Dear Friend,

Since my last newsletter, tensions have boiled at home and abroad, culminating in the political assassination of the Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband and war in the Middle East.  

I shared my initial reaction to Israel's targeted military strikes against Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs on Richmond’s Morning News with Rich Herrera, and issued a statement on further developments early in the crisis. In a shocking move Saturday evening, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to launch air strikes against three of Iranian nuclear sites. You can read my statement in response here. My staff and I continue to monitor this situation and encourage a diplomatic solution as quickly as possible.

Keep reading for more of what you missed over the last two weeks.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS RAM THROUGH ADDITIONAL FUNDING CUTS TARGETING PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND FOREIGN AID

Just as the Senate began considering the Big Ugly Bill, the House passed H.R. 4 to codify President Trump’s rescission package. This bill seeks to claw back federal funding appropriated by Congress for public broadcasting and foreign aid programs. I voted no.

H.R. 4 eliminates $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Public broadcasting strengthens our communities by delivering trusted reporting on local, state, and national news, producing quality educational programming and providing life-saving emergency alert services to millions across the country, reaching 99% of all Americans. An independent nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1967, the CPB distributes funding to local public radio and television stations, which in turn decide how to use that funding for programming and other services to the communities they serve. While federal funding comprises a small portion of NPR’s and PBS’s overall revenue, that funding is critical to local stations, especially those in rural and underserved communities.

Locally, VPM provides programming across its television, radio and digital channels to nearly 2 million people across Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. This programming includes news, emergency announcements, coverage of the Virginia General Assembly and local government meetings, and so much more. VPM also provides early childhood educational resources to families, caregivers and educators, such as the “Learning Neighborhoods” initiative that has helped more than 2,000 preschoolers build skills in everyday literacy and critical thinking to prepare them for kindergarten in Richmond and Petersburg public schools. Programs like this — lifelines for families and communities — are only possible with sustained federal investment.

President Trump based his rescission request on a baseless allegation that public broadcasting is “politically biased.” These funding cuts are part of a larger effort by the Trump Administration to quash freedom of speech and the press.

SHEDDING LIGHT ON JUST HOW MUCH THE THE REPUBLICANS’ BIG UGLY BILL WILL DAMAGE HEALTHCARE FOR MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN

For weeks, I have warned that to give tax breaks to billionaires, the Republicans' Big Ugly Bill will strip millions of their health insurance, close rural hospitals, and leave state legislators with massive holes in their state budgets. Since the bill passed the House, we’ve seen reports that over 16 million Americans  —  including over 300,000 Virginians  —  stand to lose their health insurance under the bill’s changes to Medicaid and health insurance purchased under the Affordable Care Act. These are not just numbers, but men, women and children who are our neighbors, friends or family.

To kick off Men’s Health Month, I joined Representative Troy Carter for the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order Hour to highlight how the bill’s Medicaid cuts and changes in eligibility requirements will impact men’s health.

I also joined Senator Amy Klobuchar, House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus for a Shadow Hearing to highlight how the Big Ugly Bill hurts women not only with its Medicaid cuts, but by defunding Planned Parenthood and restricting coverage of abortion for health plans purchased through health care exchanges. My constituent Katina Moss discussed how the Big Ugly Bill will impact people like her who receive health insurance under Medicaid expansion.

The Big Ugly Bill also threatens the health care received by children like my constituent Ben Bumgarner, who visited my office with his family to discuss their worries over Medicaid cuts.  Ben has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that causes progressive skeletal and heart muscle weakness. Without access to Medicaid, Ben would not have been able to receive a novel gene transfer therapy treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, and his mom would not be able to take care of him at home. 

I also heard from constituents concerned about losing their health insurance under the Big Ugly Bill at Senator Mark Warner’s Henrico Town Hall during the recess. 

And just when I thought the bill could not get any worse, the Senate Finance Committee released a version of the bill that cuts Medicaid even deeper with even more aggressive changes. As the Senate considers the Big Ugly Bill, I will continue sharing these stories and more on how it impacts your access to affordable health care.

VIRGINIA FARMERS FACING FINANCIAL UNCERTAINTY UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP’S TARIFFS AND CONGRESS’ FAILURE TO REAUTHORIZE THE FARM BILL

Agriculture plays a critical role in Virginia’s history, culture and economy.  Today, agriculture remains the number one private industry in the Commonwealth, followed by forestry. Virginia’s Fourth District boasts a wide variety of crop and livestock farms. During the recess, I held a roundtable in Sussex County with the Farm Bureau and district farmers to discuss the issues of most concern to them.

What’s top of mind for the agriculture community in VA-04? Uncertainty and an increasing inability to earn enough money to cover their costs. Trump’s tariffs and the resulting trade war are making that worse by increasing the cost of everything from fertilizer to machine parts as market volatility wreaks havoc on commodity prices.

Uncertainty grows each year Congress goes without reauthorizing the Farm Bill, an omnibus, multiyear law governing agricultural and food programs. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 expired in September 2023, and Congress passed one-year extensions to cover fiscal years 2024 and 2025. You can read a good summary of this background here. As you can imagine, a lot has changed in the seven years since Congress passed the Farm Bill, with unprecedented volatility, supply chain disruptions, bird flu, extreme weather events, and record-high input costs. The American Farm Bureau Federation President shared these and many more challenges facing farmers and ranchers with the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this year.

