Dear David,

Last week, I was honored to join the family of Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz at a roundtable hearing hosted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee to discuss the terrorist bombing at Abbey Gate during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. It has now been two years since that catastrophic day, and the Gold Star families of the thirteen fallen servicemembers are still searching for truth and accountability from the Biden Administration.

As Vice Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I have worked with my colleagues to force the Administration to provide crucial documents and information regarding this entire operation. After multiple hearings and subpoenas, we have uncovered that White House officials blatantly disregarded unprecedented warning messages from diplomats on the ground in Kabul, the President himself ignored advice from senior military officials regarding the premature closure of Bagram Air Base and the dangers of evacuating from the civilian airport, and more than 800 American citizens and over $7 billion in U.S. military equipment were left to the Taliban. This entire withdrawal, from the planning to the execution to the aftermath, was absolutely abhorrent, and tragically, these thirteen families were ripped apart because of it. I will continue to push for absolute transparency from the White House, Pentagon, and State Department to get the answers and accountability these families deserve.

I cannot thank these families enough for their courage and strength. During the roundtable hearing, I asked each Gold Star parent to talk about what made their child so special, and you can watch that portion here.

You can also watch the Fox 2 report on the event here.

I met with the leadership team at TOPS Products in Union, Missouri. With over 200 employees at this location, TOPS manufactures and distributes office supplies throughout North America. During a tour of their facility, we discussed ongoing concerns with inflation and China’s unfair trade practices. Earlier this year, the Department of Commerce issued a preliminary ruling that foreign countries like China are undercutting U.S. office supply companies and imposed penalties on these imports as a result. Bolstering domestic production and manufacturing is so important to counter the economic threats posed by our adversaries, and I appreciated the TOPS team for sharing their insights on these issues.

In May, I had an American flag flown over the United States Capitol to honor the 100th anniversary of Washington City Hall. It was great to stop by and present this centennial flag to Mayor Hagedorn.

While you’re in Washington, it’s always great to grab a quick burger at Wimpy’s!

It was such a privilege to be invited to speak at the ribbon-cutting event for the new expansion of WEG Transformers USA. This multi-million dollar expansion is not only a testament to the incredible growth of this company, but also to the hard-working Missourians that build and deliver such high quality products to their customers. This expansion will create at least fifty new, well-paying jobs in the region, and it was a pleasure to celebrate this investment in Washington, Missouri.

You can read more about this expansion and the event here.

St. Louis-based Rawlings Sporting Goods Company is still the leader in making MLB-caliber products. As an official partner of Major League Baseball, Rawlings assembles and customizes MLB bases, helmets, and bats right here in Missouri, and it was exciting to see firsthand all the work that goes into producing this equipment. We talked about the issues still affecting their industry and retail overall, including lingering supply chain bottlenecks, increased levels of organized retail crime, and trade policies hampering American businesses.

As your Member of Congress, I will always work to support our community businesses, grow our local economy, and bolster private sector innovation in the United States.

Sincerely,

Ann Wagner
Member of Congress