On Thursday, I waselected as Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce for the 119th Congress. We have significant work ahead of us to uphold parental rights, cut unnecessary bureaucracy, and provide more opportunity and flexibility to American workers. Please know that I remain committed to working with President Trump and my House colleagues to unleash American innovation and prepare our students for success.
Our brave servicemembers are committed to defending our country and deserve our full support. This week, the House voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 to provide the funding needed to protect the United States’ security interests and adequately support our servicemembers and their families. The NDAA improves the quality of life for those in uniform by providing a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers, a 4.5% pay raise for all other servicemembers, and upgrades to military housing, among other critical provisions.
The NDAA also strengthens our border security by funding the deployment of the National Guard to the southern border to combat the influx of illegal immigrants. Additionally, I authored an amendment requiring the Secretary of Defense to provide Congress with a briefing on the instances in which an illegal immigrant attempted to enter a military installation or facility in the U.S. in the past five years. In efforts to keep our communities safe, I am continuing to monitor and press for answers on the presence of drones flying over New Jersey.
Recently, I attended a DOGE Caucus meeting with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to discuss ways to prevent wasteful spending and make government more efficient for the American people. I am also proud to be a member of the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, which will focus on coordinating with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to implement legislation to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government. We must find solutions to get our fiscal house in order.
