Peter Schorsch
A lot happened while Congress was away; much to do when it returns
On Tuesday, the House and Senate go back to Washington. Much has happened since they went on recess July 28, little of which was positive.
Over the last month, we had a tense war of words between President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un over missiles aimed at Guam. The president is seeking a ban on transgender people from serving in the military despite apparent reluctance from civilian and military leaders and outrage from Democrats.
The fatal clash in Charlottesville, Virginia, followed by the president’s conflicting response(s), elicited sometimes overheated rhetoric. A prime example was the headline atop a recent piece from award-winning Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen: “Hey, who cut the eyeholes in Mar-a-Lago’s white tablecloths?”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was subjected to multiple Trump tweets chiding the Kentucky Republican for the failure of Obamacare repeal. Then, of course, there is Hurricane Harvey, which will be on the humanitarian and legislative agenda for weeks to come.
As Congress returns, a daunting agenda confronts them, including a must-do. They have less than 30 days to either add more debt or allow a partial shutdown of the federal government.
Like so many times before, conservative Republicans seek spending cuts to help offset the additional debt, but Democrats want a “clean bill,” and moderate Republicans are eager to avoid a shutdown.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin falls into the “clean bill” category. A likely conflict between the conservative Freedom Caucus and moderate Republicans is only days away.
Republicans also face the challenge of enacting tax reform. After failing to repeal and replace Obamacare, their voters expect them to accomplish something before the year is out. So does Trump.
They campaigned mainly on Obamacare and tax reform. Accomplishing neither would leave them with few supporters in town halls.
Last year, Sen. Marco Rubio and Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee introduced a comprehensive reform plan that contains many of the points that would comprise a final Republican tax plan. Those include simplifying the tax code and lowering the corporate tax rate, among others.
Most Democrats, including Sen. Bill Nelson, have pledged to oppose any reform that cuts taxes for “the top 1 percent.” This would include reducing the corporate tax rate, which is currently the highest in the industrialized world.
Kendall Republican Carlos Curbelo is one of many aggressively pushing reform. In one of several tweets on the subject, he tells followers “high corporate tax rates chase away revenue and job creation from the economy” followed by hashtags #taxreform17 and #31ReasonsForTaxReform.
After returning Tuesday from a tour of hurricane-ravaged East Texas, Trump hit the road Wednesday to kick off the administration’s push for reform.
It will be an interesting final four months of 2017.
Meanwhile, here are this week’s insights from the Beltway to the Sunshine State.
National Dems post worst fundraising July in 10 years; Republicans lead by millions
The Republican National Committee (RNC) opened a massive fundraising lead over the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in July as the Hill notes that Democrats posted their worst July haul in a decade.
Democrats raised just $3.8 million in July, compared to $10.2 million raised by the RNC the same month. The DNC also added slightly to its debt in July, now at $3.4 million; Republicans have no debt.
The last time Democrats raised such a small amount in July was 2007 when the party took in only $3.4 million. In the first seven months of the year, the RNC raised $86.5 million; the DNC raised about $42 million. The GOP also enjoys a massive on-hand cash lead: $47.1 million to $6.9 million.
Arpaio pardon sparks outrage among FL Dems
President Trump’s pardon of former Maricopa, Arizona, County Sheriff Joe Arpaio last week received the reaction many thought it would get. Perhaps the impending landfall of Hurricane Harvey into Texas distracted many Americans, but others, including Florida Democrats, expressed their outrage.
“The pardon of the racist/birther Arpaio is not surprising, but angers nonetheless,” tweeted Frederica Wilson of Miami Gardens. She finished her tweet with the hashtag “#FakePresidency.”
State and national Democratic organizations mixed condemnation with challenges to Florida Republicans, urging them to blast Trump’s action.
“Donald Trump has pardoned a racist and disgraced former sheriff who was convicted of racial profiling the very people he should have been protecting,” said the Florida Democratic Party in a statement. “Donald Trump has embraced hate and division at every opportunity.”
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called on South Florida Republicans Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Curbelo to “speak up for the rule of law and condemn this politically motivated pardon of one of the president’s most vocal supporters.”
