Friends,

Last week was very frustrating for me as a member of Congress. As you all know, last Tuesday, chaos erupted in the U.S. House of Representatives when the Speaker was removed from his position despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of our Republican conference (96% of us) were strongly opposed to such an action. 

Under Speaker McCarthy’s leadership, House Republicans were consistently delivering on our commitment to America by passing legislation to reduce spending, secure the border, and combat the Chinese Communist Party. His removal comes at a time when Congress has less than six weeks to pass the remainder of our 12 appropriations bills to fund the government.

I believe in leading by example and prioritizing the mission of the team. Clearly the same cannot be said for eight of my colleagues who chose to side with Democrats and paralyze our conservative agenda.

Washington is broken, and instead of working toward solutions, we find ourselves back playing political games. Unfortunately, the American people will be the ones to suffer because of this dysfunction. The working families I represent deserve better than this self-serving chaos. They deserve lawmakers who are committed to fighting the failed policies that have pushed the American Dream out of reach for them and their children.

This is not why I came to Congress. Washington's games are a waste of taxpayers' time. We must pass our eight remaining funding bills before the clock runs out in six weeks. Any effort that takes away from our ability to do that is wrong. I will continue to leave any and all gimmicks to unserious lawmakers with misguided priorities. Please know that while the Speakership of the House is now vacant, my office is still fully functional. Casework assistance and all other services will remain uninterrupted.

There's a lot of uncertainty as we head into this next week but I can assure you that as we work to elect a Speaker, I'm focused on what the 750,000 Virginians in my district elected me to do: govern. We must refocus, unify, and get back to work advancing the conservative agenda to get our great nation back on the right track.

Standing with Our Ally Israel

On Saturday, we all awoke to the news that Hamas militants from Gaza launched a surprise, multi-pronged attack across central and southern Israel, killing hundreds of Israelis and wounding thousands more.

I am sickened by these coordinated attacks against Israel. Such unprovoked violence against innocent civilians, including children, is truly evil. In a world where our enemies are emboldened, America must stand with our ally Israel and support its right to defend itself!

The harsh reality is that our enemies are in boldened in part by the lack of leadership shown by the United States. Less than one month ago, the Biden Administration chose to unfreeze $6 billion worth of Iranian assets. Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism and closely tied to Hamas. The cold-blooded assault that Iran-backed Hamas terrorists have launched against Israel isn't a coincidence.

Unfortunately, without a Speaker, our majority in the U.S. House is now dependent on Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and President Biden to receive a briefing on the worst attack on Israel in over 50 years. If it was not clear to the entire country before, it has become painfully obvious now that the eight “Republicans” and 208 Democrats who voted to remove Speaker McCarthy never considered the real life consequences of shutting down Congress without a plan. 

Israel remains the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East – I am proud of my voting record to support Israel and will continue to ensure Congress provides robust security assistance which Israel can utilize in its self-defense. Please join me in praying for the Israeli people as they fight back against this coordinated, sophisticated, and barbaric attack.

Addressing the Border Crisis

During the President's first 100 days in office, he took 94 executive actions on immigration, including halting the construction of the border wall. Over two years later, after watching the border crisis explode, causing an ever-growing humanitarian and security disaster, the President announced this week he would move forward with certain border wall construction.

When I visited the southwest border in February, I saw unconstructed parts of the wall just sitting in warehouses… I’m glad they’re finally being put to use but this is just a first step!

The current open border and anti-security policies aren’t just threatening the safety of Americans, they are enriching and emboldening cartels who are making massive profits off the exploitation of vulnerable migrants.

Cartels are now making $13 billion a year smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States...! That’s not to mention that 151 people whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the Southern Border this past fiscal year, an all time record. This total is more than the encounters in the past four fiscal years COMBINED!

Enough is enough. I am proud to have supported legislation to increase the number of Border Patrol Agents to the highest level ever funded, provide funds for the continued construction of physical barriers along our southern border, and restore funding for border security technology. We must restore the rule of law and supporting the law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line to defend and maintain our borders...!

Supporting Our Local Small Businesses

Recently, my office held another Small Business Advisory Board meeting. We discussed several topics impacting our Hampton Roads entrepreneurs, including inflation and workforce challenges.

Our small businesses create jobs, drive innovation, support our economy and give back to their communities. I'm committed to doing everything I can to get the federal government out of their way and give them the resources they need to thrive. Thank you to everyone who participated...!

Demanding Accountability for our Junior Enlisted

Last week, I demanded accountability from the Department of Defense after reading a shocking Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which details poor living conditions on ten unspecified military bases across the United States. The report found that some of our junior servicemembers are living in rooms overrun with mold, with doors that do not lock, without air conditioning or heat, without access to clean drinking water, and a lack of functioning plumbing.

This is a failure of leadership that cannot be ignored. That's why I joined Congressman Jimmy Panetta, and Senator Richard Blumenthal in writing to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to express our profound concern and to demand answers regarding the conditions that thousands of junior enlisted Service members are experiencing in barracks across the country.

You can read the full letter by clicking on the photo below.

Medal of Honor Recipient of the Week

This week, I want to honor Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Private First-Class John Lewis Barkley (Medal of Honor action date: October 7th,1918). 

Barkley grew up in Blairstown, Henry County, Missouri, a town outside of Kansas City. He would join the military and serve as a Private First Class in Company K, 4th Infantry Regiment, 3rd division. Barkley earned his Medal of Honor while fighting near Cunel, France, on October 7th, 1918. 

In World War I, during the Meuse Argonne Offensive, Pfc. Barkley was stationed in an observation post close to the German line. At his own initiative he repaired an enemy machine gun, mounting it on a disabled French tank. He then took cover in the tank while the enemy launched a counterattack. After the enemy line had passed his position, he opened fire. During this attack, Barkley wounded and killed numerous enemies slowing their assault.

Later, an enemy 77-millimeter opened fire on the tank, striking the wheel, but Barkley remained steadfast. His continued attack slowed the enemy advancement long enough eventually enabling the American forces to gain a hold of a strategic point on the battlefield. 

Barkley’s valiant and clever efforts were invaluable in the fight against the Germans in World War I. His clever and resourceful thinking allowed him to surprise the German counterattack and secure a significant strategic position for his troops. 

Barkley went on to live a full life in the United States, where he wrote an autobiography called, “Scarlet Fields: The Combat Memoir of a World War I Medal of Honor Hero”. This book detailed his service in World War I and would draw comparisons as a literary response to the incredibly popular, “All Quiet on the Western Front.”

John Lewis Barkley was awarded the Medal of Honor on October 7th, 1918. He would also be awarded a Croix de Guerre 1914-1918. Rooks was born on August 28th, 1895 in Kansas City, Missouri and died on April 14th, 1966. He is buried in Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery, in Kansas City. 

Five Fast Facts About Virginia!

1. Allen Iverson, Pharrell Williams, and Rob Lowe are all Virginia natives. 
2. The Pentagon contains 68,000 miles of telephone line, enough to stretch from Washington to Florida 22 times. 
3. The geographic center of the state of Virginia is in Buckingham county, five miles southwest of Buckingham. 
4. Before modern times, the largest native tribe in Virginia were the Powhatan, a collective of at least 10,000 Algonquian peoples. 
5. In the song, “Country Roads, Take me Home”, the lyric referring to west Virginia is not referring to the state of West Virginia, but the location in western Virginia.

I am back in DC this week and will do everything I can to get Congress back up and running so we can continue our work to fund the government and support our ally Israel.

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,

Jen A. Kiggans

Congresswoman, Virginia's Second District