Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling on the federal government to shoulder more of the costs as Florida continues to recover from Hurricane Michael which hit the Panhandle and the Big Bend back in October. 

On Friday, DeSantis wrote President Donald Trump asking for the federal government to take up 90 percent of recovery costs instead of the current 75 percent. DeSantis noted that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reclassified Hurricane Michael as a category 5 storm last week. 

With Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is sending $18.5 million to Bay County at the end of last week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., noted that more federal help will be on the way as the area recovers from Hurricane Michael. 

Bay County is getting $18.5 million in federal funds as Northwest Florida continues to recover from Hurricane Michael which slammed into the region back in October. 

On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the federal government is sending the funds to Bay County as reimbursements for debris cleared in the 45 days after the hurricane hit.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, R-Fla., is drawing fire after naming the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) leadership team. 

Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., the chairwoman of the DCCC, said that the caucus had elected five regional vice chairs, including Crist, to help the Democrats keep control of the U.S. House in 2020. 

This week, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., one of the co-chairman of the Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus, continued his fight for support for tourism, including Brand USA. 

Bilirakis held a round table event in Wesley Chapel on Thursday and he stressed the important role tourism plays to the Sunshine State’s economy. 

Freshman U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., who led the U.S. Health and Human Services Department for eight years in the Clinton administration, turned her attention this week to the rising number of young Americans using tobacco and e-cigarettes, backing a proposal to raise the age for purchasing tobacco from 18 to 21. 

U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., has thrown his support to two security bills making their way through the U.S. House. 

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-SC, showcased his proposal “to improve the national instant criminal background check system in order to search the National Data Exchange database when conducting criminal background checks” which, he insisted, would have closed the loophole which allowed the shooter in the 2015 Charleston church shooting to purchase a gun. 

Now in his second term in Congress, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., has moved up into the leadership ranks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) as the Democrats look to protect their new majority in the U.S. House. 

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., the chairwoman of the DCCC, announced that five regional vice chairs, including Crist, had been elected by her caucus. 

“Elected by their colleagues, these vice chairs will help lead the on-the-ground effort to fortify and expand our new Democratic majority,” the DCCC noted. 

U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., the top Republican on the U.S. House Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee, continues to urge the Trump administration to support Taiwan, offering warnings about the threat posed by communist China. 

At the end of last week, Yoho sent a letter to U.S. Sec. of State  Michael Pompeo urging him to attend the upcoming East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Thailand.  

Three Democrats representing parts of Central Florida in Congress--U.S. Reps. Val Demings, Stephanie Murphy and Darren Soto--helped reel in more than $3 million to help Orlando secure itself from terrorism. 

At the end of last week, the three members announced that Orlando will be receiving a $3.25 million grant from the  U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS)Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). Last year, after not getting funds since 2014, Orlando received $1.5 million in a UASI grant.