Staff Reports
Next seven months will be a game of Washington small ball
After a two-week break for the Easter recess, Congress is back in Washington. As they return, there are a couple of items that will generate news, but big legislation is unlikely now and over the remaining seven months before the November elections.
There will be no more attempts to repeal Obamacare, or anything resembling the tax cut bill approved in late December. There will assuredly be no more massive spending bills like the one passed two weeks ago.
A group of Republican conservatives believe that the bill likely cost them the majority by depressing their base. A symbolic vote calling for a balanced budget will have to suffice as a fig leaf to voters.
Gov. Rick Scott started the week by announcing he is challenging three-term Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Scott used Facebook as the tool of choice to broadcast the formal launch of his campaign from Orlando.
Ironically, Facebook will make big news this week when CEO Mark Zuckerberg comes to Capitol Hill to appear before three committees beginning Wednesday. Some in the delegation will have the chance to question him over the recent flap involving the use of private data (see Castor below).
The other big news involves confirmation hearings for critical nominations made by President Donald Trump. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says hearings for a new Secretary of State and Director of the CIA will take place later this week.
Current CIA Director Mike Pompeo is Trump’s choice to succeed Rex Tillerson at State. Pompeo’s Deputy at the CIA, Gina Haspel, was tapped to replace him.
She is the most controversial and will be asked about her role in “black site” operations and “enhanced interrogation” techniques.
White House physician Ronny L. Jackson, Trump’s nominee to succeed David Shulkin at the Veterans’ Administration is not scheduled for a hearing, but will begin to market himself among Senators.
GOP Sen. Marco Rubio will have the rare opportunity to question both Pompeo and Haspel. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he will have the chance to ask Haspel about her record in the CIA. The committee is scheduled for a closed-door hearing on Thursday.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will conduct a public hearing on Pompeo on Thursday morning. Rubio is also a member of that committee.
When Trump made the announcement nominating Haspel and Pompeo, Rubio predicted both would be confirmed. That view is not shared by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who said he would oppose both.
Paul is also a member of Foreign Relations, meaning a “no” vote would likely result in the committee voting not to recommend Pompeo’s confirmation. Rubio believes that should not be the final word.
“(Secretary of State) is an important position,” Rubio said. “I don’t think the country is at the stage now where it can afford to go for months without stability there. My sense is that irrespective of the vote in committee, it will be brought to the floor for the whole body to weigh in.”
Jackson, who has served as a physician for both President Barack Obama and Trump, is set to begin his “charm offensive.” He will personally visit Senators who will decide whether he advances to oversee health care for tens of thousands of military veterans, or continue to monitor the health of his prime patient, the Commander-in-Chief.
Over the next seven months, big items are not likely, but there will be plenty of weekly small ball partisan fights like these to fill in the gaps.
Scott makes Senate race vs. Nelson official
To the surprise of no one, Gov. Scott officially took on the challenge to deprive three-term Democratic Sen. Nelson a fourth. It will be one of the top three Senate races to watch this fall.
Scott is a rare Republican these days, choosing to embrace the support of Trump instead of keeping his distance. He does not mind being called a “Donald Trump Republican.”
The outgoing Republican governor spent more time on Monday talking about who he is and what he will do instead of a steady pounding of Nelson. He did say Nelson has “done nothing” on high profile issues, but was anxious to talk about jobs and being a Washington outsider.
He concluded the Orlando announcement rally with the familiar slogan of “Let’s Get to Work.”
Those opposed to Scott’s entry into the race were waiting.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) blasted out an email called “Fast Facts about Rick Scott & the Florida Senate Race” hours before Scott’s announcement. The email says Scott will have plenty to answer for, basically accusing him of corruption and being responsible for the deaths of 14 senior citizens at a Hollywood nursing home during Hurricane Irma.
DSCC Executive Director Mary Myers said Florida’s counties lost enough jobs during Scott’s tenure to put them at “the bottom of the nation,” while he made himself “$46 million richer.”
