Reflecting on 2024 from Florida's 15th Congressional District
As I reflect on 2024, I am excited to highlight some of the important things we’ve accomplished for the people of Florida’s 15th District. I am grateful to be the voice for our community in Washington, D.C., and I am honored that you have entrusted me to continue to fight for you in the 119th Congress.
Over the past year, I’ve been focused on addressing the real concerns that Floridians in our community face every day. I hear you, and I am fighting for you. My colleagues and I have spearheaded legislation to protect parents’ rights, fought to safeguard our border, brought energy dominance back to the U.S., and much more.
In fact, in just my first term in Congress, five of my bills passed through the House, two of which were signed into law. I secured more than $13 million in community project funding for the Tampa Bay Area this year alone, including $2.4 million in cancer research and bioengineering, a combined $2.5 million for local emergency operations, and $1 million for the Hillsborough County Veterans Resource Center. I will continue to lead and deliver results for people in our community and for our country.
One area I heard repeatedly about while traveling through our community, was the crisis at our southern border. Millions of illegal immigrants have crossed our borders, including thousands of known criminals and individuals on the terrorist watchlist. To combat this ongoing crisis, my colleagues and I passed the strongest border security bill in our country’s history—H.R.2, the Secure the Border Act. This comprehensive border security and immigration reform bill would bolster technology and personnel, require transparency, and fight systemic abuses of our immigration process. Through my role on the House Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees, I helped usher through countless other efforts to work to secure our border and keep our country safe, including leading the charge to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his failure to uphold our laws and keep America safe.
It is no secret to the American people that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses a significant threat to our national security. Whether it’s our nation’s critical infrastructure or Americans’ personal devices, the CCP has made deliberate efforts to target our citizens and the things we rely on every day. This is why I introduced H.R. 9769, the Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act, which passed out of the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. This bill would implement a focused, coordinated, and whole-of-government approach to threats posed by foreign actors by establishing an interagency task force, led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to address the widespread cybersecurity threats posed by state-sponsored cyber actors.
Throughout my career in public service, I have been proud to stand in support of the innocent and vulnerable in our communities, specifically women and children. That work has continued in Congress. This year, I spearheaded two critical pieces of legislation to protect our nation's children and equip law enforcement with the tools needed to deter and prosecute child exploitation crimes. I am proud to say my bill H.R. 5082, the Revising Existing Procedures on Reporting via Technology(REPORT)Act, was signed into law this year. This law strengthens existing reporting procedures by requiring companies to disclose crimes involving child sexual abuse and ensures perpetrators are held accountable for these heinous crimes. Additionally, I led H.R. 9523, the bipartisan, bicameral Renewed Hope Act to enhance capabilities to identify, rescue, and protect child victims of online exploitation, deliver justice, and be a voice for the voiceless. I am committed to continuing this work in 2025.
One of the most important parts of my job is addressing and resolving Floridian’s issues with federal agencies. This year, my office assisted on more than 1,400 cases, including people experiencing issues with Veterans Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of State, Immigration Services, Social Security, and Medicare. Additionally, we returned nearly $7 million of taxpayers’ dollars stuck behind red tape directly back to community members. If you are having an issue with a federal agency, or haven’t received a timely response, I encourage you to reach out to my office. You can visit my website at LaurelLee.House.Gov to submit an inquiry or give my team a call at (813) 393-5077. My team and I stand ready to help however we can.
While I am grateful for the accomplishments and positive strides my colleagues and I have achieved this year, our work is far from finished and I look forward to another productive year working for you. I am proud to represent the people of Florida’s 15th District, and I am committed to continuing to fight for commonsense solutions for our community and all Americans.