Veterans’ Day provides an opportunity to thank and remember the outstanding military veterans who have served America. Thank you!

Every day is Veterans Day in Tampa Bay, as we are blessed with one of the largest populations of military veterans in the nation. Veterans and their families serve our community in significant ways every day. Today, we recommit to serving them as well as they served our country and defended our freedom at home and abroad.

I am proud to have cosponsored and voted for legislation that lifts our veterans and their families, including the historic Honoring Our PACT Act passed during the last Congress and signed by President Biden. Thousands of Tampa Bay area veterans have already started screening for exposure to toxins such as Agent Orange. If you are a veteran or know a veteran, click here to check your eligibility status for the health care benefits you have earned. 

I am proud to have veterans on my team who serve local veterans, help cut through the red tape and access the care and benefits. If you need assistance, please call my offices in Tampa at 813-871-2817 or St. Pete at 727-369-0201.

 Thanks to the City of Tampa and the University of South Florida’s partnership, safer streets are on the way to Tampa Bay! The City of Tampa was awarded a $2.6 million Safer Streets federal grant that I championed from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

These improvements are made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was passed last Congress and signed by President Biden. We will protect lives as we upgrade and connect neighborhoods, including Historic Ybor City, East Ybor, Sulphur Springs and East Tampa.

Mayor Castor, the City of Tampa, USF and neighborhood advocates have worked hard to develop plans like Vision Zero to improve our community and invest in historically underserved neighborhoods. Tampa is on the move, and together, we are building a safer and healthier community for all.  

 H.R. 4820 – House Republicans’ Extreme Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill. 

This Extreme MAGA Republican bill includes rollbacks to popular housing initiatives that will make life more expensive for hardworking families and seniors and will stall new affordable housing construction under HOME Investment Partnerships.

It would cut funding for new affordable housing construction in Tampa and St. Pete by 67%.  And it would completely eliminate the Choice Neighborhood Initiative, which has a track record of success in transforming neighborhoods like the ENCORE in downtown Tampa. 

H.R. 4664 – House Republicans’ radical Financial Services and General Government funding bill.

This radical Republican funding bill would gut funding for law enforcement and critical initiatives that keep Americans safe. Despite voters making it clear that they support women’s reproductive rights, House Republicans continue pressing extreme restrictions that ban abortion.

After kicking the can down the road, House Republicans have failed to pass a single appropriations bill that has any chance of being signed into law. Instead, House Republicans have refused to work across the aisle – bringing us once again to the brink of a government shutdown. It ends up costing everyday Americans a lot.