National Defense

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 »

WASHINGTON- Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, released the following statement following his August 26th meeting with U.S. Forces-Korea Commander Vincent K. Brooks during his visit to the Republic of Korea. "After meeting with GEN Vincent Brooks, Commander, US Forces-Korea, I remain encouraged by our US military's ability to… Read more »

Wittman Statement on Afghanistan Strategy August 22, 2017 WASHINGTON - Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) Rep Rob Wittman (VA-1), Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee made the following statement on President Trump’s strategy for Afghanistan. “I support the Trump Administration’s announcement to renew our commitment to U.S. operations in Afghanistan. I am… Read more »

WASHINGTON-Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1) released the following statement following the collision of the USS John S. McCain off the coast of Singapore: "My thoughts and prayers are with the crew of the USS John S. McCain after last night's collision. I am grateful for the hard work of the search and rescue teams as they look for the ten missing sailors. “While I support the Chief… Read more »

Dear Friend - Let's face it: there is a lot of news coming out of Washington these days. And much of it is designed to draw a reaction from you or get you to take sides. But there is another story out there that you're not hearing. That's the story of the important accomplishments made by the House during the first eight months of this year. From the outset of 2017, we made it… Read more »