One big step forward: May’s Legislative highlights | Columns
Summarize this post with AI
Throughout May, I worked to address urgent national priorities – restoring fiscal discipline, enforcing accountability at the VA and confronting the rise of online exploitation targeting children.
One major achievement was House passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the cornerstone of our legislative agenda and the result of months of intense negotiations and leadership.
This comprehensive package is about more than reversing bad policy – it’s about securing America’s future. It roots out waste, fraud and abuse and puts long-term national interests ahead of short-term politics. The bill delivers critical tools to finish the border wall, enforce immigration laws and give our border patrol agents needed resources to keep our communities safe. It prevents crushing tax hikes by preserving and building on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, delivering real relief for working families, small businesses and farmers. It strengthens our military, boosts domestic energy production and reforms Medicaid and SNAP by ensuring benefits reach those they’re meant to help.
House Republicans are reaffirming the belief that future generations deserve a stronger, safer and more secure America. I urge the Senate to act quickly and send this bill to the president’s desk.
Additionally, I reintroduced the Personnel Integrity in Veterans Affairs Act to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs holds employees under investigation accountable. Currently, staff facing serious allegations can resign or transfer before investigations are completed, often with no record of misconduct. My bill requires the VA to finish those investigations and preserve the findings in the employee’s official VA record, even if the individual leaves the agency. This helps prevent bad actors from quietly returning to federal service and shields veterans and fellow employees from further harm. By closing this loophole and reinforcing accountability, this measure ensures our veterans receive the high-quality, dependable care they have earned through their service.
Finally, we delivered a major victory for child safety with the passage and signing of the TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law No. 119-12). This law gives families a straightforward path to request the swift removal of explicit or AI-generated content targeting minors. It establishes a national reporting system, run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, where families can anonymously flag harmful content using a secure code. Participating websites are then required to take prompt action. This legislation gives parents real tools to fight back and holds tech companies accountable for protecting vulnerable users. These digital forgeries are just as damaging as actual images, causing lasting emotional harm to victims and leaving families with few options for relief. No child should be subjected to digital exploitation — whether real or artificially generated.
From safeguarding taxpayer dollars against waste, fraud and abuse to strengthening border security, I’ll keep fighting to make government work for you. As your representative, I’ll keep championing policies that put the interests of Florida’s 18th District first. My office is always open — I welcome your thoughts as we work to keep our country strong, secure and headed in the right direction.
Congressman Scott Franklin represents Florida’s 18th congressional district.
