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Military

During my time in Congress, I have provided more funding for our warfighters by delivering the highest defense spending in history year after year. I had the privilege of representing one of the largest military bases in the world, Fort Cavazos (formerly known as Fort Hood) for 8 years and still represent military families in my current district. I am proud to have played a crucial role in getting the Army Futures Command (AFC) headquarters to Austin, Texas. In 2018, I was grateful for the opportunity to visit our troops in Iraq and Kuwait during a week-long Congressional Delegation. I witnessed firsthand our operations overseas and heard from leading military officials about how Congress can best serve our men and women in uniform. I will always remain committed to ensuring they have the resources needed to protect our nation.

I have been an ardent advocate for expanding funding for the military and will continue working to deliver the resources needed for our servicemen and women to remain the greatest fighting force in the world. Some of my work includes:

  • The House passed my bill, H.R. 1606, the Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act of 2023, which provides a path to help veterans begin their entrepreneurship journey in starting a small business through the Boots to Business program.
     
  • Supported 9 National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA), all of which included a pay raise for our troops.
     
  • Legislative Victories I got included in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2024:
    • Increase to the federal contracting goal for service-disabled veterans from 3% to 5%.
    • Eliminated self-certification in Department of Defense contracting, which helps to eliminate fraudulent businesses from receiving government funding and ensures taxpayer contract dollars are going to legitimate veteran-owned businesses.
       
  • Supported robust funding during Appropriations for the Impact Aid programs, which is critical to serving military families across Texas.
     
  • H.R. 8472, Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act, was signed into law. This legislation included my bills language which ensured schools could receive adequate Impact Aid program funding amid the pandemic. I worked directly with the Department of Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, to address this issue and create this solution. 
     
  • Secured $61.5 million dollar barrack renovation project for Fort. Hood in 2016, $145 million in 2017 and $117.4 millionin 2018.
     
  • Helped bring the 3rd Security Force Assistance Brigade to Ft. Hood.
     
  • Successfully advocated to award the Purple Heart to victims of the Ft. Hood terrorist attack and allow them to receive financial compensation.
     
  • Cosponsored H.Res.177, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should continue to support the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program.
     
  • Continuing Resolutions do not benefit the military. It is critical that we pass legislation that fully funds the Department of Defense to support the men and women that protect our livelihood.
     
  • Each year, I have the privilege of nominating students from our community to attend our nation's Service Academies. For more information, click “U.S. Service Academy Nominationsunder the SERVICES tab.