Tag: florida keys national marine sanctuary

Rubio was the chief sponsor in the Senate while Soto introduced it in the House and the two men reintroduced the proposal this week. While the U.S. Senate passed the bill last month, the measure did not gain much traction in the U.S. House and failed to cross the finish line. 

Back in the summer of 2019, Rubio, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., joined with U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hi., U.S. Sen. Mazi Hirono, D-Hi., and U.S. Jenniffer González-Colón, R-PR. to bring out the “Restoring Resilient Reefs Act” to reauthorize the old law.

Crist announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is sending $263,040 to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to be used for the restoration of seven threatened coral species which “will allow FWC to respond to the severe decline of corals in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary” and “will be used to establish two permanent field-based coral nurseries and four pop-up nurseries, to transplant nursery-reared corals onto degraded reefs, and gene banking of genotypes of these corals.”

On Friday, in Monroe County, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the chairman of the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee,  convened a hearing on “Florida’s Coastal Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in the Florida Keys.”

Members of the Florida congressional delegation are working together to push for updating and reauthorizing the “Coral Reef Conservation Act” which expired 15 years ago.

On Friday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., toured the Keys and showcased efforts as that area recovers Hurricane Irma which hit the area at the end of summer in 2017.