Rep. Jen Kagan urges bipartisan support for military, criticizes politics around DHS funding
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Summary
Congresswoman Jen Kagan, representing Virginia's 2nd District, praised naval service members and urged colleagues to stop "playing politics" with Department of Homeland Security funding, saying active-duty families should not have to worry about security at home.
Congresswoman Jen Kagan said she proudly represents Virginia's 2nd District and opened her remarks by thanking the host and acknowledging her personal ties to the Navy.
"I'm congresswoman Jen Kagan. I proudly represent Virginia's 2nd District, home to our East Coast Navy," she said, noting that when Americans "turn on the news at night, you most likely are seeing an F-18 taking off an aircraft carrier, probably from my district." She identified herself as a Navy veteran and described family members who serve, including an active-duty Navy pilot.
Kagan framed naval service as active duty rather than a desk role: "When we join the navy ... we don't join the navy to sit at the pier. We join the navy to take that warship to sea, to be that tip of the spear, to be that deterrent," she said.
She expressed support for sailors currently deployed: "I couldn't be more proud of the men and women who are serving in the Middle East right now, especially the sailors from my district," Kagan said.
Turning to funding and politics, Kagan appealed for bipartisan support for homeland security: "Right now, we're playing politics with something like Department of Homeland Security funding. I don't need my active duty members to be worried about the safety and security of their families that they've left here in the homeland," she said, urging colleagues "to step up and support our military." These remarks framed her plea as urging unity and reducing political risk to service members' families rather than proposing a specific legislative change.
Kagan closed by reiterating her pride in military families and yielded the floor: "God bless each and every one of them, and God bless our great nation, United States of America," then returned the floor to Chairwoman Lisa McClain.
The remarks were an opening statement and contained no formal motions or votes; details about specific DHS funding proposals or dollar amounts were not specified in the transcript.