In the News
This week on Capitol Hill, two members of the Florida delegation with backgrounds in law enforcement unveiled a proposal to help "better train law enforcement for interactions with individuals suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."
U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., who served as Orlando's police chief, and U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., are cosponsoring U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell's, D-NJ, "TBI and PTSD Law Enforcement Training Act."
The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded another $46 million toward the harbor-deepening project to get parts of the St. Johns River deepend from 40 to 47 feet.
It comes nearly two months after the corps was awarded a second contract to deepen the next 5-mile stretch of the St. Johns River.
It's focusing on deepening the river to Blount Island first to allow larger ships to off-load there but the entire project is still years from being finished and all the funding is not yet secured.
Veterans Day is an especially important occasion in Northeast Florida, home to one the most heavily military and veteran populations in the country. It is an honor to serve this community in Congress, and on Veterans Day, our citizens came together to pause and honor the many brave and selfless men and women in our community who served our nation at home and abroad.
We're so gun-shy of federal reef fish management, we don't want to jinx a possible opening of limited red snapper fishing off our coast by even hinting at it.
But looking at the bigger picture, it may be instructive to talk about where it's heading in case it goes no further — and we'll be able to point the finger exactly where the failure occurred for you down the road
But, if we were a betting newspaper, we'd bet we'll see an August opening.
Would you trust a doctor who had their license revoked, had a history of sexual misconduct, and had on numerous occasions engaged in unethical, unprofessional behavior? Obviously not. Why, then, would we ever put someone like that in a position to care for the men and women who served our country?
Florida's two U.S. senators--Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio--and U.S. Rep, John Rutherford, R-Fla., are pressing the Navy secretary on why some ships are not having their maintenance done at Mayport on the First Coast.
On Friday, the two senators and Rutherford wrote U.S. Navy Sec. Richard Spencer on the matter, insisting the Navy was not following the law as it maintained three patrol crafts and displaced sailors and their families.
Jacksonville, FL - Florida Congressman John Rutherford (R-FL) says his bipartisan-supported bill to stop school violence would help students, teachers and school administrators more easily identify and report signs of trouble to prevent school shootings. House leadership announced today that a vote will take place on that bill next week.
"[This bill] addresses the physical plant itself, the school building, and how we can harden that target, while addressing educating students, teachers and officers on what are the warning signs to look for," says Rutherford.
Rep. John Rutherford(R-Fla.) is pressing House appropriators to include funding for a school safety program in an upcoming government spending bill, he told The Hill on Tuesday.
Rutherford is the lead sponsor of a bipartisan bill, called the Stop School Violence Act, that would create a new grant program aimed at educating students and adults about how to spot and report warning signs of gun violence.
The House will vote on the measure next week as part of the GOP's response to last month's deadly shooting at a Florida high school.
Washington, D.C. – Following the tragic events on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Congressman John Rutherford co-signed a letter from Members of Congress to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) urging a thorough re-evaluation of bump-stock devices reported to have been used by the perpetrator to dramatically increase the discharge rate of his firearms as he carried out these senseless killings.