Dear friend,

I’m pleased to share an update on the Democratic House’s work to lower costs, bring good-paying jobs home to Tampa, support our veterans, protect a woman’s right to control her own body, and much more.

In an important bipartisan vote, my Energy and Commerce Committee advanced privacy legislation to protect your information online, hold Big Tech accountable and safeguard our children from internet harms. The American Data and Privacy Protection Act contains key components of legislation I’ve been working on for years to protect children online including a ban on ads targeted to kids.

An increase in mental and physical harm to kids due to online dangers is a serious issue, and I look forward to playing an active role in continuing to improve the bill and championing the interests of families and the well-being of children online. Now, the bill will wait to go before the full House for consideration, where I’ll continue to work to get it passed into law.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurrence in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — where he said he would like to revisit several cases, including the case establishing marriage equality as the law of the land — has left families across the Tampa Bay area and the nation worried about their future. The Respect for Marriage Act would ensure long-term stability for these families by providing important statutory protections for their marriages.

All of our neighbors deserve the right to marry and live without fear that their lives will be upended through discrimination and a rollback of rights. Bipartisan members of the House voted decisively to protect same-sex and interracial marriages and ensure that they remain recognized under the law. I urge the Senate to pass our bill to protect families across the country from an extremist Supreme Court and radicalized GOP by making permanent the protections given in Obergefell v Hodges and Loving v Virginia.

Marriage equality is the law of the land, and I will fight today and every day to ensure that remains a reality for Tampa families and our future generations.

I also voted to help pass three bills to protect women’s access to comprehensive health care and I championed the fundamental right to make reproductive health decisions in the Energy and Commerce Committee hearing examining the impact of the Supreme Court’s eradication of the right to abortion and the implications on health care access for all Americans.

We are at a perilous moment in history, where extremist Republicans and a GOP-controlled Supreme Court are rolling back the rights of our neighbors and the legal guarantee for women to control their own bodies. Women, families, and their doctors—not politicians and judges—should make their own personal reproductive health decisions, including whether or when to have a child.

On behalf of my neighbors in Florida and across America, I was proud to vote for legislation to give people the right to control their own futures. Now, these four bills head to the Senate – I implore all Senators to act with courage and vote to ensure that Americans have the freedom to make the decisions that are best for them and love freely.

I also voted to lower costs for Tampa area families and boost our economy with a package of six appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2023. This package would increase funding for affordable housing initiatives, create good-paying local jobs and support veterans.

My top priorities for Tampa Bay area families are lowering costs, strengthening our schools and colleges, improving our infrastructure, and boosting veterans and military families. This package tackles the most urgent challenges facing our nation, including increasing the supply of affordable housing, combating the climate crisis and caring for our heroic veterans. With our neighbors in mind, the Democratic House took another strong step today in our fight to advance health, opportunity and security for all.

Tampa residents are being pinched by the hot housing and rental market, and Democrats are pressing to ensure that our communities remain accessible and affordable for those who call Tampa home. With this goal in mind, we prioritized affordable housing in this package, including funds for rental assistance for over 2.3 million homes, expanded housing assistance for low-income families, more funding designated to build new affordable housing and improvements for existing communities.

In direct response to some of Tampa’s crucial needs and projects, I’m proud to announce that seven of the community priority grants that I championed are included in this minibus – the other eight will be voted on in the days ahead. That means that we are one step closer to ensuring Floridians and visitors safely get where they need to go while using our growing public transit system, expanding local food assistance, and investing in skilled trades training to expand good-paying jobs and apprenticeships. The Tampa community is blessed with volunteers and organizations who are working to creatively and compassionately solve problems, and I am proud to partner with them to get these initiatives over the finish line.

It is my hope that the House and Senate can come together to send these critical funding bills to President Biden’s desk before October. Please know that I will continue our fight to create jobs, grow paychecks and bring down kitchen table costs.

While we have passed many bills to directly support the needs of Tampa residents, small businesses and economic engines, there is more work to be done. I look forward to continuing to pass legislation to lower costs, protect fundamental freedoms and support families and workers in the days ahead.

My office is always open, don’t hesitate to reach out at 813-871-2817.