One of my top goals in Congress is to make our community safe, healthy and strong. As a member of the Foreign Affairs committee, I'm working for strong national security, and right here in the 18th District, we're hard at work to protect our schools, combat the opioid epidemic and more.

Here's a look at just some of the moves we've made recently (watch this week's Week In Review video to hear more about each):

• The opioid crisis has been fueled in great part by transnational criminal organizations that peddle narcotics, and even sex slaves, across the border. This has devastated many of our communities and has put a major strain on our law enforcement agencies. That's why we passed the Strategy for Combating the Financing of Transnational Criminal Organizations Act to strengthen our response against these criminals.
   
• The truth is that the best path to a stable and secure Middle East is by supporting our greatest ally there, Israel. That's why I've teamed up with my Democratic colleague from Florida, Stephanie Murphy, to introduce a great bill that will strengthen our partnership to help Israel defend herself and stabilize global security. Our bill, the Deterring and Defeating Rocket and Missile Threats to Israel Act, makes a strong statement that we will always work with Israel to promote peace through joint missile defense.
   
• We also passed the Whistleblower Protection Extension Act, which will strengthen protections for federal government whistleblowers. As we've learned from the Department of Veterans Affairs, whistleblowers are often critical to increasing transparency, accountability and security in the government.
   
• We're also working on legislation to strengthen our schools so they are as safe as the halls of Congress. Next week we'll vote on the STOP School Violence Act, which alongside many other policy changes we need, will provide a significant improvement to keep our families safe.