June 7, 2020 Dear Friends, As always, thank you for allowing me to bring you this brief update on what was a very productive week. Serving you and your loved ones in Congress is a privilege! I would like to start by thanking the thousands of district residents who joined our telephone town-hall on Monday evening. These conversations are one more opportunity for me to hear directly from you! As we kicked off the month of June, one my top priorities remains ensuring our district, state and country quickly recover from the economic impact left by COVID-19. Having proposed the ‘Great American Comeback‘ recovery plan a few weeks back, I again hit the road and crisscrossed our district to visit with small businesses, talk to constituents, and most importantly, turn their feedback into actions in my congressional work. As the ‘Paycheck Protection Program‘ (PPP) program was being rolled-out, I heard from small business owners and employees that they needed additional flexibility to ensure continued business operations, I took that back to Washington, and got it done. This week, President Trump signed H.R. 7010, the ‘PPP’ Flexibility Act into law, and I am proud to have lent my voice in bill negotiations to reflect what I heard in our district. As the only Floridian on the House Small Business Committee, I have fought hard for this program, and it is working! On Friday, the Labor Department reported that our country added back 2.5 million jobs, as states have begun opening up their economies. I remain confident that getting our economy back on track can be done quickly and efficiently by continuing implementing common-sense, pro-family, pro-business policies, like the ‘PPP’. This program kept millions of businesses afloat, safeguarding job positions for employees and income revenues for American families. I have no doubt that the ‘Great American Comeback is around the corner and that the best is yet to come! Speaking of getting people back to work, I proudly cosponsored H.R. 7044, the ‘No Pay for Proxy Voting Act’, which would withhold pay from Members of Congress who do not return to D.C. to vote in person. This in addition to joining a lawsuit on May 27th, 2020, questioning the constitutionality of this ‘vote by proxy’ scheme. Asking the American people to safely return to work, while some Members of Congress stay home and collect a paycheck is hypocritical. It is also wrong to take the voice and vote of millions of Americans and put it in the hands of just a few members. This may sit well with Speaker Pelosi, but not with me.
On Thursday of this week, I joined Newsradio WFLA to discuss not only my small business tour, but also PHASE 2 of Florida’s reopening, which by Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Wednesday. It is important to remember that as our state takes an important step towards reopening, observing social distancing recommendations and practicing good hygiene procedures will remain important. For your convenience, you can find all the information you need regarding PHASE 2 here. As always I invite you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter or visit my website where I am always posting the latest news and updates as they become available. |
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