The message from the family farmer in VA-04 was loud and clear: the current economics and uncertainty we face are untenable. I will continue to raise these concerns in Washington.

CELEBRATING THE 250TH BIRTHDAY OF THE U.S. ARMY

Shortly after the start of the Revolutionary War at the battles of Concord and Lexington, the Second Continental Congress established the Continental Army on July 14, 1775. The next day, Congress appointed General George Washington to be Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. One day later, Congress authorized the position of Quartermaster General to provide logistical support — shelter, transportation, storage, and other functions needed to sustain the soldiers. Today, the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps Headquarters and Quartermaster Center and School are located at Fort Gregg-Adams in the Fourth District.

While President Trump wasted time and money on a military parade in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the Army’s — and his — birthday, I visited Fort Gregg-Adams for several events during the recess. First, Senator Tim Kaine and I attended the reopening of the Quartermaster School’s Aerial Delivery and Field Services Department’s McLaney Drop Zone and an airborne demonstration. Originally dedicated to Sgt. Maj. Lester C. McLaney in 1977, the drop zone was closed in 2010 after Pvt. Anthony Milo was killed when strong winds carried his parachute into active power lines nearby. The power lines have since been placed underground.

We also helped open a new public gate to the Post’s Museum Enclave to make it easier for the public to visit its three world-class museums — the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum, U.S. Army Women's Museum, and Ordnance Museum.

I also toured the Quartermaster Museum and attended its 250th Birthday Cake Cutting Ceremony.

These events occurred just days after President Trump announced that he would “restore” the names of seven military bases named for Confederate leaders that were renamed according to recommendations by the Renaming Commission established by Congress in 2021 to create a list of military assets with names associated with the Confederate States of America and recommendations for their removal. Based on the Commission’s recommendation, the post formerly named for General Robert E. Lee became Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of Lieutenant General Arthur J. Gregg and Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams in 2023. I had the privilege of meeting Lt. Gen. Gregg and Lt. Col. Adam’s son at the First Annual Fort Gregg Adams Day last year. 

While the post will be renamed Fort Lee, it will honor Private Fitz Lee, a Buffalo Soldier during the Spanish-American War who earned the Medal of Honor. Commanding officer Major General Michelle Donahue made clear to their families that in addition to honoring Private Lee, the post remains committed to preserving and honoring the legacies Lt. Gen. Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams.

I shared my profound disappointment with the renaming of the bases with the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Progress Index. My predecessor, Congressman Donald McEachin, played a pivotal role in renaming the base from Fort Lee to Fort Gregg-Adams. Reversing that thoughtful work purely for political theater disserves the legacies of Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg, Col. Charity Adams, and all those who helped rename a public asset in a way that fully includes the community. Despite the name change, I’ll continue to honor the sacrifices made by these two trailblazers.

VISITING THE VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD

While the U.S. Army turns 250 this year, the Virginia National Guard celebrated its 418th birthday in May. During recess, I visited the Army Aviation Support Facility in Sandston  — home of the 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment. After a briefing from Adjutant General, Major Gen. James Ring, I visited Fort Barfoot to observe the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team conduct training as part of their 21-day eXportable Combat Training Capability rotation.

Home of the Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center, the installation was originally named for Confederate General George Pickett. Based on the recommendation of the Renaming Commission, the Army redesignated it in 2023 to honor World War II Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Van T. Barfoot. Upon order of the Secretary of Defense, the base was renamed again after decorated World War II soldier, 1st Lt. Vernon W. Pickett. The Virginia National Guard announced it would explore appropriate ways to recognize and preserve Col. Barfoot’s legacy and ensure his service remains part of the installation’s history.  

MY BRIGHT SPOT: CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH AND OUR NATION’S PROGRESS

Juneteenth fell during the House recess on June 19th. Also known as Freedom Day, Juneteenth commemorates the day when enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas received the news that they had been freed — over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation’s declaration that “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” Yet it took another six months for the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to abolish slavery throughout the United States.  

Now a federal and state holiday, Juneteenth reminds us that emancipation was not a moment, but a movement. Starting with the first recorded Africans’ arrival in bondage on Virginia’s shores in 1619, the movement towards emancipation began with acts of rebellion, resistance and self-liberation. The history and fight for abolition remains deeply intertwined with the founding of our nation.

To celebrate Juneteenth and recommit to the work necessary to ensure that we live up to the ideals upon which we were founded, I spoke at the Elegba Folklore Society at Manchester Dock, site of a major port in the slave trade that made Richmond the largest source of enslaved Africans on the east coast of America from 1830 to 1860.

Standing on that spot as the first Black woman elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Virginia — birthplace of American democracy and the American slave trade — I felt the power of the progress we have already made beyond our ancestors’ wildest dreams and the resolve to continue fighting to ensure we continue that progress to eradicate the lingering impact of over 300 years of slavery and Jim Crow and make the ideals upon which this country was founded true for everyone.

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