Congressman David Rivera’s Week in Review- Week of February 21st

Miami, Fla.- Congressman David Rivera (FL-25) focused on foreign affairs, local environmental issues, and constituent outreach during the second Constituent Work Week in his Southern Florida district.

District Activities: Constituent Outreach

Congressman Rivera met with constituents and local elected officials during Constituent Outreach Days this week.  He held outreach hours in Doral and Hialeah. 

The Congressman received a tour of the current Doral City Hall, where he learned of plans for the city’s new city hall facility that is currently being built.   Rivera received an update on Doral, including news about new businesses coming to Doral, about the city’s plans to add more open and green spaces to the municipality so that residents have recreation options, and about how the city will soon have more opportunities for residents to learn about their local government and what services are available to them through the city’s newsletter, local television channel and a possible radio station.  In Hialeah, Rivera toured the facilities at Roberto Casas Park and read to a group of children in the park’s afterschool child care program. 

District Activities: Naturalization Ceremony

On Wednesday Congressman Rivera spoke to 180 newly-minted citizens of the United States, as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Hialeah Field Office welcomed him as their keynote speaker for their naturalization ceremony.

“In America, you can take pride in your past, and you can take pride in being an American,” Rivera told the newest group of American citizens following their oath. 

“You chose to become an American, and every American should be proud of you.”

Rivera also received a tour of the Hialeah Field Office, which opened in November of 2008 primarily serves the eastern portion of Broward County and the northern portion of Miami-Dade County and provides a wide range of immigration services.  The Hialeah office is one of three USCIS offices in Miami-Dade County.

District Activities: Palmetto Bay Municipal Center Opening

Congressman Rivera spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Village of Palmetto Bay Municipal Center.   The building was designated as the first “Platinum” LEED-Certified Municipal Center and Emergency Operations Center in the State of Florida for its green and energy efficient building design.

Congressman Rivera, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtninen and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart presented Palmetto Bay Mayor Shelley Stanczyk with a copy of the Palmetto Bay Village Hall Grand Opening listing in the Congressional Record. 

15th Anniversary of Brothers to the Rescue Shootdown: Rivera calls for indictment of Castro brothers

On February 24, 1996, four Americans were killed when two Brothers to the Rescue planes were shot down in international airspace by Cuban MiG fighter planes on orders from the Castro dictatorship.

Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales were killed that day while on a peaceful humanitarian assistance mission as part of a Brothers to the Rescue flight. 

Congressman Rivera walked in and spoke at a march in Little Havana held in memory of the fallen Brothers to the Rescue, as well as Cuban dissidents who have lost their lives and those currently being harassed by the Castro dictatorship, including Orlando Zapata Tamayo who died last February, and his mother Reina Luisa Zapata Dangier who is currently being persecuted by the regime.

Rivera called for the indictment of the Castro brothers for their murderous role in the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, and for more accountability for their actions against American citizens, and their own people.

“Fifteen years ago, four Americans were murdered by the Castro dictatorship.  These four brave men gave their lives as part of an effort to deliver aid and hope to people living under the control of a tyrannical dictator.  They are part of a 52 year-long line of men and women who have sacrificed their health, their well-being, their families and their lives to take a stand for basic human rights, freedoms and democratic privileges in the face of a communist regime,” Rivera said.  

“As we remember Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales, we must continue to call for the pilots of the Cuban MiG jets, and for Raul Castro himself, to be brought to justice.  Fifteen years ago, Raul Castro gave the order that brought down the Brothers to the Rescue planes, and he faced no consequences.  For the last 14 months he and his brother have held an American citizen, Alan Gross, hostage for distributing humanitarian assistance on the island. Instead of being penalized for repeated attacks on American citizens and residents, the Castro brothers have most recently been rewarded through unilateral concessions from the Obama administration in the form of relaxed restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba.

“Human rights atrocities in Cuba against both Americans and Cubans continue.  One year ago, we lost Cuban dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo after an 83 day hunger strike, and today his mother, Reina Luisa Tamayo Dangier, is being harassed and detained by the Castro regime for voicing her opinion against the dictatorship.

“The Castro regime resorts to violence to instill fear because they know it is the only way they can hope to maintain control.  Fidel and Raul Castro need to be held accountable for their human rights violations, not rewarded.  The Obama administration needs to do more, beginning with revoking the recent concessions given to the Castro dictatorship and indicting the Castro brothers for their murderous role in the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown.   This will send a clear message that acts of terror and repression are not acceptable or tolerable,” Rivera concluded.