Neither issued statements or tweeted on the matter. House Speaker Paul Ryan was one of only a few Republicans who criticized the pardon.
Weston Democrat Debbie Wasserman-Schultz said, “this shameful act — done under cover of a Friday night rollout — is just another ugly, brazen pander to his nativist base.”
Most Florida Democrats sign letter urging Trump to reverse transgender ban
Nine of Florida’s 11 Democratic members of Congress signed a letter urging Trump to reconsider his recently announced ban on transgendered people in the military.
“There is no place for discrimination in our Armed Forces or indeed anywhere else in American society,” they wrote. “Enforcing your ban could mean discharging active duty soldiers, sailors, Marines, and members of the Air Force who are serving honorably.”
Trump put the new policy in place when he signed an executive order last week. He denied that the new policy constitutes discrimination.
The letter states there are thousands of active-duty transgender service members and challenges Trump’s contention that they have been a disruption or burden on the military. The letter contends transgenders serve with equal distinction and are “equally deserving of our gratitude and respect.”
The group calls out the “clear unconstitutionality” of the ban and points out the military is not exempt from following the Constitution.
“We urge you again to join us in honoring all those who protect our nation, to fully respect the rights of the citizens you serve, and to reconsider the ill-advised and indefensible policy that you have moved to implement.”
One-hundred-thirty-four Democratic colleagues joined the 9 Floridians. Only Val Demings and Darren Soto, both of Orlando, did not sign the letter.
Soto said he was unable to sign the letter before it went out, but pointed to his earlier statement criticizing Trump when the president first tweeted his intention to establish the ban. Demings’ office did not respond to an inquiry from FloridaPolitics.com.
DeVos visits Tallahassee to promote alternatives to public schools
U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spent two days in Tallahassee this week touring local schools. She carried the message of the Trump Administration that says “it is very much oriented around continuing to focus on the individual student.”
Much to the chagrin of local school officials and candidates for Florida Governor, DeVos did not visit any public schools while in the capital city. Instead, she dropped in at Holy Comforter Episcopal School, Florida High School, a Florida State University developmental research school, and Bethel Christian Academy.
This did not sit well with Leon County School Superintendent Rocky Hanna.
“It’s obvious that the secretary and the federal government have very little respect for our traditional public school system,” Hanna told the Tallahassee Democrat. “And it’s insulting that she’s going to visit the capital of the state of Florida to visit a charter school, a private school and a voucher school.”
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, running for the Democratic nomination for governor, said: “DeVos’ record of supporting for-profit charter school execs speaks louder than any photo op.”
Former Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Graham, also a candidate for governor and a former official within the Leon County Schools system, said: “Betsy DeVos’ for-profit approach to public education is just flat-out wrong for Florida.” Graham also blasted DeVos and Gov. Scott for over-testing students and assigning “public schools arbitrary grades that humiliate students.”
DeVos accentuated the Trump Administration’s approach to education.
“I think we should recognize the fact that our community schools have been stuck in a mode that is basically approaching things that have been done very similarly a hundred years ago,” she said. “Florida has continued to be an innovator in approaching education and meeting the needs of students.”
S. Florida Republicans praise tougher Venezuela sanctions
Last week, Trump announced additional, tougher sanctions on the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Those GOP delegation members from South Florida who weighed in were unanimous in their praise of the president’s action.
“I commend the Trump administration for taking decisive and significant action to prevent the Maduro regime from using Wall Street to finance its repression and tyranny,” said Sen. Rubio. “The United States remains committed to supporting the cause of freedom and democracy in Venezuela.”
While the sanctions exempted Citgo, the state-owned oil company based in the U.S., it will not be permitted to send profits to the parent company in Venezuela. Fully enforcing sanctions on Citgo would harm U.S. interests as well as the Venezuelan people.
The White House action is “a direct response to those willing to aid the regime as the latest sanctions will prohibit financial transactions and any dealings in new debt and bonds of the Maduro regime and its corrupt state-owned entity, PDVSA,” said Ros-Lehtinen, who represents the 27th District.
