Military Appreciation Month & Memorial Day

May is Military Appreciation Month and a time for all of us to pause, reflect, and express our gratitude to the men and women who have worn the uniform of our Armed Forces. This month-long recognition culminates on Memorial Day, a reminder of the brave heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure the freedoms we enjoy today.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of our veterans for your honorable service, your sacrifices, and your unwavering dedication to our country. I also want to extend my profound thanks to our military and veteran families; your strength, love, and support for our heroes does not go unnoticed. 

Protecting 2nd Amendment Rights & Expanding Benefits

The House passed HR 1041, the Veterans’ 2nd Amendment Protection Act. I cosponsored this bill because I believe our veterans stepped up to defend our rights, and they should not lose their own rights because of bad policy. 

Right now, the Department of Veterans Affairs is allowed to automatically push veterans into the federal gun background check system (NICS) simply because they asked for trusted help managing their financial benefits. 

H.R. 1041 restores due process for the men and women who served our country. It prevents the VA from sending a veteran’s personal information to NICS solely because the veteran has an appointed fiduciary. Under this bill, a veteran's constitutional rights can only be restricted if a judge explicitly finds that they pose a danger to themselves or others.

I also voted in favor of the House-passed HR 6047, the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act. 

This legislation strengthens critical housing, disability, and survivor benefits by:

• Establishing a supplemental monthly allowance for veterans receiving care due to service-connected disabilities or traumatic brain injuries.
• Increasing the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) rates for surviving families.
• Expanding VA Home Loan access for National Guard and Reserve members by counting annual training as active duty.

VA Hospitals Earn Record High Quality Ratings

Our veterans have earned the best care we can offer, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is delivering record-breaking results. According to the 2026 report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 78% of rated VA hospitals received four or five stars for quality, the highest percentage on record. VA hospitals outperformed non-VA facilities for the fourth consecutive year, and for the second year in a row, not a single VA hospital received a one-star rating.

This achievement is part of a push from Republicans & the Trump Administration to reform the VA system and put veterans first:

• The backlog of veterans waiting for benefits has been reduced by 70% since January 2025.
• More than 140,000 new veterans enrolled in VA healthcare this year, supported by 35 new facilities opened nationwide.
• The VA completed over 82 million direct care appointments last year, including 2.5 million appointments outside of normal operating hours.
• Permanently housed nearly 52,000 homeless veterans, a seven-year high.

MilCon Appropriations

I was proud to support HR 8469, the Military, Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, to continue the push for military readiness, stronger support for military families, and real care for the veterans who served this country.
 
This bill supports our military by:

• Fully funding community care for veterans who seek specialty care.
• Prioritizing efforts to improve veteran mental health and suicide prevention services.
• Prohibiting the VA from purchasing resources from Communist China.
• Protects veteran 2A rights by preventing efforts from the far left to undermine veteran constitutional rights.
• House Republicans are fully funding our active military and veteran health care, mental health programs, benefits, and community care because a strong military means strong national security. 

Mobile Office Hours

My office will hold mobile office hours in Warroad on Friday, June 26, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Warroad Community Development Center.
This is an opportunity for you to connect with my office, share your comments or concerns on policies, and ask questions. They can also help you with any issues you might be having with a federal agency. For questions regarding the mobile office hours, please contact my office at 320-403-6100.

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