Florida’s Second Congressional District has a lot to be thankful for in November! There were multiple wins that will help grow our communities and benefit our local economy.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced an $11,250,000 FY23 Port Infrastructure Development Program grant for the expansion of Port Panama City. This grant funding is outstanding news for Florida’s Second Congressional District! I sent a letter of support for this grant in April 2023, and I’m thrilled to see this come to fruition. The award allows the port to expand cargo handling capacity at its East Terminal, which will create over 300 jobs and millions of dollars in revenue. The Port Panama City Expansion Project includes the construction of a 200,000-square-foot warehouse facility to handle the growth of forest product imports and exports, along with associated rail spur extension, and terminal roadway improvements to serve the warehouse. I’m looking forward to the great things to come from Port Panama City, and I stand ready to help boost our local economy in any way possible.
In addition to this announcement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) denied a petition to establish a mandatory 10-knot speed limit in the Gulf of Mexico. Florida’s commercial fishermen as well as those in the tourism and shipping industries rely heavily on the Gulf of Mexico. This rule would have slowed shipping lines, devastated the seafood industry, and impacted hundreds of jobs. I first sounded the alarm on this issue in May 2023 when I led a letter to NOAA requesting that they not finalize this overreaching proposed rule. In August, I also joined Congressman Clay Higgins (LA-03) in introducing a bill that would prevent NOAA from issuing a vessel slowdown zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
Later in the month, my team was honored to attend the Tyndall Air Force Base 325th Fighter Wing F-35 Arrival Ceremony. General Brian Laidlaw, commander of the base when Hurricane Michael hit, said it best when he said that it wasn’t about focusing on the destruction, it was about focusing on the people the storm impacted and how, with determination and tenacity, they are rebuilding Tyndall. Colonel George Watkins, the current base commander, reminded us that the construction of the “base of the future” is an amazing thing to witness, and the official arrival of the F-35s should be celebrated.
I want to thank the Bay County Defense Alliance, the Bay County Chamber of Commerce, local leaders, and the community at large for joining me in supporting Tyndall in its time of need and preventing the base from closing. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to hearing the constant sound of freedom as our F-35s are in the sky.
Thank you all for another year of representing this beautiful district in Washington, D.C.! May you all have a safe and blessed holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy Kwanzaa to all who are celebrating this month!
For regular updates about what I’m doing in Congress, follow me on Twitter, Threads, Facebook, and Instagram at @DrNealDunnFL2.