Mario Diaz-Balart from the 25th District, a longtime critic of the Venezuelan regime, commended “President Trump for once again imposing tough sanctions against the Maduro regime. (These) announced sanctions target Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA, and prohibit transactions that finance the regime’s escalating debt and corruption.”
Nelson urges Trump to extend protections for Haitians
Nelson is calling on President Trump to extend humanitarian protections granted to Haiti after the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake.
The Associated Press is reporting that the Florida Democrat wants the Trump administration to renew Temporary Protected Status so that nearly 60,000 Haitians can continue to live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation.
Meeting with a group of Haitians in Miami Last week, Nelson hopes the Department of Homeland Security will extend the status beyond the Jan. 22 deadline, arguing that Hurricane Matthew in 2016 delayed Haiti’s recovery efforts. Such extensions are typically renewed for 18-month intervals, but the latest announcement in May said it would expire in six months.
Nelson intervenes over missed FEMA deadline for Matthew
The Florida Division of Emergency Management fired two employees after missing a crucial federal deadline to help pay communities for damage from Hurricane Matthew.
This led Nelson to send a letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long asking him to overlook the state’s error and consider the appeals.
Arek Sarkissian of the Tallahassee Democrat explained that the missed deadline caused FEMA to initially deny several claims from counties affected by the storm, despite filing within the federally mandated 60-day window.
The DEM was to serve as a liaison on the appeals, but the employees did not do so by the deadline.
“FEMA should not penalize local governments for the state of Florida’s failure to submit the appeal,” Nelson’s letter says. “I strongly urge you to extend the appeals deadline to ensure recovering communities in Florida are given their due process to receive federal aid.”
Nelson noted that while the counties and municipalities sent appeals to the state in a timely manner, “the state failed to submit the documents to FEMA.” The agency’s refusal to consider the appeals unfairly punishes the local governments, Nelson said.
Claims in jeopardy include those from Flagler and Volusia counties. Brevard County could lose as much as $300,000.
Although the employees were fired over Matthew errors; DEM representative Alberto Moscoso said that claims denied for 2016 storms were only a “small fraction” of the 26 missed deadlines since 2004.
“We are currently conducting a thorough forensic audit to determine how the error occurred and what additional actions should be taken to prevent it in the future,” Moscoso told the Democrat. “After our audit, we will have an independent auditor review and verify our findings.”
FEMA approved assistance claims from nine counties for more than $20.8 million and is obligated to pay $67.7 million in public assistance grants.
Rubio asked to cease tweeting Bible verses
The Republican senator from Miami has often tweeted bible verses on his @marcorubio Twitter account. He is particularly fond of Proverbs.
Rubio has drawn the ire from a Wisconsin group, who is telling him to stop posting the verses because they are unconstitutional.
“We have no issue with people reading and discussing the Bible,” wrote Andrew Seidel, director of strategic response for the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “By tying your government title to a social media page, you have intimately entwined your official position with the messages you send on that platform, creating the position of official endorsement.”
Rubio does not use his Senate title with the account.
The organization claims 1,400 members in Florida, roughly 5 percent of their national membership. Rubio offered no response to the letter, but not long after receiving it he posted another verse from Proverbs late last week.
“By patience is a ruler persuaded, and a soft tongue can break a bone,” he tweeted.
Poll: Nelson/Scott in statistical tie
The three-term Democrat has consistently said he would run his re-election race as if he was trailing. According to a survey released this week, Nelson is employing a sound strategy.
In a Florida Atlantic University poll, Nelson and likely candidate Gov. Scott are statistically tied. Nelson still leads 42.4 percent to 40.1 percent, but the numbers are well within the margin of error and show Scott to be a viable candidate should he enter the race as expected.
In March, the same poll showed Nelson with a 6-point lead, 44-38. While the election is still 14 months away, Nelson and his campaign team cannot be happy to see a three-term incumbent polling at 8 points below 50 percent.
They also know hundreds of polls will come forth over the next year showing different results. On the bright side for Nelson, he is favored by voters 55 and over, while Scott is strongest among those between 18-34, a less dependable voting bloc.
Both have a large chunk of voters willing to listen. Among respondents, 17 percent are undecided.
