Dear Friend,

Political violence reared its ugly head in America last week with the murder of Charlie Kirk at a Utah college debate event less than three months after the murder of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband. Just moments after Kirk was shot, we also witnessed another school shooting in Colorado. Both events sparked shock, anger, fear and hatred.

I joined members of the Virginia delegation in condemning political violence. But words seem inadequate to turn the tide against so much hatred.

We have been here before.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us during another time in American history fraught with political violence, we have a choice to make on where we go from here: chaos or community.

We have a choice to focus on love or on hatred.

Like Dr. King, I choose love, because hate is too great a burden to bear.

As Senator Robert F. Kennedy emphasized the night Dr. King died, what we need in America is not division, hatred, violence and lawlessness, but love, wisdom and compassion.

That’s hard to accomplish in the face of so much hatred right now. But it is necessary if we are going to survive as a country long term. We each must do our part.

Read on for what you may have missed last week. 

A BIPARTISAN NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT TURNS PARTISAN

Every year, Congress passes the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to set defense policy and authorize programing and spending for the Department of Defense. For decades, Congress passed the NDAA with strong bipartisan support. Often, the bill comes out of the House Armed Services Committee nearly unanimously. This year, the House Armed Services Committee advanced a bipartisan NDAA that encouraged innovation in our defensive capabilities, upheld our commitments to our allies and built upon critical investments in the quality of life of service members and their families on a 58-2 vote.

Unfortunately, House Republican leadership abandoned the committee’s bipartisan approach to score points in their culture wars, silence dissent on the politicization of our armed forces and allow the Trump Administration to continue its executive overreach. They also excluded Democrats from the amendment process as we sought to address the Administration’s politicization of our armed forces, reign in executive overreach and reinstate crucial positions at the Department of Defense eliminated by the Administration. I voted no. 

Hopefully, the Senate will adopt a bipartisan stance when passing their version, and the final bill will support our armed forces without injecting partisan poison pills into the NDAA.

ENERGY & COMMERCE COMMITTEE UPDATES: WORKING TO MEET OUR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS NEEDS AND ENERGY DEMAND

Since the first 911 call was made in 1968, technological advancements have transformed the 911 system from one that simply connected people to a public safety answering point (PSAP) to one that allows landline and wireless calls to transmit location data with calls. Now, PSAPs are slowly transitioning to Next Generation 911 (NG911), which uses internet protocol (IP) to connect calls that can also transmit text messages, photos, video and other forms of data.

Whether in response to individual emergencies, natural disasters, school shootings or other emergencies, Congress should act to ensure first responders across the nation have the best tools to respond in a timely manner. It could be the difference between life and death. Yet many communities, particularly rural ones, risk falling behind in the transition to NG911.

Why? Because local governments that own and operate the PSAPs simply don’t have the funding to make this upgrade. In 2018, a study conducted by the National Telecommunications and Information Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that full deployment of NG911 would cost between $9.5 and $12.7 billion. These costs have most certainly gone up. In 2023, the Energy & Commerce Committee reached a bipartisan consensus to use a portion of the proceeds from the FCC’s spectrum auction to fund NG911, but the Big Ugly Law passed earlier this year reneged on that deal. 

On Tuesday, the Communications & Technology Subcommittee held a hearing on public safety communications that explored whether first responders have the communications tools necessary to do their jobs effectively, the security of those networks, and the future of public safety communications. During the hearing, I advocated for federal funding to support the deployment of NG911 to ensure rural communities can quickly transition to the best technology to meet their emergency communication needs.

That same day, the Energy Subcommittee held a hearing examining affordability, choice and security in appliance and building policies, during which Republicans continued their illogical attacks on energy efficiency programs. As the cost of everything goes up, more and more Americans find it hard to keep up with their regular expenses — especially their energy bills. Energy efficiency standards and programs help reduce energy bills by lowering energy consumption. Yet the Trump Administration and House Republicans keep rolling back these standards and programs. 

During the hearing, I focused my questions on why energy efficiency is so vital to reducing peak demand, greenhouse gas emissions and costs and how federal energy efficiency policies support workforce development and create career opportunities. I also discussed how uncertainty created by the Trump Administration’s funding freezes impacts the ability of schools, businesses and more to upgrade their facilities to be more energy efficient.

Whether it’s investing in our public safety communications and bolstering the public’s trust in our first responders’ capabilities, or fighting our cost-of-living crisis with clean energy projects, I’ll continue keeping my constituents informed about the consequences if we fail to take action.

MY BRIGHT SPOT: WELCOMING A NEW FACE TO THE VIRGINIA DELEGATION

Last Wednesday, Representative James Walkinshaw of Virginia’s Eleventh District took his oath of office, succeeding his old boss and my friend Gerry Connolly. As a fellow special election member, I was excited to welcome him to the 119th Congress as part of the Virginia delegation. 

Before Rep. Walkinshaw, Gerry devoted decades of his life to serving the residents of Northern Virginia, as a Congressional staffer, a member and chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and eventually as a member of Congress. He always fought for pragmatic policies that would improve the lives of his constituents. Rep. Walkinshaw may have big shoes to fill, but we have every confidence that he will do everything in his power to deliver for the people of Virginia’s Eleventh Congressional District.

During his swearing-in, members of the Virginia delegation gathered behind Rep. Walkinshaw in a show of unity — including Jennifer Wexton, former Representative for Virginia’s Tenth.

We’re all excited to have Rep. Walkinshaw on board and work with him in the coming months!

REMINDERS

Last week, I launched my 2025 Veteran of the Year Program!

Veterans sacrifice their time, bodies and lives to keep our nation safe. My third annual Veteran of the Year Program recognizes the sacrifices made by veterans living in Virginia’s Fourth and celebrates the achievements of hundreds of thousands of veterans who have given back to our communities.

To nominate a veteran for my Veteran of the Year, you can use this link here. Eligible nominees must be honorably discharged veterans of any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and must currently live in Virginia’s Fourth. Nominations are due by Friday, October 24th.

This Friday, September 19 is also the deadline for my 2025-2026 Youth Advisory Council! High schoolers: apply soon for an opportunity to learn about the legislative process and meet me and my team.

Thursday, October 30th is the deadline to apply for the Congressional App Challenge and for a Service Academy Nomination.

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