Governor Rick Scott today toured impacts of Hurricane Irma in Lee County with City of Bonita Springs Mayor Peter Simmons and Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno.
Tour
Gov. Scott Tours Impacts of Hurricane Irma
Governor Rick Scott today joined Vice Admiral Karl Schultz and members of the U.S. Coast Guard for an aerial tour on a C-130 along Florida’s West Coast and over the Florida Keys to assess damage from Hurricane Irma. Click HERE for video.
Governor Scott to Kick Off “Fighting for Florida’s Future Victory” Tour
MEDIA ADVISORY
Tomorrow, June 13, Governor Rick Scott will visit five Florida cities as part of his “Fighting for Florida’s Future Victory” tour to celebrate the major wins for Florida families and students during last week’s legislative special session. The Governor will be joined by House Speaker Richard Corcoran on several of the tour stops.
This tour will highlight an all-time high of K-12 per-pupil spending, the establishment of the $85 million Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, full funding for VISIT FLORIDA, and $50 million to kick-start repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee. Governor Scott fought for these important priorities all year.
WHEN: 9:00 AM
WHERE: Jungle Island
1111 Parrot Jungle Trail
Miami, FL 33132
WHEN: 11:00 AM
WHERE: South Florida Water Management District
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL
WHEN: 1:15 PM
WHERE: Sun Harvest Citrus
14601 6 Mile Cypress Pkwy
Fort Myers, FL
WHEN: 3:30 PM
WHERE: Creative Sign Designs
12801 Commodity Pl
Tampa, FL 33626
WHEN: 6:00 PM
WHERE: Angie’s Subs
1436 Beach Boulevard
Jacksonville Beach, FL
Nelson, Rubio invite Zinke to tour Everglades
U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) and a bipartisan group of Florida congressional delegation members sent a letter today to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke inviting him to visit Florida’s Everglades to get a firsthand look at ongoing efforts to restore the River of Grass.
“As the newest secretary of the interior, we welcome you to visit a unique treasure, America’s Everglades,” the lawmakers wrote. “As secretary, you serve as chairman of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force and play a vital role in the effort to restore the balance of water flow and management.”
Nelson, a long-time supporter of restoring the Everglades, brought then-Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) down to Florida in 2007 to give her a tour of the Everglades. He also brought Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the Senate’s third-ranking Republican, down in February to give him a firsthand look at the River of Grass.
Joining Nelson and Rubio in inviting Zinke are Reps. Kathy Castor, Charlie Crist, Carlos Curbelo, Val Demings, Ron DeSantis, Ted Deutch, Mario Diaz-Balart, Lois Frankel, Matt Gaetz, Alcee Hastings, Al Lawson, Brian Mast, Stephanie Murphy, Bill Posey, Francis Rooney, Tom Rooney, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, John Rutherford, Darren Soto, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Daniel Webster, Frederica Wilson and Ted Yoho.
Following is the full text of the lawmakers’ letter, and a PDF copy can be found here:
May 18, 2017
The Honorable Ryan Zinke
Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Secretary Zinke:
As you continue to travel our great nation as the newest secretary of the interior, we welcome you to visit a unique treasure, America’s Everglades. The only subtropical ecosystem in the continental U.S., the Everglades is home to dozens of endangered and threatened species as well as a diverse array of native wildlife.
The U.S. Department of the Interior plays a critical role in our efforts to restore the balance of this ecosystem. As secretary, you serve as chairman of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force and play a vital role in the effort to restore the balance of water flow and management. The Everglades faces numerous challenges, but with a successful state and federal partnership, we are committed to ensuring future generations are able to enjoy this treasured ecosystem.
We realize your schedule is incredibly busy but would be honored to personally show you the River of Grass. Thank you for your consideration as you carry on with the important task of protecting and managing our nation’s natural resources.
Respectfully,
Governor Scott to Kick Off “Fighting For Florida’s Future” Tour
Governor Rick Scott today announced the “Fighting for Florida’s Future” tour where he will visit 10 cities to encourage Floridians to contact members of the Florida Legislature and urge them to invest in key priorities for Florida’s future. The Florida Legislature is in their final days of the 2017 legislative session, and at this time, budget proposals from the Legislature include:
- Kills funding for Enterprise Florida which helps to diversify the economy and create thousands of high wage jobs;
- Cuts funding for VISIT FLORIDA by 67%. VISIT FLORIDA is responsible for marketing the state and encourages people from across the world to visit the Sunshine State. Every 76 tourists to Florida equals one job and Florida’s tourism industry currently supports 1.4 million jobs; and
- Fails to include $200 million to help fix the Herbert Hoover Dike at Lake Okeechobee. Last summer, green algae plagued Florida’s waterways in South Florida and fixing the dike will help curb problems like this and protect Florida’s waterways and environment for Florida’s future generations. President Trump has committed funding to fix this federal project and the state funding Governor Scott is calling for will help jump start the process.
Governor Rick Scott said, “The 60 day legislative session is wrapping up this week and I have been fighting the politicians in Tallahassee for three things to help Florida families – funding for tourism marketing so we can continue to bring record visitors to Florida; funding for proven economic development programs so we can continue to diversify our economy and bring more jobs to Florida; and $200 million to help fix the Dike at Lake Okeechobee so we can protect our environment for future generations. All three of these issues are tied to jobs, but unfortunately the politicians in Tallahassee still haven’t committed to funding these important priorities.
“There are still a few days left of the regular session which means that there is still time for the politicians to do the right thing and fund priorities to protect our environment and keep our economy growing. Let’s remember, the total state budget is around $83 billion and all three of these priorities I am fighting for make up less than 1 percent. However, not funding these priorities will have severe repercussions across our state and Florida could lose hundreds of thousands of jobs. Our economy is on a roll and now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. I look forward to traveling the state this week to urge Floridians to contact their legislators and tell them to fund these priorities that are critical for the future of our great state.”
The Governor will make stops Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the following cities. Details on times and locations will be announced later today.
- Tampa
- Orlando
- Palm Beach
- Miami
- Pensacola
- Panama City
- Naples
- Sarasota
- Jacksonville
- Space Coast
