A firm commitment to defending liberty
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In April, I had the honor to travel with a bipartisan Congressional Delegation to Germany, Poland and Italy. The trip included leaders from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Appropriations Committee as well as Military leaders. Particularly now with the Executive Branch making contradictory statements about U.S. resolve toward NATO, it is incumbent the U.S. does not leave any doubt in the minds of our friends, or foes, as to our nation’s firm commitment to defending liberty and upholding our historic alliance with Europe. The delegation visited U.S. Department of Defense equities, engaged with military leaders and met the men and women serving our nation to discuss challenges they face and how Congress can better support service members and families.
Our group witnessed the first rotation of U.S. military personnel begins their NATO deployment. In addition to ongoing troop rotation and basing in Poland, energy infrastructure development and national security issues were on the agenda. As the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water and also co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine, Poland and Hungary Caucuses, it is important that we reassure our closest allies that our mutual commitment to the defense of liberty is enduring, and our nation recognizes the sacrifices they, too, have been making in the war on terrorism.
While in Poland the delegation witnessed firsthand the U.S. role in leading NATO’s Poland battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s enhanced Forward Presence initiative. In Germany, we witnessed first-hand the U.S. military relationship with NATO, including engagements with leadership and soldiers at the U.S. 7th Army Training Command Joint Multinational Simulation Center in Grafenwoehr. And in Italy, the delegation met with defense, economic, and foreign ministry officials as well as representatives of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
As a Member of the Defense and Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittees, my work involves making decisions about funding all of the Departments of Defense and Energy activities and engagements at home and abroad. If you know others who share our interest in democracy in Europe and support for NATO, please share this message.
As always, I would love to hear what issues regarding our military and European alliance matter most. Please never hesitate to reach out on Facebook, Twitter or you can email my office here.
