WASHINGTON, D.C. — Unfair trade practices by Mexico continue to harm American fruit and vegetable producers, especially growers in the Southeastern United States, and undermine our nation’s food security. There is strong, bipartisan support for federal action and relief from Mexico’s unfair trade practices.

Rep. Cammack joined U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to request an update on the status of the private sector trade advisory panel for Southeastern producers. Ambassador Tai committedto establish the panel in response to the bipartisan Florida Congressional Delegation’s August 2022 Section 301 petition regarding Mexico’s unfair trade practices. Continue reading →

GAINESVILLE, FL — Today, Congresswoman Kat Cammack (FL-03) announced the Lake City Fire Department’s ‘Assistance To Firefighters’ Grant (AFG) award from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The department will receive $208,261.90 to improve its operations and safety, including using the grant for new protective equipment such as air packs.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant is one of three grant programs administered by DHS and FEMA to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and related hazards.

“I’m so excited for our brave men and women in Lake City to have the equipment necessary to help them do their jobs more safely and effectively. Our first responders are heroes and it’s imperative that we ensure they stay safe while serving our communities,” said Congresswoman Cammack. “I couldn’t be prouder of our firefighters in Lake City. As the wife of a firefighter and paramedic myself, I know how deserving our departments are of this grant and I know they’ll continue to demonstrate the very best of our first responder community in North Central Florida.” Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—As a new school year begins, Attorney General Ashley Moody is encouraging participation in a new initiative to help students build positive relationships with school resource officers. The Hallway Heroes initiative will provide schools with crime-prevention resources to foster relationships with school resource officers and urge students to report suspicious activity.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “As the mother of a school-aged child who is about to head back to class, I am excited about our new initiative to keep students safe and help law enforcement stop crime. Our Hallway Heroes initiative will encourage students to build positive relationships with their school resource officers to increase school safety. We have already seen how building these bonds of trust between students and officers can help law enforcement stop crime and better protect students, and we hope this new initiative will serve to further strengthen these important relationships.” Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is filing criminal charges against the owner of a Tampa-based pool company for stealing more than $1.5 million from Floridians and failing to complete customers’ pools. James Ivan Staten, Jr., owner and operator of Olympus Pools, faces charges of aggravated white-collar crime, organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and contractor fraud. Staten accepted large down payments and then left many consumers in Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Polk counties with no pools and destroyed yards. Attorney General Moody, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced the charges today in Tampa.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “For many people, finally saving enough money to buy a pool takes years of dreaming and hard work, but for the victimized customers of Olympus Pools, their dream turned into a nightmare. This defendant conned numerous Florida property owners by demanding large down payments on pools, then abandoning job sites—destroying backyards and leaving customers short of funds to try and fix the mess.” Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is pushing Congress to pass legislation to protect veterans. In a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general, Attorney General Moody is calling on congressional leaders to support the passage of legislative proposals included in Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding Veterans Affairs Benefits Act.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Our veterans sacrifice so much for our freedom, and they should be able to access the benefits they earned without being preyed upon by bad actors. We need Congress to help protect these brave Americans by passing the GUARD VA Benefits Act and reinstating criminal penalties for unlicensed individuals who may try to prey on our nation’s veterans.”

In a letter sent to congressional leaders, the coalition of attorneys general explained that the passing of the bipartisan legislation would hold unlicensed and unregulated actors accountable for targeting and preying upon veterans who apply for benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Continue reading →

Dear Neighbor,
This week marks the first day of school for thousands of families across Florida’s Third Congressional District! We wish all of our students, teachers, and parents a productive and successful school year ahead, and we remind all of our area drivers and pedestrians to watch for school buses, put down electronic devices in the car, and pay attention to our young learners making their way to their classrooms. Continue reading →

The current federal income tax system is clearly broken-unfair,overly complex and almost impossible for most Americans to understand. But there is a reasonable, nonpartisan alternative before Congress that is both fair and easy to understand. A system that allows you only pay taxes on what you spend. The FAIRtax is a nation sales tax that treats every person equally and allows American businesses to thrive while generating the same tax revenue as the current tax code.

The FAIRtax is a REPLACEMENT not an add-on to the income tax. Under the FAIRtax, every person in the U.S. will pay a sales tax on purchases of NEW goods and services, excluding necessities due to the prebate. The FAIRtax rate after necessities is 23% compared to combing the 15% income tax bracket with the 7.65% of employee payroll taxes under the current system- both of which will be eliminated. Your paycheck will be what you earned without federal deductions giving you an instant raise in pay. The FAIRtax puts Social Security and Medicare on a more solid funding foundation. Instead of being funded by taxes on worker’s wages, which is a small pool, they will be funded by taxes on overall consumption by all residents. Continue reading →

Connecting more than 59,000 Unserved and Underserved Businesses, Homes, Farms and Anchor Institutions Like Hospitals and Libraries to High-Speed Internet 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded more than $247 million through the Broadband Infrastructure Program, connecting more than 59,000 unserved and underserved businesses, homes, farms and anchor institutions like hospitals and libraries to high-speed Internet. Infrastructure deployment through 63 strategic projects in 43 Florida counties ensures that Florida residents have reliable and efficient access to workforce, education and health monitoring opportunities for generations to come.

These awards are in addition to more than $226 million in Broadband Opportunity Grant Funding already awarded to 53 counties awards to expand broadband Internet access to unserved areas across the state, connecting more than 250,000 homes and businesses. Additional funding will become available this year through new and existing programs. Continue reading →

Each educator earning a Civics Seal of Excellence Endorsement receives a stipend worth $3,000 each

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced Florida has awarded 11,000 teachers more than $33 million for completing civics training offered by the Florida Department of Education. The educators have completed either the Summer Civics Professional Learning Series or the first-of-its-kind Civics Seal of Excellence Endorsement, which equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to provide high-quality civics instruction.

Governor DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) launched the Civics Seal of Excellence in January, and more than 10,000 teachers registered for the course within the first week. Course enrollment is at capacity with 20,000 teachers enrolled and an additional 11,000 educators on the waiting list. FDOE enlisted the assistance of nationally recognized civics experts to create the 50-hour online program that contains over 28 hours of high-quality video lessons focused on America’s history, civics, and government. Continue reading →