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Thank you President Obama for eight years of historic leadership and progress. You are leaving our country in a stronger, more economically stable and just place than you when you walked in the White House. You and Vice President Biden leave behind a soaring legacy. #thanksobama #obamafarewell
As I said on Sunday - we need to take a hard look at the unsecured areas of our airports - but it's absolutely ludicrous to say we need more firearms in situations like Friday's tragedy. Law enforcement officers are not safer when countless more civilians have firearms, and neither is the general public. This is a truly outrageous proposal.
Unfortunately, Senator Sessions has a steep mountain to climb during his confirmation hearing. He has a long and disturbing track record of barring the schoolhouse door on voting rights, including Sessions’ decision to prosecute a close advisor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The NAACP has strongly opposed his nomination, saying that he has “callously ignored the reality of voter suppression but zealously prosecuted innocent civil rights leaders on trumped-up charges of voter f...raud. As an opponent of the vote, he can’t be trusted to be the chief law enforcement officer for voting rights. A coalition of organizations dedicated to combatting sexual assault around the country has also exposed Senator Sessions’ shameful record on protecting women, including his vote against the Violence Against Women Act in 2013 and his highly questionable prosecutorial record. He has also used his vote and his voice to oppose LGBT rights legislation, while also supporting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Senator Sessions’ voting record and body of work in public life makes it clear he stands on the wrong side of history and progress in our nation, and the United States Senate should reject his nomination as Attorney General.
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Tonight my Florida colleagues and I held a moment of silence on the House floor to honor the victims of two tragedies in our state - Friday's tragic shooting at FLL, and the loss of two Orlando law enforcement officers in the line of duty today.
I'm returning to Washington today to work on several issues that Friday's tragic FLL shooting brought to light, including how people travel with firearms, access to firearms for the adjudicated mentally ill, and our transportation hub's security. We must address these critical issues and prevent similar tragedies from occurring.
Please visit Broward.Org for the latest information on retrieving your luggage from FLL Airport. The county is working to return everyone's luggage in a timely fashion. Click this link to learn more: https://webapps.broward.org/news…/AdminDisplayMessages.aspx…
It was six years ago today that a disturbed gunman killed six people at a supermarket in Tucson Arizona, including wounding my close friend and former colleague, Gabrielle Giffords. Sadly since that horrifying day, America has witnessed a stunning number of mass shootings that are disturbingly all too similar to that one.
This summer, we saw the largest mass shooting in American history in Orlando, where 49 people died and 53 others were injured. And on Friday, we added anot...her mass murder, darkening further an already traumatic anniversary, when five more innocent people were brutally killed in cold blood after a gunman opened fire at the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport in my own Congressional district. Six more were injured and countless travelers were traumatized.
The people of Tucson’s resolve did not break that day, and now my friends and neighbors here in South Florida will draw on that same resiliency and strength to get through this latest gun tragedy.
Today, my friend Gabby has made medical progress that few expected to see after what she went through that morning in Tucson. Like so many Americans, I've been fueled by her incredible strength, courage and determination ever since then, and even more so in just these last few days.
Since that brutal attack, Gabby has pulled thousands of concerned Americans - parents, neighbors and friends together in the fight to end our nation's gun violence epidemic. The events in my own community exposed even more vulnerabilities and significant challenges we still face in keeping people safe from gun violence.
I will redouble my efforts to put an end to the senseless gun violence that plagues our country. It disturbs me deeply that we have done so little to address mental health and common sense gun reforms that could dramatically reduce many of these tragedies. With Gabby's help, I'll work with my colleagues in Congress to do everything I can to change that.
UPDATE: The FLL airport has brought in a mobile Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles unit to issue temporary photo i.d.'s for passengers who do not have their valid photo identification for travel. The unit is between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at the arrivals level. Passengers can make their way there to have a temporary i.d. printed for the TSA identification process. This service is available for American license holders in all 50 states.
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There are many passengers who were at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport during the tragic shooting Friday who were separated from their identification and belongings. The Transportation Security Administration requires a valid form of photo identification to travel. However, there is a process for passengers to verify their identity if they DO NOT have a valid form of photo identification from the approved list.
The Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is working diligently to reunite passengers with their belongings, however it is uncertain how long this process will take. If passengers need to travel before they reunite with their identification, they should follow the instructions below:
Here is the information from TSA FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS to go through the process of identifying yourself for travel purposes if you DO NOT have a valid form of photo identification from the approved list.
TSA STRONGLY advises passengers to arrive at the airport EARLY, leaving AT LEAST ONE HOUR
to get through the alternative identification process if you do not have your valid ID.
FROM THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION:
Please see our list of valid IDs here: bit.ly/1MKZXkb
If you don't have a valid ID from the ones listed there, please bring any supporting documents bearing your name. One of the items must bear a photo and identifying information such as an address, phone number, social security number, or date of birth. Items that would work as supporting documents include a credit card, social security card, insurance card, birth certificate, etc.
If you're unable to provide any type of identification, you'll be asked to assist in the identity verification process. To learn more about the process, please visit: bit.ly/1QpRx37
Temporary and Expired IDs are not valid as primary ID at security checkpoints. No worries, we have other ways to verify identity.
