{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.moody.senate.gov/press-releases/video-senator-moody-named-2026-hero-of-main-street-by-national-retail-federation/", "VIDEO: Senator Moody Named 2026 \u2018Hero of Main Street\u2019 by National Retail Federation", "2026-07-31", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "FL", "Ashley Moody", "M001244", "www.moody.senate.gov", "moody", "https://www.moody.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014 The National Retail Federation is recognizing Senator Ashley Moody as a 2026 Hero of Main Street. The NRF honored Senator Moody with the award for her steadfast work and support for main street industry through legislative action and common-sense, small government leadership.\n\n\u201cIt is an honor to be recognized as the 2026 Hero of Main Street by the National Retail Federation. From family-owned small businesses to major employers, Florida\u2019s retailers drive opportunity and play a vital role in our state\u2019s continued growth. They support more than 4 million jobs and contribute more than $159.5 billion to Florida\u2019s economy \u2013 helping grow our state\u2019s economy to the 14th largest economy in the world,\u201d said Senator Ashley Moody.\n\n\u201cFrom the merchants who helped found our nation to the retailers serving communities today, retail has played a critical role in America for the past 250 years,\u201d NRF Executive Vice President of Government Relations David French said. \u201cNRF is proud to recognize Senator Moody as a \u2018Hero of Main Street\u2019 for her commitment to advancing policies that ensure the retail industry continues to drive our economy forward.\u201d\n\nBACKGROUND:\n\nThe \u201cHero of Main Street\u201d award was created by NRF in 2013 to recognize a bipartisan group of lawmakers for their support of the retail industry. Award eligibility is based on key votes, bill sponsorship, and advocacy to advance the retail industry\u2019s priorities. Retail is one of Florida\u2019s largest private-sector employers, driving the economy and creating jobs in communities throughout the throughout the state. In Florida, retail directly supports more than 4 million local jobs and contributes more than $159.5 billion in economic activity. The National Retail Federation empowers the industry that powers the economy.\n\nFlorida is home to over 387,000 retail establishments which makes up of 28% of the jobs in the state supported by the retail industry.\n\nOver $94 billion is direct labor income for Floridians from retail jobs.\n\nRetail is the nation\u2019s largest private-sector employer, contributing $5.3 trillion to annual GDP and supporting more than one in four U.S. jobs \u2014 55 million working Americans.\n\nIn 2021, Senator Moody, while serving as Florida Attorney General, partnered with the Florida Retailers Federation to launch the Florida Organized Retail Crime Exchange, a first-of-its-kind, statewide task force and a new interactive database to help spot trends, identify suspects and take down massive, organized retail theft rings. The database was designed to bridge the gaps among retailers, law enforcement and prosecutors by allowing shareable, searchable information on incidents of theft statewide. Senator Moody, then Attorney General, also worked with Florida legislators to strengthen state laws against organized retail theft and help prosecutors dismantle retail theft crime rings.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-08-01T07:27:26Z", "2026-08-01T07:28:22Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.moody.senate.gov/press-releases/video-senator-moody-named-2026-hero-of-main-street-by-national-retail-federation/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0039079934358597, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}