National Defense

Dear Friend- I wrote an op-ed that was published in Defense News explaining how the Navy, with the support of Congress, must take measures to ensure our ships are properly protected from cyber intrusion. The full article is below. Please do not hesitate to contact me anytime an issue that concerns you comes before the House, especially if it concerns defense and national… Read more »

Friend- As the Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, I keep a careful eye on major international events that continuously unfold around the world; these events play a significant role in our daily lives and frequently impact our national and personal interests. Lately, there has been speculation that President Trump will not recertify the… Read more »

WASHINGTON – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) joined 152 Members of the House in sending a letter to President Trump supporting his call to restore America’s military strength. In his address to the UN General Assembly last month, President Trump said, “It has just been announced that we will be spending almost $700 billion on our military and defense. Our military will soon be the… Read more »

Wittman Joins 152 House Members in Letter to POTUS on Restoring America’s Military Strength WASHINGTON – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) joined 152 Members of the House in sending a letter to President Trump supporting his call to restore America’s military strength. In his address to the UN General Assembly last month, President Trump said, “It has just been announced that we will… Read more »

Dear Friend- Passing Continuing Resolutions has become the norm in Washington for the past eight years. As global threats are increasing, our defense budget stands still. We continue to ask more and more of our men and women in uniform, and we in Congress must do our part to ensure they have the tools they need to be successful. Despite the damage that CRs bring to our national… Read more »

WASHINGTON – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1) released the following statement after co-chairing the joint Readiness and Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee hearing today on the underlying problems associated with the collisions of the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain: “Today’s hearing allowed Congress and the American people to hear directly from Navy leadership regarding… Read more »

Dear Friend- As you know, in the early hours of August 21, 2017, the USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel on its way to Singapore. Just one month earlier, another Japan-based destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, collided with a similar vessel off the coast of Japan. I was on official travel in the Pacific at the time of the USS John S. McCain collision, so I altered my… Read more »

Dear Friend- Earlier this week President Trump announced the United States’ renewed commitment to our operations in Afghanistan. The Administration’s new strategy: • Ends the era of giving the enemy our timeline to withdraw troops • Shifts the focus of our presence in Afghanistan to national security instead of nation building • Strengthens our partnership with India to promote… Read more »

WASHINGTON- Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, released the following statement following his August 28, 2017 visit to Japan, in response to the latest missile launch by North Korea: “Having just departed Japan, the latest missile launch from North Korea directly threatens our close ally, Japan. This is North Korea’s second… Read more »

Wittman Visits 7th Fleet WASHINGTON - Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, released the following statement following his August 28th visit to the U.S. 7th Fleet, headquartered in Yokosuka, Japan in response to the collision of the USS John S. McCain off the coast of Singapore on August 21: “I met with Vice Admiral Sawyer… Read more »