U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria represents Virginia's Second Congressional District. Prior to her election in 2018, Rep. Luria served two decades in the Navy, retiring at the rank of Commander. Rep. Luria served at sea on six ships as a nuclear-trained Surface Warfare Officer, deployed to the Middle East and Western Pacific, and culminated her Navy career by commanding a combat-ready unit of 400 sailors. Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and a member the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Rep. Luria was one of the first women in the Navy's nuclear power program and among the first women to serve the entirety of her career in combatant ships. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee, where she is the committee's Vice Chair, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, where she serves as Chair of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, and the House Committee on Homeland Security. Of all members in the House Democratic Caucus, she served the longest on active duty, having completed 20 years of active military service with the U.S. Navy. Rep. Luria graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and received a master's in engineering management from Old Dominion University.
I am fighting to ensure all Americans can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and have access to pristine natural environments. Protecting our local natural treasure, the Chesapeake Bay, is among my top priorities in Congress. The Bay generates $33 billion in economic value annually and hosts one of the most important sites for ecological diversity in North America. Without full support for Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts, however, the progress made in restoration will remain fragile.
I introduced the bipartisan Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization Act, which would authorize more funding for crucial EPA cleanup efforts in the Bay watershed. On October 30, 2020, President Trump signed my bill into law as part of the America's Conservation Enhancement Act. The America's Conservation Enhancement Act is a bipartisan bill that will invest in wetland conservation throughout North America, proving how important this legislation is to the Commonwealth and our region.
In addition to preserving our waterways, we must also protect and conserve public lands and wildlife. That is why I cosponsored and voted for the Great American Outdoors Act, which was signed into law on August 4, 2020. This legislation will permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), as well as improve and make necessary upgrades to our renowned national parks. Over the last four decades, Virginia has received nearly $360.8 million from the LWCF, supporting projects in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, the Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge, and Virginia battlefields like Yorktown. Permanently funding the LWCF was a major bipartisan win for Virginia's national parks and battlefields.