Sierra Club Florida News shared a link to the following article:
Northwest Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz faces fury over EPA elimination bill
More than two dozen Sierra Club members and supporters turned out to confront Congressman Matt Gaetz at at his Town Hall meeting in a Pensacola, Florida, bowling alley last Thursday for drafting a bill to abolish the EPA . They were part of a boisterous, infuriated crowd of 500 squeezed in between pool tables at Oops! Bowling Alley.
Speaker after speaker asked Gaetz to withdraw his EPA elimination bill and questioned why someone who represents Pensacola and Emerald Coast beaches, some of the country’s most pristine, would seek to dissolve the very agency that protects them.
One constituent, Professor Charlie Schuler, gave a particularly eloquent , rousing speech:
Mr. Gaetz said if the EPA was abolished, its $8 billion budget would be “repatriated” to the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Agriculture triggering a chorus of boos from the audience.
“As long as I’m your member of Congress, I’m going to fight for the environment and against the EPA,” he said to another deafening round of boos.
Constituents held signs that read “Protect People not Polluters,” and “#SaveTheEPA.” and at times chanted, “E-P-A, E-P-A, E-P-A…”
The meeting, for which Gaetz arrived half-an-hour late, was terminated by the Congressman early.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/lwvpba/videos/1337889046267386/
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| Gaetz had threatened to pull out these sign before the Bowling Alley Town Hall. They were never used. Photo source CNN |
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| Those who hunt and fish were not happy with Gaetz’s bill. |
CNN, E&E Greenwire and local print and TV covered Mr. Gaetz’s day’s worth of events:
Fla. lawmaker’s assault on agency sparks fury back home
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060050519
One Republican congressman’s plan to deal with town hall disrupters
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/politics/matt-gaetz-town-hall-disrupters/
‘Open Gaetz Day’ concludes on thunderous note
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/23/open-matt-gaetz-day-concludes-thunderous-note/98209932/
Gaetz meets with protesters during Santa Rosa County town hall tour
http://weartv.com/news/local/gaetz-met-with-protesters-during-santa-rosa-county-townhall-tour
Two Protests, One Place: Critics Draw In NW Florida Over Congressman Matt Gaetz
http://wkrg.com/2017/02/23/two-protests-one-place-critics-draw-in-nw-florida-over-congressman-matt-gaetz/
Gaetz draws cheers, jeers at town hall meeting
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20170224/gaetz-draws-cheers-jeers-at-town-hall-meeting
Residents protested against Gaetz’s bill to eliminate the EPA throughout the Day:
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| Photo: Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com Pensacola News-Journal caption |
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| Photo: Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com Pensacola News-Journal |
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| Source: WUWF |
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| Photo: Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com Pensacola News-Journal |
Read the original post at http://www.sierraclubfloridanews.org/2017/03/northwest-florida-congressman-matt.html.
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Keep this momentum going! I think the size of the turnout was wonderful. I think that this new federal legislator thinks HE already has all the answers. Let’s see when he is willing to face his constituents in this type of face-to-face confrontation again. I appreciate the words spoken by Prof. Charlie Schuler. Let’s engage Prof. Schuler’s continued participation in fighting the fight to preserve our EPA.