[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 10, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H2100-H2101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING JOE SCHUMACHER

  (Mr. Wittman of Virginia was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Joe Schumacher 
for his 25 years of dedicated service to the great folks in Virginia's 
First Congressional District and to our Nation.
  Joe first served as chief of staff and district director for my 
predecessor, Jo Ann Davis. He started with her in 2001 and then in 2007 
came over and worked as a district director in our office.
  Joe has been incredible, a great leader, a great servant leader. He 
is connected in every way, shape, or form to the district, to the folks 
that either knock on the door or call him on the telephone. In fact, he 
is proactive. He gets out there and interacts with folks to understand 
what is needed in our community. He also is making sure that we are a 
one-stop shop. Anything that comes in our office, we are going to help 
somebody. Even if it doesn't involve a Federal agency or there is a 
Federal nexus, Joe is going to make sure that we help those folks.
  His pride in the First Congressional District extends to everything 
that he does, and it is that caring about people and about issues 
important to the district that really make a difference. He is very 
energetic, and his commitment to bettering the lives of Virginians and 
the folks in the First District is unparalleled.

  I am deeply grateful to Joe for his years of service, his expertise, 
and his countless number of hours that he has spent--many, many hours 
of overtime out there working on behalf of the great folks in the First 
Congressional District.
  He has had a profound impact not only on the district but on my work. 
I look to him to make sure we understand what needs to happen, and he 
is there to help motivate me to get those things done.
  He is truly one of the finest leaders that I know, and I deeply 
appreciate his dedication to the great folks in the First District.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in recognizing Joe Schumacher for 
his 25 years of service to Virginia's First Congressional District and 
to our Nation.


                       Funding Community Projects

  Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I will speak briefly about community 
project funding. Through fiscal year 2026, the appropriations process, 
I was able to advocate and secure 20 million taxpayer dollars, money to 
come back to the First Congressional District. This is about making 
sure we do our job here and making sure those districts get the dollars 
that our constituents pay into the Federal system, making sure some of 
those dollars come back. I am proud to deliver results that matter to 
Chesterfield County, Matthews County, Bethel Manor Elementary School, 
the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority, the city 
of Williamsburg, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, the Virginia Institute 
of Marine Science, and Colonial Behavioral Mental Health.
  It is not just abstract investments. These are projects that have an 
impact on communities. Things like Collier Behavioral Health, where 
they are actually going to increase access, starting with primary care 
and enhancing behavioral and mental health services.
  We are going to do things like protecting drinking water there in the 
city of Williamsburg, supporting working waterfronts to make sure our 
economy continues to grow with industries that rely on having access to 
these creeks. That means dredging the creeks to keep them open for 
boating traffic. We talked about the importance of access to mental 
health services but comprehensive healthcare, and investing in major 
infrastructure projects. These things have massive impacts on 
communities and are leveraged in many ways to as much as ten or 
twentyfold over the Federal dollars that come to these localities.
  Community project funding, again, does the things that we are 
intended to do here in Congress, and that is bring back the dollars 
that our taxpayers pay to the Federal Government, bring them back to 
communities in ways that matter the most. Members of Congress that are 
elected to serve those people are the best judgment pieces or places 
where those decisions are made. It is our job to make sure we advocate 
for those projects.
  I am proud to work on behalf of the Commonwealth to secure $20 
million that come back to these critical

[[Page H2101]]

projects there in the First Congressional District and will make a 
difference, a tangible, meaningful difference, a visual difference in 
what happens in the quality of lives of folks in the First 
Congressional District. It allows us, too, to make sure that we do the 
most basic job here and our constitutional duty of making sure that we 
appropriate in ways that advance the interest and improve the quality 
of life in our communities.

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