Strengthening
Ties
With
U.S.
Allies
Earlier
this
month, I
traveled
to
Israel,
Saudi
Arabia,
Turkey
and
Egypt
as
part
of
a
congressional
delegation
to
discuss
the
deteriorating
security
situation
in
the
most
volatile
region
on
the
planet. I
met
with
national
leaders
and
visited
one
of
the
dozens
of
refugee
camps
along
the
Turkish-Syrian
border. I
came
away
with
two
inescapable
conclusions:
Arabs
and
Jews
have
been
drawn
together
by
a
common
enemy
-
Iran
and
terrorism;
and
we
are
on
the
cusp
of
a
historic
strategic
failure
because
of
the
ineptitude
of
President
Obama's
foreign
policy.
I
wrote
an
op-ed
about
my
experience,
which
you
can
read
here.
"Let's
count
the
toll
of
Obama's
vision:
Iran
emerges
richer
(the
president
released
$140
billion
in
embargoed
funds)
and
more
powerful
than
ever
and
is
still
the
leading
financier
of
terror
worldwide;
Assad
seems
likely
to
survive;
Russian
boots
are
on
the
warm
sands
of
the
Middle
East;
and
Obama
has
ceded
American
primacy
to
the
Iranian
fanatics
and
Vladimir
Putin.
On
top
of
that,
Israel
feels
abandoned
and
alone
and
our
traditional
allies
have
been
cast
aside
by
the
president's
desire
to
make
history."
-
Sen.
Thom
Tillis
|
Working
To
Fix
The
VA
I
recently
introduced
bipartisan
legislation
with
Senator
Al
Franken
(D-MN)
to to
fix
a
federal
oversight
that’s
prevented
thousands
of
American
veteranswho,
about
40
years
ago,
cleaned
up
nuclear
testing
sites
in
the
Marshall
Islands
while
often
working
without
protective
gearfrom
getting
access
to
the
care
they
need. Many
of
these
veterans
suffer
from
cancer,
respiratory
diseases,
and
heart
problems.
But
right
now,
they
are
not
adequately
compensated
for
their
medical
costs. The
Atomic
Veterans
Healthcare
Parity
Act
would
tackle
this
issue
by
extending
key
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
healthcare
benefits
to
servicemembers
who
helped
clean
up
the
Marshall
Islands
between
1977-1980,
an
area
subjected
to
more
than
40
nuclear
tests
that
remains
partly
uninhabitable
due
to
high
levels
of
radiation.
If
you
are
a
veteran
or
know
a
veteran
who
is
having
trouble
getting
care
from
the
VA
for
any
issue,
please
do
not
hesitate
to contact my
Raleigh
office
at
919-856-4630
or
Charlotte
office
at
704-509-9087. |
Eliminating
Waste
and
Fraud
In
The
Federal
Government
Last
week,
the
Senate
passed
a
bill
I
introduced
with
Senator
Tom
Carper
(D-DE)
that will
help
federal
agencies
better
detect
and
prevent
fraud.
The
bipartisan Fraud
Reduction
and
Data
Analytics
Act requires
the
Office
of
Management
and
Budget,
in
coordination
with
the
Government
Accountability
Office
(GAO),
to
issue
guidelines
for
agencies
to
establish
and
implement
controls
to
prevent,
detect,
and
respond
to
fraud. This
bill
utilizes
the
lessons
learned
from
the
success
of
the
private
sector
in
fighting
waste
and
fraud,
and
will
ultimately
help
protect
federal,
taxpayer-supported
programs
by
identifying
vulnerabilities
and
closing
the
gaps.
|
Lake
Norman
Charter's
5th
grade
class
NC
4-H
delegation
visiting
Washington
|
Thank
you
for
taking
the
time
to
read
my
update, I
will
continue
to
work
hard
to
represent
all
North
Carolinians
in
the
Senate
and
deliver
results.
As
always,
please
don't
hesitate
to
contact
my
office
if
we
can
assist
you
in
any
matter
regarding
a
government
agency.
If
you
would
like
to
unsubscribe
from
my
e-newsletter,
please
click here.
All
the
best,
|
|