{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://zeldin.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-zeldin-middle-east-visiting-troops-2nd-straight-year-during-holidays", "Rep. Zeldin in Middle East Visiting Troops For 2nd Straight Year During Holidays", "2016-12-28", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Lee Zeldin", "Z000017", "zeldin.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is currently traveling with a bipartisan Congressional Delegation (CODEL) to the Middle East, including Afghanistan. This is the second consecutive year that Congressman Zeldin is in the Middle East visiting deployed service members during the holidays:\nCongressman Zeldin said, \u201cIt is an honor to visit our troops deployed overseas in the Middle East during the holiday season. Throughout this trip, I have had the privilege to thank many of our heroes, several from New York, risking their lives away from their families in defense of our freedoms and liberties. My meetings with top military and diplomatic leadership front and center in the fight against ISIS, Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups are also a critical component of this timely visit to the Middle East.\u201d\nAlso participating in the bipartisan CODEL are Congressman Mike Coffman (R, CO-6), Congressman David Valadao (R, CA-21) and Congressman David Cicilline (D, RI-1).\nPictures from the currently ongoing 2016 CODEL are below.\nCongressman Zeldin is pictured below with the other Congressmen on the CODEL, as well as servicemen stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan, including New York servicemembers Captain Dan Kim, SSG Luna Sergio, SSG Joseph Philbin and NY-1 resident, SPC Raymond Stock, from Congressman Zeldin\u2019s hometown of Shirley.\u00a0\nCongressman Zeldin is pictured below with service members at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The Congressman is pictured with MG John Thomson, Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, far right, and several New York service members:\nIn December 2015, Congressmen Zeldin, Valadao and Cicilline travelled to the Middle East on a CODEL that included time spent thanking troops in Iraq and Kuwait on Christmas Day.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://zeldin.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-zeldin-middle-east-visiting-troops-2nd-straight-year-during-holidays"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7083340790122747, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}