NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
For Immediate Release: August 11th, 2011
Contact: Brannon Jordan, (850) 222-3411
Where In The World Is David Rivera?
Tallahassee, FL — Following the debt ceiling debate and turmoil on Wall Street, most Members of Congress have spent time listening to the concerns of their constituents … except Representative David Rivera (FL-25). Rivera has participated in just one town hall meeting this year, doing his best to avoid tough questions about his vote to end Medicare and reports that he is under multiple investigations.
David Rivera has yet to announce a single event with his constituents during the “district work period.” While his colleagues in the Florida congressional delegation have already held multiple town hall meetings across the state, Rivera’s silence stands out.
“Why is Representative David Rivera hiding from his constituents?” asked Brannon Jordan of the Florida Democratic Party. “Is he afraid of his unpopular votes to end Medicare while protecting tax breaks for oil companies and millionaires? Or is he afraid of people asking about the numerous investigations he is facing? Whenever he decides to come out of hiding, Floridians will have lots of questions for David Rivera.”
Background
Rivera Has Only Attended One Town Hall Meeting. “Rivera attended a town hall meeting with Senator Marco Rubio that was hosted by the Naples Board of Realtors.” [Congressman Rivera’s Week in Review, 2/7/11]
Rivera Voted for the 2012 Republican Budget Proposal that Would “Essentially End Medicare.” In April, David Rivera voted to end Medicare by supporting the Republican budget. The Wall Street Journal reported, “The plan would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-carebills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills.” [H Con. Res. 34, Vote #277, 4/15/11; Wall Street Journal, 4/4/11]
Over 3,390,801 Million Floridians Rely on Medicare. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are 3,390,801 Medicare beneficiaries in Florida in 2011. In 2010, 18% of Florida’s population was enrolled in Medicare. Additionally, there are 78,727 seniors in Rivera’s district according to the Census Bureau. [Kaiser Family Foundation, accessed 7/13/11; 25th Congressional District of Florida Fast Facts for Congress, accessed 8/10/11]
Investigated by Public Corruption Unit for Campaign Finances. According to the Miami Herald, Rivera’s thank you spending and ties to Millennium Marketing have been “under investigation by several agencies – the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, the Miami-Dade Police Department’s public corruption squad and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement – since before he was elected to Congress in November.” [Miami Herald, 6/23/11; Miami Herald, 1/15/11]
Federal Investigators Open Second Probe on Rivera. “Federal investigators have opened a second criminal probe of U.S. Rep. David Rivera, examining undisclosed payments from a Miami gambling enterprise to a company tied to the Republican congressman, The Miami Herald has learned. Agents with the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service have begun interviewing witnesses knowledgeable about a $1 million consulting contract between Flagler Dog Track — now known as Magic City Casino — and Millennium Marketing, a company co-owned by Rivera’s 70-year-old mother and her business partner, according to sources familiar with the investigation.” [Miami Herald, 7/21/11]
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