RECORD REFLECTS CONSISTENT CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP FOR NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

November 26, 2012 --  With the close of Rep. Cliff Stearns’ career as a 24-year veteran of Congress, he reflects on his record of legislative accomplishments while serving the people of North Central Florida. Holding nearly 650 town meetings to talk with voters, he also hosted workshops across the district to help his constituents during financial and national emergencies.

Serving during five presidencies, he exercised leadership roles in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, including as Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and the House Veterans Affairs.  As Oversight Chairman, Stearns exposed the waste and political intrigue behind Solyndra, which declared bankruptcy after received a $535 million loan guarantee from the taxpayers. 

During his tenure, Stearns appointed numerous outstanding men and woman to the nation’s five service academies, producing leaders who have served this country with honor and distinction. 

One of the highpoints for veterans and serving on the House Veterans Affairs Committee for 24 years was improving access to health care and improving VA services.

“I stand proud of my 24-year record of conservative leadership and of defending our traditional values in Congress. It has been an honor, privilege, and the high calling of my life to serve the many outstanding citizens of Florida in our nation’s capitol.”—Stearns.

Some of his major legislative accomplishments are outlined below:

Early in his tenure working across the aisle with Democrats and Republicans, Representative Stearns managed passage of S. 2740 / H.R. 4237 to amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to deauthorize the Cross-Florida Barge Canal, and to assist the State of Florida in preservation of the canal corridor as a greenway, which President Bush signed into law November 29, 1990.

Representative Stearns was instrumental in the passage of the “Telecommunications Act of 1996” which was signed into law January 3, 1996. He served on the Senate-House Conferee Committee. This bill is “to provide competition and reduce regulation in order to secure lower prices and higher quality service for American telecommunications consumers and encourage the rapid development of new telecommunications technologies.”

Representative Stearns was instrumental in the passage of H.R. 2116 “to amend Title 38, United States Code, to establish a program of extended care services for veterans and to make other improvements in health care programs of the department of Veterans Affairs.”   This Act, known as the “Veterans’ Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act” was signed by President Bill Clinton on March 10, 2000.

Representative Stearns was instrumental in the passage of the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” “to provide civil liability actions from being brought or continued against manufacturers, distributors, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages injunctive or other relief resulting from the misuse of their produced by others.”  This was signed on October 26, 2005 by President George Bush. 

Stearns led efforts fort establishing a new cemetery in Jacksonville.  The language in Representative Stearns’ bill, H.R. 1516, was incorporated into the National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003, establishing a veterans’ cemetery in Jacksonville. Representative Stearns had originally dropped this legislation, H.R. 3882, 10 years earlier before it was enacted and signed into law by President Bush. 

Working for North Central Florida

Establishment of an out-patient clinic for Veterans in Leesburg and Ocala, Florida.

Instrumental in building a Veterans’ hospital facility in western Marion County, part of The Villages, with ten acres of land donated by Gary Morris, the owner of The Villages.

Funding for a 235-bed facility for the Veterans Administration Hospital in Gainesville.

Conversion of the Master Navy Jet Base Cecil Field into the Cecil Field Commerce Center with continuous appropriated funding to help transition this into a commercial enterprise.

Further funding for the National Guard in Camp Blanding for the new Education Center as a result of the 9/11 tragedy and terrorist attack.  Also helped National Guard in the relocation of the space program deposit of rocket fuel at Camp Blanding.

Federal funding for the building of a new prison in Sumter County and the funding for the intersection to allow transportation requirements to be met off of I-75.

Recent Accomplishments:

Representative Stearns introduced FAST, the “Faster Access to Specialized Treatments Act” (H.R. 4132), which rewrote Section 506 of the Food Drug & Cosmetics Act to modernize the accelerated approval pathway for rare disease drugs.  FAST was included in the FDA Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), Rare Disease Bill.

A recent bill that passed the Congress for the first time with Democrat support was H.R. 822, the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act, to allow Americans to carry a concealed weapon if they have established their credentials from the state of their residency to other states.