The welding, automotive, aviation maintenance, submarine, shipbuilding, and other defense-related trade industries are facing a workforce shortage. Many service members and veterans possess the skills to excel in trade jobs benefiting the defense industrial base...
The United States will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, along with Canada and Mexico. Miami was chosen as one of the host cities to hold matches, with additional Florida cities serving as base camps for the competing national teams. The increased tourism activity across...
Oropouche virus is a disease spread to humans by mosquitoes and biting midges that can cause neurological effects and devastating effects on unborn babies. Recent surveillance data reports approximately 40 travel-associated cases of oropouche, in Florida, from...
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, is a bipartisan commission that monitors and reports on international religious freedom. The commission’s authorization is currently...
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host in-person Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of Senator Rubio’s...
U.S. government agencies have different criteria for sanctioning adversaries and preventing them from engaging in the U.S. economy. Our biggest foreign adversaries, like China, benefit from this lack of interagency coordination, which must come to an immediate...
The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that passed the Senate today could have had a positive effect on Florida’s natural resources, industries and residents. Every Floridian is impacted by the work conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers in our state. Unfortunately, politics were chosen over sound public policy, and the state’s best interests were left out of the final bill.
When this legislation was first passed by the Environment and Public Works Committee, it contained a provision that would have worked to resolve a multi-decade water dispute between our state, the State of Alabama and the State of Georgia. Floridians in Apalachicola Bay have known all too well how this dispute has created economic havoc for our once vibrant oyster industry, as well as all the other industries that are so dependent on the harvesting and sale of that great resource.
To address this issue, I worked with several other senators to make restoring flows out of Atlanta and towards the Apalachicola Bay – my top priority as we began debate on the WRDA. Unfortunately, the language addressing this dispute was taken out of the bill after the Committee approved it, and my amendment to reinstate this important policy was not included in the final bill.
Despite this setback, I will not give up on restoring flows towards the Apalachicola Bay. I’ve requested a field hearing in the Apalachicola Bay area so that my colleagues in the Senate can better understand why this issue simply cannot continue to be held hostage to the broken politics of Washington.
Another top priority for me on this legislation was to make sure that funds paid into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund are used for harbor maintenance, not ransacked by Washington appropriators for other pet projects around the country. But once again, the Democrat majority in the Senate chose politics over policy by removing a provision in the bill that would prohibit funds for harbor maintenance from being used elsewhere. This does not serve Florida’s interests, nor the American taxpayer’s interest. And, while this legislation authorized several projects important to the Everglades, it did not authorize the Central Everglades Planning Project, the next major step towards complete restoration.
This legislation could have done much more for the natural resources and industries of Florida, but it is clear that Washington has a long way to go when it comes to choosing good policy over politics. I share in the frustration of many Floridians, but will remain committed to achieving the best policy for my state of Florida.