Tag: us house natural resources committee

The bill would “invest $5 million annually in grants that states, non-profits, and members of the fishing and marine shipping industries can use to fund research and efforts that restore the North Atlantic right whale population.”

Things look good on the other side of Capitol Hill as Soto steered the bill through the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee without opposition. U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., Ted Deutch, D-Fla., Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., co-sponsored the bill. Before his death in April, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., also was co-sponsoring the bill. 

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the bill in the U.S. Senate at the end of last month. Rubio has been pushing the “Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act” since 2018 and he reintroduced it this week.

Steube announced he was backing U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s, R-Fla., “Protecting Local Communities from Harmful Algal Blooms Act" and U.S. Rep. Brian Mast’s, R-Fla., “South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act.”

Murphy introduced the bill last week with Mast and U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., as co-sponsors. 

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

“This bipartisan bill fosters the federal government's resources in tackling the environmental and economic challenges brought on by HABs in Southwest Florida and throughout America. Over the last 60 years, these events have increased substantially, impacting local economies, our nation’s ecosystems, and the American people’s health,” Donalds said.

Last week in a U.S. House Natural Resources Committee hearing, U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., spoke in support of his legislation with U.S. Rep. Jenniffer González Colón, R-PR, the “Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act.” Below...

The bill “directs the Ocean Studies Board of National Academies to conduct a two-year study examining the science of ocean acidification and its impact on our estuaries” and will, Posey’s office insisted, “create a better understanding of coastal acidification so we can better manage and mitigate its effects on our nation’s estuaries and other natural treasures.” The bill funds the study with $1 million.

Steube rounded up more than a dozen sponsors including U.S. Reps. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., and Michael Waltz, R-Fla. U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wisc., is the main co-sponsor.

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. 

“It’s been a busy two years fighting for the issues that matter most to Central Florida’s families,” said Soto.