Staff Reports
While many Republican members of Congress laud pork barrel spending in the fiscal year 2020 budget accord reached Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz took a different tack.
Waltz held the line on voting for most spending, except national security expenditures, indicating discomfort with the process.
“I voted against the behemoth package to fund the remaining federal departments because it was introduced fewer than 24 hours before the vote and significantly increased spending from last year,” Waltz said.
Waltz did vote for the Fiscal Year 2020 national security package, which includes Pentagon, NASA, Homeland Security, and Justice Department spending.
“Providing resources for national security departments and NASA is a positive ending to a year which has left Floridians frustrated by partisan gridlock in Washington,” Waltz said. “From defending our assets with a Space Force, to launching the first woman to deep space from Florida’s coast, investing in modern defense systems, keeping our promises to our ally Israel and strengthening border security, this package puts Americans first.”
With an increasing national profile bolstered by frequent spots on Fox News, Waltz’s highlights of the package are notably aligned with conservative values beyond the Sunshine State.
Included: $600 million for NASA, which plans to be on the moon again in 2024; $500 million for Israel military aid; $70 million for U.S. Space Command and $40 million for U.S. Space Force.
Florida specific spending includes some of the $1.7 billion in disaster aid for military bases and $346 million for planes produced in Florida.
Waltz, who won an expensive and closely-contested election against former Amb. Nancy Soderberg in 2018, faces an easier path to reelection.
He reported picking up $159,000 in new campaign money during the third quarter of 2019, giving him $636,000 raised toward his reelection effort, and about $393,000 in the bank.
Florida’s 6th Congressional District, which Waltz represents, stretches from just south of Jacksonville through part of St. Johns County, Flagler County, Volusia County, and part of Lake County.
