Miami’s Salazar ‘will not apologize’ after Herald column, defends record in Congress | Opinion

A recent Miami Herald column written by Fabiola Santiago tried to distort my work on behalf of our community in Congress. She seems to think I should issue some sort of “apology” for the manner in which I represent my community.

Let me be clear: I will never apologize for working to deliver wins for the district I have been entrusted to represent by the voters. I will always vote my conscience and in the best interest of our community and our country.

Since coming to Congress in 2021, I have been able to directly deliver $40 million in federal funds for District 27, in the form of road improvements, septic-to-sewer conversions, public park enhancements, new healthcare facilities, police funding, hurricane resilience, flood reduction, environmental protection, and initiatives to help small business owners, to name a few.

Santiago either doesn’t understand how Congress works or, like the far-left does, intentionally paints a false narrative to justify her view.

Let’s review the legislation Santiago mentions:

▪ The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, a.k.a. the 2022 government funding bill. While this was being written, I fought to get Miami’s priorities funded. Although valid projects like mine were included, the bill, unfortunately, was also loaded up with bad policies like spending millions to study Russian cats walking on a treadmill, among countless others, and totaling a whopping $1.7 trillion, $200 billion more than the previous year.

Inflation was at a 40-year high and I could not vote to have taxpayers foot such a bloated bill. The House, under Democrat control at the time, functioned by including the funding requests submitted by members and then loading the bill with bad policy and wasteful spending thinking that a member would never vote against their own projects within the overloaded legislation. I did not agree with that shameful practice or with wasteful measures, so I voted against the bill in final passage.

▪ The Infrastructure Bill was the same story. We have countless roads, bridges, ports, and airports that need improved. I worked to get responsible projects included, but in the end the price tag came to $1 trillion, with a substantial portion being spent on corporate subsidies and policies like getting rid of gas-powered cars. It was irresponsible legislation in the form it was presented on the floor. I stand by my vote.

The CHIPS Act — a valid idea that became corrupted in the process. This attempt to create a semiconductor industry in America cost taxpayers $280 billion — with $200 billion going to federal agency budgets and $50 billion subsidizing private companies. Worst of all, there were no protections to prevent corporations from taking these investments outside of the U.S – in effect our tax dollars could be spent to create microchip industries in other countries. I couldn’t support that. Miami received funding for a tech hub, because I’ve worked for several years advocating for our tech industry. However, that is not reason enough to overlook the significant shortcomings of the legislation.

The logic of Santiago and others is straight from the leftist playbook: hold good projects like mine hostage in return for selling out the future of our country, and then use the media to distort the facts if we don’t play along. The truth is that spending is leading us on a path to hyperinflation and bankruptcy.

Fortunately, my constituents see right through this manipulative D.C. tactic just as clearly as they can see Santiago’s bias. This insider relationship between the Democratic Party in Washington and the mainstream press is the reason that public trust in the media is at an all-time low. As a former journalist, it saddens me how far the press has fallen.

I will never apologize for helping more than 10,000 constituents solve their problems with the federal government and securing needed resources. I will continue to push-back on wasteful spending and try to reduce the cost of living for hard-working families.

María Elvira Salazar, a Republican, represents Florida’s 27th Congressional District.