Meet The Candidate: Rob Wittman Seeks Re-Election To 1st District

VIRGINIA — Rep. Rob Wittman is seeking a seventh full term in Congress, representing the residents of the 1st Congressional District, which stretches from Prince William County to the Williamsburg area.

Wittman, who lives in Montross, a town in the Northern Neck, has emphasized throughout the current campaign how the coronavirus crisis has highlighted the importance of broadband access to the lives of Americans who live in the rural areas of the 1st Congressional District and across the nation. If re-elected, Wittman said he will continue to push Congress to close the digital divide for rural Americans.

Wittman is being challenged by Qasim Rashid, who won the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District.

Married to his wife Kathryn for 39 years, with two children and six grandchildren, Wittman has lived in Montross since 1985. The Republican lawmaker tells his constituents that he has worked hard during his time in Congress to protect their way of life and make the entire region an even better place to live.

Learn more about Wittman and why he is running for re-election to Congress in 2020:

Candidate

Rob Wittman

Age (as of Election Day)

61

Town/City of Residence

Montross

Office Sought

U.S. House

Party Affiliation

Republican

Family

Kathryn, wife; two children; six grandchildren

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Daughter, Devon, works for State Sen. Richard Stuart

Education

Rob holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Tech.

Occupation

Prior to his election to Congress, Rob spent 26 years working in state government, most recently as Field Director for the Virginia Health Department's Division of Shellfish Sanitation. Earlier, he worked for many years as an environmental health specialist for local health departments in Virginia's Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula regions.

Campaign website

RobWittman.com

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

U.S. House of Representatives, VA-01

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare how essential access to broadband is to our 21st century lives. The scope of the underserved people in our area, and across the country, is staggering, but I am proud to say that since I’ve been in office, we have made great strides and when reelected, I will continue to push Congress to close the digital divide for rural Americans. I serve as a co-chair on the bi-partisan Rural Broadband Caucus in Congress and we prioritize working together to find commonsense solutions. I’ve helped draft legislation to improve mapping, add more money to fund broadband, and hold Internet Service Providers accountable to ensure accurate coverage. I will also continue to work alongside Governor Ralph Northam to push and strengthen Public-Private Partnerships because they are the best vehicle for expanding broadband access to unserved and underserved Virginians.

What are your thoughts on the campaign to "defund" the police?

We can never quite do enough to fully thank and show our appreciation for our First Responders. Our Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders represent selfless, servant service to others and an exceptional dedication to serving your community. I will do all I can to make sure they have the tools, resources, and training necessary to keep themselves and our communities safe. Defunding the police is not the answer. America is stronger because of our First Responders.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I live in the little town of Montross and I drive home every day to the same home I’ve lived in since 1985 with my wife, Kathryn, of 39 years. On my travels throughout the First District, I pass by the school in Hanover where my Mom worked as a teacher. I drive past Cople Elementary in Westmoreland County, where Kathryn has taught for 40 years. I pass by our children’s homes where they live with our six grandchildren. This is my home and I work hard every day to protect our way of life and make this area an even better place to live, work, and raise a family. I know the best ideas for the nation don’t come from those 90 square miles in Washington, D.C., but from the people in the First District.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

Our national defense industry is also incredibly important to the First Congressional District and country. As the Republican Leader of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, I have the privilege of fighting to give back to these men and women in uniform every day. The Constitution states providing for the common defense is Congress’s first responsibility. We need to ensure we are adequately addressing growing global threats and continuing the progress we have made in improving military readiness. For example, I have continuously called for our Navy to increase and modernize our ship fleet because China is a growing threat to our nation and we must be prepared for any Pacific confrontations that could arise. I want to look in the eyes of the parents whose children I appoint to military service academies and tell them I’m doing everything possible to prepare their son or daughter and keep them safe.

Lastly, as the economy continues to open up, we need to support our small businesses and prepare potential employees to fill jobs as they become available. I remain focused on supporting policies that create more jobs, spur growth and innovation, and put more money in the pockets of hard-working Virginians. One way we do this by prioritizing workforce development and continue to promote Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs to better prepare our future workforce with the necessary skills and knowledge to compete in a global economy. For example, we can better prepare our professionals of tomorrow by increasing access to dual enrollment CTE training courses today so students can work toward credentials while still in high school. By taking less than two years, or sometimes even a few weeks to complete, these qualifications provide a more tangible approach to education and qualify students for well-paying jobs.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the use of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

It is imperative that we get our nation’s fiscal house in order and work to address our nation’s debt and deficit. High levels of debt translate to much lower levels of economic growth and those same high levels of debt mean that too many of our taxpayer dollars are wasted on paying high interest and unnecessary overages. While we can certainly start with eliminating duplicative programs, wasteful spending, and fraud, if we don’t address the broken budget and appropriations system producing these spending deals, we won’t ever solve this problem. We need to know where our money is going and work through our funding packages in a responsible, thoughtful, deliberate way through regular order – not rushed through at the last minute.

Returning to regular order —moving spending bills through the committee process where we read, debate, and vote on them — will go a long way towards bringing transparency back to the budget and appropriations process. This requires holding Members of Congress accountable, something I have been working on throughout my time in Congress. I authored three bills to achieve this: The Stay on Schedule (S.O.S) Resolution would force Speaker Pelosi to keep Congress in town until all 12 appropriations bills are passed, instead of adjourning for the August recess, the No Budget, No Pay Act would prevent Members from being paid until we pass a budget and the Inaction Has Consequences Act would hold Congress Members’ salaries if we do not pass regular appropriation bills before the end of the Fiscal year. This level of transparency and accountability is critical not only to get the budget process under control but also to rein in wasteful spending.