FAU surveyed 800 Florida registered voters with a plus or minus four-point margin of error.
Gaetz hires former tobacco lobbyist as Chief of Staff
The Fort Walton Beach Republican has hired Kevin “Kip” Talley as Chief of Staff, effective Aug. 31. Most recently, Talley was a principal with Talley Strategies in Washington.
According to LegisStorm, Talley is a former lobbyist for the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association, where he was senior director of federal legislative affairs for three years. He also represented the National Rural Letter Carriers Association.
The appointment appears to be strategic as Talley has experience in dealing with regulation of tobacco with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One of Gaetz’s top priorities is rescheduling marijuana as a Class III drug.
Talley succeeds Amanda Cogan, who has worked with Gaetz both in Washington and while he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives. Cogan was appointed when Dan McFaul left in January to join Ballard Partners DC office.
Dunn holding fundraiser in Havana
Freshman CD 2 U.S. Rep. Dunn will hold a casual “boots and jeans” event in Havana, Fla., on Sept. 29.
The fundraiser benefits Dunn’s political committee, “Friends of Neal Dunn,” and will start at 6 p.m. at the WC Dover Farm on Dover Road. The host committee hasn’t been set yet.
To RSVP for the fundraiser, call Ieva Smidt at 850-567-8022 or email [email protected].
Rutherford wants Senate to ditch 60-vote rule
First-term Jacksonville Republican John Rutherford is not too keen on the Senate’s 60-vote cloture rule. He is advocating for its demise because he is convinced it stands in the way of getting things done on behalf of the American people.
“I think it’s so important the Senate jettison this arcane 60-vote cloture rule,” Rutherford said. It “subverts the will of the public, because the will of the public was we would have a Republican majority in the Senate.”
Republicans are under pressure to achieve at least some of the agenda they have championed over the past four elections cycles. Changing Senate rules, he feels, would go a long way toward keeping campaign promises.
Using 51-vote majorities “puts itself back in alignment with the will of the people,” Rutherford said, “and would allow us to pass health care, tax reform, transportation, and infrastructure, the way we told the American people we were going to.”
DeSantis seeks to put Mueller investigation on the clock
The Republican from Ponte Vedra is trying to put a time limit on special counsel investigations. This would primarily affect the current inquiry into Russian involvement in the 2016 elections led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
DeSantis, expected to make a run for Florida Governor, added an amendment to the massive omnibus spending bill set to be debated beginning in September. His amendment calls for a six-month deadline for Mueller, or any special counsel, to wrap up their work. Funding for the special counsel will cease if the amendment is approved.
DeSantis expressed concern that the order from the Department of Justice (DOJ) authorizing the special counsel “didn’t identify a crime to be investigated,” thereby inviting “a fishing expedition.”
“Congress should use its spending power to clarify the scope and limit the duration of this investigation,” DeSantis said in a statement. (Deputy Attorney General Rod) Rosenstein has stated that the DOJ doesn’t conduct fishing expeditions; the corollary to this admonition should be that Congress does will not fund a fishing expedition.”
DeSantis faces the task of getting the amendment added to the spending bill, first in committee, then approved by the full House. It will face near-unanimous opposition from Democrats and some moderate Republicans.
It would then face vocal skepticism in the Senate.
Crist brings home $72K for Pinellas air quality
U.S. Rep. Crist announced that the Environmental Protection Agency awarded about $72,000 in grants to Pinellas County to help out its Air Quality Division.
“Reducing air pollution is key to protecting our environment and the health of our neighbors. It is vital that we all work together across the local, state, and federal levels to achieve these goals,” Crist said. “This grant will help our community bolster its clean air efforts, making Pinellas County safer, healthier and more secure.
A recent EPA study shows heart disease and heart attacks are more likely for individuals living in places with higher air pollution. Even small exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of such diseases by up to 14 percent.
Mast bill creates competition to combat algal blooms
Freshman U.S. Rep. Mast filed a bill that would establish a competitive program to award prizes for the development of “innovative, environmentally safe solutions” to combat algal blooms.
