires the government to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” says the website. “Often, the government cannot meet this burden due to procedural hurdles, the passage of time, and missteps by law enforcement — even if you actually committed the offense. Furthermore, if the police violate your constitutional rights to obtain evidence of guilt, then knowing how to exclude that evidence is critical.”
(Updated at 12:40 p.m.) A proposal to co-locate affordable housing on the grounds of MacArthur Elementary is unpopular with PTA members.
The MacArthur PTA recently conducted a survey asking how current and future MacArthur families felt about co-locating housing or city facilities on the site of the soon-to-be renovated school, an idea encouraged by the city and under consideration by the School Board.
The survey yielded over 450 responses, according to PTA president Kristina Seppala, and revealed mixed feelings about some parts of the proposal and misgivings about housing in particular.
“About half of the respondents are open to non-housing co-location services such as a recreation center or day care services,” Seppala told ALXnow. “However, while open to other co-location options, a full 70% do not support housing on the site under any circumstance.”
Supporters say that Alexandria is experiencing an affordable housing crisis and must consider a variety ways to build more, including on government-owned land. At a joint meeting of city and school officials earlier this week, however, school board members expressed skepticism about adding housing to the MacArthur project at this stage in its planning. The school board is slated to vote on concept plans for MacArthur at its Feb. 6 meeting next week.
The PTA’s board has not yet taken a formal position on the matter and will take feedback from the survey into account when it does.
“I applaud the city and schools collaborating to provide services to the community,” Seppala said. “However, given the timeline for the Douglas MacArthur new build, the absence of a Joint Facilities Master Plan to guide the process of implementation, and a lack of substantial community input, it is not prudent to push housing forward on this project. There are simply too many unanswered, complex questions without the luxury of time to answer them thoroughly.”
The city council is ultimately expected to vote on the final design for MacArthur in September.
