Issue Position: National Security

Issue Position

Among the most solemn responsibilities of any member of Congress is the need to fully support our troops overseas while doing everything possible to protect the American people here at home.

Not long after I was sworn in to Congress, I visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to speak with many of our wounded heroes. Their moving tales of selfless sacrifice will remain with me always, serving as a driving force behind my work on behalf of our active duty military personnel and our veterans.

As the former chairman of the Bay Defense Alliance, I have taken a keen interest in ensuring that America maintains the strongest, most efficient military in the world. I meet regularly with military leaders at Tyndall Air Force Base and Naval Support Activity Panama City to hear directly from the folks who know best about the challenges and opportunities facing our servicemen and women in the field.

As our brave men and women in uniform courageously fight in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere to protect our freedoms, I am committed to providing them the full support and equipment they need to complete their mission, along with clearly defined mission objectives and the ability to evaluate their success firsthand. We must focus on bringing them home safely to their families as quickly as possible and, just as importantly, ensuring they receive the assistance they need to readjust to civilian life upon their return.

The September 11th attacks on New York, Washington and rural Pennsylvania opened our eyes to terrorist threats that we had never experienced before. In working with other freedom-loving nations to confront these threats, we must never lose sight of our most important objective: keeping the American people safe, both at home and abroad.

One of the critically important ways to strengthen our homeland security is through improved border security. Sealing our borders will go a long way towards reducing the risk of terrorist attacks on American soil and stemming the flow of illegal drugs and weapons from outside our boundaries. Building walls, enhancing technology and hiring additional border patrol agents are all important steps toward achieving these goals.

We also need to give our employers the tools they need to identify illegal immigrants in their workforce. America is a land of opportunity, but we are also a nation of laws. I will continue working hard to protect our nation, and that process begins with enforcing immigration laws currently on the books, improving methods to identify illegal immigrants and deterring future border crossings.

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