U.S. Representative

LAKELAND, Fla., Jan 28 - Last week, I hosted two town hall meetings, one in Lakeland and another in Temple Terrace.

I believe that hearing from those I serve is vital for my job. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out to the town hall meeting and for your willingness to engage in discussions on the serious topics of our day. I want you to know that I sincerely listen to your concerns and needs. Unfortunately, we have a limited amount of time for these town hall meetings and I wasn't able to answer all of the questions that people had. If you had a question that I wasn't able to answer, please don't hesitate to send me and email or call my office.

In addition to hearing about your concerns and ideas, I was able to share what I have been doing for you in Washington, D.C. In the past few weeks, I've introduced the following that would serve our veterans, save taxpayer dollars, protect Homeowners, and meet our agricultural workforce needs:

1. H.R. 239, the Zero-Based Budgeting Ensures Responsible Oversight Act (ZERO Act) – This bill requires agency and department managers to justify and approve every line item on their budget rather than just the changes from the previous budget.  
2. H.R. 240, the Homeowners’ Insurance Protection Act – This bill will help keep costs low and ensure that those who paid into their insurance will receive the money that is rightfully theirs in the event of a catastrophic natural disaster. The money isn’t from taxpayer dollars and will cover insured losses only. 
3. H.R. 241, the Veterans Timely Access to Health Care Act – This bill requires that veterans seeking primary and specialty care from a VA medical facility receive an appointment within 30 days.
4. H.R. 242, the Legal Agricultural Workforce Act – This bill will provide for a new type of Visa, the W-Visa, to allow non-U.S. citizens to legally participate in the agriculture economy of the United States while continuing to provide protections for American workers and taxpayers.
5. H.R. 243, the Bowles-Simpson Plan of Lowering America’s Debt Act (BOLD Act) – This bill enacts bipartisan reforms to both the tax structure and to federal spending which were initially proposed by the Simpson-Bowles Commission in 2010.

Listening to a constituent's question at the Temple Terrace town hall meeting Click here to view pictures from the Lakeland Town Hall Meeting Temple Terrace Town Hall Meeting