If you don't have a valid, unexpired ID, our officer will ask for 2 forms of ID bearing your name. One of the items must contain identifying information such as name, photo, address, phone number, social security number, or date of birth. Examples include a temporary or expired ID, a birth certificate, social security card, etc.
You may also be asked to assist in our identity verification process, if needed. For more information, please visit: bit.ly/1QpRx37
As we try to make sense of Friday's tragic event at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Int'l Airport, we continue to work with law enforcement and governmental agencies to reunite travelers with their families and their belongings. I'm working with the Governor's Office and the Department of Homeland Security as well as the Department of State to assist travelers with obtaining passports and other means of valid photo identification so they can travel as soon as possible. According ...to airport personnel, some parts of this process will take a few days and patience is essential.
Since it is the weekend, I am also working with the Department of State to connect with foreign consulates to assist their citizens with identification and other issues they may have.
Passengers will need to identify their belongings once the process is established. The toll free-number to speak with call center personnel to itemize missing belongings is 866-435-9355.
I extend my deepest gratitude to our first responders - at the local, state and federal levels - for their courage and professionalism. My thoughts continue to be with the victims of this senseless act of violence and with our entire community. #FLLupdate
I am devastated and saddened by the tragic news coming from the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in my congressional district, and I have been actively in touch with federal and local law enforcement to stay on top of the details in real time. For now, we need to allow law enforcement and emergency personnel to do their job and keep people safe. Passengers are sheltering in place throughout the airport and law enforcement is in the process of meticulously securi...ng the terminals. My thoughts are with the victims as well as the wounded and their families right now, and the countless others who were traumatized by this senseless violence. Until we know more, it’s not prudent to speculate on what motivated this horrifying incident. But sadly, I fear we have witnessed yet another disturbing moment in our nation’s ceaseless struggle with gun violence.
See MoreI voted for and cosponsored tonight’s resolution to reaffirm our unbreakable commitment to Israel, our most true and dependable Middle East ally. This resolution rightly acknowledges the United States’ longstanding policy that direct, bilateral negotiations are the only viable method for achieving peace, and that our country must reject any attempt to internationalize the peace process. We cannot allow Israel’s enemies to use international organizations like the UN to undermine and attack it. Instead, we must continue to support Israel by building on the historic Memorandum of Understanding regarding security assistance and standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel as we undertake the difficult task of obtaining a long and lasting peace.
My Republican colleagues need to understand once and for all that repealing Obamacare is not an option - it's a disaster waiting to happen. We're not going back to the dark times when there were annual and lifetime limits on care for all Americans.
As we kick off the 115th Congress, the Democratic Women of the House of Representatives know we have a lot of work to do to protect and fight for the things that matter most to us: quality, affordable health care; a country that treats everyone equally no matter their race, gender, ethnicity, religion or orientation; a top-notch education for our children; and better-paying, equal-paying, jobs for women and working families everywhere. We're standing together, shoulder to shoulder, to fight for the progress this country needs.
South Florida is a diverse and vibrant community and it is an incredible responsibility and honor to represent the people of Florida’s 23rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives. I will continue using my vote and my voice to stand up for each of my constituents, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or nationality. Every one of us deserves to have our voice heard and our rights protected, and I will carry that charge with me ev...ery single day of the 115th Congress.
As we begin this Congress, Republicans are already planning to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s historic legislation, and take quality, affordable health care away from more than 20 million Americans, including millions in Florida. I will continue to work constructively with my colleagues in both parties to improve the law and make it even more affordable. However, I will stand in the breach against any attempt to repeal this lifesaving law that is fundamentally improving our nation’s health care, from ensuring those with pre-existing conditions are covered to extending the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund.
But on areas where our parties agree, I will continue reaching across the aisle to work with my Republican colleagues, no matter how disparate some of our disagreements, to move our nation and world forward.
Thanks to all the friends & family who were a part of today's swearing-in ceremony and festivities!
The Republican plan to repeal and delay a replacement of the Affordable Care Act will cause tens of millions of people to lose their health coverage and millions more will be paying more for their insurance. Share how you and your family have benefited from the #ACA in the comments below, so we can remind Republicans what is at stake. #ACAWorks #CoverageMatters
Russia’s unprecedented assault on our democratic process demanded a strong response, and the sanctions announced by the Obama Administration have sent a much-needed message to Moscow that we will punish anyone who meddles in our elections. That response was backed by a joint F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security report that concluded Russian intelligence services were involved in 'an ongoing campaign of cyber-enabled operations directed at the U.S. government and its cit...izens. Now Congress must take up its responsibility, and immediately launch a bipartisan, public investigation into these cyberattacks. Not only will it more fully uncover how the Kremlin hacked their way into our democratic process, but just as importantly it will show us how to stop this from ever happening again. Americans deserve to feel confident that a foreign power isn’t interfering with how we elect our most powerful leaders. Only a bipartisan, public Congressional investigation into this historic cyberattack on our democracy can help restore that faith.
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