Rutherford, Colleagues Launch Everglades Caucus, Request Funding for Florida Everglades Restoration
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman John Rutherford (FL-05) joined members of the Florida Delegation to launch the Everglades Caucus and participate in a roundtable discussion highlighting priorities for the 118th Congress.
Following the discussion, Congressman Rutherford joined his Florida colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden requesting he include $725 million in his Fiscal Year 2024 budget for Everglades restoration efforts as part of an ongoing investment in the future of Florida's viability.
In the letter, members stated:
"The significance of the Everglades does not go unnoticed for Floridians and our community who have worked together for more than twenty years to restore its cherished wetlands. This continued restoration of America's Everglades is not only a national, but a global model for large scale ecosystem restoration and infrastructure investment that supports economic vitality, and promotes a wide range of ecological and community resilience benefits."
Co-signers include: Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Darren Soto (FL-09), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-10), Bill Posey (FL-08), Scott Franklin (FL-18), Brian Mast (FL-21), Carlos A. Gimenez (FL-28), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Cory Mills (FL-07), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Byron Donalds (FL-19), Laurel Lee (FL-15), Michael Waltz (FL-06), Daniel Webster (FL-11), and Senator Marco Rubio.
Read the full letter here and below.
"Dear President Biden:
As you prepare your Fiscal Year 2024 budget request, we write to respectfully request an allocation of $725 million under the Army Corps of Engineers construction account for South Florida Ecosystem Restoration. The Everglades is a national treasure, one of the true ecological wonders of the world, and further efforts to preserve this unique ecosystem will prove imperative to its long-term viability.
As you know, the Everglades is central to Florida's economy; its biodiversity is an environmental marvel and is home to one of the world's largest wetlands. A restored Everglades supports many types of resilience, including economic resilience, ecological resilience, resilience to severe weather events and drought, and a range of resilience impacts for people and communities. A healthy Everglades and appropriate water infrastructure provides storage capacity to prepare for and respond to infusions of significant quantities of water from hurricanes and other severe weather events. Further, intact coastal Everglades ecosystems add protection for the ecology and coastal communities from storm surge events. The Everglades restoration infrastructure provides the ability to manage water effectively and makes Florida's environment, economy, and communities more resilient to the extreme conditions of drought. In addition, we cannot forget that nine million Floridians rely on the Everglades for their drinking water.
The significance of the Everglades does not go unnoticed for Floridians and our community who have worked together for more than twenty years to restore its cherished wetlands. This continued restoration of America's Everglades is not only a national, but a global model for large scale ecosystem restoration and infrastructure investment that supports economic vitality, and promotes a wide range of ecological and community resilience benefits. With this in mind, we ask that you join us in building on the many years of upward momentum for a restored Everglades for the people of Florida.
We look forward to unifying our efforts to restore the Everglades as we work to advance vital Everglades restoration projects. Thank you for your consideration of our request for $725 million for Everglades restoration in FY24."
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