As a veteran who once stood in uniform, I understand deeply the weight of the words “service” and “sacrifice.” Each Veterans Day is more than a ceremony; it is a living commitment. It is a moment to look the men and women who defended our freedom in the eye and ask: “Are we keeping the promise we made?”
My own service as an Army Reserve intelligence officer taught me that leadership is not an abstract concept; it means getting into the cockpit, into the foxhole, into the mission itself. That perspective now guides me in Congress. I entered this role just 10 months ago, and I have made it my mission to translate the respect we show on Veterans Day into tangible results for veterans across America.
We must ensure that healthcare and education, the foundations of the transition from soldier to civilian, are not afterthoughts but priorities. In September, the House passed two bipartisan bills I led: the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Opportunity Act and the Health Professionals Scholarship Program Improvement Act of 2025, which will increase their access to education and healthcare services.
The Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Opportunity Act measures unlock new paths for veterans seeking STEM degrees, ensuring that the grit and training developed in uniform lead to meaningful opportunities at home. The Health Professionals Scholarship Program Improvement Act of 2025 is aimed at alleviating the Veterans Health Administration staffing shortages in order to get veterans the care they need when they need it.
I have also signed on as a cosponsor of the Major Richard Star Act, bipartisan legislation that will provide combat-injured veterans with their full Department of War (DOW) retirement and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability payments. Currently, the retirement pay of veterans with a disability rating of less than 50 percent is reduced by the amount of their disability compensation. This amounts to a tax on their disability – that is unconscionable.
Recommended
Early this year, I flew at Luke Air Force Base alongside the airmen of the 56th Fighter Wing. Their skill, commitment, and mission readiness are a living example of what our nation expects and honors. Observing that mission firsthand solidified for me that our commitment to the uniformed must not stop once the greater mission is done.
Finally, I was proud to be an original cosponsor of the Major Richard Star Act (H.R. 2102). We reintroduced it in the 119th Congress. Unfortunately, many of the brave men and women it is meant to help are still waiting.
These are veterans who were forced to medically retire due to combat-related injuries before reaching 20 years of service and are currently denied the ability to receive concurrent receipt of their earned retirement pay and VA disability compensation.
This legislation continues to enjoy broad bipartisan support, and your voice remains critical to its success.
Our veterans shouldn’t have to fight twice for their country and then for the benefits they earned.
My first 10 months in Congress are proof that for me, service in public office is the next mission. That is why I am so grateful to serve on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs: to provide real oversight, to push for meaningful reform, and to hold the VA to the standard our veterans deserve.
In the coming year, I will continue to press for expanded access to healthcare, improved transition services for veterans moving from active duty to civilian careers, reforms in how the VA serves rural and underserved veterans, and stronger protections for veterans’ rights.
I will not tolerate systems that treat veterans like afterthoughts.
On this Veterans Day, I renew my oath to you and call on my colleagues in both parties to join me in a renewed bipartisan commitment to those who wore the uniform. We must finish the job of delivering accountability at the VA, we must ensure that benefits flow efficiently, and we must guarantee that service in our Armed Forces translates into success in civilian life.
Thank you for your service. Let us now honor it, not just in words but in action.
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points.
Help us report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member