Economy:

Unemployment in Florida is at a 16-year high, foreclosures continue to soar and credit is tight. These are some of the many challenges facing our families and senior citizens in this period of economic uncertainty. What the country truly needs now is a common-sense plan to revive our economy and protect and produce more American jobs in the United States. In order to achieve these goals, there are several key issues that need to be addressed without delay or partisan rancor:

Tax Relief for middle-class working Americans and small businesses
The 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief programs, which will expire in 2010, should be extended into the future. If the Congress fails to do this, individual and business tax rates will return to their earlier, higher levels.

The last thing our slumping economy and hard-working Americans need now is a massive, $680 billion tax increase.

Retirement Security
Senior citizens and retirees living on their Nest Eggs are particularly vulnerable to the current economic difficulties. Many are worried about the continued viability and long-term solvency of their pensions, IRAs, and 401(k) plans. To help, I supported the new law that suspends "required minimum distributions" for 2009. This program will help by not forcing retirees to take funds out of their retirement plans, and thus give these plans an opportunity to regain value that was lost in 2008.

Key Federal safety net programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, must be protected and their long-term solvency be ensured to help retirees and seniors in their post-employment years. We need a non-partisan Blue Ribbon Commission to make recommendations about how best to guarantee Social Security and Medicare’s long-term future. In the early Reagan Administration, the “Greenspan Commission” helped save Social Security for 30 years. We need a 21st Century version of this to help keep Social Security and Medicare safe for the Baby Boom generation.

Housing
I supported legislation (H.R. 3221) that created a new Federal program to help middle-class homeowners transition out of risky, short-term home loans and into more stable, long-term mortgages. It also established a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers in order to help young families and individuals move from renting to owning their own homes. I also support a National Catastrophe Fund to help Florida homeowners struggling with rising insurance rates. And we still need to enact legislation to help make insurance more affordable for families in Florida.

Compete in the 21st Century Global Marketplace
95% of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States. Opening up foreign markets for U.S. goods and services helps create jobs here at home. The U.S. must continue to negotiate and implement more bi-lateral Free Trade Agreements, which enable domestic exports to grow by opening up new markets for our goods and products abroad. U.S. workers are the best workforce in the world, as long as they compete on a level playing field. We must continue to support Federal job re-training programs to help workers adapt to the changing marketplace of the 21st Century.

The U.S. must also maintain its status as a world leader in education, particularly as the demand for students with strong mathematics and science backgrounds continues to grow. We can remain competitive in the 21st Century only as long as we maintain a strong primary, secondary, and post-secondary education system which produces top-notch students well-suited for the employment needs of a technology-reliant society.

A Balanced, Comprehensive Energy Plan to Break Our Dependence on Foreign Oil
Our energy crisis has been a major drain on our economy. Last summer, families struggled to fill up their gas tanks, with prices at almost $4 per gallon at the pump. Although gas prices have declined dramatically since them, we still need a comprehensive, long-term Energy Policy that’s makes the U.S. “energy-independent” within ten years. We need to ramp up our production and utilization of renewable energy sources, increase conservation including recycling, bring online more, new nuclear power plants, and authorize environmentally-safe drilling for oil and gas in the Alaskan wilderness.

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Immigration:

In Florida, illegal immigration is a serious and costly problem. Florida taxpayers pay approximately $1.7 billion a year for education, medical treatment, and incarceration of illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration is also unfair to those who have respected the rule of law and entered our country legally.

For these reasons, I oppose amnesty and support a fully secure border, increasing the number of U.S. Border Patrol agents, and making English the official language of the United States. Also, I will always vote to prohibit illegal immigrants from getting taxpayer-funded benefits.

Instead of rewarding illegal behavior, we need to secure the border. After I saw our border first-hand, I fully agreed that border security must be our highest priority. To help address this issue, I voted to help construct at least 700 miles of fencing along the US-Mexico border.