Rivera asks “What is President Obama thinking?” after White House announces President’s Latin America trip that snubs Colombia and Panama

President Barack Obama will visit Latin America from March 19th to the 23rd, but the visit will not include stops in Colombia or Panama, two countries that have pending Free Trade Agreements with the United States. 

This week, Congressman Rivera questioned the White House’s decision to ignore Colombia and Panama:

“What is President Obama thinking?,” Rivera said.

“The White House has said that the President’s trip to Latin America is meant to provide an opportunity to engage key bilateral partners in the hemisphere and to advance America’s efforts to work as equal partners to address economic and trade issues.  Yet the two countries with which we have Free Trade Agreements pending are ignored?

“Colombia is one of our best allies in Latin America and the oldest functioning democracy in the region. Passing the Colombia Free Trade Agreement would eliminate trade barriers and immediately boost U.S. exports to Colombia.  U.S. GDP would increase by roughly $2.5 billion and exports by over a billion, creating thousands of jobs in the United States,” Rivera continued.

“As with Colombia, the United States is Panama’s largest trading partner.  In 2008, the U.S. had a trade surplus with Panama totaling $4.3 billion, the eighth-largest surplus maintained with any U.S. global trading partner.  Panama is also in a strategic global position that is a natural crossroads for commerce, especially between the United States and other Latin American countries.

“It is crucial to ensure economic stability in Latin America.  Approving pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia and Panama and the extension of the Andean Trade Preference Act, which will especially help Colombia maintain a stable and fully functioning economy, are steps in the right direction to keep trade avenues open between the United States and Latin America.

“The President should be making positive foreign policy gestures to countries like Colombia and Panama; reliable allies that are willing to do business with the United States.  It is very disappointing that the White House has decided to ignore these two Latin American nations during the President’s visit to the region.”

Rivera Affiirms Commitment to Protecting South Florida’s Vital Wetlands

Congressman Rivera toured the Everglades National Park and the Big Cypress National Preserve on Friday.  

The Congressman met with Everglades National Park Director Dan Kimball and Big Cypress National Preserve Director Pedro Ramos during the tour.

Rivera, whose district includes the majority of the national park and the entire national preserve, understands the budgetary challenges facing these natural areas in today’s economic climate. 

“Our nation has a $14 trillion national debt, as well as record deficits. There is no question we are facing a difficult budget year. However, we're going to fight for our priorities within those constraints,” Rivera said. 

He expressed a firm commitment to protecting South Florida’s environmentally sensitive wetlands as a vitally important part of the region’s economy and ecology.

“The Everglades and Big Cypress are national treasures and important economic resources for the State of Florida,” Rivera said.  “Everglades restoration is a huge priority for the Florida delegation. I feel a special responsibility to this issue because so much of the national park and the national preserve fall within my Congressional district. One of the reasons that I requested to be a part of the House Committee on Natural Resources was precisely to ensure that we are protecting our environmental interests.”

With Friday’s meetings with the Everglades and Big Cypress Directors, Rivera began a process of meeting with those who have a vested interest in the restoration of these critical wetlands.

“As we go forward, we must hear from all the stakeholders to determine what prudent steps can be taken now, in the current economic climate, and in the future, to achieve the goal of restoring water flow in these areas,” he said.

Notable Meetings: Everglades Foundation

Following his tour of the Everglades National Park and the Big Cypress National Preserve, Congressman Rivera met with another wetlands stakeholder, Everglades Foundation Executive Director Kirk Fordham, and received an update on everglades restoration efforts and projects that the foundation is leading to protect the River of Grass.

Notable Meetings: Venezuelan Congressman Tomas Guanipa

On Wednesday, Congressman Rivera met with Tomas Guanipa, a member of the Venezuelan National Assembly.  Guanipa is a newly-elected member of the Venezuelan unicameral body.  He took office in January as part of an anti-Hugo Chavez wave.  The opposition party in Venezuela now controls 67 of the 165 seats.  While not a majority, the opposition’s gains have robbed Chavez of the two-thirds majority his party once enjoyed that allowed them to approve some types of major legislation and to confirm Supreme Court justices.