Stuart, Fla. – This month, Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) secured a commitment to authorize the EAA southern storage reservoir this year, passed numerous amendments to restore the water quality in our community and put the Treasure Coast community first by voting to reform the sugar program.  Environmentalists, editorial boards and other media outlets have praised his leadership:

Everglades Foundation | May 24, 2018: “This is a great day for Florida and the Everglades…We are indebted to the leadership of Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Tom Carper (D-DE), U.S. Representatives Bill Shuster (R-PA), Garret Graves (R-LA) and Brian Mast (R-FLA), for advancing a placeholder amendment that will allow the Everglades Reservoir to be included in the Committee’s bill.”

TCPalm | May 10, 2018: “We sometimes wonder if U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, the Republican from Palm City, has a political death wish…Mast deserves kudos for his willingness to do the right thing, even when it would be far easier politically to just go along to get along. Mast correctly has interpreted the zeitgeist in his district. Support for sugar reform is strong here for environmental reasons; as a group of 11 environmental organizations told Nelson, sugarcane production south of Lake Okeechobee is seen as ‘a great impediment’ to Everglades restoration. For economic as well as environmental reasons, that impediment should be removed.  Mast is right."

WPBF | May 25, 2018: “Representative Mast says when harmful algae exist in Lake Okeechobee, the Army Corps of Engineers requires that toxic fresh water to be dumped into our local salt water rivers and estuaries.  But now, a U.S. House committee has approved an amendment that would re-evaluate the regulation schedule used to decide when to discharge water…The Amendment introduced by Representative Mast would also develop a water filtration system capable of removing toxic algae from discharged water.”

TCPalm | May 24, 2018: “Opposing sugar interests was a bold move by Mast.”

BullSugar.org | May 23, 2018: “Thanks to Congressman Brian Mast for securing a commitment to include authorization of the EAA Southern Storage Reservoir in this year's Water Resources and Development Act and for continuing to make clean water in Florida a priority.”

TCPalm | May 22, 2018: "The chairman of a key House of Representatives committee is 'committed' to getting the reservoir to cut Lake Okeechobee discharges through Congress this year. 'Authorization of this storage reservoir is a priority,' Shuster said in a May 22 letter to R.D. James, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, adding his committee is 'committed' to getting the project in the Water Resources and Development Act this year. Mast arranged a meeting Friday with Shuster, James and Graves to talk about the reservoir."

Tampa Bay Times | May 14, 2018: "The only House member from Florida who has committed support for the Sugar Policy Modernization Act is Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican who represents an area from Fort Pierce to Palm Beach…It’s long past time for Florida’s elected representatives to stand up to the industry and do what’s best for the state’s job market, environment and consumers…Reforming the federal sugar program is a rare point of unity among such disparate groups as environmentalists, consumer advocates and free-market adherents."

TCPalm | May 23, 2018: “A U.S. House of Representatives committee Wednesday approved water project legislation that includes a 'placeholder' for the reservoir to cut Lake Okeechobee discharges. The bill approved by the committee includes other provisions inserted by U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, that would: authorize a St. Lucie County project to restore beaches eroded by storms and establish a maintenance plan to re-nourish the beach every two to five years; direct the Army Corps to update the process used to decide when to discharge Lake Okeechobee water to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers based on improvements to the dike surrounding the lake scheduled to be finished in 2022; authorize a five-year, $3 million-per-year program for the Corps to develop large filters to clean water heading to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee, and prevent algae blooms.”

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