Elissa Slotkin

The government offers various services and benefits, especially to veterans, but often many people are unaware of these opportunities. Elissa and her Republican colleague, David Joyce (OH) introduced the Solid Start Act which ensures that the Department of Veterans Affairs reaches out to service members in their first year transitioning back to civilian life to connect them with critical benefits and services they have earned. This bill would make permanent a pilot program that was initially started to call veterans on the phone to check in. The rate of suicide among veterans within their first year of transition is nearly two times higher than the overall veteran suicide rate, which is certainly reason enough to get a plan like this in place.

It’s a good day when you get bipartisan legislation and even better when it centers around our Vets. Elissa joined fellow under-45er Meter Meijer to introduce a bill to help Veteran victims of Burn Pit Exposure. Deployed military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan rely on burn pits for many things including the disposal of waste. However, these open-air burns can release harmful toxins. Veterans applying for health benefits through the VA currently have an undue burden of proof of exposure that most cannot meet, thereby disqualifying them from receiving the benefits they so very much need. This bill looks to eliminate that red tape and finally confront these previously neglected health realities.

In a recent interview with a local news station, Elissa declared that domestic terrorism is “the greatest threat to our national security”. As a former CIA analyst and the new chairwoman of the U.S. House Intelligence and Counterterrorism Subcommittee (see last week’s newsletter), Elissa not only has the experience to back up her claim, but holds some of the reins on how Congress will approach it. She noted that the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6th “ended the post-9/11 era, those 20 years where the threats came from abroad”. Additionally, she refuted many GOP claims that Antifa is as dangerous as other right-wing groups like the Proud Boys. In her mission to keep Americans safe, Elissa is sure to encounter many partisan fights, but she’s made it clear where her focus will be.

About a month ago we mentioned that Elissa became the Chairwoman of the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Subcommittee. She released a video on her Twitter that discussed how she could never imagine her life without a mission to make things better and to increase people’s security. Her call to action were the September 11 attacks and shortly after she was recruited to be a Middle East analyst by the CIA and served in three tours in Iraq alongside the military. Becoming the chair of the subcommittee is that next chapter in her life and to further her mission. After watching the video, we know Elissa has our backs!

Supply chain isn’t really something that crossed most people’s minds before we saw so much of our consumer lives interrupted during Covid. Elissa now has two supply chain-focused issues – one local and one national – that she’s tackling. Formerly at the CIA, Elissa knows a thing or two about defense in our country. She and fellow PP leader Mike Gallagher (R-WI) are leading a 90-day review of the U.S. defense supply chain to identify any vulnerabilities and threats and figure out how to best spend the nation’s money. On the homefront, a GM plant in Elissa’s district was just temporarily shut down due to supply-chain issues, as many of the parts they use to assemble vehicles come from abroad. Her response? Focus on American manufacturing capabilities so this doesn’t happen again!

Elissa gave a live “state of the district” on Facebook a few weeks back. A few remarkable takeaways… The first, is the very concept of a state of the district address, which seems like something every Congressperson should be doing. Secondly, she portrayed her role as a member of Congress being not all that different from her role as a 14-year CIA veteran. It was first about the security of American citizens, and now it has reshaped itself to encompass the security—health, economic, and physical—of Michiganders, and letting them know it’s going to be okay. And perhaps what’s most notable and impressive about all this is just how incredibly thorough and detailed her agenda is laid out in her press release. This is precisely what people ought to demand from their Congressperson and certainly one of the things the folks of Michigan’s 8th have to be thankful for!

Having spent her career preventing attacks on the United States as a CIA analyst and later as a senior Pentagon official, Elissa is now the Chairwoman of the Intelligence & Counterterrorism Subcommittee within the House Committee on Homeland Security. One of her main goals is to focus on the rise of domestic terrorism, referencing the Capitol riots and the alleged plot to kidnap her states Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Elissa wants to mandate education, especially Holocaust education, to fight domestic terrorism. Elissa, who is Jewish, pointed to the Capitol riots and the anti-Semitic symbols that were portrayed. She was among the co-sponsors of legislation that passed last year that creates a clearinghouse of Holocaust resources for educators administered by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

‘Buy American’ is a fun slogan that has gained steam and popularity over the last few years, and rightly so. However, Elissa pointed out, in a recent letter to the Biden administration, that the federal government’s ‘requirement’ to buy American made goods isn’t quite as noble as it might seem. She called on the administration to close loopholes that make it easier for agencies to get the current requirements waived and then what happened? They actually did it! Biden signed an executive order on Monday beginning his ‘buy American’ plan that he spoke of on the campaign trail. While there’s some conservative opposition to this initiative, Democrats, including Elissa, will be looking to garner bipartisan support for future related legislation.

It seems whatever Elissa does in Congress, she keeps her constituents informed every step of the way. The events at the Capitol led her to call on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment for reasons she details in her official statement via an op-ed. She went on to outline why she supports impeachment if the 25th is not invoked, qualifying that while Congress has bigger fish to fry, the President must be held accountable for his actions in inciting violence. She cast her vote to impeach yesterday. Additionally, while most politicians are calling for unity among their constituents, Elissa is putting action to those words by holding virtual town halls to both explain her positions as well as listen to her voters. Indeed, in these tumultuous times, it seems one of the simplest and best practices is honest communication.

We all heard the news about the Russian cyberattacks and even Trump tweeted that it could have possibly been China. We are not sure either, but Elissa, a former CIA analyst, understands the brevity of these attacks and she used this as an opportunity to emphasize the urgency for the President to sign the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), saying that “it is the most significant cybersecurity bill to ever hit the President’s desk… So, the President should end his veto threats and sign that bill.” With a new year approaching that is sure to hold a whole new set of domestic and international challenges, this call seems more important than ever.