Thank you, President Biden.

That’s not something I say often — but last week, the President was in North Carolina to discuss COIVD-19 vaccines. While we do not agree on many issues, I appreciate the President coming to our state and highlighting our role in the success of Operation Warp Speed to make vaccines available to anyone who wants them.

I believe issues like recovering from the pandemic should always be bipartisan and focused on helping you and your family.
Another bipartisan issue should always be caring for our troops, their families and veterans.

I say it a lot, but being Fort Bragg’s Congressman is truly an incredible honor that I take very seriously. Our men and women in uniform, as well as their families, sacrifice for our freedoms every day. In Congress, I am working to make sure our troops have the support and resources they deserve and made real progress on several fronts in recent weeks.

First, the U.S. Department of Defense issued a final rule to allow service members to pursue medical malpractice claims in the military. This is thanks to my Rich Stayskal Act which was signed into law in 2019. I am thrilled to see this rule issued after more than 3 years of work on behalf of soldiers like Rich.

I first met Sgt. 1st Class Rich Stayskal, a Green Beret and Purple Heart recipient from Pinehurst, in 2018 after his stage 4 lung cancer had been misdiagnosed by the military. Unfortunately, due to an outdated law, Rich and other service members were not able to have access to medical malpractice claims like other Americans.

While we were successful in changing the law in 2019, it took the Defense Department until this month to issue this rule. Now with $400 million of funding, claims can begin to be processed by the Department as early as next month.

Nothing can right wrongs that were made, but this law is a huge step toward providing relief to heroes who deserve it. And I pray the deterrent effect will prevent medical malpractice in the future.

Also last week, I introduced the Vanessa Guillén Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act. As Fort Bragg’s Congressman, I’m proud to help lead this bipartisan legislation that seeks to end sexual assault in the military, hold violators accountable and support survivors.

Sexual assault is an affront to the values of our military and the nation it defends. We must accept that what we have tried in the past has not worked — as in the tragic case of Spc.Vanessa Guillén who was sexually assaulted and murdered at Fort Hood in Texas last year.

We owe it to victims like Vanessa and their families to do everything we can to end sexual assaults in the military. Our men and women in uniform sacrifice every day to keep us safe and we have a responsibility to ensure all service members are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Finally, another bill I introduced to help families at Fort Bragg also made a big step forward last week. After hearing from many of you about the inconvenience and hardship of having to travel several hours to have court cases heard, I joined with Congresswoman Deborah Ross and Senators Burr and Tillis to introduce a bipartisan bill to allow all court cases stemming from Fort Bragg to be heard in the Eastern District's courthouse in nearby Fayetteville.

Last week, the bill passed both the Senate and the House and headed to President Biden’s desk for his signature. This common sense bill is a good example of how government should work — we saw a problem, found a solution and Republicans and Democrats worked together to pass a new law.

Pictured Above: Congresman Richard Hudson talks with veterans at Memorial Day event (Photo courtesy https://husdon.house.gov)

While I wish we could get Republicans and Democrats together to solve problems more often, I am committed to bipartisanship and continuing to stay focused on the issues that matter to you.

We have a lot of work to do to grow our economy, slow inflation and out-of-control spending, address rising crime, secure our border, and defend our Second Amendment and the right to life. As I work on common sense solutions, rest assured I will always show up to work for you.