The safety and security of our nation is a top priority of mine. The Declaration of Independence reminds us that all people have inalienable rights – among them, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights, our Founding Fathers believed that the federal government must “provide for the common defense” of our great nation. America’s role in the world has changed significantly in the more than 200 years since those words were written in the Preamble to our Constitution. Moreover, the position of the United States in the 21st century brings its own unique threats to American security.

Today, our service men and women remain actively involved in combat operations worldwide. After the events of September 11th and the increased threat of terrorist activity worldwide, I believe that Congress must continue to support a military that has been called upon to engage in global operations. I am committed to ensuring that the men and women of our Armed Forces have the best possible equipment, support and training. I will work to ensure that they have the resources needed to succeed wherever they are sent. Our nation’s military men and women protect U.S. interests and stand up for the rights of oppressed people around the world. They are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for this country and deserve our prayers and every resource available to help them in their mission.

It is imperative that we put national security above partisan politics when dealing with threats from foreign terrorist organizations and rogue nations. America remains a nation at war, threatened continually by those who seek our destruction both abroad and here at home. I am committed to promoting policies that continue to make American stronger and safer. My House Republican colleagues and I have undertaken the difficult task of passing legislation that balances the intelligence and resource needs of the U.S. military, national defense and homeland security with the need to protect constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties and reduce federal spending and rein in our exploding deficits.

I support legislative efforts to strengthen our national security by pursuing important objectives:

• Preventing regimes and terrorists that seek chemical, biological or nuclear weapons from threatening the U.S. and the world
• Preventing rogue regimes like Iran and North Korea and states that harbor terrorist organizations from acquiring nuclear weapons
• Shutting down terrorist camps, disrupting terrorist plans and bringing more terrorists to justice
• Securing our nation’s borders and ports
• Defending both military and civilian infrastructure from domestic and foreign cyber threats
• Protecting critical infrastructure and key assets 
• Ensuring emergency preparedness and response

Traumatic Brain Injury Legislation

In the 113th Congress, I plan to reintroduce the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Treatment Act and am committed to its legislative success.

Our troops and veterans have earned and deserve the very best treatment and care that we can provide. But sometimes the best treatments are not available at military and veteran medical facilities. The TBI Treatment Act addresses this issue by ensuring that our heroes returning from combat with TBI or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have access to the highest quality care our nation has to offer.

Specifically, this legislation would create a five-year, “pay-for-performance” pilot program to allow active duty and veteran TBI/PTSD patients to receive innovative treatments from private physicians—treatments that may not be currently offered by the Department of Defense (DOD) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities despite their remarkable results. Under the TBI Treatment Act, physicians would qualify for payment from DOD or VA only after proving through independent pre- and post-treatment neuropsychological testing, accepted survey instruments, neurological imaging or clinical examination that a patient has experienced demonstrable improvement. Treatment and reimbursement safeguards in the legislation would ensure immediate access to innovative private health care treatments while reserving payment only for treatments that work.

These brave men and women have sacrificed for our country, and I strongly believe we as a nation have a solemn duty to ensure that they have access to the most effective treatments available, whether through government or private health care.