WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Governor Rick Scott joined President Trump for the signing of the Veteran’s Choice Program Extension and Improvement Act.
Governor Scott said, “My father served in WWII and I proudly served in the United States Navy and I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to our military and our veterans. I was honored to join him today as he signed this important bill for our veterans.”
President Trump
Following Meeting with Governor Scott, President Trump Commits to Fixing the Herbert Hoover Dike
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Governor Rick Scott spoke with President Donald Trump regarding the importance of fixing the federally operated Herbert Hoover Dike. Following their conversation, President Trump committed to fixing the dike. Earlier this week, Governor Scott urged the Florida Senate and Florida House to allocate $200 million in state funds to help fix the federally operated dike. This followed the Governor’s announcement that the Trump Administration committed $1.5 billion in LIP funding to Florida, which was nearly a billion more than the Obama Administration. These additional funds mean more funding is available to invest in key items like the environment.
Governor Scott said, “Today, I spoke with President Trump on the importance of fixing the federally operated Herbert Hoover Dike and he committed that his administration would help provide the resources to do that. President Trump is clearly focused on protecting Florida’s environment and investing in our infrastructure, and I want to thank him for partnering with us to solve the water issues around Lake Okeechobee by fixing the dike.
“While I called on President Obama multiple times throughout his administration to step up and fulfill the federal government’s funding commitment to fixing the dike, it never happened. Today, President Trump is fighting for Florida’s families and this news is a big win for our state. My goal is for the dike to be completely repaired by 2022, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump Administration to complete this important project. With this commitment from the president, I hope that the Florida Legislature will immediately allocate $200 million in the budget they send me to help fix the dike.”
Governor Scott: Veterans Choice Program Extension and Improvement Act
Good morning,
Today, Governor Scott joined President Trump for a bill signing of the Veterans Choice Program Extension and Improvement Act at 11:30 am at the White House. Executive Director of the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, Retired Army Lt. Col. Glenn Sutphin, will also join.
If you are writing on it, below is a quote from Governor Scott:
“My father served in WWII and I proudly served in the United States Navy, and I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to our military and our veterans. I look forward to joining him today as he signs this important bill for our veterans.” – Governor Rick Scott
ICYMI: News Talk Florida: Bondi to serve on new Trump lead Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission
Pam Bondi: “I want to thank the President of the United States, Governor Christie and many others for caring about this deadly epidemic.”
News Talk Florida
James Williams
March 29, 2017
Bondi will serve on the new Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission to be chaired by Gov. Chris Christie
While in Washington to moderate women’s empowerment panel at the White House, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was named to a group who will take the lead on combatting drug abuse. The new group is called the Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission. It is a new group that was put together and will be overseen by President Donald Trump.
The commission will be chaired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and today at the White House Bondi had some early conversations about her duties when she sat with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, VA Secretary David Shulkin, Kellyanne Conway, Jared Kushner, Stephen Miller, Omarosa Manigault, and other administration officials.
To read the full article, click here.
Attorney General Bondi Appointed to President’s Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission
Attorney General Pam Bondi is honored to be appointed to President Donald J. Trump’s Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission. As a member of the commission, Attorney General Bondi will work alongside national leaders in the opioid fight on drug prevention, interdiction and treatment strategies. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will chair the commission.
“I am honored to work alongside President Trump, Governor Christie and others to combat the national opioid crisis that is claiming thousands of American lives every year,” said Attorney General Bondi. “For more than two decades, first as a state prosecutor and now as Florida’s attorney general, I have fought drug abuse at the local and state level—with this appointment I will work with national leaders in this vital fight.”
In 2011, when Attorney General Bondi took office, seven Floridians were dying every day from prescription drug abuse, 98 of the top 100 oxycodone dispensers lived in Florida, and Florida was known as the Pill Mill Capital of the Country. Working with law enforcement and lawmakers, Attorney General Bondi took quick action to shut down pill mills and save lives. Today none of the top oxycodone dispensers live in Florida.
In 2012, Attorney General Bondi chaired the Prescription Drug Abuse and Newborn Task Force to raise awareness, improve reporting and identify policy recommendations regarding Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. NAS effects babies born drug exposed. The task force finished ahead of schedule with recommendations to raise awareness, increase reporting and improve treatment. The task force also worked with the legislature to secure millions of recurring dollars to treat expectant mothers addicted to drugs.
Since taking office, Attorney General Bondi has issued executive orders and worked with lawmakers to ban 136 of the most common chemical compounds used to produce deadly synthetic drugs. In 2016, Attorney General Bondi helped pass sweeping legislation to dramatically improve control over synthetic drugs.
For the 2017 legislative session, Attorney General Bondi is supporting legislation to add Fentanyl to Florida’s drug trafficking statute. Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic substance 50 times more powerful than heroin. Drug dealers commonly mix Fentanyl with other substances and sell it as heroin or a prescription painkiller—all too often resulting in drug abusers suffering fatal overdoses.
As a career prosecutor, Attorney General Bondi has fought drug abuse for two decades. She is currently the Co-Chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Substance Abuse Committee. The appointment to the President’s Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission will allow her to work with other national leaders on drug prevention, interdiction, treatment and recovery strategies.
Attorney General Bondi Joins President Trump and Governor Christie for Announcement about National Opioid Epidemic
Attorney General Pam Bondi is joining President Donald J. Trump and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at the White House for an announcement regarding the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic.
