Washington, DC – Congressman Francis Rooney issued the following statement in response to Governor Rick Scott’s efforts to restore the Everglades. “The single biggest issue impacting our Southwest Florida community is water quality. Our economy is forever tied to our ecology, and having clean water flowing through our rivers, streams, estuaries and Everglades. I fully support solutions that will solve our water issues in the quickest and most efficient way possible, and I agree with Governor Ric...
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As we approach Tax Day on Tuesday, it is obvious the United States tax system is a disaster. It takes Americans too long to file their taxes, rates are too high, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been used as a political weapon, and the code picks winners and losers. It is well past time to reform the tax code. According to the IRS, Americans spend an average of 13 hours and $210 per return to comply with the tax code through filing a 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ form. This complicated and time co...
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Congressman Francis Rooney announced Emma Troyer from Evangelical Christian High School in Fort Myers as the winner of the 2017 Congressional Art Competition for Florida’s 19th Congressional District. Emma’s artwork, titled “My Florida”, will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year beginning in June. Congressman Rooney stated, “Congratulations to Emma Troyer on being selected as our 2017 Congressional Art Competition winner. Her work of art, “My Florida”, was a unique depiction of Florida...
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One of many encouraging policy changes President Donald J. Trump has inaugurated to date is his executive order requiring federal agencies to conduct internal reviews. Agencies are directed to find ways to operate more efficiently and eliminate wasteful spending. If President Trump seriously wants to reduce wasteful spending and reform government, the United States Department of Education (DOE) is a good place to start. The DOE was created in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter, basically to satisfy ...
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Washington, DC – This morning, the United States Senate passed Congressman Rooney’s Resolution, H.J. Res 67, by 50-49, terminating the Obama administration last minute regulation that forced private-sector workers into government-run IRAs managed by cities and counties. Congressman Rooney stated, “This last-minute regulatory loophole created by the previous administration would have led to harmful consequences for both workers and employers. Hardworking Americans could have been forced into gove...
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Congressman Francis Rooney Speech: March 20, 2017 - Religious Freedom Institute Thank you, Tom, for your kind introduction; and thank you to all of the members from the Religious Freedom Institute for letting me say a few words today. Religious freedom is the core of the American pluralistic experience. It represents the free exercise of religion in addition to the separation of church and state. The Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom, passed in 1786, was the first law to protect this right, ...
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Congressman Francis Rooney Leads Tour of Everglades and Lake Okeechobee Watershed Washington, DC - Congressman Francis Rooney will be leading a tour of Interior appropriations projects, CERP projects, and the Everglades National Park on Saturday, March 18th. The tour will include Congressman Ken Calvert, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment. This tour is intended to highlight the importance of funding projects which have already been approved and designed. Congress...
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Congressman Francis Rooney Too often Latin America’s strategic importance has been overlooked by United States policy makers, which is a mistake because instability in the region undermines security in the entire western hemisphere. The corrupt socialist regime in Venezuela, which has links to terrorist groups in the Middle East, is a prime example of why instability in Latin America should be a major focus of U.S. policy makers. There are currently two divergent blocs which comprise most of the...
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Congressman Francis Rooney A new plan of action is needed to respond to one of our greatest geopolitical threats, Russia. Too often, the past administration focused their Russia strategy on making empty statements and on seeking to deploy the pressure of sanctions in an attempt to “reset” U.S.-Russian relations, a position of weakness instead of strength. The very first action the Obama administration took was to remove the Bush missile shield from Poland and the Czech Republic, followed by acce...
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Congressman Francis Rooney Testifies before House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Washington, DC- Today, Congressman Francis Rooney (FL-19) issued the following statement regarding his testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies regarding Army Corps of Engineers funding for Everglades restoration projects. “I would like to thank Committee Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur f...
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