National Security/Defense

As published in the Lakeland Ledger. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is forcing America and our allies to determine how to thwart Vladimir Putin’s goal of resurrecting the former Soviet Union. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration’s strategy of implementing banking sanctions on Russia will not succeed. Energy sanctions must be imposed as well. The U.S. must unshackle our… Read more »

Representatives Mike Garcia (R-CA), August Pfluger (R-TX), Scott Franklin (R-FL), and Jake Ellzey (R-TX)  announced the launch of the MACH 1 Caucus, which will serve as a group of Members dedicated to policy issues important to the fighter pilot community and educating other Members on these issues. Rep. Garcia graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and is a former U.S. Navy… Read more »

Representative Scott Franklin (FL-15), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, congratulated MacDill Air Force Base on being selected by the Secretary of the Air Force as the next Main Operating Base (MOB) for 24 new KC-46 Pegasus tankers. The U.S Air Force previously identified MacDill and Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state as the top two candidates for the new KC-46s.… Read more »

Representative Scott Franklin (FL-15), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, today acted in support of our nation’s military service members by voting for passage of S. 1605, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, on Tuesday evening. “Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Guardians, and Marines face ongoing global threats in defense of our nation,” said… Read more »

Representative Scott Franklin (FL-15), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement in response to a report that the Biden Administration plans to remove the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) from the list of designated foreign terrorist organizations: Once again, the Biden Administration is signaling weakness to our enemies and allies… Read more »

Representative Scott Franklin, a Navy veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after voting in favor of awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the 13 military servicemembers killed in Afghanistan on August 28, 2021: “I was proud to co-sponsor H.R. 5142, which awards the Congressional Gold Medal to the 13 servicemembers who gave… Read more »

U.S. Representative Scott Franklin (FL-15) secured nine amendments to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) during the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) mark up. The NDAA authorizes Department of Defense spending and policies for each fiscal year. HASC is responsible for creating and passing the NDAA before it is sent to the floor of the House of Representatives… Read more »

Representative Scott Franklin (FL-15) last night introduced the Preventing the Recognition of Terrorists Act, a critical bill to prevent the federal government from recognizing the Taliban’s claim over Afghanistan and designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Original co-sponsors of this bill include Reps. William Timmons (SC-04), Tracey Mann (KS-01), Greg Steube… Read more »

U.S. Representative Scott Franklin, a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and 26-year Navy veteran, authored two amendments to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that will ensure needed congressional oversight of the Biden Administration’s botched exit from Afghanistan. Franklin’s first amendment requires a Department of Defense report to… Read more »

LAKELAND, Fla.Representative Scott Franklin (FL-15), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a Navy veteran, today issued the following statement in response to reports of the deaths of at least 12 servicemembers in Afghanistan from two ISIS suicide bombers: “I send my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were killed in the cowardly… Read more »