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Friends,
I was back in Washington last week as the House continues to work to fully fund our government by passing all 12 appropriations bills. To date, the House has passed 7 of the 12 bills, while the Senate has only passed 3. With the extended funding deadline of November 17 rapidly approaching, I want to assure you that I will do everything I can to avoid a government shutdown.
It was a great week with the House focused and back to work, from passing appropriations bills, to supporting our allies in the fight against terrorism, to tackling Alzheimer's, and protecting whistleblowers who are looking our for our veterans. Check out the highlights below...!
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Supporting our Ally Israel
Standing with Israel is - and will continue to be - a priority for our Congress. This week, we passed a number of bipartisan bills that support Israel in their fight against Hamas terrorism, including several bills that I was proud to cosponsor. Specifically, we passed:
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H.R. 6126: provides aid to Israel to fight back against Hamas terrorists.
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H.Res. 798: condemns antisemitism - as well as support of Hamas and other terrorist organizations - at our colleges and universities. (Cosponsored)
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H.R. 3774, the SHIP Act: imposes additional sanctions on foreign nations who import or help others import Iranian oil. (Cosponsored)
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H.Res. 771: condemns Iran’s support of terrorist groups, and urges swift and full enforcement of U.S. sanctions to prevent further funding from falling into terrorist hands. (Cosponsored)
As Israel continues to defend itself against the brutal and unprovoked terrorist attacks of October 7, it's critical that we continue to support them while also getting tough on Iran. As the world's largest state sponsor of terror, they provide millions of dollars to Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations who wish the United States and our allies harm.
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Working to End Alzheimer's Disease
On Monday, I met with the Southeastern Virginia Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association in my Virginia Beach Office! As a geriatric nurse practitioner, I have had the privilege of taking care of many patients in memory care facilities. I know firsthand how difficult Alzheimer's and similar cognitive diseases can be on both patients and those who care for them.
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That's why I'm a proud cosponsor of H.R. 620, the Alzheimer's Accountability and Investment Act, which was introduced by Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey. This legislation establishes a direct dialogue between Congress and our nation's leading Alzheimer's researchers, ensuring that we're providing them with the resources they need to continue making breakthroughs. We can't let government bureaucracy get in the way of critical Alzheimer's research...!
With Alzheimer's affecting more than 6.7 million Americans, I am committed to doing everything I can to prevent, treat and ultimately find a cure for this devastating disease.
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Protecting VA Whistleblowers
On Wednesday, my Veterans' Affairs Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on holding the VA accountable and protecting our whistleblowers.
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The VA has two main offices that deal with accountability and whistleblowers: the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) and the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP), which was established in 2017. While the Office of Special Counsel is responsible for carrying out investigations across every federal agency, they receive nearly as many cases as the VA-specific OAWP. Additionally, OSC seems to get better results than OAWP does.
As the Chairwoman of the Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, it's my job to ensure our veterans' programs are properly funded and that every single taxpayer dollar the VA receives is directly helping our former servicemembers. In addition to members of the VA, we had a number of VA whistleblower groups who testified about the ongoing problems with the OAWP, which VA employees seem to distrust. Whistleblowers are patriots who play a vital role in ensuring our veterans receive proper care; they must feel safe from retaliation before and after they decide to come forward.
You can watch my opening remarks by clicking on the video above. Last week, I joined WTKR to discuss what I heard at the hearing. You can view that story by clicking here.
| No matter what’s happening in Washington, my focus will always be on providing the best possible services to those I represent. If you are a VA-02 resident who needs assistance with a Federal agency, I encourage you to reach out so my team can get on the case and do our best to resolve it! Visit kiggans.house.gov/agencies or call (757) 364-7650, and a member of my team will happily see if we can help you. | |
Virginia Special Olympics Opening Ceremony!
On Friday night, my team attended the Special Olympics Virginia 2023 Fall Championship opening ceremony in Virginia Beach…!
