Dear Neighbor,
Vaccinations are up, COVID cases are down. Job growth is up, unemployment is down. This is what it looks like when we invest in middle class America.
But despite this progress, one in every ten Americans tested positive for COVID-19 during this pandemic. 600,000 have lost their lives. It killed more Americans than every U.S. war in the last 80 years, combined. As we mourn those we have lost, it is vital that we look back on how we got here and how we can stop it from ever happening again.
At the beginning of June 2020, one year ago, case numbers in Florida were close to what they are in June 2021: around 1,500 new cases per day.
The difference between then and now is that a year ago was the start of the major COVID surge here in Florida, whereas now cases are declining and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Half of Floridians have gotten vaccinated, and we are on the rebound thanks to the tireless work of local officials, small businesses, and ordinary people who made real sacrifices to protect our communities.
It's worth taking a moment to compare last June with this June, and to remember how we got to where we are now.
On March 1st, 2020, the first confirmed COVID-19 cases arrived in Florida.
Cases began to rise. Local officials began to take major steps to keep us safe. Responsible businesses began to adopt rules to keep customers and staff safe.
But at the end of April, the governor rejected warnings of medical experts and announced that the state was reopening. By the beginning of June, a year ago, we moved into the major "Phase Two" of the reopening.
That was the beginning of a skyrocketing surge that took our state up to nearly 12,000 new cases per day a month later. The pattern then repeated itself later in the year as local officials worked to keep Floridians safe only to be undercut.
Orange County and others announced a mask mandate, and counties worked to ensure that businesses behaved responsibly. Meanwhile, in Congress, we passed the CARES Act in March of 2020, and other supplemental assistance during the year. However, our major legislative efforts were blocked by Congressional Republicans until a year later, when Democrats took the Senate and we were able to pass the American Rescue Plan in March 2021.
Due to that legislation and the work of the Biden Administration, America has had the fastest vaccine rollout in the world.
Still, nearly 37,000 of our Floridian loved ones and neighbors have died from this virus. Nearly 600,000 Americans are dead. As we mourn our lost loved ones and look towards the future, it is crucial that we continue to bring the support needed by our communities to build back better.
We are on the right track now. The American Rescue Plan is putting shots into arms, money into pockets, people into jobs, and children safely back in the classroom. The economy this quarter grew at the fastest rate in nearly two decades. We created more than one and a half million jobs in the first three months of the new administration and have brought millions of American children and families out of poverty with targeted support that is helping people get back to work.
This is no time to take our foot off the gas.
Although every Republican in Congress voted against the $1,400 checks and $300/month child tax credit payments, I still believe that we can pass additional transformative legislation to help middle class families.
I am working in Congress on the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. These bold legislative plans are an historic investment in middle class Americans. Too often, we have focused all of our energy on those at the top and bottom of the income scale, leaving people in the middle behind. It's time to fix that with new direct investments to rebuild our infrastructure and make it easier for families to afford the necessities that they need to thrive, including health care, child care, education, and more.
While we work on this legislation, we must all continue to do our part and get vaccinated.
Vaccines are now available at local drug stores. You can text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) to immediately get information on the more convenient vaccine locations near you.
It is an honor and a privilege to serve and represent you. Please continue to care for one another and stay safe.
Sincerely,
U.S. Rep. Val Demings
| Mourning the Victims of Pulse |
It has been five years but it feels like yesterday. This month, we mourned the 49 who we lost in the Pulse Nightclub shooting five years ago—49 human beings, 49 dreams, 49 futures, 49 families missing a loved one. Please read their stories.
I am thinking of the survivors who still need our fullest support as they work through physical and mental wounds. I am thinking of the families with an empty seat at the table.
Nothing can bring back what was lost, but we can do everything in our power to fill that void with love, support, and a commitment to care for our community not only today, but in the years to come.
As Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said, it’s okay to not be okay. This was a tragedy. The nation may have watched and grieved with us, but the pain that you may be feeling is personal.
If you are struggling, there is help available, and I encourage you to reach out. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 800-273-8255. The Center in Orlando also has services available.