I support the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act, which establishes a strict immigration policy allocating resources towards border security, employer verification, and interior enforcement. Under this legislation 8,000 more border agents would have been hired to help shut down the border, unlawful employment would have ended by making the E-Verify program mandatory for employers, and immigration enforcement would have been enhanced by hiring more Criminal Alien Program (CAP) Officers to identify and remove criminal aliens.

Along with addressing the flow of illegal immigration, we must ensure that the United States of America is united behind a common language. Since the founding of our country, we have recognized English as our common language. For this reason, I support making English the official language of the United States. In fact, my record of this policy has earned me an “A in English” award from U.S. English, Inc.

Finally, to prevent illegal immigrants from taking advantage of taxpayer-financed benefits, I supported legislation to close a loophole in Federal law that allowed states to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Driver’s licenses are not just licenses to drive, they are de facto national ID cards which are used to open bank accounts, rent cars and apartments, purchase firearms, and commit voter fraud. Preventing illegal immigrants from receiving any form of government ID is a critical step in ensuring that they do not take advantage of benefits and services which should be reserved for law-abiding Americans who paid for these services. As your Congressman, I will continue to oppose any action which would provide illegal immigrants with the ability to receive public benefits.

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Energy:

The rising cost of gasoline has created real suffering in Florida – for seniors living on fixed incomes, for middle-class families struggling with higher food and utility bills, and for young adults who can barely afford to drive their cars to work. We need a comprehensive, balanced plan aimed at reducing our dependence on foreign oil. That means increasing production of American-made energy in an environmentally safe way while promoting conservation and greater efficiency.

Specifically, we should focus on the following solutions for our energy needs:

Investing in Renewable Energy
Florida’s own burgeoning renewable industry is a leader in developing alternative sources of energy. That’s why I voted for legislation that would invest in research and development of clean and renewable fuels like solar and wind power as well as alternative fuels such as ethanol and bio-diesel.

Reducing America’s Dependence on Foreign Oil
In 1970, we imported 24 percent of our oil. Today, that figure is 70 percent. We must reduce our dependence on foreign oil by exploring domestic sources and building new refineries. We haven’t built an oil refinery in the U.S. in 30 years. Since 1981, the number of refineries has dropped from 324 to 148.

Drilling in the remote wilderness of Alaska could increase total U.S. reserves by 50 percent. This region, which is now off limits to drilling, holds the single largest deposit of oil in the entire United States.

Encouraging Conservation Efforts
Voluntary conservation programs and greater efficiency should be part of any balanced energy plan. That’s why I voted in favor of raising fuel economy standards for cars and trucks for the first time in 32 years.

Holding Big Oil Accountable
We must also hold Big Oil accountable by cracking down on price-gouging and eliminating unnecessary taxpayer subsidies for the oil industry. I voted twice to eliminate up to $18 billion in tax subsidies for the oil companies.

Addressing our energy needs requires both short-term and long-term answers. It will require a thoughtful and comprehensive approach, not heated partisan rhetoric.

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Environment:

From our pristine beaches to the majesty of the Everglades, Florida hosts some of the world’s greatest natural treasures. Congress has a moral obligation to make sure our children are left with a planet as environmentally clean as the one we inherited from our ancestors.
Here is where I stand on some of Florida’s most pressing environmental issues:

Climate Change
Global warming is a threat to our environment and to our future that we should take seriously. If we do nothing, some scientists predict climate change could have a devastating impact on states along the Eastern Seaboard including Florida.

That’s why I supported bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and co-sponsored by Florida’s own Senator Bill Nelson, that would put mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions and reduce pollution. I supported this bill because it is a pro-environment/pro-business measure that would limit overall emissions while allowing businesses to trade pollution allowances in an open market.

Red Tide
Harmful algal blooms like red tide cause respiratory distress among seniors and children. Red tide is not only an environmental issue, but an economic development issue as well. The harmful effects of red tide have cost Florida’s coastal economy an estimated $240 million, decreasing state revenues. Research shows that 45 percent of red tides over the past 50 years have occurred from the Tampa Bay area south along the coast.

