119th Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, and Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, are pressing the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine whether service members have sufficient access to mental health care during deployments.

In their letter, the lawmakers point to concerning conditions aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford during its 326-day deployment. A fire spread from a laundry room to sleeping quarters, displacing approximately 600 sailors. Some had to sleep on floors and tables. The carrier also experienced plumbing and sewage problems.

The letter also raises concerns about the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group’s extended deployment. The Acting U.S. Secretary of the Navy has said eight sailors across ships in the strike group attempted suicide and several sailors attempted to jump overboard the USS Lincoln. The lawmakers cite reports of inadequate food and supplies and say it remains unclear what mental health resources service members can access while deployed and if they are sufficient to address their urgent needs.

“Extended deployments place enormous strain on servicemembers and their families,” the lawmakers write. “At a minimum, they deserve safe and adequate places to sleep, access to basic necessities, and living conditions that protect their physical and mental health.”

Walkinshaw and Subramanyam ask GAO to examine mental health screenings before, during, and after deployment; access to treatment at sea; how the Navy responds when symptoms escalate; and the obstacles it faces in delivering care.

“When those deployments are compounded by inadequate living conditions, Congress has a responsibility to understand the impact on morale, mental health, readiness, and retention, and ensure the Department of Defense (DOD) is doing everything possible to support the service members we ask to serve,” the lawmakers write.

Read the full letter here.

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WASHINGTON, DC – Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) and Representative John Rutherford (FL-05) announced the First Responder Behavioral Health Access Act, bipartisan legislation to expand access to behavioral health resources for first responders. 

Research shows that first responders face elevated suicide risks. Across the country, there is a lack of behavioral health care providers and resources available. The First Responder Behavioral Health Access Act takes an innovative approach to address this. 

“First responders put their lives on the line for our safety. Their quality of life should never be in jeopardy. We should not be losing them to mental health struggles when there are evidence-based solutions like clinicians and peer-to-peer counseling that could improve their well-being. This bipartisan, commonsense legislation delivers for our first responders and provides them with the necessary support they deserve,” said Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10).

“As a former sheriff and law enforcement officer, I know how important it is for the men and women who keep our communities safe to have someone they can turn to that understands the unique demands of the job,” said Congressman John H. Rutherford (FL-05). “By strengthening partnerships between first responder agencies and local public health departments, this legislation will help bring trusted behavioral health professionals directly into the workplace, expand peer-to-peer support programs, and strengthen the workforce serving our first responders.” 

"Counties run 911 centers, emergency medical services and public health departments, and our first responders and 911 telecommunicators answer the call in our residents' worst moments," said National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase. “This bill would give county health agencies the federal support to place mental health clinicians within emergency agencies and reach under-resourced communities. We thank Representatives Subramanyam and Rutherford for introducing this bipartisan legislation and urge Congress to act swiftly."

“Behavioral health is a top priority for our Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System members,” said Systemwide Fire Chief James S. Williams, Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue. “We are committed to strengthening our awareness, resources, and support so that every member of our Fire and Rescue community feels valued, heard, and cared for. I truly value the support of lawmakers, like Congressman Subramanyam, who bring much needed attention to the health and wellness of first responders and the need for expanded behavioral health resources.”

The legislation:

• Expands access to grants to support the recruitment and field placement of behavioral health care providers to serve in first responder agencies, helping build a pipeline into the profession.
• Creates a pilot grant program to partner local, county, regional, and state governments with first responder agencies to embed clinicians with first responder agencies, establish peer-to-peer programs, and assist in training peer-to-peer behavioral health care providers.  

Rep. Subramanyam, along with Reps. Rutherford and Alford, previously introduced the Peer Support for Our First Responders Act to establish an interagency working group to review ways to improve behavioral and mental health outcomes for first responders. 

The First Responder Behavioral Health Access Act is also supported by The Major County Sheriffs of America and the National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition. 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine's (D-VA) bill designating the General George C. Marshall House in Leesburg, known as Dodona Manor, as a National Park Service (NPS) affiliated area was signed into law. 

