The Week Just Passed:

House Passes Defense Appropriations Bill

New Jersey National Guard Headed to Qatar

Speaker Boehner Urges President Obama to Act Immediately on Humanitarian Crisis at Southern Border

Benghazi Terrorist Should be Treated as an Enemy Combatant

IRS Record-Keeping Failure Beyond Belief

The Longest Day: Fighting Alzheimer’s From Sunrise to Sunset

Salute: Medal of Honor Recipient Kyle Carpenter and DoD’s Medical Teams

Salute: Uncle Sam’s Avenger Motorcycle Club

Salute: Community Hope: Hope for Veterans

 

House Passes Defense Appropriations Bill

By overwhelming bi-partisan vote of 340-73, the House of Representatives passed legislation to fund America’s defense and intelligence activities in the coming fiscal year.

As chair of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I had the honor of bringing this bipartisan bill to the floor of the House and managing the debate and amendment process over the past three days. 

The bill meets the two goals I set at the first hearing our committee held earlier this year:

1) It ensures that our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to defend our nation and support their families; and

2) It ensures that the Department of Defense and Intelligence community have the resources they need to carry out their mission in the most efficient and effective manner. 

Among the urgent issues I discussed in my opening statement  is the continuing threat posed by terrorism, the dangerously deteriorating situation in Iraq, and the Obama administration’s still-undefined plans for Afghanistan:

• “Despite the proclamations of some that al-Qaeda and its followers have been decimated, the American people must understand the reality that terrorism is actually spreading worldwide.”
• “We are witnessing an alarming collapse in Iraq.  The central government now controls less than half of its own sovereign territory as it reels before a full-blown insurgency.  The concept of an autonomous Jihadi state or Caliphate determined to attack the West is an unacceptable development that demands a response.  We “pivot” elsewhere at our own peril!”  
• “The Administration has told us for months that it is finalizing its plans for the “enduring U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.”…Still we have NO request [for the funds needed] and are forced to “debate” a placeholder of nearly $80 billion!”

This committee works in a truly bipartisan fashion.  It shows what can be accomplished when both sides of the aisle work together in common purpose.

New Jersey National Guard Headed to Qatar

As reported earlier in the week in The Record, “The second-largest contingent of New Jersey National Guard soldiers to be deployed overseas since World War II” left for Texas on Wednesday on the way to the Middle East.  A total of 450 soldiers from four companies of the 1st Battalion of the 114th Infantry Regiment will be providing support for American units already in place in Qatar in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

I wish these brave men and women Godspeed for a safe and successful mission.  They are serving on the frontlines of freedom and all of us owe them a great debt of gratitude for their service to our nation.

Speaker Boehner Urges President Obama to Act Immediately on Humanitarian Crisis at Southern Border

Earlier today House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) sent a letter to President Obama  urging him to act immediately on the humanitarian crisis along our southern border, where thousands of unaccompanied minors are crossing from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. 

The steps Speaker Boehner outlines in the letter include:

• Deploying the National Guard to our southern border in order to both deal with the needs of these children, and relieve the border patrol;
• Beginning discussions with Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to ensure that apprehended migrants can be promptly and efficiently returned to their home countries; and
• Deploying additional personnel to assist in the processing and removal of these aliens.

I completely agree with the Speaker’s letter and urge the President to take the steps necessary to bring this crisis to an end.

Benghazi Terrorist Should be Treated as an Enemy Combatant

Ahmed Abu Khattalah, one of the leaders of the terrorist attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi two years ago, is on his way back to the United States where he will be tried in open court as a common criminal instead of the terrorist he is.

As gratified as we all are to finally see someone held accountable for the deadly attack of September 11, 2012 that resulted in the deaths of four Americans – including our ambassador, Christopher Stevens – I believe that Khattalah should not be tried in a civilian court, but should instead be treated as an illegal enemy combatant, as this editorial from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal persuasively argues.

IRS Record Keeping Failure Beyond Belief

The Internal Revenue Service, which has specific guidelines about how long taxpayers should retain their records, wants the American people to believe that the laws only apply to them and not to the IRS.   

The IRS reported earlier this week that thousands of e-mails that are vital to the Congressional investigation into the politicization of the IRS have suddenly disappeared. 

This comes on top of reports earlier this spring that thousands of IRS employees who owed back taxes were given performance bonuses! 

This “disappearance” of these emails is a clear violation of the IRS’s own record keeping protocols which is further deepening suspicion about the agency’s politically motivated persecution of various organizations, as this story from Bloomberg details.

The Longest Day: Fighting Alzheimer’s From Sunrise to Sunset

Tomorrow is the summer solstice – the longest day of the year.  The Alzheimer’s Association helps to bring together teams from around the world “to honor the strength, passion and endurance of those facing Alzheimer's with a day of activity.”

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.  More than five million Americans are living with the disease, and the numbers are expected to grow.

New Jersey’s biopharmaceutical research companies are in the forefront of the fight against Alzheimer’s.  According to a recent report, these New Jersey-based firms have 13 different medicines in development for Alzheimer’s:  Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Merck, Roche, Sanofi US, and Shionogi.  It’s no wonder New Jersey is called the Medicine Chest of the World!

Visit the Alzheimer’s Associations website to learn more about how you can join in the fight against this terrible disease. 

Salute: Medal of Honor Recipient Kyle Carpenter and DoD’s Medical Teams

Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, USMC, was presented the nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, by President Obama at the White House yesterday.  Cpl. Carpenter’s extraordinary bravery resulted in grave injuries from which he has heroically worked hard to recover.

This Washington Post article discusses the actions that led to Cpl. Carpenter’s Medal of Honor and the truly remarkable efforts medical personnel used to save his life and help him recover from his wounds.  Having had the opportunity to visit with many injured soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines at DoD hospitals, I am in awe of the skill, dedication, and devotion our armed services medical teams bring to treating our wounded warriors. 

Salute: Uncle Sam’s Avenger Motorcycle Club

I had the honor recently to attend a fundraiser for the American Heart Association held by the Uncle Sam’s Avenger Motorcycle Club in honor of Jimmy Vigilante, a former Parsippany councilman and veteran of the U.S. Air Force, who died unexpectedly this past November from a heart attack. 

Involved in a variety of charitable and other community service activities, Jimmy was a tremendous help to me each year in helping me conduct my annual “Valentines for Veterans” program in elementary schools across Essex, Morris, Passaic, and Sussex counties. 

According to its website, Uncle Sam’s Avengers “support the communities in which we live and work, by organizing and participating in events that assist Active Duty Military, Veterans, Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and children or families in need of our help.”  

I salute the members of Uncle Sam’s Avengers for honoring Jimmy Vigilante through this fundraiser.  Jimmy gave so much of himself; I know he would have applauded the efforts to help fight the disease which took his life, so that others may live.

Salute: Community Hope: Hope for Veterans

I was pleased to meet earlier this week with members of Community Hope: Hope for Veterans, who shared with me some of the good work their organization is doing to assist homeless veterans and families in and around New Jersey.

Every day, they provide shelter and support to more than 150 homeless veterans, including at their “Valley Brook Village for Veterans” on the campus of the VA health care facility at Lyons.  This year, through their Hope for Veterans programs, they expect to serve more than 1,000 veterans and their families.

Everyone who wears our nation’s uniform deserves our gratitude, and, when needed, our assistance.  I salute Community Hope for helping us honor the commitment we have to our veterans.  You can learn more about their work here.