Hello, Friends —

Sunday, November 11, is Veterans Day. Florida’s First Congressional District is home to one of the largest populations of veterans in the country, and to all those who have served, I would like to express my deepest gratitude.

Thank you for your service to America, and for making our nation a shining beacon of hope, freedom, and opportunity.

I am proud to do everything possible to do right for those who serve, those who have served, and future generations of servicemembers. It’s why I am a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Serving those who serve is why I am committed to maximizing the safety of our troops, reforming the dysfunctional VA, and ensuring that our troops are well-prepared and well-provisioned for any adversary they face.

I have cosponsored and worked on a great deal of military-related legislation this year. While the news tends to focus on Washington’s combativeness and partisanship, caring for America’s servicemembers is a bipartisan priority, and the Congress has taken some great strides forward:

H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, allows Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange to qualify for expedited benefits, and has been signed into law by President Trump.

H.R. 450, the Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act of 2019, makes it a crime to defraud an individual of veterans’ benefits. This legislation passed the House 417–0, and I hope the Senate will act on it quickly.

Another bill that passed unanimously was H.R. 95, the Homeless Veteran Families Act, which helps homeless veterans (a tragedy in and of itself) with children find safe places to live. Once again, given its widespread bipartisan support, I hope the Senate will pass it soon.

AROUND THE DISTRICT

VETERANS DAY

On Thursday, November 7, my staff attended a Veterans Day Observance Ceremony at the University of West Florida. More details and some great pictures are available here!

APP CHALLENGE

It’s finally here! Today (Saturday, November 8), I will be hosting the Congressional App Challenge + STEM/Cybersecurity Expo at the University of West Florida. The Congressional App Challenge is a public effort to encourage kids to learn how to code.

With more and more sectors of America’s economy going digital, STEM, cybersecurity, and computer science backgrounds are in high demand by employers nationwide. I am excited to host the Congressional App Challenge again, and happy to see students across Northwest Florida taking an interest in these vital fields — they are the future of America.

If you’re free and in the area, come out to UWF and take a look!

WHAT WE’RE READING

Pensacola News Journal — October 26, 2019

NAS commander had guts to speak up about quality of schools. We should listen.

Fox News — November 8, 2019

Jim Jordan assigned to Intel Committee ahead of Trump impeachment hearings

The Federalist — November 7, 2019

Never-Ending Foreign Wars Are Keeping The United States From Fixing The Border Crisis

GAETZ IN THE NEWS

Fox News — November 3, 2018

Life, Liberty and Levin (with Matt Gaetz and Mo Brooks)

Northwest Florida Daily News — November 5, 2019

MATT GAETZ: Transparency demands action

“Throughout my career, I have shared the American people’s deep aversion to government secrecy that President Kennedy described, as well as the conviction that transparency and openness are not, and should never become, partisan issues — rather, they are pillars of a free society.”

Biz Pac Review — November 4, 2019

Brit Hume and Mollie Hemingway choking on NY Times sugar-coated puff piece on ‘brave’ Adam Schiff

“Schiff has increasingly come under fire for his handling of the impeachment inquiry, and has been hit with an ethics complaint by Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz for “distorting” Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, lying about “Russian Collusion” and “blocking” Congressional lawmakers from attending closed-door impeachment hearings.”

Breitbart News — November 1, 2019

Ted Cruz: ‘Enshrining’ Section 230 in USMCA a ‘Mistake’

“Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sent a letter to Lighthizer in May, expressing concern over how Article 19.17 of the USMCA could codify Section 230.”