NEWS FROM THE SECOND DISTRICTDear Friend, This week, the House returned to Washington, D.C. for the legislative session. I’m pleased to report that my bill, The Veteran’s Prostate Cancer Research and Treatment Act (H.R. 6092), passed in the VA Committee. This means that my bill will go to the House Floor for a vote next. I’m feeling optimistic that my peers will join me in supporting our veterans and taking this important step to combat prostate cancer.
Meanwhile, at home, the western end of our district and the rest of Florida’s Panhandle faced Hurricane Sally. While this storm was smaller than Hurricane Michael, it still packed a punch. Please keep an eye on my social media accounts this week for real-time updates and resources as we work to recover from this storm.
I’ve already seen some constituents gathering supplies and traveling westward to help those impacted by the storm. It reminds me of all of the help we received following Hurricane Michael, and I couldn’t be prouder. Thank you for your selflessness and perseverance. We will get through this together. We are #PanhandleStrong.
Please read about my week below:
This Week in the District
Legislative Updates
Coronavirus Updates This Week in the District
Hurricane Sally’s Aftermath 
This week, the west side of the district and the rest of the Panhandle experienced damage from Hurricane Sally. While this storm was not nearly the beast Hurricane Michael was – and I’m grateful for that – it still left the Panhandle with a lot of clean up and destruction.
My peers in the House and Senate are actively working to get you the assistance our area is going to need to recover. On Tuesday, I joined a letter supporting Governor Ron DeSantis’ request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration. On Friday, I joined a letter supporting the Governor’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration. I will continue to fight for the support we need to rebuild following this storm. 
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I would like to encourage you all to see my office as a resource during this time. We want to help you get back on your feet. If you need help reaching a federal agency, please contact us. If I’ve learned one thing from previous storms, it’s that we WILL get through this together.
Here are some resources that might be helpful for you as we recover from the most recent storm:
FEMA: 1-800-621-3362 or 1-800-462-7585 for the speech/hearing-impaired. Apply for disaster aid online at www.fema.gov or www.disasterassistance.gov.
Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Assistance Center:
1-800-659-2955; online at http://www.sba.gov/content/disaster-assistance
Emergency Management
Florida Department of Emergency Management
Florida Division of Emergency Management
2555 Shumard Oak Boulevard
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2100
Phone: 850-815-4000 or 1-800-342-3557
American Red Cross:
Disaster and Emergency Assistance: http://www.redcross.org/find-help
National Number: 1-800-733-2767
Volunteer Information: https://www.volunteerflorida.org/
Beware of Fraud and Scams:
For more information, please call (866) 966-7226 or visit http://www.myfloridalegal.com/Contact.nsf/PriceGouging!OpenForm
I would also like to encourage you to help our neighbors to the west of us. Many of them stepped up to help us recover from Hurricane Michael, and now we can return the favor.
Legislative Updates
Veterans Affairs Committee On Thursday, the House Veterans Affairs Committee passed H.R. 6092, The Veteran’s Prostate Cancer Research and Treatment Act. I introduced this bill in the spring and it will direct the VA to create a national clinical pathway for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. Prostate cancer is the #1 cancer diagnosis at the VA and it is vital that these veterans receive the best and most cutting-edge treatment possible.
From here, my bill will go to the House floor to be voted on by my colleagues. I hope that they all will join me in defeating this deadly adversary.
Click here for more information about H.R. 6092.
Coronavirus Updates
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Last week, members of the Doctors Caucus and myself spoke during a Special Order about Operation Warp Speed and the progress we’ve made in combatting COVID-19. Click here to listen to my remarks.
We also received excellent news that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) have released two documents outlining the Trump Administration’s detailed strategy to deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses to the American people as quickly and reliably as possible.
The documents, developed by HHS in coordination with DoD and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provide a strategic distribution overview along with an interim playbook for state, tribal, territorial, and local public health programs and their partners on how to plan and operationalize a vaccination response to COVID-19 within their respective jurisdictions. For more details, click here.
Recent Updates - Summer is coming to a close, fall is just ahead, and while we look forward to a vaccine for Covid-19, there’s no better time than now to take advantage of the flu vaccine. It’s the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones. Unlike Covid-19, most of us have general knowledge about flu season and the flu—a respiratory disease that can lead to serious illness, hospitalization or death. But like Covid-19, flu shares many of the same symptoms: fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle pain or body aches and headache. I echo the HHS in encouraging everyone to get their flu shot this year. Learn more here.
- The FDA is warning consumers and health care professionals that the FDA continues to find hand sanitizer products that are labeled as containing ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but have tested positive for methanol or 1-propanol contamination. Methanol and 1-propanol are not acceptable ingredients for hand sanitizer products and can be life-threatening when ingested. The FDA also continues to find hand sanitizers that are sub-potent, meaning the product contains less than the required amount of ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol or benzalkonium chloride. Before buying or using hand sanitizer, the FDA recommends checking this list of hand sanitizers consumers should not use.
Thank you for your continued energy and enthusiasm, as reflected in your letters and Facebook posts. If you haven’t already, LIKE my Facebook page. You can also follow me on Twitter @DrNealDunnFL2. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in Congress!
Sincerely,
Dr. Neal Dunn
Member of Congress
| IN THE NEWS Congressman Dunn & The Florida Delegation Request Emergency Declaration on Hurricane Sally From White House
U.S. Congressman Neal Dunn urges locals to participate in the census
Constituent Casework Corner
When a constituent applied for their Social Security Retirement Benefits, they received a notice stating there was an error with their application, and they would need to make an in-person appointment at the local Social Security Administration (SSA) office. After trying for weeks to make the appointment without success, they contacted my office. We were able to contact SSA and have their appointment scheduled for the next day.
Do you need help with a federal agency? Contact my office at 850-785-0812 or at www.dunn.house.gov
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