National Defense

At the beginning of August, I urged the Speaker to keep the House in Washington so that the important work facing our nation could get done. Read more »

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1) spoke during floor consideration of H. Res. 644, a resolution condemning the Administration's failure to notify Congress before releasing 5 detainees from United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of a prisoner exchange. H. Res. 644 passed the House of Representatives with Wittman’s support by a bipartisan vote of… Read more »

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1) released the following statement today after supporting a supplemental appropriations bill (H.R. 5230) to address the influx of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) crossing the southwestern border of the United States: “Throughout the debate on how to address the ongoing crisis involving unaccompanied alien youth crossing our southern… Read more »

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1) today supported bipartisan legislation to implement reforms at the Department of Veterans Affairs after reports surfaced earlier this year of excessive wait-times and misconduct at VA health facilities. The Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act (H.R. 3230) passed the House of Representatives by a… Read more »

Washington, D.C. – In a joint letter, U.S. Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and U.S. Congressmen Bobby Scott, Randy Forbes, Scott Rigell and Rob Wittman urged Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James to consider Virginia’s Joint Base Langley-Eustis as a location for the future Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC). Locating the new facility there would help minimize… Read more »

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Rob Wittman, Chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, released the following statement today following a Readiness Subcommittee briefing titled, “Use of DoD Facilities to House Undocumented Aliens.” The briefing, which sought answers surrounding the Department of Defense’s agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)… Read more »

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), Chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, praised the passage of legislation to fund the Department of Defense (DoD). H.R. 4870, the DoD Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2015, provides approximately $490 billion in discretionary budgetary authority for DoD, and includes an amendment authored by Wittman that prohibits… Read more »

During the Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, I asked simply, “What happens to these detainees after a year?” The answer is clearly not that simple. The intelligence we currently have on these individuals – and the data on the chances of them returning to the battlefield – indicate significant, unjustifiable risk. Read more »

​Washington, D.C. – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) released the following statement after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel testified before the House Armed Services Committee on the Administration’s recent decision to release five senior Taliban leaders from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay: “Even after this lengthy hearing, I remain concerned about the rationale… Read more »

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) today released the following statement after supporting House passage of H.R. 4810, the Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014: “Today’s overwhelming passage of the Veteran Access to Care Act is a good step forward in addressing the unacceptable treatment many of our veterans have been experiencing within the Department of Veterans… Read more »