Coinciding with this sorrowful time, Congress has passed the legislation that I cosponsored with Reps. Darren Soto and Stephanie Murphy to establish Pulse as a National Memorial. No taxpayer money will be spent on this project, but enshrining Pulse as a recognized site will help to ensure that the victims and survivors of Pulse will always be remembered by our nation.
It can be hard to find the words, because the truth is that no words can make this right for the survivors and families of those we lost. That’s why five years ago we promised to ‘honor them with action,’ not just with words.
As we move forward, it is my prayer that all of us will recommit ourselves to that mission, to ensure that every Pulse survivor—and every American—can live in a nation where each person is safe to go out to a nightclub or any other place, where our LGBTQ community is protected, where the highest-quality mental health support is available to those who need it, and where we treat gun violence as the threat that it is to our loved ones.
I know that we can do better, and as we commemorate this sorrowful time, I believe that we must do better.
| Ending a Discriminatory Policy |
For decades, LGBTQ Americans have been banned or restricted from donating blood. This rule, established due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, is outdated. Today, all donated blood is tested for HIV and other diseases to ensure that it is totally safe for medical use. This means that our outdated policies are needlessly banning thousands of healthy and willing blood donors, whose donations could save lives.
Following the Pulse shooting, this meant that many Central Floridians who had friends or family members among the victims were unable to donate blood. It is time for this outdated policy to be updated, and last year I introduced legislation to do so. By basing our medicine on science, we can maximize our donor pool while keeping our blood supply safe.
I am glad to report that due in part to our advocacy, we are seeing progress on this issue. This month, I joined colleagues to write to the FDA in support of a new study (the "ADVANCE" Study) which is a key step to update the science and ensure that we can safely and finally update these rules.
I am grateful that the FDA is finally taking steps to update the science and take the next steps towards finally expanding the pool of American blood donors and helping us to save lives and give every American the best possible chance to survive when tragedy strikes.
I strongly encourage any Central Floridian who wants to participate in this important and groundbreaking study to contact The Center for more information. Learn more here.
| Statehood for Puerto Rico |
We are a government of the people, by the people, for the people. But for our brothers and sisters, our fellow Americans on the island of Puerto Rico, we do not have a government by the people. People who don’t have the ability to make their own decisions aren’t truly free. And if we are going to be the land of the free, we must make good on America’s promise to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
We need to be who we say we are. We need to be a country where every voice, every person matters. We are talking about U.S. citizens who are being treated as second-class citizens.
I joined lawmakers and activists in front of the U.S. Capitol to speak in support of statehood for Puerto Rico.
And I feel optimistic. In fact, I feel better than I ever have before. We have a heavy lift ahead of us. As Dr. King said, freedom is never voluntarily given, it must be demanded. And Puerto Ricans have spoken with a clear voice, through a fair and open vote, and demanded that it is time for full representation.
Your voices matter, I hear your voices, I will do everything in my power to amplify your voices, and we are going to do everything in our power to pass statehood for Puerto Rico.
| Investigating the January 6th Attack |
When insurrectionists attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6th trying to overturn the election for Donald Trump, they assaulted, bear sprayed, and beat down the police officers who protect us every day. One hundred and forty officers were injured in the Capitol attack, and some have died. They deserved better.
Last month, Republicans in the Senate blocked the formation of a bipartisan independent commission to investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Let's be clear: this was a violent crime against our democracy. We need to know who participated, who planned it, and who funded it. We need a full and transparent investigation with a clear mission: to find out what went wrong on 1/6 and how we can protect our democracy.
140 officers were beaten and bloodied on January 6th. Three lost their lives. Even today, Republican leaders in Congress have refused to meet with some of those injured officers, and have ignored the families of the officers who died, who had begged them to support accountability.
U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, a Dominican-American and Iraq War Veteran, was called a "traitor" by Trump insurgents who beat him with an American flag pole. He said in an interview, "I got hurt protecting them. And I would do it again if I have to. It's my job. It's inconceivable that they don't even want to find out how to prevent this in the future."
Said Sgt. Gonell, "I feel insulted. They don’t have the courage. They demand something of us that they’re not willing to do...sacrifice."
