Chairman's
Message
Protecting
Floridians from Biden’s wave of illegal aliens
Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by Attorney
General Ashley Moody to outline three major steps being taken to
protect Floridians from the open-border chaos that has been
created by the Biden administration.
First,
Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 21-223 to prohibit all
Florida agencies under the purview of the Governor from facilitating
illegal immigration into Florida, unless otherwise required by federal
or state law, and require the collection of information from state
officials on the scope and costs of illegal immigration in Florida.
Second,
Governor DeSantis announced the appointment of Larry Keefe, former
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, as Florida’s
Public Safety Czar to ensure the actions directed by the executive
order are carried out.
Third,
Governor DeSantis and Attorney General Moody announced that Florida
has filed suit against the Biden Administration, challenging the
legality of its “catch and release” policy.
“Since
President Biden took office – which has been less than one year – the
Border Patrol has released nearly a quarter million illegal aliens
into the United States,” Governor DeSantis said. “This executive order
makes it clear that Florida resources will not be used to prop up the
failed open border agenda enacted by this administration. Attorney
General Ashley Moody has also filed a lawsuit against the Biden
Administration challenging its policy of catching and releasing the
staggering number of illegal aliens apprehended at the border into the
United States.”
New Public
Safety Czar Keefe will ensure the state takes key steps to protect
Florida taxpayers from bearing the burden of Biden’s reckless
immigration policies. “We will continue to hold the federal government
accountable for refusing to enforce the immigration laws of this
country,” the Governor said.
Attorney
General Ashley Moody said: “The Biden Administration’s brazen
disregard for federal immigration law is jeopardizing the safety and
security of our state and nation, all while costing Florida taxpayers.
Biden’s lax border policy is an open invitation to dangerous
criminals, human traffickers and drug traffickers to enter the United
States—creating a crisis at the Southern Border like we have never
seen.”
Read more here: https://www.flgov.com/2021/09/28/governor-ron-desantis-takes-action-to-protect-floridians-from-the-dangerous-impacts-of-the-biden-border-crisis/
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Florida launches investigation of
Facebook
Governor DeSantis has directed the Secretary of
State to investigate Facebook for alleged election
interference based on a bombshell Wall Street Journal report. (Full
letter above.) Floridians deserve to know how much Big Tech is
influencing our elections, and that Florida will hold them
accountable.
The Journal
report shows that Facebook was impacting many state and local races by
exempting a certain list of elite users from its own rules. So while
many people were banned or blocked by Facebook rules, certain others
were whitelisted and not held to those rules.
“It’s no
secret that Big Tech censors have long enforced their own rules
inconsistently,” Governor DeSantis said. “If this new report is true,
Facebook has violated Florida law to put its thumb on the scale of
numerous state and local races. Floridians deserve to know how much
this corporate titan has influenced our elections. That is why I am
directing Secretary Lee to use all legal means to uncover violations
of Florida’s election laws.”
In the
letter sent to Secretary of State Laurel Lee, Governor DeSantis
directs the Secretary to investigate Facebook’s alleged failures to
comply with Florida’s election laws.
“The
thought of Facebook clandestinely manipulating elections is an affront
to the basic principles of our republic. We the people have the right
to choose our representatives, whether or not Silicon Valley
approves,” Governor DeSantis said.
Floridians
need to have faith that their elections are free from interference,
including that of Big Tech oligarchs in Silicon Valley. Corporations
like Facebook deserve to be held accountable for actions that erode
the legitimacy of our institutions.
Read more here: https://www.flgov.com/2021/09/27/governor-ron-desantis-directs-florida-secretary-of-state-to-investigate-facebook-for-alleged-violations-of-election-laws/
Florida
Governor DeSantis announced that Terran Orbital
has chosen Merritt Island for construction of the largest satellite
manufacturing facility in the world.
Terran
Orbital will invest $300 million to build its Commercial Spacecraft
and Constellation Facility, bringing spacecraft manufacturing
opportunities to Florida and creating about 2,100 jobs with an average
wage of $84,000.
“Satellite
manufacturing is and will continue to be an important part of the
economy in the Space Coast, and with this announcement we are upping
the ante,” Governor DeSantis said. “In Florida we are going to
continue to take the lead on space by investing in infrastructure,
training highly skilled workers and maintaining an economic climate
that allows companies like Terran Orbital to thrive.”
Read more here: https://www.flgov.com/2021/09/27/governor-ron-desantis-announces-terran-orbital-will-invest-300-million-in-florida-to-construct-the-worlds-largest-state-of-the-art-commercial-spacecraft-facility/
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Governor DeSantis announced late last
week that due to the lack of support from the federal
government, Florida secured 3,000 doses of the monoclonal antibody
treatment on its own from GlaxoSmithKline.
“We should
be doing everything we can to get patients monoclonal antibody
treatments, not cutting allocations of treatment like the Biden
Administration has done,” Governor DeSantis said. “Despite the cuts by
the federal government, we want any Floridians that could benefit from
this treatment to have access to it. Florida is going to leave no
stone unturned when finding treatment for our state, and we are
encouraged to have secured a shipment of monoclonal antibody
treatments from GlaxoSmithKline.”
