Rubio and Scott File Bill to Expand Florida's Miccosukee Reserved Area

Washington, D.C- Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott have introduced a bill that would expand Florida’s Miccosukee Tribe’s territory. 

The move aims to annex the Osceola Camp, a residential area inhabited by Miccosukee residents, to the Miccosukee Reserved Area (MRA). 

The bill would also authorize activities to protect structures within the Osceola Camp from flooding. 

Senator Rubio expressed his belief, via press release, that transferring the Osceola Camp into the MRA would benefit the Miccosukee Tribe. “Recognizing the Osceola Camp would be a critical step forward in the restoration process, and would make a meaningful difference to the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida,” said Senator Rubio.

Senator Scott cosponsored the bill, and underscored how Camp Osceola “has been a home and site of cultural significance for generations of Tribal members.”

The incorporation of Camp Osceola into the MRA also aims to aid in infrastructure development. According to a Rubio’s press release, transferring the land would facilitate the raising of Camp Osceola to prevent flooding and optimize water flows to Everglades National Park without adversely affecting existing residences.  

Rubio concomitantly introduced a separate bill regarding the protection of religious freedom and rights of conscience of health care workers and government employees. 

The Protecting Conscience in Healthcare Act would prohibit federal or state government agencies and “covered entities,” such as hospitals and health clinics, from compelling employee participation in activities that promote radical gender ideology.

“The progressive left continues to impose radical gender ideology on the healthcare system, affecting the development of hospitals and quality of patient care,” said Rubio. 

The act responds to reports exposing how the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has been using its Healthcare Equality Index to coerce medical institutions into adopting progressive gender ideologies.

According to HRC’s website, The Healthcare Equality Index is “the national LGBTQ+ benchmarking tool that evaluates healthcare facilities' policies and practices related to the equity and inclusion of their LGBTQ+ patients.”

The Index favorably scores Healthcare providers that conduct training that advocates radical gender ideology, display pro-LGBTQ symbols, and force employees to use patients’ preferred pronouns.

According to Rubio, medical centers that allow religious and medical conscience exemptions to such procedures are penalized.