The House voted on the National Defense Authorization Act, a traditionally bipartisan piece of legislation, which authorizes and prioritizes funding for our military on an annual basis. In their first year back in power in the House of Representatives, the House Democrats have upended this tradition, including damaging, partisan provisions that many Republicans could not support and President Trump would never sign into law.

This act does not fully fund our military at the President’s requested levels, blocks funding for construction of a border wall, and does not include critical initiatives that are critical to deter our adversaries, like the plutonium pit production mission that could come to Savannah River Site. While it did include the full authorization amount for the next military construction project at Fort Gordon, which I proudly support and have championed, too many poison pills were included to vote in favor of final passage. I am hopeful that the House and Senate can work together with the Trump Administration to craft a final bill that robustly supports our troops who so selflessly serve and protect our great nation.

The numbers for the Democrats’ legislation to mandate a federal $15 minimum wage, the Raise the Wage Act, are in-- and could be detrimental to millions of working citizens.

If this legislation were to take effect, the Congressional Budget Office found it could lead to 3.7 million job losses. That’s right—3.7 MILLION! As a businessman, I worked my entire career to spur job creation, not promote job-killing policies. Instead of this ineffective agenda, we should instead build upon tax reform and the success of the Republican-led Congress to continue down the path of prosperity.

In the House Agriculture Committee, the Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit hosted a witness from Augusta University, Dr. David Hess, to discuss the importance of reliable broadband service.

Dr. Hess is the Dean and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Intergration, as well as the Presidential Distinguished Chair of Neurology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. Dr. Hess spoke about how broadband service is used for the Telestroke program, which now serves over 30 hospitals in rural Georgia. His studies in stroke and dementia led to him creating the REACH Telestroke Network, receiving several distinguished teaching awards, and to being named to America’s Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America every year since 2000. Not only has he devoted his studies to advancing medical research, but helped put Augusta and the 12th District on the map as a hub of cutting-edge research.

ICYMI: After the devastation our farmers faced following Hurricane Michael and 2017 freeze, I was proud that we were able to finally get disaster relief signed into law last month.

Ensuring that our farmers receive these funds in a timely and effective manner is the next step in the process. I was proud to join some of my Georgia colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging quick implementation of this much-needed assistance. Read more here: https://www.wsav.com/news/local-news/georgia-news/georgia-delegation-members-urge-timely-effective-implementation-of-disaster-relief-funds/?fbclid=IwAR2gimT8qC1JJtLBxRcbhZnVY-cNVTcfW3kg4baXtt2_wqlKv2ulMWk4gwc

I also had productive meetings this week, including students visiting Washington with an organization that teaches our students about civics and democracy.

Thanks for stopping by the office!

I called into the Austin Rhodes show with guest host Phil Kent to discuss the news of the day and partisanship in Congress.

The Military Academy Nominations Application for 2019 is now live on my website!

One of my greatest privileges as your Congressman is to nominate young people to our U.S. Military Service Academies. If you, or anyone you know may be interested in applying to a Service Academy, visit my website for the application at allen.house.gov/MilitaryServiceNominations.

This week, as the House is focused on issues affecting our military, I am highlighting H.R. 553, the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act, legislation introduced by my friend and neighbor, Congressman Joe Wilson, that would repeal what is known as the “widow’s tax.”

Under current law, military survivors forfeit part of their entire military Survivor Benefit Plan annuity when receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Survivor Benefit Plan is a program administered by the Department of Defense that allows uniformed service retirees to elect to provide continuing financial support for an eligible survivor. Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is paid to survivors of service members who die while on active duty, or to survivors of retirees who die of service-connected illness. Simply put, the widow’s tax is a penalty on surviving spouses of service members who choose to receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

I am eternally grateful for our servicemen and women who put their lives on the line to protect our nation and believe it is of the utmost importance for Congress to give its full support to the military.

As a proud cosponsor of this legislation, and with over 360 cosponsors total, I am hopeful that this bill language will be included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act that will be conferenced between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Do you have a bill that you would like to see highlighted or that you would like me to support? Share your thoughts with me! You can email me ⇒  HERE, contact any of our offices or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.