Weekly Messages
December 11, 2008
The Detroit Project
This week, I had the opportunity to participate in a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee to address the future of the American automobile industry. Read More…
December 2, 2008
Holiday Hugs from Home
Last week, I joined with students from our local elementary and middle schools to mail 4,000 holiday cards to members of the U.S. military serving in Afghanistan during the holiday season. Read More…
November 20, 2008
Real Solutions for the Economic Crisis
This week, the House of Representatives met to address our country's current economic crisis. Read More…
October 28, 2008
Time to Vote
It has been a long campaign season, but at last, it is time to vote. Read More…
October 21, 2008
Addressing the Financial Crisis
This morning, I had the opportunity to participate in an important hearing of the House Financial Services Committee to address our current economic crisis. It was a very productive meeting, and I made sure to communicate the thoughts, suggestions and opinions that so many of you have shared with me in the last few weeks to my Congressional colleagues and our distinguished witnesses. Read More…
October 16, 2008
A Special Presentation
This week, I had the extraordinary opportunity to present more than 60 local students from over a dozen area high schools with Congressional Award Medals for 2008. Read More…
October 7, 2008
An Important Deadline
There is an important deadline coming up next week. Wednesday, October 15 is the last day to file a 2007 income tax return and receive an economic stimulus payment. Read More…
September 17, 2008
A Comprehensive Energy Plan
Last night, I joined a majority of my colleagues to pass a historic package of energy legislation. The package of bills, passed together as the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 6899), will bring down gas prices in the short term and set America on a path to energy independence in the long term. Read More…
September 3, 2008
Hurricane Season is Here
This week, we saw Hurricane Gustav make landfall on the Gulf Coast, and we in South Florida face several named storms that could affect our area. Read More…
August 21, 2008
Expanding Our Small Businesses
This morning, I held a small business symposium with entrepreneurs, outside experts and state and federal government representatives. Read More…
August 14, 2008
A Baggage Burden On Our Military
This week, I was saddened to read media reports that some airlines are charging baggage fees to military service members on travel orders. Specifically, an Army Staff Sergeant was charged $100 to check a bag containing military-issued equipment required for combat. Read More…
August 7, 2008
Time for Fiscal Responsibility
This week, a new U.S. government report was released that led me to renew my call for Iraqi fiscal responsibility. The report found that the Iraqi government acquired a budget surplus of nearly $80 billion in the last three years. Read More…
July 31, 2008
Keeping Our Kids Safe
Our first responsibility as parents is to keep our kids safe. Yesterday, I was proud to strongly support two separate bills critical to consumer safety in South Florida and nationwide. Read More…
July 24, 2008
Confronting the Mortgage Crisis
Yesterday, I joined a bipartisan majority of my House colleagues to pass timely and responsible housing legislation which will keep families from losing their homes, protect neighboring home values, and stabilize the housing market. Read More…
July 16, 2008
A Child Is Missing
This week, the U.S House passed legislation I authored to help find children in the critical moments after they go missing. The bill, the A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act (H.R. 5464) expands the widely-praised South Florida non-profit A Child Is Missing into a national program with regional centers under the Department of Justice. Read More…
July 10, 2008
Homes for Heroes
This week, the U.S. House passed an important piece of legislation to serve the men and women who have served our country. The Homes for Heroes Act (HR 3329) provides real solutions for those among our nation's veterans who have fallen on hard times and need a chance to get their lives back on track. Read More…
July 2 2008
Declare Energy Independence
Each July 4th, we gather with family and friends to celebrate the patriotism and courage of the earliest Americans as they declared their independence from tyranny and oppression. Read More…
June 25, 2008
A GI Bill for the 21st Century
Last week, a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives came together to pass a modernized GI Bill, which provides veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with access to a full, four-year college education and the right to transfer those benefits to their spouse or children. Read More…
June 19, 2008
Drill It or Lose It
Many of us in Florida watched as the debate on drilling off our coasts took a dramatic and irresponsible turn this week. For the past 25 years, Democrats and Republicans in Florida, governors, state legislators and members of Congress alike, have defended a policy of zero tolerance for drilling off our coasts to protect our beaches and billions of tourism dollars they generate. Read More…
June 11, 2008
Safe and Healthy Schools
Few things are as important as the health of our children. Last week, the House of Representatives passed legislation, the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, (H.R. 3021) which modernizes public school facilities, reduces their carbon footprints, cuts their operational expenses and improves the health and safety of students and teachers. Read More…
June 5, 2008
What Are Your Summer Travel Plans?
Summer travel season is here. We in Congress are taking action to ease the burdens that come with travel, from pushing for a passenger's bill of rights protecting air travelers to working constantly to bring down the sky-high price of gas. Read More…
May 27, 2008
Hurricane Survey - Are You Ready?
Hurricane season is right around the corner – are you prepared? The official start of hurricane season is June 1, and the best way to keep your family safe is to be prepared. Read More…
May 21, 2008
A Victory for Every Taxpayer
Last week, the House of Representatives passed parts of a supplemental spending bill to cover the astronomical costs of the war in Iraq. The numbers bear repeating: thus far, five years and over $600 billion have been spent. Taxpayers in this country spend $339 million every single day to rebuild Iraq, a figure that should shock every American. Read More…
May 14, 2008
Real Support for Our Troops
Whether you support the war in Iraq or not, we can all agree we must support our returning servicemen and women with access to the full range of benefits they have earned. Read More…
April 30, 2008
Time To Adjust Your Television Set?
A new federal law requires all television stations to switch their broadcast from analog to digital by February 17, 2009. Congress passed this legislation to open up more emergency communication channels for police, fire and rescue personnel, but it will require some people to make a small adjustment to their televisions in order to keep receiving programming. Read More…
April 24, 2008
Fixing the Mortgage Mess
The state of the economy is on all of our minds. Whether I'm in Washington or at home in South Florida, it is the one issue that everyone is talking about, and with good reason. Gas prices are at a record high, and costs for food and other basic items are also skyrocketing. Millions of Americans are concerned about losing their homes, or losing value in their homes due to the mortgage crisis. Read More…
April 17, 2008
Where are Your Tax Dollars Going?
Tuesday was tax day. This tax season, Americans are rightfully asking why the U.S. is continuing to spend billions of taxpayer dollars in Iraq. Whether you support the Iraq war strategy or not, we can all agree that when it comes to the $600 billion in American taxpayer dollars that we have spent over the last five years, enough is enough. Read More…
April 9, 2008
Trouble In the Skies
Last week, Congress heard first-hand testimony from several employees of the Federal Aviation Administration. These were decent, hard-working people who tried to blow the whistle on unsafe practices by the airlines, only to be stonewalled by senior FAA officials, who put their close relationships with the airlines over what should have been their first and only concern – passenger safety. Read More…
April 2, 2008
Getting our Economy Moving
In today's economy, many families are struggling. We've seen the biggest drop in American jobs in five years, while oil prices and mortgage foreclosures at the end of 2007 shot up to record highs. Read More…
