Florida From the House...To Your Home newsletter mailed to citizens of the 9th Congressional District of Florida, represented by Representative Louis Frey, Jr. (1934-2019), who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969 to 1979. He was on several committees during his time in office, including the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control and the Science and Technology Committee. He was also the chairman of the Young Republicans of Florida. The first article announces that the commissary the McCoy Air Force Base Commissary in Orlando, Florida, had begun selling local produce to consumers.

The second article discusses the approval of Phase Two funding for the Orlando Naval Hospital. Some of the Veterans' Administration (VA) medical facilities in Central Florida were old and outdated by the 1970s. Rep. Frey and others wanted to replace them with more modern facilities in order to better serve the district's veteran population. The initial goal was to obtain a VA hospital for Brevard County, and Rep. Frey introduced legislation that would have this result. Although the legislation didn't pass through Congress, the spotlight on the issue of veterans' medical care helped to encourage other advances. One example of this was Congress' funding of a new Navy hospital in Orlando, which was a much-needed replacement for the old facility.

The third article argues the inevitability of international port-of-entry status for the Orlando Jetport. Due to increasing tourism to Central Florida, the Orlando Jetport, also known as the McCoy Air Force Base, would benefit from gaining the status as an international port of entry. This would allow international travelers to arrive directly to the area. Previously, they needed to arrive in other areas of Florida like Miami and then travel to Orlando, which impeded the increase in Central Florida's tourism. Rep. Frey was one of the people who worked to achieve this goal through methods like requesting that the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury give the matter special consideration. These efforts were successful and the jetport became an international port of entry in 1976.

The fourth article is about a federal court's ruling regarding the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) of 1965. The SCA required that contractors and subcontractors pay service employees the prevailing wage—the wage rates and fringe benefits found in the prevailing locality—or the rates established by the previous contractor's collective bargaining agreement. The federal court judge ruled that the Service Contract Act "only protect[ed] blue collar workers from 'wage busting.'" According to the article, Congress introduced legislation to compensate for the ruling. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Merritt Island agreed to delay re-computation of their contracts until the court appeal was resolved. Rep. Frey asked the U.S. Air Force to do the same, on behalf of contract workers for Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB).

The last article discusses the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) and the use of solar energy in Florida. According to the article, Florida was leading the way with support from Governor Reubin Askew (1928-2014) and the Florida legislature.]]>
]]> Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.]]> Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>