Dear Friend,

While in our nation's capital this past week, I joined my colleagues in introducing legislation to ensure confidence in our elections for federal office and helped pass legislation to bolster our military readiness.  Earlier in the week, I enjoyed spending some time in Robeson County where I met with folks from the Lumbee Warriors Association and local leaders from the Town of Fairmont.  Keep reading below for more information!

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Bolstering Our Nation's Defense

Congress has a fundamental duty to improve and enhance our nation's military readiness to deter ever-evolving threats from around the globe.  This past week, with my support, the House passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to responsibly fund our Department of Defense and provide our military with the resources needed to keep our nation safe.  This legislation improves our readiness at home and abroad while also ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly.

It authorizes resources to counter the Chinese Communist Party's aggression, strengthens recruitment and retention efforts, and ensures our servicemembers are well equipped to defend our nation now and in the future.  It also reverses the Biden Administration's politicization of our national defense and rejects initiatives to infiltrate our armed forces with woke ideology, the promotion of sex changes, etc.

There are many key provisions in this bill to keep our country safe, and I'm proud to support these efforts on behalf of those who so nobly serve in the United States military.  Below are some highlights of this year's NDAA.

• Includes a 5.2% increase in servicemember basic pay, the largest pay raise in more than twenty years.

• Continues the prohibition on adverse action toward any servicemember who refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine and now provides them a path back to service.
  
  
• Saves taxpayers $40 billion or 5% of current defense spending levels.
  
  
• Supports military information operations assistance to Indo-Pacific allies to counter Chinese influence operations.
  
  
• Eliminates President Biden's woke agenda from our military by prohibiting funding for the teaching of Critical Race Theory, ends the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative, and prohibits drag shows.
  
  
• Prohibits paying for or reimbursing military personnel expenses related to abortion, such as travel or leave, as is currently authorized by a Presidential Directive from October 2022.

• Establishes a new Special Inspector General for Ukraine Security Assistance to direct and coordinate the oversight and audit of all aid provided to Ukraine by the United States.

Introducing Election Integrity Legislation

The freedom to vote and make your voice heard at the ballot box is a Constitutional right, fundamental to our society and the Republic.  The American public must be confident the electoral process is carried out fairly — that every vote is legitimate.   Otherwise, trust in our sacred institutions so critical to a civil society and the rule of law will deteriorate completely.  While it is the responsibility of individual states to carry out elections, we must have basic safeguards in place nationally to ensure confidence in our elections for federal office.

This is why I joined a number of my colleagues in introducing the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act, the most comprehensive election integrity bill to be considered in the House in more than twenty years.  Enactment of the ACE Act would bolster confidence in our elections while upholding the Constitution and better ensure that every ballot is a legitimate ballot, thereby protecting every American’s vote.  Read more here.