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Our Commonwealth has more than 1,200 athletes participating in seven sports! In addition to attending, my team also presented VA-02's very own Trasean Singletary with a congratulatory letter. This summer, Trasean was an incredible representative of our Commonwealth and our country on the global stage as he brought home the the gold medal in the 3K track event with a time of 12:18.10 and the bronze medal in the 5K track event with a time of 21:31.68 during the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany.
Congratulations Trasean and all of our incredible participants; you make us so proud!
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Medal of Honor Recipient of the Week
This week, we honor Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Bruce P. Crandall (Medal of Honor Action Date: November 14, 1965. Rank at time of Action: Major).
Major Bruce Crandall was born in Olympia, Washington in 1933. Crandall graduated from Engineer Officer Candidate School, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in 1954. After completing fixed-wing and helicopter training conducted by the Air Force and Army, he was assigned to an Army Aviation mapping group headquartered at the Presidio of San Francisco.
As a part of this assignment, he was first deployed overseas to Tripoli, Libya, where he surveyed and mapped the desert for two years. After this deployment, Crandall was reassigned to Central and South America where he surveyed unmapped mountains and jungles.
In 1965, Crandall was assigned to South Vietnam. He commanded the 1st Cavalry Division's Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion at Camp Radcliff, An Khe, Vietnam.
On November 14, 1965, his flight of sixteen helicopters was lifting troops for a search and destroy mission at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley. On the fourth troop lift, the enemy attacked Landing Zone X-Ray. As Major Crandall and the first eight helicopters landed to discharge troops on his fifth troop lift, his unarmed helicopter came under such intense enemy fire that the ground commander ordered the second flight of eight aircraft to abort their mission.
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As Major Crandall flew back to Plei Me, his base of operations, he determined that the ground commander of the besieged infantry battalion desperately needed more ammunition. Major Crandall then decided to adjust his base of operations to Artillery Firebase Falcon in order to shorten the flight distance to deliver ammunition and evacuate wounded soldiers. While medical evacuation was not his mission, he immediately sought volunteers and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, led the two aircraft to Landing Zone X-Ray. Despite the fact that the landing zone was still under relentless enemy fire, Major Crandall landed and proceeded to supervise the loading of seriously wounded soldiers aboard the aircraft. Major Crandall’s voluntary decision to land under the most extreme fire instilled in the other pilots the will and spirit to continue to land their own aircraft, and in the ground forces the realization that they would be resupplied and that friendly wounded would be promptly evacuated.
During this battle, he and his platoon are credited with evacuating nearly 70 wounded servicemembers. On February 26, 2007, Major Crandall was awarded the Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush for his extraordinary heroism. After his initial deployment in Vietnam, Major Crandall was redeployed there. During this time his helicopter was downed and he suffered serious injuries. After recovering he again served in South America. He retired from the Army in 1977.
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Five Fast Facts About Virginia!
- The Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World.
- A 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Virginia in 2011 was felt by almost 1/3rd of the population of the U.S. The Earthquake also did shake some neighboring Canadian provinces to some extent. The effect of the quake was so prominent that it cracked the Washington Monument.
- After California, Virginia has the second highest concentration of tech workers of any state in the U.S.
- The Chesapeake Bay is one of the world’s richest marine-life estuaries. Finfish, blue crabs, oysters, and clams can be found here.
- The first iron furnace was built in 1619 in Virginia.
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I'll be back in Washington this week as my colleagues and I work to pass our funding bills and avoid a shutdown. It's hard to believe we're already in November!
As always, please don't hesitate to contact my DC Office at (202) 225-4215 or my Virginia Beach District Office at (757) 364-7650 with questions, concerns, or if you require assistance with a federal agency. And don't forget - if you’d like to stay up to date with what I’m working on, check out my website and follow my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages (linked below) to stay up to date!
Take care,
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Jen A. Kiggans
Congresswoman, Virginia's Second District
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