Congress has a sacred Constitutional obligation to keep America safe and to keep in check the President and Executive branch. Over the past 20 years, Tom has worked in some of the most dangerous places on Earth, defying the odds to deliver progress on peace and security priorities. Tom has seen the value of a strong US military and the importance of matching our defense capacities with our commitments to diplomacy and development. Tom knows Congress is strongest when it acts as a bipartisan force to meaningfully restore its oversight of and responsibility to authorize foreign wars and tariffs. Congress is also essential when it comes to credible threats of sanctions against those committing genocide, crimes against humanity or grave violations of human rights, and appropriating funding for international efforts to prevent the spread of disease and famine.

Our standing in the world matters. Americans want and deserve our country to be a force for good in the world. In our greatest moments, we have been a transformative force for freedom, democracy, human rights and peace. Our strength comes from the alliances we keep, the promises we honor, and the example we set at home. Break our word, abandon a partner, and that strength flows to Beijing and Moscow—and Virginia families pay for it in higher prices and more wars. We can and must stand with our allies in NATO and Ukraine, and restore vital programs eliminated when USAID was dismantled. Tom's rule is simple: Make Congress vote before America fights, and fund the people who stop wars before they start.

Tom believes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable rights. His first obligation is to protect them for the people of this district and for every American, but he believes these fundamental freedoms and the human dignity they represent are the natural right of every person. He has spent his career standing with people, at home and overseas, who demand nothing less, even in the face of repression, corruption, brutality, bigotry, and poverty. When America stands as an ally for such peoples and for these universal values, we are a better and more secure nation in a better and more secure world.