Washington—There's not much of anything Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree on, but US Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL) says that there is bipartisan support for getting Everglades Restoration funding passed.
When asked about the preservation of the Everglades and the Florida Congressional delegation, Rep. Diaz Balart responded, "That's a scenario where we work very well together."
Rep. Diaz-Balart went on to credit Democrat Rep. Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) for their work in Everglades Restoration.
"Let me mention Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Her and I have done multiple letters, and her and I have been the two front people on appropriations getting money for Everglades restoration, and so the administration has done some good things, emphasizing parts of Everglades restoration," said Rep. Diaz-Balart. However, Brian Mast and I, for example, are leading a letter, demanding the administration also focus on other parts of Everglades restoration where they have not been as aggressive."
Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and the Republican-led legislature have made a full turnaround on environmental policy in Florida, often finding more agreement than disagreement.
"I think there is very strong cooperation, for the most part, with the Florida delegation on environmental issues that affect Florida. You can and need to protect the environment in a way that not only helps the environment, but that also helps the economy," said Balart.
Balart elaborated, blaming Washington for being behind Florida's proactivity on working in a bipartisan fashion, "Unfortunately, when you look at some of the things that are being done up here, it's just the opposite. It doesn't help the environment, and it hurts our economy, but we do work on specific issues together in a bipartisan fashion that Florida legislators do when it comes to, for example, Everglades restoration."
Both Reps. Diaz-Balart and Mast have made moves on the South Florida environment during their current term in Congress. Just last year Mast signed a letter to further enhance the preservation of Lake Okeechobee.
Recently, Reps. Byron Donalds and Mast, along with Senator Marco Rubio and Gov. DeSantis, held a press conference in Palm Beach County to thought their efforts with Everglades Restoration, where they ridiculed congressional Democrats and the Biden administration for refusing to send federal funds to Florida to help the ongoing state effort to clean up the Florida Everglades.
