Our nation, and our way of life, is under threat by adversaries like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. I am steadfast in my support for our nation’s armed forces and our servicemen and women. As your representative I have supported efforts to invest in new technologies and platforms for our military in order to combat these growing threats around the world. We have seen throughout our history that a strong U.S. military preserves peace and security around the world.

China is attempting to become the dominant global superpower by building up its military forces and purchasing influence around the world. Not only has China been attempting to militarily bully our allies in the Pacific Ocean, like Taiwan and Japan, but they are actively threatening our own forces based in the region.

Russia and Vladimir Putin have shown that it has no interest in being a peaceful and cooperative nation on the world stage. Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the barbaric atrocities their forces have committed on Ukrainian civilians, have shown the world that it will take any steps necessary to expand its power and influence.

Iran has been a threat to the United States and our allies in the Middle East since 1979. The Iranian regime is the largest state-sponsor of terrorism in the world. Not only does Iran target our allies in the region, such as Israel, but their proxies they support in Iraq and Syria have targeted US servicemen and women. Iran’s lawmakers have even chanted “Death to America” in their parliament.

The United States must continue to stand by and reinforce our allies from any threats. I will continue to push my colleagues in Congress to support a robust military that is the premier fighting force in the world. We can achieve peace through strength.