OCALA, FL (352today.com) – U.S. Representative Kat Cammack was the featured speaker on Feb. 19 at the Ocala Metro CEP‘s ExCEPtional Breakfast, sponsored by HCA Florida Healthcare, at the Reilly Arts Center.

Cammack represents 12 counties in Florida’s Third Congressional District, including Marion, and is currently serving her second term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of both the House Agriculture Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Change in Direction

She noted that while Ocala is always energized and ready to move forward, Washington, D.C., operates differently. Before President Donald J. Trump took office, things were moving at a breakneck pace, said Cammack.

“The swamp creatures are scared,” said Cammack, who celebrated her eighth wedding anniversary on Feb. 18. “There’s a big change happening in Washington right now, but it’s a necessary change. I don’t know if you guys have seen what’s happening here in the last couple of weeks, the real estate market in Washington, a 600% increase in the listings. And the number one Google search is criminal defense attorneys. Tell me, if we’re not draining the damn swamp. We have seen an incredible amount of work happen in just a few weeks, so Jan. 20, the president took office and immediately started the process of securing the border and turning on the tap as it relates to our domestic energy.”

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Cammack said that for the last couple of years, people have expressed concerns about high prices for gas, groceries, and medications, making everyday life unaffordable.

“We all have experienced that,” said Cammack. “They asked, ‘How are we going to get this under control?’ I told them, ‘The way that we do that is we bring down the cost of energy, because energy is the foundation of everything in our economy in our world. You bring down that cost, you bring down the cost of everything else.'”

About two years ago, during an Americans for Prosperity event, the price of gas in Ocala was lowered to $1.98 per gallon for an hour. A conversation with a constituent during that event left a lasting impression on Cammack about how government regulations affect daily lives.

“A shout out to Ocala P.D. because there was a line around the block and then some, you could imagine,” said Cammack. She recalled speaking with a young man named Tyler, who had lost his job when a pipeline project was canceled. He had moved to Florida for better opportunities and was rebuilding his life.

The Preferred Destination

Florida is becoming more than a vacation spot – it is now a preferred destination for businesses nationally and internationally. Cammack emphasized the need for infrastructure to accommodate growth and thanked her staff for their economic development efforts. Her office is the only congressional office in the country with a dedicated economic development director.

“In fact, in Florida, we’re currently in the process of working with an energy company to establish a new energy generation project, right in Florida’s third congressional district,” said Cammack. “Everyone wants to live, work, and play in the Sunshine State. Our area is becoming ground zero for that development and that growth.”

Cammack also shared plans for a new Ocala office at the McPherson Governmental Campus to support the district’s growing needs. In Washington, her office features a unique piece of Marion County: the front end of an E-One fire truck.

“Marion County is such a big part of our identity as a team,” said Cammack. “When you come into our office in Washington, the first thing you see is the front end of an E-One fire truck. It’s crazy, people think it’s the coolest thing, the lights work. So, every now and again, when I have votes at one o’clock in the morning, I’ll make my way back to the office and I’ll see the flashing lights in the hallway as I walk into the office, but the cleaning crew will turn off all the lights, and flip on the emergency lights, and they’ll have music going. I’m like, ‘It’s a rave.'”

Navigating the Legislative Process

Cammack’s goal is to make her district recession-proof by diversifying industries and ensuring Florida remains the best place to live, work, and play.

“My job as your representative is to get government the hell out of your way,” said Cammack. “Things are a little crazy in Washington. There are too many things that are going on that you hear about in the news, that I want to highlight. There is a process called reconciliation. All that means is the House and Senate have to reconcile their budgets in order to pass a package of policies and spending.”

She explained that reconciliation, which Congress can use once a year, allows lawmakers to bypass the filibuster in the Senate.

“Instead of requiring 60 votes in the Senate, we get to get a simple majority in the Senate to pass this work,” said Cammack. “In the reconciliation budget we have border security, we have energy production, and we have the codification and the long-term locking in of the Trump tax cuts and jobs acts. You would think everybody would want secure borders, surprise, they don’t. You would think everybody would want cheap energy and a diversified energy portfolio, but they don’t. And you would think that folks in Washington would want their constituents to pay less taxes and not more, but let me tell you, they don’t.”

She warned that if tax cuts expire at the end of the year, families will face a $3,000 increase, and the child tax credit will be cut by 50%.

“That’s just on the individual side. Imagine what that’s going to do to the corporate tax rate,” she said.

Cammack stressed that her mission is to fight for policies that benefit everyday Americans and ensure the long-term prosperity of her district.

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