News

Jacksonville, FL – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today was in Jacksonville and St. Johns County to survey the destruction caused by Hurricane Irma. A video of Rubio’s visit is available here.

“We’re now about 24, 36 hours after the storm. It’ll take a little while to get up and running but not much longer, and certainly we want to get assistance to individuals as quickly as possible. And we’re working with Congressman Rutherford and Congressman DeSantis to kind of set up a local presence where people can come in and fill out that paperwork and get it moving quickly.

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“This is a long-term process. This is not just about the day after the storm, this is about the weeks and months after the storm, as individuals try to rebuild their business, their lives. Many are going to have to move, potentially miles from where they live and work. So there will be a lot of challenges here over the next few months, throughout the state of Florida.

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“The reason why all three of us are here is because we need to go back and know what we’re fighting for – what do people need today. Often times, the federal government provides you assistance you don’t need and denies you the assistance you do. And so being on the ground, talking to the people who are here helping on the ground gives us a better sense of what we need to go back and fight for right away. Obviously, that’s helping our local governments with the cost of providing these services, helping individuals with the assistance they need to find housing for the foreseeable future. And then of course, long-term, the things that need to be done to build some resiliency so we don’t keep having to do this over and over again.”

Photos courtesy of Senator Rubio’s office. The first two photos were taken at Vilano Beach. The last two photos were taken in Jacksonville.