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Miami, FL - Today, Congresswoman Wilson sent a letter to House leadership and the chairs and ranking members of the Appropriations and Transportation and Infrastructure committees urging them to include relief for Florida's public seaports in the third phase of the coronavirus response package.

Florida seaports are a major engine of economic activity for the state and the largest hub of cruise activity in the United States. It supports more than 150,000 jobs and generates nearly $8 billion in wages and salaries.

Today, the House Education and Labor Committee approved the Rebuild America's School Act (H.R. 865). This legislation addresses the chronic underfunding of school infrastructure and the state of disrepair at too many American public schools. H.R. 865, which Congresswoman Wilson co-sponsored, calls for a $100 billion investment to address crumbling buildings, support 21st century digital infrastructure, and improve school safety.

Today, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson joined House Democrats to pass the FY 2019 Department of Agriculture and FDA appropriations bill to reopen these essential government agencies to guarantee vulnerable Florida families receive critical SNAP benefits, ensure the FDA and USDA can continue to inspect food and prevent public health epidemics, and safeguard a strong, robust farmer safety net that provides certainty to our rural economy.

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson issued the following statement in response to Amazon's plan to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour.

"I was extremely pleased to learn that Amazon is raising the minimum wage it pays employees to $15 per hour and applaud CEO Jeff Bezos for putting people over profits. The move will boost the bottom line for the corporate giant's hundreds of thousands of employees, including more than 1,000 of whom live and work in my district.

The House Education and Labor Committee on Wednesday, March 6, will markup the Raise the Wage Act, legislation that would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024. The six-step proposal will boost the bottom line for nearly 40 million hardworking Americans and their local economies.

The U.S. Department of Transportation this week awarded Miami-Dade County a $7,000,000 Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant that will be used to modernize two cargo terminal gates at PortMiami. Last fall, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, a founder and chair of the Florida Ports Caucus, led a letter signed by members of the Miami-Dade congressional delegation urging Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to approve the grant request.

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson issued the following statement on the passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2018:

"I was thrilled that the House passed the Water Resources Development Act today. This is a win for Florida and for communities across the country. As chair of the Florida Ports Caucus, I fought to bring relevant stakeholders together and to ensure that Florida's interests were considered at each stage of the process.

In response to the news that a bid by Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties has put South Florida in the running to become the home of Amazon's HQ2, several members of Florida's congressional delegation have joined the effort to push South Florida to number one. The tri-county area is one of the top-20 finalists--chosen from among a group of 238 applicants. Winning could mean up to 50,000 high-paying jobs and $5 billion in investment in the state.