That’s why I introduced bipartisan legislation to obtain $90 million in federal funds for research to help fight this environmentally and economically destructive phenomenon.

Off-shore Drilling
I support environmentally safe domestic drilling as part of a balanced policy to meet our energy needs. We should be drilling now in places such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which holds the single largest deposit of oil in the entire United States. Drilling off the eastern Gulf of Mexico would threaten our natural resources and jeopardize our tourism-based economy.

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Small Business

Small businesses are the backbone of our local and national economy, making up 99 percent of all businesses and 70 percent of new jobs. The success of small businesses helps ensure job opportunity and provides vital goods and services at a local level.

As Ranking Member of the Small Business Finance and Tax Subcommittee, I will always work to make sure small business owners have the access to the capital and credit they need to conduct business, expand, and hire new workers.

I held a town hall meeting recently with small business owners in my District who are grappling with rising health insurance costs, overburdened with paper work, threatened by frivolous litigation, and in need of capital.

I introduced a small business growth bill that includes the following provisions:
Small Business Health Plans (SBHPs), or association health plans (AHPs): The bill would allow small businesses to form associations and make coverage more affordable by spreading risk among a much larger group, strengthening negotiating power with plans and providers, offering insurance across state lines, and reducing administrative costs.

Tax Relief: The bill would extend a provision that currently allows small business to deduct all or part of the cost of a business investment in one year, instead of spreading the tax savings across several years. This would increase capital to expand, hire new workers, and purchase new equipment.

Paperwork Relief: The bill would provide paperwork relief by allowing small businesses to correct first-time paperwork violations without penalty.

Frivolous Lawsuits: The bill would help reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits filed against small businesses by:

  • Imposing mandatory sanctions against attorneys or parties who file frivolous lawsuits;


  • Removing a “safe harbor” provision that allows plaintiffs and their attorneys to avoid sanctions for frivolous suits by withdrawing them within 21 days; and


  • Reducing “court-friendly shopping” by requiring that plaintiffs in civil tort actions sue only where they live or were injured, or where the defendant's principal place of business is located.


  • Government Contracts: The bill increases the number of government contracts awarded to small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small businesses, and small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals or women from 23 percent to 25 percent.


Click here to view my Fox Business Live interview regarding Small Business
Click here to view a recap of my most recent Small Business Forum in the District

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Veterans:

Our Veterans have sacrificed so much in their service to this country. I am privileged to hold a seat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. Florida's 13th Congressional District is the home to approximately 90,000 men and women veterans. Serving on this committee allows me to be your "voice in Washington."

I was honored to receive the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ (VFW) legislative achievement award by the Florida VFW. But Congress must continue to do more to ensure our nation’s veterans get the health care and benefits they have so rightly earned. This means:

  • Improved access to benefits for veteran small business owners, as well as Reservists, National Guard, and surviving spouses.

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  • Ensuring a smooth start of the new education and training programs and providing employers incentives for hiring veterans.

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  • Enhancing VA medical facilities within the 13th District and improving veterans’ access to the full array of VA services.

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  • Creating a POW/MIA select committee.

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  • Extending the federal crime classification for desecrating the graves of service members.

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Click hear for a recap of the Veterans Appreciation Fair in my district

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Health Care:

We need to reform health care to make it more affordable and accessible for all Americans.

Health care quality means getting the care you need when you need it and seeing the doctor of your choice without interference from insurance companies or government bureaucrats.

We need to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system to bring costs down and end the frivolous lawsuits that force doctors to practice defensive medicine instead of preventive medicine.

Doctors and patients should make health care decisions, not Washington bureaucrats.

I have co-sponsored legislation (H.R. 2516) that would guarantee the rights of patients to control their own health care decisions. It would also guarantee that private health care would not be denied by government restrictions, and ban interference into the doctor-patient relationship by protecting the right of Americans to get the care they need when they need it.

I remain very concerned and troubled by any proposal to create a Washington takeover of health care that would deny patients treatment options or choice of doctors. No Washington politician should stand between you and your doctor, and the government should not be deciding which treatment you should or should not have.

 

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