WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger last night voted with a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives to authorize U.S. Department of Defense funding levels, increase troop pay, and help set the nation’s defense priorities. The House-passed fiscal year 2022 (FY22) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a 2.7 percent pay increase for U.S. servicemen ... Read more »
**VIDEO: In Congressional Hearing, Spanberger Questions Secretary Blinken on Future Plans for Fort Pickett, Temporary Housing Facilities across the Country** WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger yesterday questioned U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the temporary housing of Afghans at Fort Pickett — located in V... Read more »
NBC12 Fort Pickett has unveiled some of its temporary housing facilities for Afghan evacuees. The Department of Defense, through other government partners, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screenings and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees. Contract workers have finished building temporary facilities and mobile sleeping trailers. Volunteers with the Internati... Read more »
THE NEW YORK TIMES, LARA JAKES Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Monday that there was no way to predict how quickly Afghanistan would fall to the Taliban and no evidence that extending the U.S. troop presence could have stabilized the country, in a resolute defense of the American withdrawal last month. In more than five hours of testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Bl... Read more »
CBS6, MELISSA HIPOLIT Virginia Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D - 7th District) and Blackstone Mayor Billy Coleburn both said they have heard a number of rumors from the community related to safety concerns at Ft. Pickett where roughly 3,700 Afghan refugees were being processed following the fall of their country to the Taliban. The pair toured the facility on Thursday and used the opportunity ... Read more »
8NEWS, JACKIE DEFUSCO We’re getting a first look inside Central Virginia’s Fort Pickett Army Base since thousands of Afghan refugees arrived. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is the first member of Congress to visit the base since Afghans began staying there about two weeks ago, according to her office. Media wasn’t allowed inside for the tour but Spanberger’s staff provided photos. There are about 5,000 A... Read more »
HENRICO, V.A. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger is cosponsoring a bipartisan bill that would posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to the 13 U.S. military servicemembers who were killed during a deadly attack at the Kabul airport last month. The Spanberger-cosponsored legislation would award the Congressional Gold Medal to Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, Sgt. Johanny Rosario Picha... Read more »
THE HILL, REP. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER When you turn on the TV or read the newspaper, it’s hard to ignore the headlines: “Colonial Pipeline a Victim of Massive Ransomware Attack.” “50 Million People Affected by T-Mobile Data Breach.” “Hackers Exploit SolarWinds to Spy on U.S. Government Agencies.” These major attacks represent a serious threat to our economy and our national security. After the Colonia... Read more »
HENRICO, V.A. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Defense’s authorization of Fort Pickett to temporarily house and support Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants, their families, and other at-risk individuals. “This afternoon, our office received confirmation from the U.S. Department of Defense that Fort Pickett i... Read more »
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, MICHAEL MARTZ Virginia proposes to set up a mass vaccination site for thousands of Afghans arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport as the state steps up humanitarian aid for people evacuated from Afghanistan in one of the largest human airlifts in U.S. history. The state has established an emergency repatriation center at an airport hotel to aid American citize... Read more »