Read more here: https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2021-09-23/a-new-monoclonal-antibody-drug-is-coming-to-florida-for-covid-19-treatment
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Attorney General Ashley Moody gave her full
support this week for Congressman Vern Buchanan’s Thin Blue Line
Act. The legislation would make the intentional killing, or
attempted killing, of a law enforcement officer, prosecutor,
firefighter or other first responder acting in the line of duty an
aggravating factor under the federal death penalty
statute.
“Our brave
law enforcement officers risk their lives daily to protect and serve
their communities. The first seven months of this year alone resulted
in unprecedented violent acts, resulting in dozens of line-of-duty
deaths for officers across our nation,” Attorney General Moody said.
“We cannot permit the anti-police sentiment and blatant disrespect for
law enforcement to fester and grow. Violent attacks on officers not
only affect those who wear a badge, it lessens the safety and security
of our communities at large.”
Moody
added: “This legislation will provide local and state law enforcement
officers the same protection and support currently provided to federal
officers—acting as a deterrent to anyone who would look to harm an
officer.”
Congressman
Vern Buchanan said: “Police officers and first responders put their
lives on the line every single day to help those in harm’s way. I
appreciate Attorney General Moody’s strong endorsement and advocacy
for my bill, the Thin Blue Line Act. Together, we are sending a strong
message to police and first responders that we have their backs, and
those who target our frontline heroes should know that there will be
severe consequences.”
Read more here: http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/B960B3DD25C365698525875D0053281C
Environment
Florida is committing $114 million toward
wastewater treatment to further clean up the
environment.
Governor
DeSantis announced awards for the Wastewater Grant Program, which was
established in the Clean Waterways Act and funded in this year’s
budget, for projects statewide to reduce nutrient pollution. Projects
include those that upgrade traditional septic systems to include
nutrient removal technology, provide advanced wastewater treatment, or
convert septic tanks to central sewer.
Out of the
total $114 million awarded, more than $53 million of the wastewater
grants – 46 percent of the funding – is for the Indian River Lagoon
area.
“Since I
first took office, expediting water quality restoration has been one
of my top priorities,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “The Indian River
Lagoon covers 40% of Florida’s East Coast and is one of our state’s
most iconic and critical natural resources, contributing an estimated
$2 billion annually for tourism and recreation and $767 million to the
marine industry.”
Read more here: https://www.flgov.com/2021/09/24/governor-ron-desantis-announces-more-than-114-million-for-wastewater-treatment-grants-to-improve-water-quality-across-the-state/
Washington,
D.C.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio introduced a bill that
would dismantle the Biden administration's vindictive
political "equity" concept in the distribution of monoclonal antibody
treatments for Covid.
Rubio
introduced the Treatment Restoration for Emergency Antibody
Therapeutics (TREAT) Act on Tuesday in response to the Biden
administration’s politically motivated change that forces states to go
through the Department of Health and Human Services to get treatments
and puts caps on how much each state can receive. Before the punitive
change, health care professionals could order the antibody treatments
directly from the supplier.
Rubio's
bill, which is co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Rick Scott, among other
GOP Senators, would stop HHS from putting policies in place that
prevent health care providers and hospitals from purchasing monoclonal
antibody treatments directly from distributors and
manufacturers.
"This
abrupt change in policy from the Biden administration is nothing but
an attempt to punish Florida," Senator Rubio said. "We cannot let
vindictive, politically motivated actions by this administration
jeopardize the health and safety of Floridians and others."
Read more here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rubio-bill-upending-biden-monoclonal-antibody-equity-approach
Florida Republicans Getting
Involved
The
Republican Party held 46 training sessions across the state
to train 555 volunteers and prepare them to register voters during the
National Week of Training. There were 222 voters registered just in
these trainings. Our teams are continuously recruiting and training
volunteers as we march towards flipping Florida red. The staff is
energized coming off this huge week to finish this year strong going
into 2022.
This coming
weekend we are opening our Doral office with a registered attendance
of 127 so far, which looks like a full room. To register for the Doral
event, go to: https://gopvictory.com/fl/rnc-hispanic-community-center-doral/
The energy
level is very high as Florida Republicans know what is at stake in
2022.
ICYMI
The
Wall Street Journal published Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls’
op-ed highlighting the Florida Legislature’s work on DNA
privacy was featured on the Wall Street Journal’s website.
By
Chris Sprowls
“Your
DNA is among your most valuable assets, and you carry it with you
everywhere. But it’s unsecured, easy to steal, and often freely given
without a second thought about the consequences for unlocking your
most private health information.
“That
is why Florida recently passed the toughest criminal penalties in the
nation and closed gaping loopholes to protect against DNA theft and
misuse. It’s time for other states to follow Florida’s lead and
protect their residents, too. If they don’t act promptly, Congress
should make it a federal crime to steal someone else’s
DNA.
“DNA
reveals your identity and ancestry, along with unlocking predictions
about what diseases you are likely to develop. Whether your DNA sample
is stolen from a discarded water bottle or you give your sample to a
direct-to-consumer genetic test, you’re handing over a highly personal
glimpse into your future health—valuable intelligence that insurers
and blackmailers would love to get their hands on…”
Read the op-ed in full here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/privacy-dna-ancestry-genetic-testing-insurance-florida-11632512276
Social Media
Highlights
REMEMBER: @FloridaGOP and retweet and
share. The Republican message must be spread around the state and you
are integral to making that happen.
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