The Webster Wire

Listening to Floridians

Dear Friends:

Last week, I delivered a personal check to the Bureau of Fiscal Service at the Department of the Treasury. Every year since being elected, I have delivered a check to the Bureau to rollback my salary to the 2008 amount. Although this may appear a small action given the trillions of dollars the federal government spends, it is a step in the right direction. If all government spending was rolled back to the 2008 amounts, we would have a balanced federal budget.

Energy Independence is National Security  

Last week, House Republicans upheld another commitment to Americans by holding President Biden accountable for his way on American energy and passed legislation to protect our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. House Republicans voted to pass H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act. This bill prohibits the Secretary of Energy from releasing products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, except in times of severe energy supply interruption, and requires the Secretary to develop a plan to replace any releases from the reserve with an increase in American petroleum production.

 During the bill debate on the House Floor something that happened since 2016 took place – members debated nearly 150 amendments that were offered by Democrat and Republican members of Congress in an open and transparent process! One amendment that I supported ensures that Florida's gulf coast is protected from oil drilling.

Leadership Role on Transportation Committee

I was honored to be selected to serve as chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation for the 118th Congress. I am excited to continue applying my depth of experience, knowledge, and unique perspective as an engineer on behalf of hardworking Americans. I am confident we can balance protecting U.S. waters, seas, access to fishing and energy exploration, while ensuring our Coast Guard have the resources they need. I look forward to working with my colleagues to develop and pass legislation that saves taxpayer money, protects communities across the United States, boosts our resilience, and strengthens our economy.

FAA Accountability 

On Wednesday, I voted to pass H.R. 346 to require the FAA to improve its pilot safety notification system. This bill is a step in the right direction to ensure FAA takes steps needed to update their NOTAM system, which recently melted down grounding all U.S. flights. I hope the U.S. Senate acts swiftly to pass this bill before another system failure occurs.

DOJ Must Enforce the Law

Last week, I joined Senator James Lankford urging the Department of Justice to enforce the law prohibiting the mail-order distribution of chemical abortion drugs. The reckless distribution of abortion drugs by mail or other carriers to pregnant mothers who have not been examined in-person by a physician is not only dangerous and unsafe, it is criminal. Federal Law clearly prohibits the mailing or shipping of chemical abortion drugs. Yet, the DOJ released a memo claiming that such drugs can be mailed to states that prohibit abortions, a directly violation of federal law. Our letter calls on AG Garland to promptly rescind their memo.

Seeing and Serving You

As Floridians, we are not strangers to the terrible power and ravages of hurricanes and tropical storms. We know that having a disaster preparedness plan is critical. Last week, Pam Jones, my Community Relations Representative serving in Lake County attended the Lake County Emergency Operations Center Stakeholder Meeting. Deputy Director Nicholas Gerth led the meeting and provided a quarterly update along with Emergency Management Associate Nathan Gindling. Stakeholders also heard from Will Ulrich the Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service and Megan Milanese, Director of Lake County Emergency Operations Center (EOC).  

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Pam also attended the South Lake Chamber of Commerce 6th Annual South Lake Business Awards presented by Withum, Advisory Tax Audit at the Clermont Performing Arts Center. Executive Director David Colby presented awards to the “2023 Best of South Lake” in 76 different categories. Three special awards were also presented: The Heritage Award was given to Lowe Family Farms, the Oakley Seaver Special Service Award was presented to Cornerstone Hospice, and the Citizen of the Year Award was given to Kay Simpson of the greater Clermont Cancer Foundation.  Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and I’m grateful for the many thriving small businesses in our community.

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On Friday, Pam attended the retirement reception for Kathy Smith to celebrate her 9 years served as the Executive Director of the Community Foundation of South Lake County (CFSLC). I am grateful for all the Kathy has done to make a difference in the community fulfilling the mission of CFSLC, “Serving our community through the connecting of resources and international philanthropic giving.” The vision of CFSLC is a community where all needs are met. I wish Kathy well in her retirement.

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Cindy Brown, my Community Relations Representative for Sumter County, recently participated as a judge for the American Legion Tri-City Post 18 in Wildwood’s Oratorical Speech Contest. Students from Wildwood Middle and High Schools participated including Amanda Miranda, Elsy Villeda, and Jaden Brooks. The American Legion Oratorical Scholarship Program is a Constitutional Speech Contest that helps high school students develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the US Constitution, teach the importance of leadership and provides participants with an understanding of the duties, responsibilities, rights and privileges of American citizenship. I applaud these students for their participation  in the contest, including their Debate Club leader, Illiana Miranda.

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Cindy also visited with the staff of CHOICES Pregnancy Center, located in Wildwood at their January open house. CHOICES is a faith-based Pregnancy Resource Center, the first of its kind in Sumter County. CHOICES Staff are available to anyone who needs judgment-free compassionate care due to circumstances beyond their control. Their vision is twofold: to strengthen families and to help heal the brokenhearted.

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On Friday, Cindy joined the Habitat for Humanity Lake & Sumter Counties and The Villages High School Construction Academy as they held a Dry-In Celebration for their halfway point in the construction of a 1215 square foot home in Wildwood. The sponsors of this amazing project are Citizens First bank and RoMac Building Supply. The project is a collaboration not only for residents and the community, but also for students who are interested in careers within the construction field.

Your servant,

Daniel Webster
Member of Congress