1. Working For Veterans in the Sixth District.

     2. Humanitarian Heroes in Ukraine.

     3. Weekly Roundup.

     4. My Contact Information. 

As your Congressman, I have the duty to make sure that the approximately 41,000 veterans who live in Wisconsin's Sixth District are adequately supported and receive the benefits they have earned. In order to receive these benefits, including health care and small business loans, veterans need copies of their service records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).

The NPRC is an agency of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) that serves as the central repository of personnel-related records for both the military and civil services of the federal government. This agency is currently stuck with a self-inflicted backlog of over 600,000 requests from veterans across the country primarily due to the reduction of on-site personnel during and after the pandemic lockdowns.

For over a year, I have repeatedly questioned the National Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, on his plans plans to address the backlog. Additionally, I joined my House Oversight Committee colleagues on a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urging him to direct the Department to fulfill a NARA request for assistance addressing the backlog.

Recently, I again teamed up with a bipartisan group of my colleagues on the House Oversight Committee to cosponsor the Access for the Veterans to Records Act to help improve veterans’ access to their records, and thus, essential services. If enacted, this legislation would require the NPRC to maintain in-person staffing levels to ensure the backlog of records requests is addressed as quickly as possible by returning to pre-pandemic processing speeds. 

Further, this bill would kickstart the transition from paper records to digital records, a much-needed step to make the record request process more efficient for veterans. Digitizing these records is long overdue and will provide veterans with more timely access to documents needed to obtain critical services. 

The NPRC is the only agency available to gain access to records for an array of services that veterans depend on, such as VA care and education. I'm pushing House Leadership to bring our bipartisan bill to the Floor to alleviate the backlog and ensure veterans can access earned benefits. 

It is an honor to serve as Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on National Security. In this role, I am committed to fighting waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government with regard to our national security interests and foreign operations, including the relationships of the United States with other nations.

Since Russia attacked Ukraine, thousands of Ukrainians have died and millions of others have been displaced.

This week, the Subcommittee on National Security held a hearing to examine the international humanitarian response to Putin's war. I had the opportunity to speak with witnesses who are making a difference in the lives of people in need. Specifically, these witnesses have spearheaded efforts at an array of nonprofit and faith-based organizations to provide meals, emergency health care, and family reunification and counseling services to Ukrainians, as well as people in neighboring countries, such as Romania, Moldova, and Poland, who are also suffering as a result of Putin's unprovoked aggression.  

During the hearing, I voiced my support for the Ukrainian people and thanked the witnesses for their work to drive humanitarian goodwill during wartime. American strength deters our adversaries, and our response to Putin's war against Ukraine would not be as strong without the heroic work of nonprofits working to improve the lives of civilians in eastern Europe. Watch my full remarks below.

I enjoyed spending Memorial Day with Wisconsin's Hmong community in Oshkosh at Winnebago County Community Park for the Hmong National Memorial Day Festival.

This week, I sat down with the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce to discuss the need to adequately support local business owners and workers and promote growth of Wisconsin's economy.

Thank you to the Manitowoc County Tavern League for a wonderful time at your 73rd annual Banquet earlier this week.

Always great to meet with the Wisconsin Farm Bureau to discuss issues facing our prized agriculture industry. I am committed to building on the success of the world-class farmers in the Sixth District.