Regardless of political party, we all should want to know the truth and should demand nothing less.
We passed legislation to award the officers who responded on January 6th the Congressional Gold Medal. We will not forget what they did that day. We will continue to support these brave officers, and I will continue to be relentless in our continued efforts to find the truth.
| Protecting Our Sacred Right to Vote |
It is a simple fact that American democracy is in danger. People in this country want to overturn our constitution. We have a sacred obligation to use every other legal method to protect our democracy, our safety and our freedoms.
The right to vote is the foundation of American democracy. We must protect the right of every American citizen to safely and easily cast a ballot.
Previously, I helped to pass critical legislation to protect voting rights, get big money out of politics, and protect our elections from foreign interference. This legislation is extremely popular among Americans of both parties, as you can see below.
Unfortunately, that legislation has been blocked by Republicans in the Senate who have put politics above doing the right thing to protect our democracy.
I believe that voting rights are not up for debate. I want every American—no matter their party—to cast a ballot.
Because that legislation is being blocked, I have moved forward to introduce additional, targeted legislation to protect voter access, especially for disabled Americans who often struggle to access voting places. My legislation would expand access to secure ballot drop boxes, fix Florida's unreliable "signature match" system, and use Florida's ballot tracking system as a national model to help voters make sure their votes are counted.
The reception to this new legislation has been positive. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said "this bill will put a stop to these discriminatory acts, and encourage all Americans to go out and make their voice heard," and Disability Rights Florida said, "Disability Rights Florida applauds and supports introduction of the Every Vote Counts Act," calling it "relevant and meaningful to voters with disabilities in our states and across the nation."
Let’s not be distracted by politically-motivated lies which seek the undermine faith in our elections. The Department of Homeland Security under President Trump reported that last year’s election was the most secure in our nation’s history.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr explained, "So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind—it is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact—I can only submit to the edict of others."
When we take away someone’s vote, we take away their voice.
Last month, I was proud to join colleagues in Congress to form a new "House Haiti Caucus," a group that will advocate for the wellbeing of the Haitian people, both in Haiti and here in the United States.
With this caucus, we will work for a Haiti free from corruption, violence, repeated violations of civil and human rights, and economic and public health crises. The ruling elite in Haiti has not served the people, but we have full confidence that if given the opportunity the Haitian people can overcome this challenge and establish a strong democracy that has justice and opportunity for all.
Already, we have gotten to work, fighting for TPS protections for Haitians in the United States, for civil rights and democracy, and for COVID-19 vaccines for Haiti.
I strongly support policies that will foster a real relationship that engages meaningfully with the broad sweep of Haitian civil society in defense of Haiti’s democracy and civil rights. We also strongly support a Haitian-led democratic transition.
Juneteenth (June 19th) is a celebration of freedom: the day that the last slaves in Galveston, Texas learned of their emancipation, two years after they had officially been "freed."
I spoke in Congress about the meaning of Juneteenth. You can watch that speech here:
Our new nation was set aside to be a beacon of hope. We’re known as home of the brave and land of the free. Our work is not yet done. We are still a work in progress. Let us celebrate Juneteenth – as we should – but celebrating freedom must be more than just a special day.
Mrs. Coretta Scott King said this: “Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won – you earn it and win it with every generation.”
Regardless of the color of our skin, what state we are from, how much money we have in the bank, our religion, our gender, or our political party, we all have an obligation and we all must carry the torch of freedom.
| Congressional App Challenge 2021 |
Each year, I am honored to help host the Congressional App Challenge.
The Congressional App Challenge is an annual competition sponsored by the U.S. House of Representatives to promote STEM, coding, and computer science education among middle and high school students. Students may use any programming (including but not limited to: C, C++, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, etc.). Since 2016, over 25,000 students from across 48 states have participated.
Who can participate?
The Congressional App Challenge is open to all middle and high school students from across the 10th Congressional District. Students can participate as individuals or groups up to four.
What Happens if I Win?
Winning students in each Congressional District are invited to the #HouseofCode Capitol Hill Reception in Washington, D.C.
