EDITORIAL: President Trump, show us the money for Lake O and the Everglades!

March 29-- Mar. 29--This dance is getting old.

Today, President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Lake Okeechobee to promote the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' work on the Herbert Hoover Dike and a reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

But two weeks ago, environmentalists and Trump supporters -- U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, and U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Naples -- wavered between frustration and disappointment when the president's proposed 2019-20 budget included just $63.3 million for Everglades restoration rather than the $200 million they had requested.

Politically, this was not a good look for these high-profile Florida Republicans; especially since Scott, DeSantis and Mast had all run successfully in 2018 on their cozy relationships with the president.

This may explain why, as of Thursday afternoon, that none of them had publicly committed to being with Trump in Canal Point on the lake's southeastern shore to "highlight the work".

We wouldn't blame them. This federal money, part of the $1.6 billion allocated for Everglades restoration in the omnibus Water Resources Development Act Trump signed in October, is crucial to helping reduce the number of damaging discharges from Lake O to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers by 63 percent.

Thus, when the White House budget request "failed to include sufficient funding for Everglades restoration" efforts -- a month after all-but assuring Floridians that it would -- the GOP lawmakers were a bit disheartened.

"For the third year in a row, the administration's budget request underfunds critical projects in South Florida," the lawmakers said in a joint statement. "It is incredibly short-sighted to continue to underfund a series of projects that are absolutely necessary to ensure the environmental sustainability and economic vitality of one of the most dynamic regions of our nation."

Not to mention, those toxic algae blooms are a health hazard.

Meanwhile, Florida has steadily increased funding for Everglades projects each year. In January, DeSantis recommended the state appropriate $360 million for Everglades restoration projects as part of his budget recommendations. And judging from the first round of budget talks in the state House and Senate, that number will be easily met.

Yes, the White House budget is only a recommendation. Congress is responsible for appropriating federal funding for projects.

"But Florida cannot continue to suffer through repeated outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae and red tide," Everglades Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg said in a statement. "The nation's third-most populous state is undergoing a perennial environmental disaster and an economic catastrophe, and the federal government must fulfill its role in helping solve the problem of Florida's waterways."

We agree.

We don't need another premature victory lap. We don't need any more half-empty promises. We need you to show us the money, Mr. President.

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