WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott wrote a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to continue critical funding for projects to restore the Everglades, including for the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration, in the president’s upcoming budget requests to Congress. Senator Scott has always been a champion for the Florida Everglades. By the end of Senator Scott’s eight years as Florida’s governor, the Sunshine State had invested more than $2 billion to restore the Everglades, resulting in the acceleration of 16 Everglades projects, sending more water south and providing billions of gallons of water storage around Lake Okeechobee. Now as U.S. Senator, Senator Scott continues his fight to preserve and protect the Everglades at the federal level.

Read his full letter to President Biden HERE or below.

February 9, 2023

Dear Mr. President:

As Florida’s governor, I made protecting the Sunshine State’s environment a top priority.

During my eight year administration, Florida’s annual investments to preserve the environment and protect our iconic beaches, pristine springs and the Florida Everglades increased by $1 billion. In 2017, I signed SB 10, accelerating the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project to store even more water south of Lake Okeechobee, helping prevent and mitigate the impacts of harmful algal blooms and naturally-occurring red tide in Florida’s coastal waterways, and went to Washington to advocate for the federal approval of this important project until it was signed into law in October 2018.

Additionally, on top of securing full federal funding from President Donald Trump, I also fought for and secured $100 million in state funding to expedite repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike – marking the first state investment in this critically important project. By the end of my second term, we invested more than $2 billion to restore the Everglades, resulting in the acceleration of 16 Everglades projects, sending more water south and providing billions of gallons of water storage around Lake Okeechobee.

While I am proud of the hard work done during my administration, and have continued to fight for and support federal projects in the U.S. Senate that advance our commitment to preserving and protecting Florida’s environment, this important work is never finished.

As you finalize your Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget, I respectfully ask you to build on the progress that has been made in recent years toward fully restoring America’s Everglades and commit to full and robust funding in your forthcoming budget request to Congress for the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration (SFER), based on the current Integrated Delivery Schedule (IDS) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has set forth.

Your administration’s support for full and robust Everglades restoration funding will help ensure that key projects, like the EAA Reservoir Project, remain a priority.

Moving forward, full and robust funding in FY 2024 will allow the USACE the flexibility to continue focusing on multi-year contracts that will ensure more projects to protect the Everglades and wildlife, ensure equitable access to water and improve the lives of Florida families are completed on schedule and on budget.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I look forward to working with you and your administration to continue the restoration efforts of our nation’s Everglades.

Sincerely,

###