Winning apps are eligible to be displayed in the U.S. House Capitol Building and featured on the U.S. House of Representatives website.
How Do I Sign Up?
The Congressional App Challenges officially launches on June 24, 2021. At this time, students can pre-register and begin coding their apps.
Pre-registration can be found here: https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/students/student-registration/
2020 Winners Spotlight
Dylan Isaac and team
App Name: GoalFinder
These students were inspired by their peers to create this app to help other students develop a problem-solving mindset without needing motivation from their teachers.
Their app introduces future generations to Sustainable Development Goals. Once the goals are established, students are given the chance to collaborate with others to form solutions.
2019 Winners Spotlight
Dylan Robinson and team
App Name: QuickSchedule
These students created this app to help other students balance sleep, study, and free time to maintain a healthy lifestyle. To use this app, you enter simple information about you and your lifestyle and the app will generate a well-balance, healthy schedule fitted for you.
Congratulations to our past winners, and I hope that you or a student you know with interest in coding will join for this year's competition!
| Important Resources for our Community |
To end this pandemic, it is vital that all of us get vaccinated. Due to orders from President Biden, vaccines are available at local pharmacies as well as community vaccination sites.
For information about vaccination in Orange County, Florida,
You can schedule appointments at local pharmacies here: Walmart; Sam’s Club; Publix; Winn Dixie; Walgreens; CVS; Fresco y Más.
Get vaccinated!
Information on rental assistance can be found here.
If you lost a loved one to COVID, financial assistance of up to $9,000 for funerals is available.
You will need:
- A death certificate showing COVID-19
- Funeral expenses documents
- Documentation of other funds being used
More info can be found here.
As a reminder, my office is here to help you with any issue you may be having with a federal service. If you are working with a federal agency and are not receiving an answer in a timely fashion, or you feel you've been treated unfairly, our office may be able to assist you resolve the problem or get more information.
Please reach out if you need help. Here's what some of our constituents had to say about recent cases:
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“Hello, good afternoon, I write these words as a thank you for the help you have given me and my family. I am very proud of our congresswoman and for those who are there with her helping. God bless you all again thank you!!!”
“You guys are the best! We really appreciate all you did. Thank you so much!!!”
“Words cannot express my gratitude. Thank you so very much!”
“I wanted to thank you again for helping me out with the challenge I faced in submitting information to the Small Business Administration (SBA). This morning my portal was reset and I was able to electronically submit my 4506T to the Targeted EIDL Advance group in the SBA. Your support and swift action on my behalf is appreciated so very much. If you could, please also pass along my sincere thanks to the Honorable Val Demings.”
“Thank you, I did receive my taxes the same day I sent in the required information... You work very fast, I tried to call you... was afraid to respond further as I didn’t want them to take it back considering the luck I’d been having... Many blessings to the Demings, you and your family”
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A Note About Passports
As international travel begins to pick up again, it is extremely important to check your passports before booking your flights to ensure smooth travel. Unforeseen circumstances can happen with your passports, and my office is here to help you with your emergency situations.
Eagle Scouts and Gold Awards
This month, our office sent out two Congressional recognition certificates for students who attained the rank of Eagle Scout and 36 Congressional recognition certificates to students who received the Gold Award from the Girl Scouts of America.
As a former Girl Scouts troop leader, I fully understand the magnitude of these accomplishments, which demonstrate dedication to public service through the development and implementation of an impressive service project, willingness to work hard, and overall commitment to academic excellence.
Service Academy
This month, my staff attended the "Hail & Farewell" luncheon hosted by the West Point Parents Club of Central Florida to congratulate the U.S. Military Academy 2021 Graduates and to welcome the U.S. Military Academy Cadet Candidates of 2025.
For more information on Congressional nominations for a Service Academy, please visit my website.
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During this tough time, I want to assure you that my staff and I are still working and ready to assist you. If you need help, please let us know. You can contact us here.
It is an honor and a privilege to serve and represent you. Please continue to care for one another and stay safe. I know that we can get through this together.
Sincerely,
U.S. Rep. Val Demings
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