“I am honored to be appointed to the President’s Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission. Thousands of Americans each year die from drug overdoses. I want to thank the President of the United States, Governor Christie and many others for caring about this deadly epidemic,” said Attorney General Bondi.
Gov. Scott Greets President Donald Trump in Orlando
Governor Rick Scott and his grandson, Auguste, greeted President Donald Trump today in Orlando prior to his visit to St. Andrew Catholic School.
Florida's rubber stamps for Trump's anti-environmental agenda
Rubber Stamps: The 10 Florida Members of Congress Who Have Voted
100% of the Time for President Trump’s Anti-Environmental Agenda
In the four weeks since President Donald J. Trump was confirmed as the 45th President of the United States, the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have held a combined 26 roll call votes on nominees or issues that pertain to energy or environmental policy.
Of Florida’s 29 senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress, 10 have voted 100% of the time for President Trump’s anti-environmental agenda, putting each of them squarely out of synch with public opinion in a state where a majority of residents say they are worried about global warming.
“The question is, what will it take for our elected representatives to stand up to President Trump and to vote independently, on behalf of all Floridians?” said Progress Florida Executive Director Mark Ferrulo.
This disconnect between their early voting records in the 115th Congress and their constituents’ views may be one reason why only three of them are currently scheduled to hold in-person town halls or public meetings in this first week back home since President Trump was sworn in.
In 2017, Sen. Marco Rubio has voted four out of four times for President Trump’s anti-environmental agenda. Specifically, he voted to:
- Overturn the Stream Protection Rule, which protected U.S. drinking water from toxic mine waste;
- Enable oil companies to engage in bribery and corruption overseas;
- Confirm Exxon Mobil’s CEO Rex Tillerson to serve as Secretary of State; and
- Confirm Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Scott Pruitt, to serve as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Meanwhile, Rubio has no in-person town halls scheduled and his overall “Trump Score” across all policy areas is 100%, according to Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.com.
Of 22 environment-related roll call votes in the House of Representatives in 2017, Florida Congressmen Matt Gaetz, Neal Dunn, Ted Yoho, Bill Posey, Gus Bilirakis, Dennis Ross, Vern Buchanan, Thomas Rooney, and Francis Rooney have not cast a single vote against President Trump’s anti-environmental agenda. They have voted to:
- Overturn the Stream Protection Rule, which protects U.S. drinking water from toxic mine waste;
- Enable oil companies to engage in bribery and corruption overseas;
- Eliminate methane pollution limits for oil and gas companies operating on public lands;
- Restrict public input on public land management decisions; and
- Legalize the killing of hibernating bear clubs in Alaska’s national wildlife refuges.
“Like Sen. Rubio, these nine Florida congressional Republicans have turned their back on their constituents – not just through their extreme anti-environmental voting record, but in most cases ducking voters in their home districts by avoiding town hall meetings,” added Ferrulo.
According TownHallProject.com, only Reps. Yoho, Gaetz and Bilirakis have in-person town hall meetings scheduled during the congressional recess. Reps. Gaetz, Dunn, Yoho, Posey, Bilirakis, Ross, Buchanan, T. Rooney, and F. Rooney all have an overall “Trump Score” of 100% according to Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.com.
President Trump to hold rally in Florida
On Saturday, February 18th, President Donald J Trump will hold a rally in Melbourne, FL.
Saturday, February 18th, 2017, at 5:00 PM (EST): Melbourne, FL
President Trump will hold an event at the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport
Orlando-Melbourne International Airport
AeroMod International Hanger
100 Aerospace Drive Unit 6
Melbourne, FL 32901
ALL REQUESTS FOR MEDIA CREDENTIALS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY FEB. 17, 2017 12:00 PM (EST)
State Senator Daphne Campbell objects to Mayor Gimenez siding with President Trump's Muslim ban
State Senator Daphne Campbell on Wednesday strongly criticized Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez’s decision to abandon its “sanctuary city” policy, and called on him to join her in standing with immigrants and their families against Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim executive order.
“The United States is a country composed of immigrants. They are woven into the very fabric of our society,” said Senator Campbell, who was born in Haiti and immigrated to the United States in 1981. “We must not forget our roots. All Americans were immigrants at some point in our lineage. Miami has a proud history of extending a hand of welcome to the persecuted, the poor, the victims of natural disasters and those made by man. We cannot afford to turn our backs on what makes this city and this nation an international beacon of hope.”
Last week, Miami-Dade County became our nation’s first jurisdiction to abandon its so-called “sanctuary city” policy in response to a highly controversial executive order issued by President Trump. In a surprise move, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez abruptly ordered county officials to comply with all “detainer requests” from the Department of Homeland Security, which ask local law enforcement to jail suspects without warrant until they can be picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Thousands of Miami-Dade residents were immediately impacted by Mayor Gimenez’s announcement. In fact, Senator Campbell’s office has received many calls from the families of potentially affected constituents pleading for assistance and answers. “This is no way for the City of Miami to treat the most vulnerable among us. We must do better,” said Senator Campbell.
Protests erupted at Miami International Airport and throughout the nation against Trump’s refugee ban. “I stand with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, and the thousands of others speaking out for immigrant rights!” said Senator Campbell.
“I strongly urge Mayor Giménez to remember his own history, and join me in doing the same and to retract his memo for the betterment of the constituency that put him in office.”