“Dodona Manor has been a pillar of the Northern Virginia community for hundreds of years. I am proud to honor George C. Marshall’s legacy by ensuring the property is preserved for many years to come. The International Center right here in Leesburg has so much to offer visitors from around the world, including educational programming for people of all ages. I am proud that Senator Kaine and I delivered for Virginians and made this bill law,” said Subramanyam.

“George C. Marshall was educated at Virginia Military Institute, served as the US Army’s Chief of Staff during World War II and then earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as Secretary of State,” said Kaine. “This NPS designation of Dodona Manor will help preserve his home, honor General Marshall’s legacy, and ensure future generations understand the critical role he played in our history. I’m grateful to the many advocates and partners who have worked with us to get this done.” 

“We are deeply grateful to Representative Subramanyam and Senators Kaineand Warner for their leadership in advancing this legislation to preserve and elevate General Marshall’s legacy,” said Paul Michaels, chairman of the George C. Marshall International Center Board of Directors. “This measure marks a historic milestone for Dodona Manor and is wonderful news for the Leesburg and Loudoun County community. The increased visibility and expertise that come with National Park Service affiliation will help preserve this nationally significant landmark and help ensure future generations can learn from General Marshall’s extraordinary character and example.”

The official designation is the final step in many years of advocacy for recognition of Dodona Manor as a unit of the National Park System. Designation as an NPS affiliated area provides new resources to preserve and celebrate General Marshall’s legacy at the site, including technical assistance to support restoration efforts, accessibility improvements, and new programming.

General Marshall dedicated his life to public service, holding pivotal roles such as Chief of Staff of the Army during America's entry into World War II, Secretary of State where he designed the transformative Marshall Plan to rebuild post-war Europe, and Secretary of Defense during the early stages of the Korean War. In 1941, while serving as Army Chief of Staff, he purchased Dodona Manor, where he lived until his passing in 1959. 

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WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representatives Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) and Jefferson Shreve (IN-06) introduced the Stop Spam Calls Act to crack down on spam calls and texts by empowering the FCC to better protect consumers. The bill requires each telemarketer wanting to send robocalls or robotexts to a consumer to directly get their explicit, written consent. Under current law, businesses can ask consumers to consent to telemarketing calls from them and thousands of their marketing partners with a single check box. 

“Families shouldn’t be subjected to unwanted telemarketing robocalls from thousands of businesses. In an age where Americans have become far too used to their information being sold to the highest bidder behind their backs, Congress needs to take action to protect people’s privacy. The Stop Spam Calls Act will reign in robocall abuses and reestablish the power of consent for consumers,” said Congressman Subramanyam.

“Giving one company permission to call you shouldn’t open the door to calls from countless others. Your phone number shouldn’t be passed around without your say,” said Congressman Shreve. “The Stop Spam Calls Act closes that loophole. Americans should decide who has permission to call them.”

“The Stop Spam Calls Act would reinstate a repealed FCC protection aimed at reducing the billions of unwanted telemarketing calls that arrive on our phones every day," said Christine Hines, senior policy director at the National Association of Consumer Advocates. "This bill, which requires consumers to provide written consent to each marketer or seller before receiving certain robocalls or robotexts, would help to restore trust in our communications."

“When we interact with a business, we don’t expect that they will share our phone number with hundreds of other sellers,” said NCL Senior Public Policy Manager Eden Iscil. “This legislation would give control back to the public over how our contact information is shared. Congress should not delay in reinstating the FCC’s commonsense policy that outlawed these predatory practices.”

“Online shopping shouldn’t mean endless spam robocalls from thousands of companies you’ve never even heard of,” said Patrick Crotty, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "The Stop Spam Calls Act would restore FCC rules that checked these abuses and limit intrusive robocalls."

The bill was cosponsored by Reps. Raja Krishamoorthi, Andre Carson, George Whitesides, and John Mannion. It was endorsed by the following organizations: Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America (CFA), National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), and National Consumers League (NCL).

View the full bill here.
 

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WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) spoke out on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) proposed rule to overhaul small business size standards. In a letter sent to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler and submitted to the Federal Register, Congressman Subramanyam outlined how the new rule would drastically increase the industry-specific annual revenue and employee caps that the SBA uses to determine who qualifies as a small business. The rule will make it easier for larger businesses to qualify for small business loan programs, as well as put thousands of larger businesses in direct competition with truly small businesses for the same government contracting opportunities.

