With Everglades restoration being a bipartisan issue in the state of Florida, both at the state and federal level, it is appropriate that Florida members of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 118th Congress (as well as Senator Marco Rubio, R-FL) have come together to launch the Everglades Caucus.
Chaired by Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), the caucus’ first plan of action is a request to President Joe Biden (D) for an allocation towards the natural swamp land dedicated to the 2024 fiscal year (FY24).
In their letter to the President, the caucus members request $725 million for the Everglades.
“As you prepare your Fiscal Year 2024 budget request, we write to respectfully request an allocation of $725 million under the Army Corps of Engineers construction account for South Florida Ecosystem Restoration. The Everglades is a national treasure, one of the true ecological wonders of the world, and further efforts to preserve this unique ecosystem will prove imperative to its long-term viability,” the caucus stated.
The group would go on to mention that the funding goes towards not only a restoration projection for nature’s sake, but an investment towards economic growth and community engagement.
“The significance of the Everglades does not go unnoticed for Floridians and our community who have worked together for more than twenty years to restore its cherished wetlands. This continued restoration of America’s Everglades is not only a national, but a global model for large scale ecosystem restoration and infrastructure investment that supports economic vitality, and promotes a wide range of ecological and community resilience benefits,” the caucus members wrote to the President.
“We look forward to unifying our efforts to restore the Everglades as we work to advance vital Everglades restoration projects. Thank you for your consideration of our request for $725 million for Everglades restoration in FY24,” the Florida U.S. federal legislators concluded.
Other than the legislators mentioned earlier, the Everglades Caucus includes Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Darren Soto (D-FL), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), John Rutherford (R-FL), Bill Posey (R-FL), Scott Franklin (R-FL), Brian Mast (R-FL), Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Cory Mills (R-FL), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Laurel Lee (R-FL), Michael Waltz (R-FL), and Daniel Webster (R-FL).
