South Tidewater News

Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, representing Virginia’s 2nd district since 2023, shared several updates on social media regarding recent developments in military legislation. Kiggans, who replaced Elaine Luria in Congress and has previously served in the Virginia Senate, provided insights into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and its implications for servicemembers.

On December 10, 2024, Congresswoman Kiggans expressed her satisfaction with Congress's decision to include a pay raise for enlisted servicemembers. Despite President Biden's opposition to their bipartisan proposal for a pay increase earlier this year, she noted that Congress proceeded with a "14.5% raise for our men and women in uniform" as part of the NDAA. "In June, President Biden announced his opposition to our bipartisan proposal to give our junior enlisted servicemembers a much-needed pay raise… I am proud that Congress didn’t agree and included a 14.5% raise for our men and women in uniform in the #NDAA!"

On December 11, 2024, Kiggans highlighted the NDAA's investments within her district. She emphasized that over $22 million was authorized for local military installations in VA02, including funding for two new base childcare centers. She conveyed enthusiasm about these projects serving local servicemembers and their families: "The #NDAA makes significant investments in #VA02, authorizing over $22 million to our local military installations, including two new base childcare centers…! I am excited to see these projects progress and serve our local servicemembers and their families."

Later on December 11th, Kiggans discussed reforms within military healthcare introduced by the NDAA. She assured constituents of improvements designed to enhance access to mental healthcare providers and an increase in Department of Defense nurses: "Our warfighters deserve the best healthcare possible…! I am happy to report that the #NDAA reforms our military healthcare & ensures that our servicemembers and their families have access to additional mental healthcare providers, more DoD nurses."