WASHINGTON – This week, Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) spoke at a press conference on H.R. 5859, the Trillion Trees Act. U.S. Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) also attended the event. “Everyone can agree that...
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The biggest story of the 2020 budget is likely to be the one we first reported: Amidst rising anxiety over whether the US Navy’s thousand-foot-long flagships could evade Chinese missiles in a future war, the Pentagon decided to cut the aircraft carrier fleet from 11 today to 10. The military would save tens of billions on overhaul and operations costs that it could invest in other priorities by retiring the Nimitz-class supercarrier USS Truman at least two decades early, rather than refueling it...
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Rep. Rob Wittman: Shutdowns really ARE avoidable – Here's how to never have another one again We just ended the longest government shutdown in American history. We reached a point of dysfunction that few had ever seen. With the State of the Union only days away, we are preparing to get to work on the president’s agenda for 2019, but also facing the threat of another shutdown. The clock is set; two weeks to find a way to move forward. This is a product of a crisis budgeting scenario, where Congre...
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The Jury Is Still Out on the Pentagon’s Audit The Department of Defense didn’t fail its audit—not really. “Failure” implies that the Pentagon failed to achieve its mission, but the real mission of the 2018 audit wasn’t to receive a clean bill of accounting health. Rather, it was to get our feet squarely planted on the ground, see where we are and where we need to be, and to keep our Defense Department moving towards a more streamlined, lethal force. And while it would have been foolish to think ...
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Congress must back America’s war fighters with a budget cap deal As we begin a divided 116th Congress with government funding uncertainty, Congress will soon find itself in another financial predicament — securing defense spending levels on par with the needs of our Department of Defense. While the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 allowed for important growth and investments in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, with sequestration looming, we now find ourselves in a perilous scenario with this year’s def...
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Defense spending: critical to Virginia's economy Virginia’s critical role in our nation’s defense is undeniable. The Commonwealth of Virginia is home to 27 military bases, representing every branch, along with the Pentagon — the headquarters of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the largest office building in the world. While Virginia contributes much to our nation’s defense, the commonwealth also reaps some benefit as the DoD contributes to our economy by providing hundreds of thousands of job...
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U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman OpEd on a ready Reserve Force While news cycles and memes have recently focused on the future Space Force, I believe we need to first focus on another, already existing force: the Ready Reserve Force (RRF). The RRF functions as the nation’s emergency seafaring logistics arm, ready at a moment’s notice to support rapid worldwide deployment of U.S. military forces, namely, the Army and the Marine Corps. Until recently, for one reason or another — budget cuts, low prioritizati...
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Surface warfare training and career It has been nearly nine months since the USS McCain collided with Alnic MC off the coast of Singapore, and almost 11 months since the USS Fitzgerald collided with MV ACX Crystal south of Yokosuka, Japan. While I applaud the U.S. Navy’s efforts to address the root causes of these tragic collisions, I believe more must be done to prevent similar events in the future. This is my third article on this important topic to ensure we do not lose sight of our responsib...
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MOST AMERICANS TODAY rely on the internet to carry out everyday tasks. Whether they are balancing their checkbooks through online banking platforms or sending emails, access to high-speed broadband has become essential. When you woke up this morning, you likely opened your smartphone to read through the morning news or scroll through your social media. Well, for nearly 40 percent of Americans living in rural areas, these everyday conveniences are unavailable due to a lack of access to high-speed...
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America's dangerous submarine shortage Over the past few years, China has quietly improved the lethality and survivability of its attack submarines, building nine new nuclear attack submarines with quieter engines that will make Chinese submarines harder to locate and neutralize in a wartime scenario.Not to be outdone, Russia is embarking on its own modernization of its nuclear attack submarines. But in the United States, our submarine force is shrinking. Currently, the Navy has just 52 attack s...
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