One of my top priorities as your representative in Congress is bringing federal funding home to the Santa Clarita Valley. That means lowering the cost of living, creating good-paying local jobs, and investing in the businesses and workers that make our economy run.
You may be surprised to learn that there is only one bill that Congress passes every year without fail: the National Defense Authorization Act, which oversees all aspects of our military. I have the honor of being a member of the House Armed Services Committee, where over the past few months we have drafted, amended, and finally — last week — passed the NDAA.
During the process, I was able to negotiate a series of important wins for our district, bringing federal funding home to businesses, workers and defense initiatives made right here in California’s 27th District.
Our district is home to thousands of skilled workers, servicemembers, and innovative companies that are driving cutting-edge aerospace, defense, and wildfire response technologies. In my role on the Armed Services Committee, I made sure they weren’t left behind.
Aerospace companies like PPG Industries, Curtiss-Wright, and others employ thousands of workers across our area and develop innovative solutions or technological products for the aerospace industry. In this year’s NDAA, I was able to secure federal support for their work — a critical investment in our local innovators that will bring jobs home, boost our local economy and ensure our area stays at the forefront of defense and national security.
Another critical focus of mine throughout the process was improving our ability to respond to wildfires, a challenge all too familiar to Southern Californians. We secured increased support for the FireGuard program, which plays a key role in detecting and tracking wildfires and making sure that life-saving information reaches local firefighters quickly. The NDAA also pushes federal agencies like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop advanced aerial fire response technology — tools that can help put out fires in places too dangerous for firefighters to access on the ground or when flying conditions are too risky.
These changes will help keep our communities safer, our first responders better equipped, and our wildfire response faster and more effective.
We’ve also secured real wins that will help families across our district. We successfully introduced and passed an amendment that will lower the cost of building housing by utilizing innovative building materials used by the Department of Defense. We delivered on education and job training by supporting our local community colleges and technical education programs so that more students in the 27th District can access hands-on training for good-paying jobs in aerospace, defense and advanced manufacturing.
And we protected health care for servicemembers and their families by ensuring the Defense Health Agency is adequately staffed and prepared to meet the needs of their beneficiaries, hospitals and clinics.
We also lowered out-of-pocket housing costs for military families by updating how housing stipends are calculated, expanded access to mental health care and women’s health services through TRICARE, and extended child care support programs so that parents in uniform don’t have to choose between serving their country and caring for their children.
Finally, we brought home significant funding for the next-generation military aircraft built on the north side of our district – over $5.7 billion for the B-21 Raider, Northrop’s next-generation stealth bomber for the U.S. Air Force, over $4 billion for the Lockheed Martin F-35, over $120 million for the F-15 Eagle, and over $95 million for Northrop Grumman’s B-2 Spirit, the current strategic stealth bomber in the United States Air Force.
Every amendment, every dollar brought home to our district, and every policy advanced through this year’s NDAA reflects our commitment to the people of CA-27. These victories ensure our district remains at the forefront of innovation, safety, and economic vitality.
As your congressman, I promise to continue fighting for our community’s priorities, securing investments that lower costs, uplift families, support local businesses, and advance the technological innovations that make CA-27 a vibrant, thriving community.
If you have questions or need assistance, please reach out to my office at 661-839-0532 or 661-568-4855. We are here for you.
Rep. George Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce, represents the 27th Congressional District, which includes the Santa Clarita Valley. “Democratic Voices” appears Tuesdays and rotates among several local Democrats.
