Former U.S. Navy Commander, congresswoman Elaine Luria, VA-02, has recently been named to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee.
“As a 20-year Navy veteran, I am honored to serve on the House Armed Services Committee. These are difficult times in a dangerous world, and our brave service members in Virginia’s Second Congressional District and across America deserve our strongest support,” Luria said. “Our warfighters need proper equipment, training and funding so they can succeed in their missions to defend America. I will work every day to make sure our nation lives up to its values, and that our most courageous Americans are treated with dignity and respect.”
Elaine Luria
Luria graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1997 with a degree in physics and history and a minor in French. Out of all of the members on the House Democratic Caucus, Luria has served the longest on active duty, with 20 years of active service with the U.S. Navy, according to CBS affiliate-WTKR.
Luria was deployed overseas on six ships as a Surface Warfare Officer and was a commander of a unit of 400 combat-ready sailors. While overseas, Luria earned a master’s degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University in 2004.
In addition, she was one of the first women in the Navy’s nuclear power program and on the first women to serve on combatant ships throughout her military career.
After being sworn in on Jan. 3, Luria has motioned to reopen the government, co-introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf co-sponsored a bipartisan bill that would pay the U.S. Coast Guard, the only military branch that’s been working during the government shutdown without a paycheck.
The House Armed Services Committee has authority over military personnel and operations, defense policy and counterterrorism efforts.
Virginia’s Second Congressional District has the world’s largest naval base, NASA installations tied to defense and a quarter of the country’s shipbuilding and repair facilities.