Myers also predicted Scott would have a hard time matching Nelson’s record of “putting Florida first.”
Almost any current poll shows this to be a close race. There are seven months between now and the election, which is plenty of time for swings in both directions.
Rubio blasts Syria, Russia over gas attack
With all evidence pointing to a Syrian government gas attack, Trump has indicated a proper response was in the works. He also blamed former President Obama for not enforcing a “red line” directed toward the Syrian government after the first attack traced to President Bashar al-Assad.
Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain was quick to blame Trump for recently saying the U.S. would soon be pulling out of Syria. McCain believes that was an invitation to attack.
Republican Rubio puts the blame squarely on Syria and its allies.
“The Assad regime has committed its latest war crime by carrying out yet another chemical weapons attack that has reportedly killed dozens of civilians, including children,” Rubio said in a statement released just hours after the attack. “The world must hold Assad and his enablers in Russia and Iran responsible for this.”
Syria denied carrying out the bombing, while Russia called it fake news. The attack came one year — almost to the day — after a similar attack killed more than 80 Syrians.
After Zuckerberg meeting, Nelson warns Americans about losing privacy
Florida’s senior Senator is concerned that social media may be doing far more harm than good. On Monday he warned of consequences if policymakers do not pay attention to the potential of personal data getting into the hands of unscrupulous sources.
“If we don’t watch out for social media and platforms like Facebook and the mistakes that they’ve made in the past, then no American is going to have any privacy anymore,” Nelson said after meeting with Facebook founder and CEO Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg is on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers before his appearance before three committees beginning on Wednesday.
When asked to describe the meeting, Nelson said he and Zuckerberg had a “heart to heart.”
Rubio, Nelson want farmer protection in new NAFTA
Negotiations with Canada and Mexico to renew the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are fully underway. While issues such as manufacturing are under discussion, both Nelson and Rubio have an issue involving Mexico they want addressed.
Rubio and Nelson are concerned about Florida farmers being undercut by the dumping of fruits and vegetables from Mexico. They wrote to the leadership of the Senate Finance Committee to seek assistance for Florida farmers.
“We write to you to seek your firm commitment to support the inclusion in NAFTA of a mechanism to allow U.S. fruit and vegetable growers to use seasonal data to seek regional relief in anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) issues,” they wrote. “But our exports have succeeded at the expense of Florida farmers who have been systematically undercut at home by Mexican agricultural subsidies, poor labor standards, and seasonal dumping.”
Nelson will use his influence as a member of the Finance Committee, while Rubio will co-sponsor the Self Initiation Trade Enforcement Act.
“Including this in a modernized NAFTA will ensure fair competition for Florida’s farmers to continue our nation with products that’s ‘Fresh from Florida,’” Rubio said in a news release.
Bilirakis applauds CMS step to prevent identity theft
With instances of identity theft, especially among the elderly, an increasingly common crime, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have taken a step to protect more Americans from financial fraud. CMS will now begin distributing Medicare cards to new enrollees using a Medicare Identification Number instead of a Social Security number.
Palm Harbor Republican Gus Bilirakis has been championing this change for the past five years. He did not claim sole credit, saying the idea came from constituents, who repeatedly told him of their concerns about having the personal identifying information prominently placed on their card.
“Ronald Reagan once said that you can accomplish great things if you don’t care who gets the credit,” Bilirakis said in a news release. “Today, we are seeing a great example of that. This idea came directly from constituents in our community, as the best ideas usually do.”
Once he became a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee several years ago, Bilirakis filed the Medicare Abuse Prevention (MAP) Act in Congress. The legislation required Medicare identification cards to contain a Medicare ID Number rather than the participant’s Social Security number.
The idea has come full circle.
Castor anticipating Zuckerberg appearance before committee
The Facebook CEO will appear Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to talk about the swirling controversy involving the improper harvesting of private data. Tampa Democrat Kathy Castor, for one, cannot wait to talk to him.
