“I am honored to recognize one of our district’s most outstanding teachers today, Michele, for her leadership and commitment to educating the youth in our community. She has gone above and beyond her role as an educator through dedicating her time to the FFA program and getting our future generations involved in Florida’s thriving agriculture industry.”

“Our district is honored to be home to over 74,000 veterans, many of whom served in Vietnam. Unfortunately, these veterans did not receive the proper recognition they deserved when they arrived home from serving our country decades ago. Designating an official day of recognition for their service is a small step towards giving them the appreciation they deserve.”

“It is well documented that the Chinese Communist Party sees our higher education institutions as an opportunity for espionage and a place to spread their communist propaganda, even going beyond Confucius Institutes and reaching university professors. While Florida is taking promising steps to curb this national security threat, Congress and the Biden Administration need to take decisive action to send a message to China that their communist mission is not welcome or acceptable in our education system.”

“Okeechobee County’s priorities like telehealth expansion, water quality issues, and public health have remained major focuses for our team, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was honored to update the Chamber this morning on what we are doing at the federal level to advance these priorities and protect our values.”

“Not only does Iran-backed KSS pose a serious threat to peace and stability in the region, but they are also directly responsible for American service member deaths in Iraq. Their continued attacks on Americans and our strategic interests demands a strong and decisive response from the Biden Administration, but all we have seen from Biden’s top officials so far are dangerous concessions and radical appeasement.”

“There is a crisis at our border and this dangerous legislation only serves to incentivize more illegal crossings by granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. With Border Patrol encountering an average of 565 unaccompanied children a day, and some migrant facilities operating at over 729% capacity, we cannot afford misguided policies that fan the flames of the blazing disaster at the southern border.”

“Water is the lifeblood of Florida with our thriving ecosystem offering vital resources for our local economies, agriculture, tourism and recreation. As we are no strangers to harmful algal blooms and the negative effects they have on our water quality, this bipartisan legislation takes an important step in prioritizing Florida’s environment despite ongoing partisan gridlock in Washington.”

“Highlands County has experienced unique economic challenges due to COVID-19 and our team has been working at the federal, state and local levels to ensure that they have the assistance they need for a full recovery. As we continue our efforts to reopen the economy, support our farmers, and vaccinate vulnerable populations, we are here to help navigate the Paycheck Protection Program and USDA initiatives, while also fighting for more resources and adequate vaccine doses.”

“Cities across the country have seen historic crime spikes, and Democrats have spent the last two weeks attacking law enforcement, giving stimulus checks to felons, and now taking away Second Amendment rights from law-abiding gun owners. These proposals would not have prevented a single mass shooting we have seen – they are simply unconstitutional power grabs that only serve to infringe on our rights and make our communities less safe.”

“I’m concerned that the Biden Administration has begun to systematically undo President Trump’s policies confronting the Chinese Communist Party. In just a month, the Administration has repealed President Trump’s Executive Order preventing China, as well as Putin’s Russia, from accessing the U.S.’ power grid. They have also rejoined the WHO without getting a single reform out of the organization, refused to commit to keeping Huawei on the entities list, and even revoked rules preventing American investment in Chinese military companies.”

“The PRO Act is a partisan grab bag designed to benefit politically connected groups at the expense of many Americans simply trying to provide for themselves and their families.

The bill would jeopardize and sometimes even outlaw most forms of independent contracting, gig work, freelancing, and franchising under the National Labor Relations Act. It would employ an ‘ABC’ test, a tool regulators have often used to reclassify those with flexible work arrangements, to place them in traditional employment, possibly under union control.

The Act would block tens of millions of Americans who work as independent contractors, many of whom operate their own businesses, from earning a living. But some of the bill’s supporters hope that employers will simply place those workers on payroll and then in a union.”

“As officers put their lives on the line to protect all of us, our communities, and our families, we have seen nothing but dangerous attempts from the left to defund, dismantle and disband the police. Even as we stand here surrounded by razor wire, National Guard, and an increased police presence to protect the politicians, my colleagues are willing to defund and disadvantage the law enforcement officers who keep the American people safe.”