WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis, R-Florida, issued the following news release: Congressman Gus Bilirakis released the following statement: "As Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on International Religious Freedom and an Orthodox Christian, I condemn the action taken by Turkish President Erdogan that converts the Hagia Sophia cathedral into a mosque. The immortal church of Hagia Sophia is named for and dedicated to the Holy Wisdom of God. This magnificent edifice has, for nearly 1  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Florida, issued the following news release: U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) announced a $4 million federal grant to the Tampa Bay Academy of Hope to help double the initiative of improving the lives of youth and young adults who need extra focus and support to succeed on a productive path in life. "We are a community that says we are here to help you do better on your pathway ahead," U.S. Rep. Castor said. "The Tampa Bay Academy of Hope continues to ex  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Florida, issued the following statement: U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) released the following statement announcing he secured key environmental funding for Florida, including a ban on offshore drilling, in the FY'21 Interior & Environment Appropriations bill, which passed the full committee. * * * Specifically, at Crist's request, the bill prohibits drilling and seismic testing off the coasts of Florida, including in the east  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Florida, issued the following statement: U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) released the following statement on committee passage of the FY21 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. The bill advanced through the full Appropriations Committee and is expected on the House floor in the coming weeks. The legislation advances our diplomatic and international development priorities, and strengthens our international partnerships  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Florida, issued the following statement: U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) released the following statement on important pro-Florida provisions he championed in the FY'21 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The funding bill advanced through the full Appropriations Committee on Thursday and is expected on the House floor in the coming weeks. * * * "This year's Agriculture funding bill will help Pinellas families keep food on the tabl  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Florida, issued the following statement: U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) released the following statement on inclusion of pro-veteran policy he championed which was included in the FY21 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill. The bill advanced through the full Appropriations Committee, and is expected on the House floor in the coming weeks. It includes record funding of over $104 billion for the Department  more

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, July 10 -- Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Florida, issued the following news release: Representative Lois Frankel (FL-21) released the following statement after helping pass the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies funding bill for Fiscal Year 2021 out of the Appropriations Committee. "When girls and women are better educated, healthier, and safer, their communities are safer and more prosperous," said Rep. Frankel. "This bill will support gender equality, protect a   more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Florida, issued the following news release: U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), member of the bipartisan Congressional Coronavirus Task Force, led the Florida Democratic delegation on a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis requesting that he make public Florida's COVID-19 testing plan, which was sent to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in mid-July, and a detailed breakdown of how the State of Florida used federal emergency  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Florida, issued the following news release: U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), member of the bipartisan Congressional Coronavirus Task Force and former Associate Dean of the Florida International University's College of Medicine, sent a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis following up on prior inquiries on the state's contact tracing workforce. This letter follows reports that after significant stalls and delays, the state and county have  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Florida, issued the following news release: U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), member of the bipartisan Congressional Coronavirus Task Force, is re-upping her request for Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and Department of Education (DOE) Secretary Betsy DeVos to release clear, enforceable guidance for reopening schools. "These answers are especially important now, as Florida has emerged as a national   more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. W. Greg Steube, R-Florida, issued the following news release: U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) joined colleagues in sending a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to incentivize people to go back to work by preventing an increase in unemployment insurance (UI) payments. "During an unprecedented crisis like COVID-19, we stepped in to ensure the millions of Americans filing for unemployment benefits were covered as the government urged businesses to shu  more

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida, July 11 -- Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Florida, issued the following news release: U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) applauded newly-released data from the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury and the Small Business Administration, which shows nearly 83,000 jobs in Florida's Sixth District were retained as a result of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). "This data makes it clear that the Paycheck Protection Program has had a positive impact on our community," Waltz said. "The entire   more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Florida, issued the following news release: U.S. Representatives Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., today introduced legislation to require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to swiftly brief key Members of Congress if the DNI determines, with moderate or high confidence, that a foreign government is deliberately seeking to kill or severely injure U.S. servicemembers. This will enable Congress to take appropriate action  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida, issued the following news release: Representatives Ted S. Yoho (R-FL) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.) introduced legislation to ensure that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) can utilize equity investments as intended by Congress. "The BUILD Act of 2018 and the establishment of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) was a much-needed leap forward for the U.S. to regain its competitiveness for financing in  more

MIAMI, Florida, July 10 -- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), author of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act (P.L. 116-145) which was recently signed into law by President Donald Trump, released the following statement after the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced it has sanctioned four Chinese individuals, including senior Party Secretary, Chen Quanguo, and one government entity for grave human  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, issued the following statement as President Trump visits the U.S. Southern Command in Doral to review the advance of a counter-narcotics operation in the Caribbean: "I applaud President Trump's efforts to curb the trafficking of drugs into our country and for focusing on this operation, which is critical to cutting funds to the Maduro regime. I've encouraged the Trump Administration to do everything in its power to hold Maduro accountable for  more

MIAMI, Florida, July 10 -- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Relations that oversees Democracy and Human Rights, led 31 of their colleagues in a letter to Senate Leadership urging funding for the international response to COVID-19 be included in the next emergency supplemental package. "The global outbreak of COVID-19 has demonstrated that thre  more

MIAMI, Florida, July 11 -- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, issued the following joint statement with Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, regarding complaints the Committee receives pursuant to the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act: "Consistent with its mandate to oversee the activities and programs of the Intelligence Community, the Committee takes seriously all complaints it receives pursuant to the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act (ICWPA). The ICWPA is an essenti  more

MIAMI, Florida, July 11 -- Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, issued the following joint statement with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, regarding complaints the Committee receives pursuant to the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act: "Consistent with its mandate to oversee the activities and programs of the Intelligence Community, the Committee takes seriously all complaints it receives pursuant to theIntelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act (ICWPA). "The ICWPA is an essenti  more