The next is a transcript of an interview with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez that aired Sunday, July 24, 2022, on "Face the Nation."
MARGARET BRENNAN: That was Mark Strassman reporting. We flip now to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. He's a Republican and the present chairman of the US Convention of Mayors. He joins us from Miami. Mr. Mayor, good to have you ever with us. You simply heard our reporting there, , on this 2,000 web page report the UN put out earlier within the yr, it refers to Florida for instance of a spot the place the impacts of local weather change are already being felt. And it mentions individuals are probably going to have to maneuver away in the event that they dwell on the shoreline. You and your metropolis have needed to provide you with a technique and the one launched would spend $4 billion- $3.8 billion over the subsequent few many years to construct sea partitions, take different measures. That is quadruple your annual working funds. Can- are you able to afford what's coming?
MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ: Properly, to start with, Margaret, it isn't theoretical for us within the metropolis of Miami, it is actual. We cope with it day in and day trip yr after yr, we have been dedicating an incredible quantity of sources, updating our constructing codes over many years, since 1992, after we had a 200 mile per hour hurricane occasion known as Hurricane Andrew. Now, our newest problem, after all, is the water and the warmth, as you have mentioned within the prior section, and we- our residents accepted proper after Hurricane Irma in 2017, which created a 4 to 6 foot storm surge in our central enterprise district, a plan known as Miami Ceaselessly, and the premise of the plan is to spend lots of of tens of millions of dollars that had been voted accepted that was really a voter accepted tax, and mix them with different funding sources just like the state and federal authorities to- to have the ability to to improve our infrastructure to cope with all of the issues which can be being thrown our means from mom nature.
MARGARET BRENNAN: However once you mentioned you may't afford to not take it critically, I ponder if you happen to suppose the nationwide Republican Celebration takes the issue of local weather change critically.
MAYOR SUAREZ: Properly, what we're seeing on the nationwide stage is that the one motion that's occurring is motion that is taken in a bipartisan foundation, the Democrats, sadly, have failed to have the ability to cross payments to deal with local weather at any kind of scale. So the infrastructure–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Properly, they have no Republican votes. Additionally they do not have all Democrats on board, however it could assist if that they had Republican votes.
MAYOR SUAREZ: Yeah, precisely. Properly, I feel what it means is that it needs to be bipartisan when it comes to their outreach when it comes to their messaging, in phrases of- , which is how they cross the, , the $1.2 trillion infrastructure invoice with- with Republican votes. And we nonetheless have not seen any funding from that invoice, by the best way. Like I mentioned, we have devoted $200 million dollars in funding from our metropolis residents.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Why not?
SUAREZ: It is an ideal query. You understand, they've an ideal infrastructure czar, which is a former mayor of New Orleans, who was the president of the US Convention of Mayors who we work with, however we nonetheless haven't seen a penny of that cash trickle down, percolate all the way down to the cities. And we want it as a result of, as I've mentioned, we have devoted a few $100 million dollars. Yeah, we have gotten about 30 or 40 million from the state. However we want considerably greater than that, as you have indicated in your preliminary feedback.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So there was this $2 trillion American Rescue Plan that handed again within the spring with zero republican votes. Florida did profit. Republican governor DeSantis allotted over 400 million to assist coastal communities in Florida. So have you ever gotten that cash in your hand? And the way rather more do you want precisely?
MAYOR SUAREZ: Sure, we've got really the American Rescue Plan, ARPA, as you- as you describes it, it is coming in two tranches, $950 billion final yr, $950 billion this yr, and we've got allotted successfully. And we are attempting to leverage the cash that we've got to do issues like, , rising our sea partitions, of valves- tidal valves that forestall the backflow of water into our metropolis, during- throughout storm occasions, pump stations, which we've got constructed increasingly more and are planning to construct considerably extra. So, we're addressing the difficulty head on. And positively, the funding that- that we'll be receiving from the state and from the federal authorities, hopefully ultimately from the infrastructure invoice, is critically wanted for us to have the ability to sort out this drawback and make it possible for we've got Miami perpetually.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We talked about you're a registered Republican, mayor of the second largest metropolis in Florida, once you had been on this program. Final again in January, you informed me that you simply had repeatedly reached out to your governor, fellow Republican, to speak to him about well being precautions you wish to soak up Miami, however you had no contact, no outreach. And I ponder what you suppose that claims about Ron DeSantis's government management in a time of disaster.
MAYOR SUAREZ: You understand, we're completely different. We've completely different views and completely different personalities and completely different philosophies in phrases of- of our management type. You understand, we , I- I lead, such as you mentioned the biggest, arguably the biggest city metropolis within the state. And his mandate is considerably better when it comes to quantity, nevertheless it's additionally very completely different when it comes to cities and rural areas, , so-
MARGARET BRENNAN: Does he discuss to you now? Does he discuss to the mayor of the second largest metropolis within the state?
MAYOR SUAREZ: We do. We've spoken on a wide range of events. In actual fact, one of many ones that we spoke about just lately occurred to be about resiliency. We really, the state did give us about $40 million that we mixed with a $200 million and we did a press convention collectively in Broward County. So, on- on the setting, I've to say his file over the past 4 years, together with the legislature's file, has been very a lot pro-environment and one thing that he and I share.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What about on problems with well being? I imply, in relation to COVID, Florida's response has been closely scrutinized. Monkeypox proper now, Florida has the third highest case rely of any state within the nation. Are you, in Miami, getting the vaccine's you want? Are you getting the testing you want? Has that a part of the well being rollout, working with the state been clean?
MAYOR SUAREZ: You understand, we're monitoring this outbreak. As you talked about, I'm not conscious of any shortages in vaccines, or testing at this specific juncture, none of it has been, , come to my consideration, however actually will work with the state and definitely will work with the federal authorities to make it possible for our metropolis is protected and that these right here get the required testing and vaccination and to guard themselves towards the monkeypox virus.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Alright, Mayor Suarez, thanks to your time at present. And we'll be proper again.