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In 2023, I also cosponsored 138 pieces of legislation and voted 699 times to improve the lives of southeast Virginians and achieve my mission of restoring American strength. Here are just a few highlights!
H.R.4721, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act
Without Congressional action, countless small businesses will face a massive tax hike and will likely be forced to reduce wages or eliminate jobs when the 20% Small Business Deduction expires at the end of 2025. I cosponsored this legislation to prevent that from happening and provide small business owners the tax certainty they need to make business decisions about their future.
H.Res. 117 and H.Res. 118
I cosponsored these two bills which recognize Medicare and Social Security as critical parts of our seniors' lives and retirements and reaffirm Congress' commitment to strengthen - not cut - these two critical programs. As the only geriatric nurse practitioner in Congress, I have a unique understanding of how important these programs are to our older adults. I will always prioritize the needs of our seniors, my patients, and protect Social Security and Medicare!
H.R. 22, the Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act
This legislation prevents the future sale of crude oil from the United States’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve by the Biden Administration to China. Taking concrete steps to combat China - our biggest geopolitical adversary - is a critical part of restoring American strength. I was proud that this was the first piece of legislation I cosponsored as a member of Congress, and that it passed the House in January!
H.R. 2, the Border Reinforcement Act of 2023
This bill is the strongest border security package ever passed by the House! H.R. 2 resumes construction of the border wall using already appropriated funds, hires and trains 22,000 new Border Patrol field agents, modernizes Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and upgrades existing technologies, and takes other concrete steps to provide our nation with the border security we desperately need. While the House passed this bill in May, the Senate has yet to take action on it, which left CBP on track to process more than 300,000 illegal immigrants in December alone; this is unacceptable! I urge my colleagues in the Senate to immediately pass this bill so we can finally address this horrible humanitarian and national security crisis.
H.R. 2670, the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
This critical legislation authorizes funding for every aspect of our military through September 30, 2024. In total, the FY24 NDAA authorizes $886.3 billion for national defense discretionary programs and refocuses the Department of Defense on our servicemembers, our war-fighting capabilities, and our global deterrence initiatives. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I worked on this bill for months and secured a number of wins that will directly benefit the servicemembers and military families in Hampton Roads, including:
- Requiring the Secretary of the Navy to look into providing additional mental health resources to units with greater than 15 limited duty sailors and report on the feasibility of mandatory mental health screenings for limited duty sailors;
- Requiring the Secretary of the Navy to create standard operating procedures for responding to multiple suicides in a command;
- Directing the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to provide a report on the feasibility of expanding TRICARE for Life to include a benefit for the SilverSneakers Program, and;
- Directing the Secretary of Defense to provide a report on the status of privatized housing communities designated solely for unaccompanied servicemembers.
Additionally, I'm incredibly proud that the first NDAA I had the privilege of working on features multiple provisions that will directly, positively impact our servicemembers' quality of life, including:
- a 5.2% servicemember basic pay increase, the largest in over 20 years;
- $27 million over the President's budget request for new family housing;
- $113 million over the President's budget request for the construction of new childcare facilities, and;
- more than $240 million to reduce servicemember out-of-pocket housing costs.
The FY24 NDAA was signed into law right before we headed into the holidays. In 2024, I look forward to continuing to work on bills to address our falling recruitment and retention rates, improve base housing, increase spousal employment opportunities, and ensure every servicemember has a military they can be proud of!
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