Media

U.S. Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09) announced today that Winter Haven Municipal Airport Gilbert Field (GIF) in Polk County is the recipient of a $2,493,952 discretionary grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to install runway lighting and rehabilitate the runway infrastructure.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two amendments offered by Congressman Darren Soto. H.R. 6157, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019, included two of Congressman Soto's amendments, both of which passed by voice vote, to increase funding for quantum computing research and to increase funding for Gulf War illness research.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 4528, a bill introduced by Congressman Darren Soto to amend the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012 to limit the sale of billfish caught by U.S. fishing vessels and to amend the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 giving the Secretary of Commerce authority to manage Atlantic highly migratory species. H.R .4528 is also supported by a coalition of conservation and sportsman/anglers groups.

U.S. Congressman Darren Soto met with Abhinav Dhulipala, a Congressional Award Gold Medal recipient from Central Florida's 9^th Congressional District. Abhinav (Abhi) graduated from the Orlando Science School this past spring and will be attending the University of California, Berkeley in the Fall 2018 semester to study Engineering.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the second version of the Farm Bill (H.R.2, Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018), by a narrow margin of 213-211. Congressman Darren Soto, Member of the House Committee on Agriculture, released the following statement after voting against this legislation:

Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09) released the following statement on the Trump Administration's policy to separate immigrant children from their families:

"It is inhumane and heartless for the Trump Administration to continue separating children as young as infants from their parents during immigration proceedings. This goes against all core American and religious values.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two amendments offered by Congressman Darren Soto in H.R. 5895, Energy and Water Development, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2019. Rep. Soto's amendments increases funding by $2 million to enhance reliability and resiliency for our nation's electrical grid in the face of extreme weather disasters.

The House Committee on Natural Resources advanced H.R. 4528, a bill introduced by Congressman Darren Soto to amend the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012 to limit the sale of billfish caught by U.S. fishing vessels and to amend the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 giving the Secretary of Commerce authority to manage Atlantic highly migratory species. H.R .4528 is also supported by a coalition of conservation and sportsman/anglers groups.