Honoring Service & Sacrifice

Honoring Our Promise to Those Who Put Service Above Self

As a Navy Veteran, the son and grandson of Police Officers, the stepson of a Navy Veteran, the brother of a decorated Marine, I understand the sacrifices made by those who defend our nation and protect our communities.

Our Service Members, Veterans, Firefighters, Police Officers, Paramedics, EMTs, and other First Responders put others before themselves—often spending time away from their families and carrying physical and emotional burdens long after their service ends.

A grateful nation must do more than thank them. We must deliver the care, benefits, resources, and recognition they earned—and stand with their families when sacrifice follows them home.

Those Who Answer the Call Deserve Better Than Bureaucratic Excuses

For too long, bureaucracy, political dysfunction, and failures under administrations of both parties have stood between those who served and the support they earned. 

Veterans have waited years for earned benefits and recognition. 9/11 First Responders have faced delays in lifesaving care. Volunteer Fire Departments have been threatened with costly federal mandates without the resources to comply.

I’ve worked across the aisle—and stood up to both parties—to keep our promises to those who serve.

Keeping Our Promise to Veterans

As a Navy Veteran and member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for Veterans Affairs, I have worked across the aisle to improve care and deliver the benefits Veterans earned, including:

  • Voted to fully fund Veterans’ healthcare, including toxic-exposure treatment, and supported the bipartisan Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act to strengthen healthcare, caregiver assistance, mental-health services, and homelessness prevention.

  • Fought to support the Long Island State Veterans Home, improve the Northport VA Medical Center, preserve access through facilities like the Riverhead VA clinic, and invest in suicide prevention.

  • Introduced the bipartisan PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program Act, modeled on Suffolk County’s successful program for Veterans facing PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and other service-related challenges.

  • Introduced the bipartisan Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, which passed the House twice—including 411–0 in 2025—to improve research, diagnosis, and treatment for bile-duct cancer linked to service in Southeast Asia. I also pressed the VA to recognize cholangiocarcinoma as a presumptive service-connected condition so affected Veterans can receive the care and benefits they deserve.

Through constituent casework, my team has also secured long-overdue VA benefits and helped two Vietnam Veterans finally receive the Purple Hearts they earned nearly six decades ago—including one approved after decades of denials.

Standing with Firefighters and EMS Professionals

Long Island’s Firefighters, Paramedics, EMTs, and other EMS professionals answer the call at all hours—many as volunteers balancing careers, families, and growing emergency-response demands. I have worked across the aisle to:

  • Support the bipartisan Fire Grants and Safety Act, preserving AFG and SAFER grants for equipment, training, staffing, and volunteer recruitment.

  • Advance $3 million to modernize Suffolk County’s Emergency Operations Center and improve coordination during fires, storms, and other emergencies.

  • Oppose an unfunded OSHA mandate that could increase property taxes, undermine recruitment, and force volunteer Fire Departments to close.

  • Support occupational-cancer benefits for fallen Firefighters’ families, restore earned Social Security benefits for public servants, and expand overtime tax relief for First Responders.

I also helped secure long-term funding for the World Trade Center Health Program and led a bipartisan effort challenging the Administration over staffing shortages, treatment delays, appeals backlogs, and reimbursement problems affecting 9/11 First Responders.

I will continue working across the aisle and holding every administration accountable to honor the service of our Veterans, Law Enforcement, and First Responders, recognize their sacrifice, and deliver the benefits they earned.

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