By Stephanie Murphy We are grateful to every American who volunteers to serve our country at home or abroad. Service can take many different forms. For thousands of Floridians, membership in the Florida National Guard is their patriotic contribution to their communities and to our country. As Members of Congress from Florida -- of both political parties -- who sit on the House Armed Services Committee, it is our duty to ensure these brave citizen-soldiers and citizen-airmen have the resources they need to complete their assigned missions. Recently, we have asked more and more from the men and women of the Florida National Guard, nearly all of whom also have civilian jobs and families to support. They are called upon -- often at a moment's notice -- to deploy overseas, to provide relief in the wake of hurricanes and other natural disasters, to assist with the response to COVID-19, to defend our homeland, and to respond to civil unrest. In each case, they have answered the call with skill and a sense of purpose. Every day, they make us proud. Naturally, however, these new and complex responsibilities have placed an added strain on the force, potentially harming recruitment, retention and mission success. These are incredible people, but they are humans and not machines. The situation is exacerbated by the simple fact that the Florida National Guard, by nearly any metric, is not large enough. This means that individual guardsmen must respond to mission requirements again and again without enough rest or sufficient ability to rotate personnel. Specifically, there are only 12,000 authorized members of the Florida National Guard, serving a geographically large state that is home to 21.5 million people -- and growing daily. That is the second-worst guardsmen-to-civilian ratio of the 54 national guards for the states, the U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. It is particularly jarring when one considers that Florida is among the most military-friendly states in the nation and is home to a large active-duty and veteran population. As a point of comparison, Mississippi has an 11,700-member National Guard -- nearly the same as Florida -- and it serves a population of roughly 3 million, which is one-seventh the population of Florida.The Florida National Guard is succeeding despite its inadequate size, but it is hard to escape the conclusion that we are doing our guardsmen -- and our state -- a disservice by not properly resourcing the force. We believe that the appropriate force structure will require between 18,000 to 21,000 Florida guardsmen, 6,000 to 9,000 above the current level. Each of us has met with members of the Florida National Guard, their family members and the Guard's commanding officer, Major General James Eifert. We have seen, firsthand, their love of country and the pride they take in their service. But we have also sensed the toll that these constant deployments have taken. We have pledged to them that we will support their efforts to right-size the force, working with the National Guard Bureau and through the annual defense authorization bill that our committee writes. As elected leaders, we have an obligation to fight for the men and women of our armed forces, including our National Guard, as hard as they fight for us.

In the last four months, over three million Florida workers lost their jobs and filed for unemployment, victims of the economic crisis created by COVID-19. Most struggled -- and many still struggle -- to obtain the benefits they are owed, victims of an unemployment system that successive leaders in Tallahassee allowed to atrophy through a combination of indifference, incompetence, and ideology. Nevertheless, when benefits are finally paid, they are a lifeline for unemployed workers, enabling them to put food on the table, make rent or mortgage payments, and cover medical expenses -- a necessity given that many workers lost their employer-sponsored health coverage along with their jobs. This spending, in turn, has prevented an economic recession in Florida from devolving into economic collapse. Sadly, Florida workers whose lives and livelihoods have been upended by COVID-19 are now at risk of being victimized again. This time, the perpetrator won't be the virus itself, or crashing websites and unanswered phone calls at Florida's unemployment agency. Instead, the culprit will be Congress -- and, in particular, the Republican-led Senate. It should never have come to this. In March, Congress -- on a bipartisan basis -- approved a $600 weekly supplement to state unemployment benefits. This was especially vital in Florida, where the unemployment system is one of the stingiest in the nation, providing a maximum of $275 per week. By comparison, that figure is $365 in Georgia, $521 in Texas, and $539 in Oklahoma -- three states with Republican governors and legislatures. Thanks to federal action, jobless Floridians have been receiving up to $875 a week, rather than $275. For families, that's the difference between being able to make ends meet -- and not. This federal benefit expires on July 31, less than a week away. In May, the Democratic-controlled House in which I serve passed a bill to extend this $600 through the end of 2020. The response from the Senate and the White House was to do nothing and, as COVID cases began to surge in Florida and other states, to keep doing nothing. Why the delay? Too many in the GOP believed the virus would magically disappear, businesses and schools would safely reopen, and economic life would return to normal -- with millions of unemployed Americans heading back to their old jobs. That's what we all want. But any public health expert could tell you it was wishful thinking, disconnected from reality. There's a darker reason why some of my Republican colleagues resist extending this $600, or insist the amount be reduced. They claim out-of-work Americans would rather collect an unemployment check than earn a paycheck. The federal benefit creates a perverse incentive, they proclaim, while continuing to draw their own taxpayer-funded salary. This breathtakingly cynical view of American workers doesn't comport with my experience. Every day since this crisis began, laid-off Floridians call my office in anguish. They ask for our help in navigating Florida's maddening bureaucracy and obtaining the unemployment benefits to which they are entitled. Many confess their family won't be able to pay the bills if the federal supplement isn't renewed. These are proud people, suffering because of circumstances beyond their control. It's clear they would rather be working, even if their take-home pay is less than the amount they would receive from unemployment. The problem is their previous jobs may not exist anymore, because so many businesses are shuttered. Or they fear getting sick at work and spreading the virus to their loved ones. Or they can't work because they must care for a child whose school or day care is closed. The White House and Senate Republicans, having sat on their hands for more than two months, now grudgingly accept that unemployment benefits need to be extended. But it's not clear they can get their act together before the deadline. If they don't, Florida's unemployed workers will, once again, become the victims of a toxic mix of government indifference, incompetence, and misguided ideology.

By Darin Lahood and Stephanie Murphy As businesses prepare to reopen across the country, protecting the health of American workers and customers is of paramount importance. Congress has already enacted four bipartisan bills to combat COVID-19 and to help our fellow citizens weather the economic and employment disruption this public health crisis has spawned. Nevertheless, more bipartisan congressional action is necessary in order to ensure that our communities and our constituents are safe. As stay-at-home restrictions are eased or lifted, Congress should focus on creating an environment that enables businesses to reopen and sustain their operations in a safe manner. According to health experts, COVID-19 can survive on surfaces for days if those surfaces are not adequately disinfected. In their published guidance, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emphasize that "reducing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 by cleaning and disinfection is an important part of reopening public spaces that will require careful planning." Having listened to business owners in our districts, we are confident they are willing--and indeed eager--to take unprecedented measures to reopen safely. But many of them lack the money, expertise, cleaning products, or trained personnel to disinfect for COVID-19 properly. That's why we've introduced the "Clean Start: Back to Work" tax credit legislation. Our bill will help companies ensure their workspaces are appropriately cleaned and disinfected as states lift stay-at-home orders. The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association estimates that cleaning costs associated with COVID-19 will be at least 50 percent higher than they were prior to the pandemic. This figure could be even higher for certain businesses with a greater risk of exposure or a higher percentage of at-risk individuals. Given the financial hardship many businesses are currently facing, we've proposed to offer them a temporary tax credit through March 2021 to help offset the increased costs of cleaning and disinfecting their workspaces. Qualified expenses under our legislation include training existing staff or hiring certified personnel, buying cleaning products, and furnishing employees with personal protective equipment. The last thing we want is for businesses to reopen only to have to shut down again because of an outbreak of COVID-19 cases within their operation. That's why we've come together to introduce this bipartisan legislation to help businesses devastated by COVID-19 safely reopen. All of us, regardless of party, want our lives to return to normal. We want American businesses to open, American workers to get back on the job, and the American economy to thrive. To ensure that the re-opening our country is safe and sustainable, Congress should pass our bipartisan bill.