http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/index/ en rob@brushfiredigital.com Copyright 2011 2011-03-24T17:16:16+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_ranked_floridas_most_conservative_congressman/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_ranked_floridas_most_conservative_congressman/#When:17:16:16Z Talk is cheap. Sadly, as our national debt continues to soar, talk is the only thing President Obama and his liberal cohorts in Congress can seemingly do. Actions are always better than words. That's why the American Conservative Union (ACU), our nation's oldest and largest grassroots conservative organization, honored me with their "Defender of Liberty" Award for earning a 100% ACU rating, ranking me as Florida's most conservative member of Congress! As a Conservative, I'm proud to have taken action - whether it was voting to defund NPR, fighting alongside Senator Marco Rubio against job-killing EPA regulations, or stopping Congress from funding a $450 million jet engine that Pentagon didn't even want! Last November you sent a clear message to Washington - CUT WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT SPENDING.The entire country heard the message... President Barack Obama and the tax and spend liberals in Congress didn't. Today, I'm asking you to stand with me and defend our conservative principles. A contribution of $25, $50, or even $100 will help me continue to fight for the conservative values we share. Our values and principles as true conservatives are being tested. But expressing our concern and our outrage is not enough. We need to organize, mobilize and fight to take our nation back. Your help today can make the difference in helping our message reach thousands of voters throughout our district and beyond! Will you help me spread the word? With your contribution, we'll achieve a resounding victory for less federal spending, lower taxes, a more accountable government, and a strong national defense. Together we can get Florida and our nation back on the right track. Thank you for all you've done and all you're going to do. Sincerely, Tom 2011-03-24T17:16:16+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_rises_to_house_leadership/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_rises_to_house_leadership/#When:18:11:37Z Second-term Congressman Tom Rooney of Tequesta was named a Republican deputy whip on Tuesday, a step on the leadership ladder in the House. "I look forward to being a stronger voice for Florida and the 16th District," Rooney said, "and I will bring Florida's ideas and concerns to the table as a member of the Republican leadership team." Deputy whips help round up support -- and count votes -- for party positions on legislation. It’s often a step toward a larger role in party ranks. Rooney also has been named chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry. And he has taken a seat on the House intelligence committee. "In his first two years in the House, Congressman Rooney displayed the hard work and leadership that will make him a valuable asset as a deputy whip," said Majority Whip-elect Kevin McCarthy. Rooney was the only second-term Republican selected as a deputy whip. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston serves a similar role as a chief deputy whip for Democrats. Rooney has brought some stability to the 16th District after the turmoil of the last several years. The district was represented by Republican Mark Foley, who abruptly resigned just before the 2006 election amid revelations that he had exchanged provocative e-mail messages to House pages and interns. Foley was replaced by Democrat Tim Mahoney, who was defeated in 2008 after admitting extramarital affairs. Rooney appears to have a lock on the district. 2011-01-04T18:11:37+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_honors_those_who_have_served_on_veterans_day/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_honors_those_who_have_served_on_veterans_day/#When:16:17:05Z Today is Veteran's Day, and I'd like to thank all of our nation's veterans, service members and their families for their service and sacrifice. These men and women put their lives on the line to protect our country, our freedom and our way of life. I am continually humbled by their sacrifice and courage in the face of adversity. George Washington said, "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have fought in Congress to support our troops and veterans. We can and must improve the mental health services we provide our veterans and returning war fighters. I commit to you that while I serve in Congress, my top priority will be fighting for our nation's veterans and service members. 2010-11-11T16:17:05+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/u.s._chamber_endorsement_underscores_rooneys_commitment_to_job_creation/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/u.s._chamber_endorsement_underscores_rooneys_commitment_to_job_creation/#When:14:29:12Z Jupiter, FL - Citing his commitment to leadership that promotes "economic growth, job creation, and a less intrusive federal government," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney's (FL-16) candidacy for reelection. "At no other time in our nation's history has it been more critical that Members of Congress provide leadership that protects and advances the interests of the business community. We believe that your election to the U.S. House will help produce sustained economic growth and help create jobs," wrote Thomas Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a letter to Congressman Rooney announcing the endorsement. "For the last two years, this Congress has focused more on growing the size and scope of the federal government than on growing the economy and helping businesses create jobs," Rooney said. "It's time for the federal government to get out of small business owners' wallets and off their backs so they can grow and create good jobs." Rooney has been a strong supporter of legislation to cut taxes so that businesses, particularly small businesses, have the capital they need to grow, create jobs and bolster economic recovery. Rooney cosponsored the Economic Freedom Act, H.R. 5029, which would permanently eliminate the capital gains and death taxes, provide immediate small business expensing, cut the payroll tax in half for 2010, and reduce the corporate income tax rate to 12.5 percent. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organization of every size, sector and region. 2010-09-23T14:29:12+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_earns_endorsement_from_palm_beach-martin_pba/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_earns_endorsement_from_palm_beach-martin_pba/#When:18:57:30Z Suart, FL - The Police Benevolent Association (PBA) of Palm Beach and Martin Counties today endorsed U.S. Congressman Tom Rooney in his campaign for reelection to represent Florida's 16th district, citing Rooney's support for state and local law enforcement officials and his efforts to help combat gang violence. "Congressman Rooney has a proven record of supporting law enforcement in the effort of combating a growing gang problem and keeping safe the citizens of South Florida," said John Kazanjian, Charter President of the Palm Beach County PBA, which represents more than 3,900 law enforcement officers in Palm Beach and Martin Counties. "As a Member of Congress, I have worked across the aisle to support Florida's law enforcement officers," Congressman Rooney said. "While gang violence has spread in south central Florida, I have worked closely with law enforcement officials to make sure they have the tools and resources to combat this growing problem, and I will continue to support their efforts to keep our citizens safe." Rooney's strong record in Congress of supporting law enforcement officers and enhancing public safety includes: 1. COPS funding:  Rooney voted for passage of the COPS Improvement Act of 2009 (H.R. 1139), which authorizes $1.8 billion per year for fiscal years 2009 through 2014 for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program. 2. Gang Bill: Rooney sponsored the Anti Gang Enforcement Act of 2009 (H.R. 2815), which lends federal law enforcement aid to local communities combating gang violence in their communities.  The bill creates new criminal gang offenses to prohibit the recruitment of minors in a criminal street gang, and enhances existing penalties to deter and punish gangs.  The bill increases funding for the federal prosecutors and FBI agents to expand coordinated enforcement efforts against violent gangs. 3. Children of fallen officers: Rooney Cosponsored the Officer Daniel Faulkner Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act of 2010 (H.R. 959), which expands eligibility for the maximum Federal Pell Grant to any student whose parent or legal guardian died in the line of duty while actively serving as a public safety officer. 4. Reforming and Streamlining Criminal Justice: Rooney is an original cosponsor of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010 (H.R. 5143) which would create a bipartisan commission to review the Nation’s criminal justice system and make recommendations for changes in, or continuation of, oversight, policies, practices, and laws designed to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the interests of justice. 2010-09-15T18:57:30+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_on_rising_joblessness/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_on_rising_joblessness/#When:20:48:33Z A far-cry from the "recovery summer" promised by President Obama, the recent Jobs Report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms the precarious state of the U.S. Economy, as joblessness continues to rise and confidence in future growth remains dismal. Instead of listening to the American people's growing opposition, Democratic leaders have sought to make excuses and double-down on their failed policies, threatening to further impede any swift return to economic stability. Congressman Tom Rooney remains firmly opposed to any measure that would add to the already exploded federal deficit, provide taxpayer-funded bailouts to irresponsible businesses, or increase the government's role in determining an individual's financial choices. Economic prosperity can and will be achieved again, but only through policies that encourage innovation and free-enterprise. For more information on the recent economic report, please visit: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/41743.html 2010-09-07T20:48:33+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/mitt_romney_endorses_rooney_and_other_gopers_across_florida/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/mitt_romney_endorses_rooney_and_other_gopers_across_florida/#When:23:34:13Z Mitt Romney endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney in his bid for re-election today, contributing $2,500 from his Free and Strong America PAC to Rooney's campaign. Romney will headline a Coral Gables fund-raiser for Attorney General and Republican governor candidate Bill McCollum tonight. McCollum, state chairman for Romney rival Rudy Giuliani during the 2008 presidential race, finds himself trailing his GOP primary race against millionaire Rick Scott. Romney’s also endorsing 12 other Republican candidates around the state and his Free and Strong America PAC is contributing $5,000 to the Republican Party of Florida. Romney will also be in Jacksonville Tuesday to raise money for state Sen. and state GOP Chairman John Thrasher. Romney says he’ll decide after the 2010 elections whether he’s running for president in 2012. If he makes a White House bid, he’ll want to have Republican friends in Florida. 