Inflation, immigration, oil and crime were just a few topics Senator Marco Rubio covered Wednesday morning at the VFW in Golden Gate.
Rubio focused on what he says are the failures of the Biden administration.
Voters at the event said the border, crime, and inflation are their biggest concerns. Those were all topics Rubio hit hard during his speech.
A packed room at the Golden Gate VFW Post 7721 was alive with patriotism and enthusiastic support for Republican Senator Marco Rubio.
Jo Florio is a big fan of Rubio’s.
“I liked his idea about the border. And about crime, though he said a lot about crime, and I like that as we’re worried about the economy because I can hardly go shopping at the grocery store. I keep running to get gas, and it gets higher every day. I keep trying to keep it filled, and it’s just so much money. I can’t do it,” said Florio.
Florio is not the only one who shares those worries.
“I think a lot of the people want to see a lot of it is immigration. It’s a big thing right now. And inflation, stopping the left and the left agenda with the Biden administration and trying to get this inflation in this immigration policy under wraps,” said Joanne Debartolo, of Collier County.
Michael DeWitt agrees that immigration is a top priority. “As a voter, I would say, solving the immigration problem one way or the other. However we do it, that needs to be solved. It’s out of control. It’s completely in the crime is really severe.”
Crime, the border, and the economy, Rubio hammered down on those issues Wednesday.
“But every single day, people are putting $4 a gallon gas in their car, and it’s hurting them. Food prices are up 21%, crime is rampant, immigration is out of control,” said Rubio.
Rubio did not mention Hurricane Ian during his speech, but WINK News did speak to him about the storm after the event.
DeWitt was one of many in Golden Gate Wednesday who wanted to hear from Rubio about Ian.
“I think hurricane recovery will be slow, very slow, very costly. We need a lot of federal help. We need state help with the local help,” said DeWitt.
WINK News asked Rubio what he is doing to ensure Southwest Florida gets the federal relief it needs.
“Unfortunately, these processes, they’ve gotten faster, but it’s more we’re pushing on every day. And then on the broader pictures, we’ve already released sort of a preliminary $30 billion hurricane recovery, 30 billion hurricane recovery package. At the federal level, it’s just preliminary. We’re waiting for more estimates,” said Rubio.
They’re also waiting on more information from FEMA, with so many people still needing somewhere new to call home.
“Obviously, there has to be the availability of the housing, but the other is the transition housing, which is where they bring in those trailers. And you know, that’s the point that’s been slow down, we don’t know yet. They haven’t even given us an accurate count yet as to how many people would need that are eligible for it,” Rubio said.
There are a lot of unanswered questions, and Rubio says when it comes to recovery money, caution is key.
“We want to make sure the process for reimbursement is clean and fast and, and doesn’t lead to the federal government coming back in four or five years asking for a refund because somebody made a clerical error,” said Rubio.
Rubio said not to expect details on an aid package until late this year or early 2023 at the earliest.