The first responsibility of any just government is to protect the safety and security of its people. America remains the beacon of freedom and “the last great hope of man on the earth,” as Ronald Reagan used to say, precisely because we maintain peace through our strength. Freedom is never free.

Every minute of every day, the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces make extraordinary sacrifices to ensure that we remain the greatest military power the world has ever known. With the constant threat of tyrants and terrorists, that power is as important today as it has ever been.    

To be successful in its critical mission, our military must be supplied with all the resources it needs. Our readiness and capabilities suffered greatly under the previous eight years of the Obama administration, as repeated cuts to our military budget resulted in aging equipment and scarce training resources. This Congress and the Trump administration have taken many important steps to rebuild our military by restoring and increasing vital budgets and supplying for the needs of our warfighters. Investing in our military must remain our first priority.

Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District is the proud home of two of the nation’s most vital and strategic military installations – Fort Polk Army Base and Barksdale Air Force Base. I will continue to work every day in Congress to advocate for our bases and the thousands of soldiers and airmen who serve here, and to preserve their existing missions and add new ones. I am proud of what we have accomplished already in securing funding and authorizations for our various installation needs, and there is much more work to be done.