“Billion-dollar businesses are the exact opposite of small. Their ability to qualify for highly competitive small business contracts pushes out and jeopardizes real small businesses. This new rule would raise the annual receipts for certain industries 20-fold. Our community and economy thrive when we support small businesses. This proposed rule attacks our small business contracting sector in Virginia when we should be backing them,” said Congressman Subramanyam. 

The letter was cosigned by Virginia’s Democratic members of the House of Representatives: Representatives Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), James Walkinshaw (VA-11), Don Beyer (VA-08), Bobby Scott (VA-03), and Eugene Vindman (VA-07).

View the full letter here. 

Members of the public may submit a comment on the SBA’s proposed rule here. The comment period ends September 21st, 2026. 
 

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WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) delivered remarks at a press conference with the families of Flight 5342 on aviation safety. On January 29, 2025, American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter while approaching DCA. 67 people died in the crash, including several of Rep. Subramanyam’s constituents. In his remarks, Rep. Subramanyam called on Congress to pass comprehensive aviation safety legislation. Below is a transcript of Rep. Subramanyam’s remarks, which can also be found here: 

“I just wanted to take a moment to thank the families who are here today. We have gotten so far, and we're not all the way there yet, but we've gotten so far because of you and it's your bravery and your willingness to take a horrible, horrible tragedy and turn it into an opportunity to save lives in the future that is inspiring to so many of us in Congress and around the country, and so thank you for working tirelessly to try to pass common sense aviation safety legislation to fix what I believe is a glaring hole in our laws today. 

And thank you for being here and for being here again and again and again. Your persistence is being noticed, and we will continue to persist with you. But even though it's been five months since the House passed the ALERT Act, and even though we've have the NTSB's final report on the causes of the collision, and even though near miss collisions keep occurring both in DCA and across the country, Congress has still failed to pass these critical safety measures into law.

We have the final NTSB report. We know what the safety measures need to be, and they need to be implemented. We have the opportunity to enact real change. So now is the time for leaders in Congress to come together and pass comprehensive aviation safety legislation. I associate my remarks with everything that was just said. We need the best of both bills. We need to make sure it gets onto the floor of the House for a vote. We need to make sure it passes and gets signed into law by the end of the year. We cannot wait until a future Congress. 

We've been told over and over again that this will get done, that this is the best measure, but the time to wait is over. The time to act is now. So thank you for your persistence. Thank you for everything you've done. Thank you to our Senate members and thank you to our House members who are here today. We will continue to fight with you. Thank you.”

Rep. Subramanyam led a bipartisan investigation into the Army’s aviation practices following the crash, called for a pause on Black Hawk training flights in DCA airspace, and is a co-sponsor of both the ALERT Act and the ROTOR Act. 

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WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) and Senator Tim Kaine’s legislation designating the General George C. Marshall House in Leesburg, known as Dodona Manor, as an affiliated area under the National Park Service (NPS) has passed the House of Representatives and Senate. The bill now heads to President Trump’s desk for his signature.

“For hundreds of years, Dodona Manor has been a pillar of the Northern Virginia community. I am proud to honor George C. Marshall’s legacy and Dodona Manor’s significance by ensuring the property is preserved for many years to come. Virginians, Americans, and visitors alike can witness the history and educational programming of the International Center right here in Leesburg. I am grateful to work alongside Senator Kaine to deliver for Virginians and looking forward to continuing to visit such a historic landmark,” said Congressman Subramanyam.

“I am glad to see that my legislation with Representative Subramanyam to designate General George C. Marshall’s Dodona Manor as a National Park Service Affiliated Area has passed the House and is headed to the President’s desk,” said U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA). “This will ensure that the site is preserved for future generations, honor General Marshall’s legacy, and present an opportunity for the public to learn more about this period of our history.”

Rep. Subramanyam and Senator Kaine introduced this bill in February 2025.

“We are deeply grateful to Representative Subramanyam and Senators Kaine and Warner for their leadership in advancing this legislation to preserve and elevate General Marshall’s legacy,” said Paul Michaels, chairman of the George C. Marshall International Center Board of Directors. “This measure marks a historic milestone for Dodona Manor and is wonderful news for the Leesburg and Loudoun County community. The increased visibility and expertise that come with National Park Service affiliation will help preserve this nationally significant landmark and help ensure future generations can learn from General Marshall’s extraordinary character and example.”

