Friends,

After three long weeks, the People's House finally has a Speaker again! I'm relieved that we can finally resume the important work of funding our government, supporting our allies, securing our southern border, bolstering our national defense, and getting our economy back on the right track.

Throughout my conversations with Speaker Mike Johnson, he presented himself as an honest, hardworking, and principled conservative. He listened to my concerns about the devastating impact a government shutdown would have on thousands of working families in Southeast Virginia and understands the need to prioritize our military. He also provided reassurance that our defense budget will be protected.

Following the Speaker election, I'm proud that we immediately passed a strong, bipartisan bill to support our ally Israel and condemn Hamas' barbaric and unprovoked attacks.

Unfortunately, the House was paralyzed for so long due to the actions of eight Republicans who voted with every single Democrat to throw Congress into a state of chaos. It's clear that these Members did not have a plan to keep our government functioning after removing our Republican Speaker of the House.

Last week, I had multiple conversations with Congressman Jim Jordan before voting on his Speaker nomination. What I heard from him made me extremely concerned. Congressman Jordan could not provide assurances that his government funding plan would not lead to further cuts to the defense budget, which is already inadequate. Additionally, he would not rule out shutting down the government on November 17th when our current temporary government funding plan expires.

Over the past few weeks, I heard from and spoke to many of you about the now-filled Speaker vacancy. For those who I haven't had the chance to connect with, I encourage you to hear about what happened in Washington these past few weeks directly from me by clicking on the video below:

The Need for Immediate Border Security

The horrific violence against Israel and the growing conflict in the Middle East has highlighted the ongoing need to secure our southern border. Last month, a record-breaking 269,735 people illegally entered the United States through our southern border...the highest number ever.

Additionally, fiscal year 2023 - which ended on September 30th, saw a record breaking number of people on the terrorist watchlist attempting to enter our country. In May, the House passed the strongest border security package in our nation's history, with provisions that would resume construction of the border wall using previously appropriated funds, fully fund and modernize Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and give agents and local law enforcement the tools they need to stem the tide of illegal immigration and address the security and humanitarian crisis at our southern border.

After visiting the border in February, I was proud to vote for this legislation, which would address many of the problems that our CBP Agents told us were preventing them from being able to effectively do their job. The Senate still has not taken up this bill. It is critical to our national security and our community safety that the Senate immediately pass this legislation and send it to the President's desk so we can finally take concrete steps to address the crisis in our own backyard.

Improving the GI Bill for Veterans

The GI Bill has been life-changing for millions of our nation’s former servicemembers – myself included. After ten years serving our country as a Navy helicopter pilot, I used my GI Bill benefits to obtain a nursing degree from Old Dominion University before serving our community as a primary care geriatric nurse practitioner. I know that the important choice of where to use their hard earned benefits is often difficult to make for our veterans and GI Bill beneficiaries.

Thankfully, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a GI Bill Comparison Tool, which provides information about educational institutions, including the number of complaints a school has received, how much the GI Bill can be used to fund education, and what the veteran population of the institution is. While this useful tool helps many of our former sevicemembers make their decision, I believe there is room for improvement, which is why I introduced the GI Bill Improvement Act!

H.R. 5956, the GI Bill Improvement Act, will modernize the GI Bill Comparison Tool so that it provides statistics on:



• retention rates;
• transfer rates;
• graduation rates;
• credentials;
• certificates;
• average duration of degrees;
• student loan default rates, and;
• student loan repayment rates.

By providing this additional information, I’m confident that my bill will increase educational opportunities for our nation’s heroes!

Hampton Roads 2023 Congressional Forum

On Monday, Congressman Bobby Scott and I participated in the Hampton Roads Chamber's 2023 Congressional Forum! I always appreciate having the opportunity speak with the business leaders who are working so hard to spur economic growth in our community and to answer their questions.

I was able to highlight the work we have done in Congress to prioritize the Second District. Specifically, I discussed my efforts to avoid a government shutdown while making commonsense spending cuts and how our Commonwealth is leading on an "all-of-the-above" energy approach that utilizes our natural resources while protecting the coast and the coastal waterways we hold so dear.

There is still work to be done to lower costs and get our economy back on the right track, but I'm proud of the progress we've made so far this year. Thank you for inviting us both to speak! We may not always agree, but Congressman Scott and I work together as respectfully and effectively as possible in order to put those we represent above partisan politics.

Service Academy Application Deadline

The deadline for VA-02 high school students to apply to one of our nation’s five service academies is quickly approaching on October 31! To apply, visit https://kiggans.house.gov/service-academy-nominations.

As a reminder, the review, interview, and selection process is conducted by an independent committee comprised of representatives from all branches of the military. Thank you again to everyone who attended our service academy information night at the beginning of the month!

Medal of Honor Recipient of the Week

This week, we honor Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant Albert Leroy David (Medal of Honor action date: June 4th, 1944). 

David was born in Maryville, Missouri in 1902. He was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on September 30, 1919 and underwent training in San Francisco, California. He re-enlisted three times before transferring to Fleet Reserve in August of 1939. 

Less than two months after transferring to Fleet Reserve, David was recalled to active duty at the outbreak of World War II in Europe. In 1942, he was assigned to the Submarine Repair Unit in San Diego and served there for five months. While there, he received his promotion to ensign. After participating in the Naval Training School for diesel engineers at the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin, David ultimately reported for duty at the Naval Training Station, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, before he traveled to Orange, Texas, to assist in fitting out the destroyer escort USS Pillsbury (DE-133), which was commissioned at the Consolidated Steel Corporation yard on June 7, 1943.

After the Pillsbury's completion, Lieutenant David continued to serve on her as the assistant engineering and electrical officer. The Pillsbury served as a part of a “hunter-killer” unit formed around the USS Guadalcanal escorting convoys into Casablanca and Gibraltar. 

On June 4, 1944, the unit discovered a German U-Boat off the coast of French West Africa and forced it to surface. The Pillsbury lowered a boat and sent a party of nine men, led by David, to board the U-boat, soon identified as U-505, which was still underway and running in a circle on the surface. Although he "had every reason to believe" that Germans were still below decks setting demolition charges and scuttling the ship, David led the Pillsbury's men on board and down the conning tower hatch, and took possession of the boat. Although he found the sea flooding into the U-boat, David remained below directing the initial salvage operations—aware that at any moment the submersible could blow up or sink. Men from the Guadalcanal arrived soon thereafter to aid in the battle to keep U-505 afloat, and David remained on board directing the salvage operations. As a result of his vigorous and heroic efforts, the valuable prize was eventually taken to Bermuda.

David received the Medal of Honor for his part in the "first successful boarding and capture of an enemy man-of-war on the high seas by the United States Navy since 1815." His was the only Medal of Honor awarded to a member of the Navy in the Atlantic theater of World War II. The USS Albert David (DE-1050), 1968-2001, was named after Lieutenant Albert L. David.

Five Fast Facts About Virginia!

1. The first Thanksgiving occured in Virginia on December 4, 1619.
2. Virginia at one point was divided into Shires rather than counties. 
3. Virginia has the world’s only oyster museum on Chincoteague island… that’s in Virginia’s Second District!
4. Natural Tunnel State Park, located in Duffield VA, is a ten story 850 foot tunnel, which William Jennings Bryan described as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
5. Chapstick was invented in Lynchburg VA in the 1890’s. The company was sold in 1912 for $5. 

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