Blog
This week we took decisive action that will make our community safer, healthier and stronger. We passed bills this week to clean up our water, help veterans, strengthen our national defense and improve care for seniors.
This week, we acted decisively to do exactly what we promised to the American people by passing a great bill to help ensure the security of the American people.
After last summer, our community knows far too well what environmental disaster looks like. The great news is that this week we passed a bill that includes over $150 million to directly help the Everglades and our coastal environment, including my amendments to combat harmful algal blooms.
The Army Corps is the most important federal agency for fixing the water problems in our community, but right now we don't have permanent leadership for the agency. We need a radical thinker to make transformational change and who will work with us in Congress to get the job done.
Read my letter to the Army Corps to tell them, in the strongest possible terms, that they should exhaust every possible flood-prevention option prior to considering discharging water east out of the lake.
We must tackle the lack of clean, safe water in our community from as many different angles as possible. That's why, in addition to supporting efforts to build a southern reservoir, this week I offered four amendments to increase funding for researching and combating harmful algal blooms.
North Korea, Iran and Russia have all sought to undermine American interests and cause violence throughout the world. It's critical that the United States sends a clear message that we will not tolerate affronts to human dignity or global security.
This week Congress worked together to pass a truly great bipartisan bill that will strengthen Medicare called the Medicare Part B Improvement Act. I'm proud of our bipartisan work to get this bill passed and will continue fighting to protect Medicare for today's seniors and future generations.
One of the first bills I helped introduce when I got sworn in was a bill to ensure that all Purple Heart recipients who are honorably discharged, regardless of how long they served, have access to G.I. Bill benefits. Today, that bill was passed by the House of Representatives.
Far too often it feels like the federal government just isn't paying attention to the issues that really impact our day to day lives. I had a stark example of that in a committee hearing this week when I questioned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on SB10 and our efforts to build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee.