Opinion Pieces by Rob

With the release of the Navy’s 30-year Shipbuilding Plan and the public previews of the Joint Force Structure Assessment, it has become increasingly clear that the largest hurdle for conventional warfare competition success against China depends on the Navy’s ability to cross a critical body of water to get to the fight — the Potomac River. Put in another way, Navy needs to readjust their… Read more »

President John Adams once wrote: “National defense is one of the cardinal duties of a Statesman.” These words are as true now as they were when they were written in 1815. However, unlike in 1815, the weight of these words seems lost on some in Congress. As Congress moves forward with the National Defense Authorization Act and the passage of the defense appropriations bill, there are… Read more »

I want to respond to a recent letter to the editor published in The Free Lance–Star on June 3 regarding efforts to address rural broadband [“When is rural internet access coming?’]. First, I want to thank the writer for his comments and concerns on this issue facing rural Virginia. Furthermore, the coronavirus pandemic has emphasized the increased importance of addressing it. As… Read more »

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded that even in a time of unprecedented technological growth and development, simple and primitive threats have the ability to radically alter our way of life. In spite of astonishing medical advancements, some threats, unfortunately, remain timeless. Many people have drawn comparisons between the current… Read more »

As it has for most Americans, the coronavirus has significantly disrupted my daily life. As we adhere to social distancing practices, I am holding telephone town halls and virtual meetings, and I hear from folks in Virginia’s First District about how this crisis is affecting their health and financial independence. As Americans have been adapting to a new way of life during the… Read more »

WASHINGTON – This week, Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) spoke at a press conference on H.R. 5859, the Trillion Trees Act. U.S. Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Dave Joyce… Read more »

The biggest story of the 2020 budget is likely to be the one we first reported: Amidst rising anxiety over whether the US Navy’s thousand-foot-long flagships could evade Chinese missiles in a future war, the Pentagon decided to cut the aircraft carrier fleet from 11 today to 10. The military would save tens of billions on overhaul and… Read more »

Rep. Rob Wittman: Shutdowns really ARE avoidable – Here's how to never have another one again We just ended the longest government shutdown in American history. We reached a point of dysfunction that few had ever seen. With the State of the Union only days away, we are preparing to get to work on the president’s agenda for 2019, but also facing the threat of another… Read more »

The Jury Is Still Out on the Pentagon’s Audit The Department of Defense didn’t fail its audit—not really. “Failure” implies that the Pentagon failed to achieve its mission, but the real mission of the 2018 audit wasn’t to receive a clean bill of accounting health. Rather, it was to get our feet squarely planted on the ground, see where we are and where we need to be, and to… Read more »

Congress must back America’s war fighters with a budget cap deal As we begin a divided 116th Congress with government funding uncertainty, Congress will soon find itself in another financial predicament — securing defense spending levels on par with the needs of our Department of Defense. While the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 allowed for important growth and investments in… Read more »