Florida's first "Green Governor," Ron DeSantis (R), who has been working alongside farmers and environmental organizations to keep Florida's waterways clean and to continue restoring the much-needed Everglades ecosystem, can now thank Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) and the bipartisan effort to secure taxpayer funds to help keep Florida's water clean.
Rep. Wasserman Schultz is a senior member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee and has been one of the biggest advocates for Everglades restoration.
During the Trump administration, Rep. Wasserman Schultz "helped secure $3.3 billion" to protect Florida's natural wetlands and clean water, help push for more funding, funding that former President Trump signed off on.
"I led the appropriations request to support the Florida Everglades, and the funds will be used to help restore the water flow for the Everglades, protect tourism-related jobs, and ensure the quality of South Florida’s drinking water supply," Wasserman Schultz stated in her official legislative website.
Now with President Joe Biden having signed the annual national budget, Wasserman Schultz announced that she helped secure $350 million to help "restore the Everglades ecosystem and that funding adds to the $1.1 billion that was carved out for Florida in the "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law."
"I secured $350M to restore the Everglades ecosystem, which provides drinking water for millions of Floridians, in the annual budget bill that @POTUS will sign today. This funding adds to the $1.1B we just got in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law," tweeted Wasserman Schultz.
Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis added to his "green governor" bona fides when he doled out $404 million in funding for 113 local environment projects across the state, a move that garnered DeSantis rare praise from Florida Democrats.
"Credit where credit is due: After nearly four years of our advocating for critical resiliency/infrastructure funding for our cities and county, (much of it vetoed), over $65 million of this $404 million will now go towards projects in our district,” stated State Sen. Jason Pizzo.
Another Florida State Senator, Sen. Shevrin Jones (D), said that Gov. DeSantis's efforts with the environment were admirable.
“With more to be done, I will say that Governor DeSantis has been consistent on environmental issues, but he can’t just stop at water issues, there are issues like lead in water in communities, air quality, protecting endangered species, etc. - these are other environmental issues that Gov. DeSantis can/should champion,” said Sen. Jones in a statement to The Floridian.
I secured $350M to restore the Everglades ecosystem, which provides drinking water for millions of Floridians, in the annual budget bill that @POTUS will sign today. This funding adds to the $1.1B we just got in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law! pic.twitter.com/oqPP4NXBOx
— Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@RepDWStweets) March 15, 2022
