Political Quotes

“Madam President, I do want to compliment my colleague. He comes from a beautiful State. While I would like all of the tourists to come to Florida, Alaska is a great State to take a vacation. I have had the opportunity to do that a few times, and it is a beautiful State. I thank my colleagues Senator Sullivan and Senator Rubio for working on this bill that is so important to all of our States but, for sure, Florida and Alaska. Many States rely on the success of our ports, our cruise lines, and our maritime industries. Throughout my time as the Governor of Florida, we proudly welcomed more than 100 million visitors every year and shattered annual tourism records each year. Every visitor to our State supports small businesses, fuels job growth, and boosts tax revenue, helping to create State and local investments in the environment, transportation, public safety, and education. And it is not just Florida and Alaska. Tourism, including our all- important cruise industry, has huge impacts for States across our Nation and the thousands of jobs that rely on its success. On the chart you can look at this. So, first off, the cruise industry shutdown is just killing a lot of jobs--jobs all across this country. Before the COVID-19, we had 450,000 jobs--450,000 American jobs--and $55 billion in GDP every year in our economy. Unfortunately, due to the suspension of cruises caused by the CDC inaction, more than 300,000 American jobs have been lost. So this is all across our country.…”