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Listening to FloridiansDear Friends:
Recently, I asked my constituents what Congress should do when government funding expires. Over 90% said that Congress should pass a budget that spends less than last year, so last week I voted to do that. For the first time since 2013, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 will spend less this year than last year, saving taxpayers $200 billion over the next ten years, while protecting veterans Second Amendment rights, stopping the DOJ from targeting parents and cutting the budgets of ATF, EPA, and the DOJ. I ran for office pledging to do my part to slow the spigot of spending and get our fiscal house in order. While I wish the spending reductions were more substantial, we cannot let perfect be the enemy of good. Given how much deficit spending President Biden and Chuck Schumer have embraced over the last three years, it is remarkable that Republicans were able to make any meaningful cuts to the budget. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 is a compilation of funding measures that both saves taxpayer dollars and:
I was pleased to see some of my colleagues join me in rejecting the Washington presumption that nothing in the federal budget can be cut in order to fund our priorities without increasing the deficit. There is more work to be done. I will continue fighting to reduce spending even further as we begin development of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget.
State of the UnionOn Thursday, President Biden delivered his third State of the Union address. Despite Biden’s claims, the state of the union is weak. Since President Biden has taken office, Americans are less safe, and their bank accounts nearly drained because of his failures at the border and reckless spending. His policies have hamstrung our economy, ended America’s energy dominance, put our children’s education in decline, targeted parents’ rights, and infringed on hardworking Americans’ basic constitutional freedoms and liberties. Simply put, President Biden has put America last. I had hoped to hear President Biden admit his failures, reverse course, but instead he doubled-down on his failed policies. In contrast, House Republicans have been delivering on their promises to the American people. Since taking the House Majority, my colleagues and I have passed legislation to solve the crisis caused by the Biden Administration such as:
The American people deserve nothing less, and I will keep fighting to put them first. Never AgainOn February 22, 2024, Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student was murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Despite having a lengthy criminal history prior to the death of Riley, Ibarra was never detained by ICE. Last week, I voted to pass H.R. 7511, the Laken Riley Act, legislation I cosponsored that would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue a detainer for illegal aliens who are charged or cited with local theft or burglary. I mourn the death of Laken Riley who would still be with her family today if it wasn’t for the failed immigration policies of President Biden. The Laken Riley Act ensures that ICE has no excuses for not arresting and deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes and provides states a legal resource to force the Biden Administration to address their border security failures. While President Biden apologizes to Riley’s murderer for referring to him as “illegal”, my colleagues and I are working to secure our nation’s borders and hold illegal immigrants accountable to ensure heinous crimes like this never happen again. Congressional Art CompetitionI am excited to announce that submission for the 2024 Congressional Art Competition is now open! This year, the theme for my office’s Congressional Art Competition is “America the Beautiful.” The competition is open to high school students only, including home school students. Each student may enter one piece of artwork. For more information, please visit my website. Each spring, I have the unique opportunity as a member of Congress to showcase the artistic talents of high school students within Florida’s 11th Congressional District. Sponsored by the members of the U.S. House of Representatives, winners from each congressional district are prominently displayed in the Cannon Tunnel in Washington, D.C. The Cannon Tunnel connects the Cannon House Office Building with the U.S. Capitol and is traveled on a daily basis by members of Congress, their staff, and visitors to our nation’s Capital.
Seeing and Serving YouIn Washington last week I met with the Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue ahead of his testimony to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. We discussed transportation challenges and successes in Florida, as well as implementation concerns with federal discretionary grants. I am encouraged that Florida was well-represented during this full committee hearing on such an important topic.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg’s grant process is too often unnecessarily difficult and confusing, creating costly project delays, favoring large cities over small and rural communities, and overly focusing on the Biden Administration’s added criteria for climate, equity, and environmental justice. Further, they often exceed their statutory authority during the rulemaking process. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where I am a senior member is pushing back on the Biden Administration and working to hold them accountable for being good partners, not obstacles, to infrastructure investments across America.
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Recently, a federal court issued an order divesting the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) of its authority to issue State 404 Program permits in Florida. The State 404 Program is responsible for overseeing the permitting for any projects proposing the dredge of and fill within state assumed wetlands and surface waters. Projects impacted by the decision include: single-family residences, commercial developments, agricultural activities, and utility and infrastructure projects. Last week, I met with the Florida DEP Secretary Shawn Hamilton and members of his team to discuss the recent court decision. When DEP lost its permitting authority, more than 1,000 State 404 permit applications were being processed. This decision not only halted the processing of these permits but required their reallocation to a newly appointed authority. This new authority is also being required to restart the entire review process of these permits resulting in major delays on countless projects in Florida. My staff and I are looking into ways that we can assist DEP in the reinstatement of their permitting authorities.
