“Orbiting Earth every ninety minutes, I didn’t see any political borders, any strife, just a whole world, with everyone all together,” said Senator Bill Nelson to the crowded room at the Hernando Chamber of Commerce on Friday morning, August 11th. He was referring to his 1986 flight as a crewmember on the spacecraft Columbia when he was a representative to the Florida House. Now the senior senator from Florida was back home from Washington, DC.
Senator Nelson is a Florida native, born in Miami and raised on the space coast of Florida. His family came to Florida in the 1800s. Senator Nelson served in the Florida House of Representatives, the U.S. Congress, as Florida treasurer and insurance commissioner and has been serving in the Senate since 2001. He is an Army veteran.
Senator Nelson serves on several Senate committees: the Committee on Armed Services; Committee on Finance, including oversight of the federal tax code; Special Committee on Aging and is a ranking member of the Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, which includes the internet and telecommunications.
Senator Nelson assured his audience that contrary to what we may have heard on the news, that senators are meeting in their committees and working together to reach good bipartisan legislative solutions. He mentioned needed infrastructure repairs and improvements, not only in transportation road and bridges but also electrical grids, air traffic control and other systems. He said technology is one of the most challenging areas this committee oversees because of the awesome breadth and rapid growth of that industry.
Senator Nelson took questions from the group after his presentation. Withlacoochee River Electric assisted the Hernando Chamber of Commerce in this event.
Senator Nelson’s wife, Grace Nelson, spoke on Friday as well. She joined Dr. Joanie Davis, owner of Davis Family Hearing (facilitator) in the Lunch with Grace Nelson event, a part of the Chamber’s Women Empowering Women series.