Military and Defense

I understand the need to invest in a 21st century military to maintain our conventional advantage while increasing our capacity to defeat the threats of tomorrow. By balancing the different elements of national power, we will not continue to push the burden onto our military alone, nor leave dormant any aspect of the full arsenal of American capability when it comes to keeping the people of America safe.

The United States of America has the finest military in the world and our country's greatest national security asset is the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States. When we do send our men and women into harm's way, we must ensure that our defense and military policies reflect their sacrifice, ensuring that our troops have the resources, support and equipment they need to protect themselves and fulfill their mission. When our troops return home, we must provide them with top notch medical treatment, support for their families and opportunities for education and workforce advancement.

As Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, I have had the opportunity to tour military bases around our state, and to hear directly from military leadership about the challenges and needs facing our troops. There is an immediate need to invest in military housing for our servicemembers and their families, and to protect them from neglectful private contractors. 

The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee is the only subcommittee in Congress that makes policy and provides funding for the entire life cycle of an individual’s service, from their time in the military and after they leave the service and join the ranks of veterans. I am fiercely determined to ensure that our servicemembers get the resources and support they need.

We should use our troops wisely, and deploy them in new regions only as a last resort. Military action that endangers our troops and wreaks havoc on our economy must be initiated only after all diplomatic options have been exhausted, when it serves a compelling national interest or is used to defend one of our allies, and when there is a clear plan for success, including an exit strategy.

Another critical part of enhancing our military readiness is ensuring that we have the best and brightest soldiers and translators on our battlefields and in our command centers, which is why I supported and voted for the repeal of the military’s discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ military policy, and consistently opposed President Trump’s transphobic ban on transgender Americans serving in the U.S. military. This ban not only violates our nation’s core values of equal protection, but it is ultimately counterproductive to our national security.

We must recognize that America’s strength and influence abroad begins with the steps we take at home. We must grow our economy and put Americans back to work. We must educate our children, ensuring they are able to compete in a time when knowledge is capital and the marketplace is global. We must pursue a strategy of national renewal with American innovation as the foundation of American power.