The official designation would be the final step in many years of advocacy for recognition of Dodona Manor as a unit of the National Park System. Designation as an NPS affiliated area would provide new resources to preserve and celebrate General Marshall’s legacy at the site, including technical assistance to support restoration efforts, accessibility improvements, and new programming.

General Marshall dedicated his life to public service, holding pivotal roles such as Chief of Staff of the Army during America's entry into World War II, Secretary of State where he designed the transformative Marshall Plan to rebuild post-war Europe, and Secretary of Defense during the early stages of the Korean War. In 1941, while serving as Army Chief of Staff, he purchased Dodona Manor, where he lived until his passing in 1959. 

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WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) introduced a National Data Center Plan. The Responsible Data Center Siting Act, the Data Center Fair Share Act, the Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act, and the Data Infrastructure Risk Reduction Act are four bills to guide data center development to ensure our communities are protected. 

The package requires data centers to pay for their own energy, evaluate the cumulative impacts on communities, the environment, and our national security before building data centers, accurately measure water and energy usage, and protect Americans living near data infrastructure.

“Our region is home to the fourth largest concentration of data centers in the world, and many more are on the way. Because of this, our utility bills are up and transmission lines are cutting through our schools and backyards. People are concerned about the future of our community and angry about the impact this will have on noise, the environment, and their property. The approach to building data centers has been driven by short-term profit rather than long term planning. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. We need a national plan that puts communities first rather than the current ad hoc approach. That's why I am pushing this legislation forward: to give Virginians and the American people a voice,” said Congressman Suhas Subramanyam.

“Since its founding, in 2014, the Coalition to Protect Prince William County has been warning residents, elected leaders, and the SCC of the unprecedented power demands of the data center industry. Prince William County residents are already paying a high cost with our rising utility rates and energy infrastructure expansion threatening our homes, our schools, our parks, our private property. Congressman Subramanyam's National Data Center Plan is a needed step in the right direction to protect residents, our environment, and our grid from irresponsible development. Without action, the risk to our grid is no longer a question of IF we will suffer a catastrophic failure, but when.” said Elena Schlossberg, the Executive Director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County.

Below is background on the four bills:

The Responsible Data Center Siting Act would direct the Secretary of Energy to establish best practices for siting data centers considering energy availability and impacts on utility bills, water use and electricity use, and the environment. It would also consider community impacts such as noise, national security, work force, and tax revenue to guide data center development in a way that protects constituents. The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Mike Quigley (D-IL), Andre Carson (D-IN), Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), and Mike Levin (D-CA).

The Data Center Fair Share Act requires data centers and other large energy users to pay the full cost of grid and generation upgrades needed to serve them. In Northern Virginia, residents are being stuck with rising utility bills to support the enormous energy demands of hundreds of data centers. Under this legislation, states would be required to adopt large-load tariffs ensuring data centers — not residents — pay for their own power. States that fail to adopt these tariffs will lose access to federal highway funds.

"This bill is a welcome and necessary step to create meaningful protections for consumers," said Karim D. Marshall, Director of Climate and Energy Policy at the Consumer Federation of America.  "Families are suffering under astronomical energy prices and they need a backstop against the costs passed on to regular people. Something that is more than an empty promise. The Tech billionaires say that they will responsibly share our power and water. They say that they will be responsible without data and information.  They say ‘trust us, we know better.’ The moment demands that consumers are protected from the abuses of the rich and powerful. Consumers shouldn't be forced to subsidize Big Tech through their power bills. The Data Center Fair Share Act creates real consequences for jurisdictions that are willing to sell out their people to please Big Tech." 

The Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act directs the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop technical standards for measuring data center energy and water use. This will ensure we know exactly how much water and energy data centers are using.

The Data Infrastructure Risk Reduction Act will require the development of a strategy to protect the communities living around data centers and data infrastructure from adversaries. 

View the Responsible Data Center Siting Act here. 

View the Data Center Fair Share Act here.

View the Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act here.

View the Data Infrastructure Risk Reduction Act here.

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