The crisis in Venezuela is a crisis in America. Senator Rubio, Congressman Diaz-Balart and I have been talking about this for years and have worked with the White House on a comprehensive strategy.

More than 200,000 Venezuelans live in Florida, and their concerns are our concerns.

And make no mistake; this is a crisis. It’s a humanitarian crisis that threatens the lives of the people of Venezuela and has created a flood of refugees numbering in the millions.

As a child growing up in public housing, my mother always taught me that with hard work and a focus on education, I could accomplish my goals and live my dreams, the American dream. Unfortunately, that is not the case for hundreds of thousands of children in America today.

Just like I have done throughout my entire time as governor, I fought for priorities this session that I believe will help the families and job creators in our state prosper. I committed to Florida families that I would fight for jobs everyday and that is why I have continued to fight for policies that will grow our economy. I am pleased the Legislature cut taxes by more than $700 million, but cutting taxes alone is not enough to diversify our economy for our future generations. 

It’s important to me that as the Legislature has progressed on President Negron’s priority Lake Okeechobee bill, I give an update on how I believe we should be funding our environment and conversations I have been having with the Trump Administration.