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| Last week I was back on the ground in Southwest Florida, working to improve our community. I began the week by joining representatives from AshBritt, and the Fisherman's Disaster Response Mangrove Specialty Team to observe the impressive progress made in removing marine debris from the waterways in and around St. James City. This tour was important because we must look ahead to the impending hurricane season while also paying attention to the remnants of Hurricane Ian. While viewing the great work of AshBritt, questions arose about pressing issues regarding the owner identification and removal procedure for derelict vessels lodged in mangroves as a result of Hurricane Ian. The current policy does not make any sense and I immediately called State Senate President Passidomo to further inquire on the issue. She graciously answered my call and we spoke mid-tour. Disaster relief is a collaborative process between leaders at all levels of government and I'm proud to play a part in helping to restore our community. I also attended the Lee County Veterans Treatment Court in Fort Myers and my office's third annual Congressional Art Competition Showcase, which we held in Bonita Springs. Hearing the success stories of local veterans was inspiring but also meeting the heroes responsible for their success was truly impactful. The winner of our third annual art competition is a high school student from Estero named J. Storm Childress. Childress captured an incredible photo of an otter defending its child from an alligator and his entry will be featured in the United States Capitol for the next year as a representative of Southwest Florida and Florida's 19th Congressional District. It has recently come to my attention that beginning in August, FEMA will be confiscating travel trailers from individuals who received emergency housing in the wake of Hurricane Ian. This is frankly ridiculous. We have been progressively rebuilding our community for the past seven months and now an artificial federal deadline has been imposed that will directly harm the most vulnerable people in our region. It's 2023. We have the National Hurricane Center, we have all this technology, but then you're going tell people trying to rebuild that they can't keep a trailer on their property. It simply makes no sense. I am proud to stand up for the people of our region against the unending bureaucratic mess that has been FEMA's response to Hurricane Ian. In Washington, Democrats continued to lie about the debt ceiling. The reality is Senate Democrats have not passed a debt ceiling bill at all, President Biden doesn't have a plan to deal with the debt ceiling at all, but your House Republican Majority has already put forward a solution. We passed the Limit Save Grow Act which curtails spending, raises the debt ceiling and pays our bills. Yet Democrats sit back, blame us, do nothing and simply let the media advocate on their behalf. Remember, President Biden could've raised the debt ceiling last year when Speaker Pelosi was in power but instead he chose brinksmanship and to hold our treasury markets in the lurch. He could have crafted a solution he chose to make America's fiscal future his own political football. It's time to come to the negotiating table. I'm with Speaker McCarthy on this. We must be careful and responsible with the American people's money. As your Congressman, you have my commitment to work on your behalf and restore order and proper governance to The People's House. |
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