As Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security in the 116th and 117th Congress and a member in the 118th Congress, much of his legislative work focuses on the defense of our country’s national security. Through nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan, more than 2,400 of our brave service men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedom's Sentinel. In light of these enduring sacrifices, Congressman Lynch is conducting robust oversight of U.S. and coalition military operations in the region, the status of peace talks, and the progress of the U.S. reconstruction mission - including longstanding initiatives to advance the rights of Afghan women and girls. Since 2003, he has visited Afghanistan nearly twenty times to conduct firsthand oversight of American and coalition operations, discuss the situation on the ground with U.S. and Afghan military and civilian leaders, and meet with deployed U.S. troops. He has also introduced legislation to require the immediate declassification of information pertaining to the war and reconstruction in Afghanistan that was previously public and is now being withheld from public release.

Congressman Lynch is also fighting to ensure that every man and woman in uniform and every military veteran receives health care and other services that are commensurate to their sacrifice on behalf of our nation. He is the author of legislation, the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama that provides federal leave to disabled veterans who are transitioning into civilian careers in the federal government and require flexibility to receive medical treatment for their service-connected disabilities.