Support to Rural Florida

It is obvious that our Sunshine State rural communities face unique challenges that require much greater targeted legislative action from Congress under Senate leadership to thrive. A thriving Florida can only be assured with prospering rural Florida communities as well.

Rural communities in Florida often rightly feel taken for granted by our elected officials in Washington because the political talk rarely ever matches the policy walk. That will change under my Senate watch.

As you can imagine, the perceived and actual political slights are many, such as:

• Disproportionate Influence: Rural Florida communities admittedly have smaller populations than urban areas, which means their unique needs and challenges are too frequently overlooked in favor of policies that cater to our state's larger, more populous urban centers.

• District Gerrymandering: Political district gerrymandering can sometimes dilute rural voters’ influence, leading to disenfranchisement.  This is especially true when you see so many attempts to make voting in Florida so much more different for our citizens.

• Urban-Centric Policies: Many federal policies are designed primarily with urban challenges in mind, which can inadvertently neglect or adversely affect rural areas.

• Regulatory Burdens: Regulations that are practical for urban areas can sometimes impose undue burdens on rural communities due to their unique circumstances.

• Cultural Disconnect: There is also often a cultural disconnect between policymakers in Washington and the realities of life in rural Florida, leading to decisions that may not fully consider the local context.  This disconnect is not necessarily unique to Florida but also happens in many rural communities around America.

As a lifelong proponent of enhancing rural life, I want to lead Congress in ensuring that appropriate funding mechanisms are flexible and responsive to the specific needs of each rural community in our state. The policies I will propose should encourage collaboration between federal, state, and local governments and public-private-philanthropic partnerships to maximize positive change for our rural communities. This will require much work, but I am determined to help get it done in Washington and Tallahassee!

I suggest the following initiatives to give rural Florida communities more equal priority to our urban centers:

• Infrastructure Development: An essential ingredient for healthy rural living is providing our citizens with broadband internet to expand higher-speed access, which is crucial for education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. Sound roads, bridges, and public transportation can enhance connectivity and economic activity. Ensured access to clean water and modern sewage systems is also essential for public health and quality of life.

• Healthcare Access: I often wonder why disparities exist between rural and urban hospitals and clinics. We must level the healthcare access playing field by providing more dependable funding to keep rural healthcare facilities open and adequately staffed. This includes expanding telehealth services and capabilities to overcome distance barriers to accessing medical care. Mental health services must also be a component of these readily available services, especially when the availability of mental health resources is tailored to rural needs.

• Economic Development: I want to see the federal government working with our state government, offering more subsidies, grants, and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to help better sustain Florida agriculture, which is often the backbone of rural Sunshine State economies.

• Farm and Small Business Support: By providing grants, low-interest loans, and tax incentives to encourage entrepreneurship and local business growth, we help provide important job training programs that can help establish sorely needed vocational training and apprenticeship programs to equip residents with skills for in-demand jobs.

• Education: How is this even a question in today’s market? Ensuring rural schools have adequate funding to provide quality education and retain qualified teachers is a no-brainer in my book. In my opinion, this includes distance learning that invests in technologies and programs to support remote learning for students in remote areas and adult education and training that supports continuing education and training programs to help adults adapt to changing job markets.

• Housing: Housing in Florida must always be more affordable. We must be better equipped in Florida to create programs to develop affordable housing options and address housing shortages. We also need to provide more timely home repair and maintenance by offering grants and loans for home repairs, particularly for elderly and low-income residents.

• Farm-Friendly Environmental Conservation and Management: By supporting programs that promote sustainable land use and conservation practices, we can more readily preserve Florida’s natural beauty and bounty. We must also be prepared to provide disaster preparedness and relief, ensuring that adequate resources for disaster preparedness and response, including wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters, are available when needed.

• Public Safety: This program is as important as one might find in our urban centers. I want to support rural law enforcement in rural communities by enhancing funding for rural law enforcement agencies to ensure they can adequately serve their communities and also improve emergency response times and services, including fire and medical emergency services.

• Community Development: Finally, but not the end of my list by any stretch of the imagination, we need to encourage and fund initiatives that promote civic engagement and community leadership as well as cultural and recreational opportunities that invest in community centers, libraries, and recreational facilities to enhance rural quality of life.