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I also met with Florida members of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) who came to provide some background on their various positions within the FWS and the impact their work is having on our state. The roles varied from the establishment and expansion of refuges to working to address the prevention of invasive species in our state. Furthermore, we discussed important issues and initiatives being worked on within the Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee for Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries that I sit on, and how our work and initiatives correlate with theirs.
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It was great to meet with members of FloridaMakes and several small manufacturing businesses operating in our district, including JETechnologies, Niagara Bottling, and Red Meters last week. We discussed the strength of Florida’s growing manufacturing industry as well as the importance of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program for Florida manufacturers.
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On Wednesday, I met with Dr. Norton, the Vice President for Research at the University of Florida. Dr. Norton shared with me some of the University’s high priority research initiatives in Artificial Intelligence, national security, and space. It’s critical that the U.S. supports advances in these new technologies in order to maintain a competitive edge and protect national security, but there must be proper oversight and safeguards without overregulation. As a member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I am committed to strengthening our nation’s leadership in artificial intelligence and making it beneficial and safe for all Americans.
_______________ Also on Wednesday, I met with the Florida Credit Union Association who came to highlight various initiatives to better serve their members. One being the need for cutting down on financial fraud by getting financial organizations to work together to increase information sharing, develop best practices, raise educational awareness of fraud schemes, and promote innovation in counter-fraud technologies.
_______________ Cindy Brown, my Community Relations Representative for Sumter County, recently attended a Quilts of Valor Presentation, at the Eisenhower Recreation Center in the Villages. The presentation was hosted by Sheila Robbins, U.S. Navy Retired, of the Quilt of Valor Foundation and the Villages Khaki Quilters Club. The quilts are awarded to Veterans, not just handed out, and serve as a “thank you” for veterans service and sacrifice in serving our nation. The Veterans honored at this special ceremony include: WWII Veteran Donald Wheatley, U.S. Navy; Jesse Hadaway, US Navy – USS Intrepid CVA-11; Glenn Allen, U.S. Army, Vietnam; Alan Beauregard, U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam, Purple Heart Recipient; and William Goldston, U.S. Marine Corps, Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient. Congratulations to each of these American Heroes! Thank you, to all of our veterans who served selflessly to ensure that our great nation stays free. We owe our service members, both past and present, a debt we can never repay.
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Cindy Brown also recently participated in Career Day at the South Sumter Middle School. Representatives from local government agencies and businesses spoke to middle school students about their careers. Cindy spoke with students about how I serve constituents, how local and federal government works, and how she serves constituents by representing me at special events. Thank you to South Sumter Middle School for providing this excellent program for their students.
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Pam Jones, my Community Relations Representative in Lake County, attended South Lake Chamber Ribbon Cuttings for Fireflies Resale Marketplace and Prestige Janitorial Service, LLC. Victoria and Lynn, a mother daughter team opened Fireflies Resale Marketplace in Montverde to help support their Group Life Foundation. Group Life Foundation strives to enhance the lives of individuals with special needs residing in Group Homes within Lake County. The mission is to create a better quality of life for those who need it most. Victoria and Lynn facilitate three women’s group homes in Montverde and support a total of 21 homes in Lake County.
Prestige Janitorial Service, LLC is a Columbus-based, woman-owned enterprise that has delivered top-tier commercial cleaning services to clients of all sizes since 2008. Trinelle Mitchell, Owner/CEO, and her husband, Robert Mitchell, Operations Manager started their janitorial service in Ohio and have now expanded and relocated to Lake County. Trinelle and Robert welcomed chamber members and the community as they all celebrated the ribbon cutting and grand opening of Prestige Janitorial Service.
Your servant,
Daniel Webster |
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Constituent CornerA constituent from Lake County was unable to communicate with the IRS to correct a simple clerical error on his 2022 tax return which resulted in a hold being placed on the return. Our office submitted his concerns to the IRS who made the necessary correction and released the refund. Constituent services is a critical element of our congressional office. The federal government is a massive operation, and my office is available if you ever need assistance in navigating the bureaucracy or cutting through red tape. We are here to serve you. SurveyTikTok is fully owned and controlled by the Chinese company ByteDance, which works closely with the Chinese Community Party (CCP). Do you think TikTok should separate itself from the control of the CCP?
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Results of last week’s survey which asked…“Do you think Hunter Biden should appear before the House Committees on Oversight and Judiciary in a public hearing?”
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