Improve Disaster Relief

As your U.S. Senator, I would lead initiatives to help Florida communities recover from the devastation that comes from natural disasters that are becoming a greater threat with rising temperatures caused by climate change.

It's disheartening to witness the lingering aftermath of Hurricane Ian that struck the North Captiva Island, Cape Coral, and Boca Grande areas in 2022, and Hurricane Idalia that devastated Keaton Beach in Taylor County in 2023. The sight of these communities still struggling is a stark reminder of the urgent need for more aggressive disaster relief support.

Our current United States Senator could have done far more through the clout of his office to help Floridians in distress overcome the natural disasters that hit our state during his term in office. Nothing is of higher importance to our state than making certain our residents are safe and secure. Even as a freshman Senator who took office in January 2019, he could have focused his daily time and attention on helping Floridians who were impacted by Hurricane Irma that hit the Lower Florida Keys in 2017 and Hurricane Michael in 2018, which wrecked Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle.

Natural disaster relief initiatives:

• Make more significant public, private, and philanthropic investments in impacted area infrastructure, focused on building resilient and sustainable infrastructure that can withstand future natural disasters.

• Secure more adequate federal and state rebuilding funding, especially for more affordable workforce housing reconstruction, healthcare facilities, economic revitalization, and more.

• Increase funding and support for healthcare services to address a community's immediate needs and long-term health impacts throughout the affected counties.

• Expedite environmental restoration projects that will promote more sustainable development and better protect the region’s environment.

• Expand our education system and workforce development programs to build local capacity and skills necessary for rebuilding and future economic growth in the area.

• Continue encouraging and supporting local community involvement, oversight, and transparency, ensuring that the rebuilding process is inclusive and helps address the specific needs and priorities of the area’s affected populations.

• Avoid bureaucratic delays that will streamline and speed up aid distribution in the state by consistently reducing red tape where possible and improving coordination among federal, state, and local agencies.

Congress, and the Senate in particular, should use any successful rapid recovery effort that results from this level of attention and leadership - no matter how delayed in Florida’s case - as a model for helping other American communities in the decades ahead. Our elected federal officials have got to get their heads out of the sand and get something done in our state. Today, not next year. We must do better in Washington. A United States Senator’s talk needs to match the walk.