“When I talk to experts about the challenges of cleaning up harmful algal blooms, one of the most frequent roadblocks I hear about is the difficulty in scaling technology to the size needed to clean huge bodies of water,” Mast said. “This new program would go a long way toward improving the type of technology that cleans algae out of fish tanks to be able to keep our rivers clean.”
Mast’s bill would have the Secretary of Commerce set up a board including federal officials, state officials in impacted states and nongovernment experts. The board would operate as a public-private partnership, soliciting private donations to fund the awards, as well as determining specific award categories and amounts.
F. Rooney/SW Florida also dealing with flooding
While attention is rightfully directed to the still-unfolding tragedy in Texas with Hurricane Harvey, the first term Republican from Naples has his hands full helping his constituents facing similar obstacles. Record rainfall has caused massive flooding in Ft. Myers, Naples and the surrounding region.
“Kathleen and I wish to thank all of the first responders that are working nonstop to assist residents and keep us safe,” Rooney said in a statement.
Part of the region received more than 16 inches in a three-day span, more than doubling previous records. Like Houston, Rooney’s constituents were being flooded out of their homes.
Is the swamp draining? Number of D.C. lobbyists lowest in decade
The number of registered lobbyists in Capitol Hill has dipped to a 10-year low, according to Matt Viser of The Boston Globe: “After an initial burst of activity earlier this year, [lobbyists] in the past few months reported less spending than in almost any similar period in the previous 10 years. There were 9,791 registered lobbyists at the end of June, the fewest since at least 2008.”
Viser attributes this to a “slow pace of legislation, stiffer rules, and a gradual decline in the number of lobbyists” which is resulting in a drop for the first half of 2017.
Paulson’s principles: Race, Republicanism and Donald Trump
Trump generated a firestorm of protest with his comments concerning the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his attempt to equally blame both the white supremacists, neo-Nazis and KKK supporters and those who protested their march.
More than at any point in his administration, Trump is being attacked by both Democrats and members of his own party for his attempt to draw a moral equivalency between both sides. Also, the conservative media has been highly critical of the president’s remarks.
The conservative magazine The Economist called Trump “politically inept, morally barren and temperamentally unfit for office.” The story featured a drawing of Trump bellowing into a bullhorn in the shape of a KKK cone-hat.
Conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer of FOX News described Trump’s remarks as “a moral disgrace.”
Former Florida Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough, the host of the Morning Joe show on MSNBC, announced he was changing his party affiliation from Republican to independent.
The Republican National Committee was so concerned about the growing attempt to associate the Republican Party with racism, adopted a resolution Aug. 25 condemning white supremacy and hate groups. The resolution condemned “the racist beliefs of Nazi’s, the KKK, white supremacists and others are repulsive, evil and have no fruitful place in the United States.
What did Republicans in the Florida congressional delegation say concerning the president’s remarks? The statements range from neutrality to outright repudiation of Trump’s comments.
Sen. Rubio, who during the 2016 presidential campaign called Trump an “erratic individual” who should not be trusted with the nuclear codes. Rubio later endorsed Trump and has cozied up to Trump in recent months. Rubio blamed the white supremacists who organized the march for being “100 percent to blame for a number of reasons.”
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the dean of the Florida delegation who will retire after the current session of Congress, has never been a Trump supporter and refused to endorse his presidential bid. She called “white supremacists, neo-Nazis and anti-Semites the antithesis of our American values. There are no ‘other sides’ to hatred and bigotry.”
In neighboring District 26, Carlos Curbelo, who won in a Democratic district, criticized Trump for saying there “is moral equivalency between manifestation for or against # White supremacy.”
The more competitive the district, the more likely the Republican member of the Florida congressional delegation would criticize the president. The safer the district, the less critical they were of Trump’s comments.
Congressman DeSantis, representing the Palm Coast and a possible Republican gubernatorial candidate, called the act of the car driver who plowed into a crowd of protesters “an act of terrorism” and DOJ should seek stiff sentence for the killer.” DeSantis refused to criticize Trump’s comments saying that critics of the president would “find ways to criticize him no matter what he does.”
Hurricane Harvey: a picture is worth a thousand words
This shows what people are made of when their fellow citizens and loved ones need help.
