Blog: The Webster Wire: Here are the Facts
Statement
Dear Friend,
Throughout this past week, I attended numerous public forums and listening sessions including the following:
-South Lake Chamber of Commerce breakfast
-South Lake County Rotary Club
-"Conversation with your Congressman" at the Family Physician Group Senior Club of Clermont
-Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce
-Rotary Club of Dr. Phillips (Morning)
-Rotary Club of Dr. Phillips (Noon)
-Assisted Transition Senior Advocacy Symposium in Leesburg
-Rotary Club of Leesburg
-"Coffee with your Congressman and City Manager" at the Winter Haven Public Library with co-host City Manager Deric Feacher
-Lake Alfred Chamber of Commerce
-Republican Hispanic Club of Lake County
-Lake Alfred Lions Club
-Community forum at Winter Haven Baptist Church with the Florida Department of Transportation
-Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International of Orlando
The purpose of attending these events is twofold: to facilitate a conversation about issues facing our community and to offer information about the constituent services my office provides. If you could not attend any of these public forums, view photos and join our conversation by following me on Twitter or Facebook.
I want to extend special gratitude to the service club members who hosted me this week including the Rotarians of Dr. Phillips, Lake Alfred, Leesburg and South Lake County and the Lions of Lake Alfred. Service organizations such as these consist of people who take time from their busy lives to quietly perform community service in support of many of the needs in Central Florida. For this reason, it was a true honor to receive the Paul Harris Fellow Award, presented by the Rotary Club of Dr. Phillips in recognition of promoting "better understanding and friendly relations" in our community. I cannot thank these organizations enough for taking action to lift up those who are less fortunate.
In every corner of the globe, America's sons and daughters have served and sacrificed to protect us and to secure the liberty we cherish. This week, I visited the Lake Alfred Veterans Memorial located at Gardner Park in remembrance of local heroes who have fallen on battlefields both near and far. May we never forget those who allow us to live free and grateful, and may we honor their sacrifices that are necessary to preserve those freedoms for the next generation.
We also honor our veterans by fulfilling our obligations. For this reason, I visited the site of the long-delayed Orlando Veterans' Affairs Medical Center with Stella Fiotes, the recently appointed official who oversees construction of VA facilities. The purpose of my visit was to better understand the mismanagement of the early stages of the project that have left it well over two years behind schedule and over budget. Containing these problems continues to be the subject of congressional hearings, oversight visits and discussions with the VA project management team, and will remain one of my top priorities. It is our duty to provide a medical facility that offers state of the art medical care. The continued construction delays are a disservice to the more than 300,000 Central Florida veterans and their families who deserve to have promises made turn into promises kept.
I also visited a variety of small businesses to find out what they need to grow and hire. Those visits included the following:
-Grand opening of Hobby Lobby in Mount Dora
-Mail Express in Mount Dora
-Pat Burke's Hoops Basketball Training Facility in Mount Dora
-The Hampton Inn in Clermont
-Mizz Realty in Clermont
-Garage Mama Fitness in Winter Garden
-RE/MAX Properties S.W., Inc. in Orlando
-Jerry Fay's Tool & Die in Orlando
-High Octane Smoothies in Clermont
-DaVita Dialysis in Winter Haven
-Ron's Tackle Box in Lake Alfred
-Lake Alfred Diner in Lake Alfred
-Pammie's Sammies Restaurant in West Orange County
-Accelerate (Fueled by Seacoast National Bank) in Dr. Phillips
For generations, starting a small business has been a pathway to the American Dream. More than half of all private sector jobs are created by small businesses. Cultivating a strong small business environment that encourages entrepreneurs to invest and create jobs in Central Florida is essential to strengthening our community.
Local leaders including mayors, commissioners, town council members, city administrators, and first responders are invaluable partners in building a more accountable responsible federal government that focuses on real solutions. This week, I sat down with the officials and elected leaders of Howey-in-the-Hills including Mayor Chris Sears and his administrators, Chief of Police Curtis Robbins, and members of the Town Council to discuss ways we can work together in areas of transportation, job growth, and economic development. I also shared my commitment to first-rate constituent service by offering assistance with issues involving federal agencies.
I also had the opportunity to express my gratitude to two area churches that invest their resources, time and energy into serving our community. First Baptist Church of Lake Alfred operates a food pantry staffed by volunteers committed to feeding the hungry in Lake Alfred, and First Baptist Church of Winter Haven, through their Haley Center, serves the community by offering quality primary health care at no cost to patients. These volunteers live out the responsibility to serve those in need and live up to the values of integrity and goodwill by extending a helping hand to members of our community in need.
Your servant,
Daniel Webster
Member of Congress
Constituent Corner:
A constituent called our office seeking assistance following notification by the IRS that she had failed to report certain nontaxable disability income from 2011 and incurred resulting penalties. Our office contacted the Taxpayer Advocate Service on the constituent's behalf and worked with her to secure a letter from her employer explicitly stating that her disability income is nontaxable. Within two weeks of submitting the letter from her employer, the IRS resolved her case and cleared her account of any penalties. If you ever need assistance cutting through the red tape at a federal agency, contact our office at one of the numbers below. We are here to serve you.
Share Your View:
Following the House of Representative's 40th vote to repeal Obamacare, the Washington Post fact checked the claim by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that "efforts to repeal Obamacare all ended in failure."
What are the facts? On multiple occasions, legislation repealing substantive portions of Obamacare were passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and signed into law by President Obama.
In fact, I cosponsored several of the Obamacare repeal bills enacted into law by President Obama.
Do you agree the House of Representatives should continue working to repeal Obamacare?
Response to last week's survey question; "Do you agree with the Obama Administration's decision to exempt Members of Congress and staff from provisions of Obamacare?" No -- 96% Yes -- 3%
Legislative Update:
The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service says the Obama Administration has missed more than a third of the deadlines mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Even prominent Democrats in Congress who wrote Obamacare acknowledge that the law is a "train wreck", and small business owners, families and individuals are already feeling the pinch of rising health care costs.
The House of Representatives passed a delay of the individual mandate to give hardworking Americans the kind of relief from Obamacare that President Obama extended to big businesses. The Senate and the President should join us.
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