2010-06-16T23:34:13+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_qualifies_for_ballot_through_voter_signatures/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rooney_qualifies_for_ballot_through_voter_signatures/#When:21:55:40Z U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, no longer facing a Democratic challenger in the fall, has qualified for the ballot. According to the state Division of Elections Web site, there were 7,913 verified signatures submitted by Rooney’s campaign from voters in Florida’s 16th District, surpassing the 5,050 needed. Supervisors of elections in each county covered by the 16th District — Martin, St. Lucie, Palm Beach, Charlotte, Hendry, Highlands and Okeechobee — verify the signatures of the voters in their respective counties. Federal candidates had until March 29 to submit petitions equal to 1 percent of the registered voters in the district. More than half of Rooney’s signatures came from voters in Martin and St. Lucie counties. St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Craft, who withdrew from the race March 26, had two signatures verified by the Martin County Supervisor of Elections. In District 15, U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, had 1,280 signatures verified by elections officials in Indian River and Polk counties. Posey submitted more than 8,000 signatures from voters in his district, which includes Indian River, Brevard, Polk and Osceola counties. Not every candidate in the district has gone the petition route. Candidates still can get on the Aug. 24 primary ballot and Nov. 2 general election ballot by paying a qualifying fee of $10,440 the week of April 26. 2010-04-07T21:55:40+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/video_rooney_on_health_care_takeover/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/video_rooney_on_health_care_takeover/#When:00:05:34Z Representive Rooney speaks about "deem & pass" and why he's a "No" on the Health Care Takeover. Please take a moment and view the video below. 2010-03-20T00:05:34+00:00 http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rep._tom_rooney_visits_the_tragedy_in_haiti/ http://www.tomrooney.com/index.php/site/rep._tom_rooney_visits_the_tragedy_in_haiti/#When:18:14:13Z WPTV - NewsChannel 5 interview Rep. Tom Rooney as he visits the tragedy in Haiti. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO PETIT GOAVE, HAITI - A seventeen year old Haitian girl lies on a table surrounded by American missionaries, medical volunteers, and a U.S. Congressman, all hoping and praying the baby she's trying to deliver will survive in this disaster ravaged country. "Poussez, Poussez!" shouts a nurse, urging the teen to push harder. The medical team, assembled from a collection of volunteers from across the United States and Haiti, tries to work under the glow of a single generator-powered L.E.D. light. The country, now in its 13th day since the earthquake, is still living without electric power. "She'll have to get this baby out before it gets dark," says one volunteer, the room dimming in the late afternoon sun. Outside the tiny cinderblock room where the teen is giving birth, more nurses, doctors and volunteers work beneath tents and in the open air under trees. This is not a medical clinic, or at least it wasn't before the earthquake-- it was the grounds of a church. But the disaster has turned the facility, what's left of it, into the only medical facility within miles. Nearby hospitals sit in piles of rubble. Sarah Franklin of Stuart cradles a 4 1/2 month old baby boy. Just an hour or so earlier, the child came to the clinic listless, his vital signs weak - a sign of malaria. "He was almost dead," said Franklin. The volunteers ended up administering an IV into the child's tiny leg. Half of a water bottle covers the insertion point to keep it clean. Medical supplies are scarce, especially in this village 20 milers from Port-au-Prince, so the volunteers make due with what they have. The baby's twin sister lies inches away, also perking up and even showing a smile thanks to the life saving care. "They're only 10 pounds, the size of a newborn, even though they're 4 months old. They're so underweight," says Franklin. I ask her about her medical training and that's when she explains she has none. She is a waitress at Carson's Pub in Stuart. Her mother planned to go to Haiti to help with the relief effort and she followed. Now she's wearing medical scrubs cradling a baby whose life she helped save. Back in the cinderblock room where the teen is delivering, there is no celebration when the baby emerges. It's a little girl, but she is silent. No newborn cry. A physician rushes the child over to a towel-covered crate and places an oxygen mask on the baby's mouth, pumping it by hand. Minutes pass. U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney of Tequesta gathers near. He flew into Haiti this morning along with Florida Sen. Joe Negron of Stuart in an effort to assess the needs of the island and to visit Martin County volunteers at the clinic. Then a weak cry, more like a squeak, comes out of the child's mouth, followed by another. All of the volunteers seem to exhale at once, relieved. But the child is not out of the woods yet points out Gary Urban. Urban founded Family Private Care, a private nursing company based out of Martin County. He coordinated the group of volunteers to staff this clinic for 5 days. Urban askes Rooney to travel to the nearest military outpost and ask for help. The twins, the newborn, and a fourth child all need more advanced medical care that's beyond the resources of the tiny makeshift clinic. Rooney travels half a mile down the road and talks his way into a U.S. military outpost, set up to distribute food and water for the recovery effort. He waits to talk to the commanding officer at the post, hoping to coax him into diverting a Blackhawk helicopter to fly the four children offshore, where a Navy hospital boat is docked. Then Sarah Franklin and the other volunteers drive up carrying the babies, all outfitted with IV's the volunteers are holding over their heads. "This baby is going to die if he does not get more help," says one nurse, cradling a newborn with one hand, an IV bag i nthe other. The desperate display is apparently enough to convince the outpost's colonel to change his supply plans and transport the children to the ship. Night has fallen and the medical volunteers, along with some Congressional help, managed to save or at least stabilize four new lives. Tomorrow at daybreak hundreds more Haitians will line up at that same open air clinic, looking for more life saving help. 2010-01-26T18:14:13+00:00