“This hearing will help shed some light on critical consumer data privacy issues and help all Americans better understand what happens to their personal data online,” Castor said.
She asked her constituents for feedback on what they would like her to ask.
Also serving on the committee is Palm Harbor Republican Bilirakis.
Zuckerberg will first appear before the Senate Judiciary and Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday.
F. Rooney backs Trump call for National Guard border protection
As more than 1,000 marched toward the U.S. through Mexico, the president began to pursue the option of placing National Guard troops on the southern border. That option is starting to look more likely in border states other than California pending approval from state governors.
Among the delegation members weighing in on the issue is Naples Republican Francis Rooney. The first-term Congressman is a strong proponent of immigration enforcement.
“It is certainly within the president’s right to utilize the National Guard, and both Presidents Bush and Obama have done the same, but whatever we do now to interdict the large march from Honduras is a short-term fix,” Rooney said in a statement.
“Congress must provide a long-term solution that will fix both our border and our broken visa system, and I have worked hard to this end. About one-half of all people in the United States illegally right now came via our visa system, then overstayed. Incredibly, we have no process to enforce visa durations and detect unlawful overstays.”
Rooney has voted in favor of increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE and an increase in immigration judges to speed the deportation process. The house has passed several bills related to immigration which are still awaiting action from the Senate.
Diaz-Balart announces additional $790 million in HUD grants
Last week the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued an additional allocation of community block grants to assist in recovery from the 2017 season. Miami Republican Mario Diaz-Balart hailed the award, saying the funds will be for mitigation and preparedness for future natural disasters.
Florida received $790 million, bringing the state’s current total of Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to $1.4 billion. Diaz-Balart announced the first $615.9 million for Florida in November.
“The 2017 hurricane season left many parts of the United States and the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in total devastation,” Diaz-Balart said in a statement. “As a member of the Florida delegation and Appropriations Committee, I am proud of the work we accomplished to help Americans recover from these storms.”
That may not be the end of assistance to Florida. As the recovery process continues, HUD may reassess the need for any additional funding.
Ros-Lehtinen joins group of retiring Republicans unloading on Trump
A few retiring Republicans are beginning to take parting shots at Trump. Some are blaming the president for helping them decide not to seek re-election.
Among those offering final term criticism is Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami. She and others commented on Trump’s style featuring “disruption” and consistent “destabilizing.”
Ros-Lehtinen is among just three Republicans to call on embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to resign. Also, she called on the Trump administration to reconsider adding a question on citizenship to the 2020 census and again bristled at Trump’s description of Central American and African countries as s**tholes.
The veteran lawmaker from Miami offered the most flamboyant comments among those interviewed.
“I know what the problem is: we really haven’t seen the long form birth certificate of [Trump’s] hairpiece,” she said. “That would put you all at ease,”
Ros-Lehtinen also joked that she was going to help write a book about dealing with “the orange monster underneath my bed.”
Congressional Art Competition announced for 2018
A Capitol Hill tradition is back again. Several members of the delegation have announced their participation in the 2018 Congressional Art Competition.
Sponsored by The Congressional Institute, the competition recognizes and encourages artistic talent in the nation and each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
Participating districts select local winners, while a national ceremony announces overall winners. Those selected have their work displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year.
Deadline for submission may vary slightly depending on the Congressional district, but they are generally due later in February. Those interested should call their member of Congress for further details.
On this day in the headlines
April 10, 2003 — Freed from the fear of Saddam Hussein’s tyranny, Iraqis cheered Wednesday as U.S. Marines topped a giant bronze statue of the dictator in the heart of the nation’s capital. It was a symbolic end to Saddam’s regime, the last remnants of which seemed to have evaporated overnight as U.S. troops cemented their hold on the ancient city.
But President George W. Bush was not about to declare victory. “The war is not over,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. “As much as the president is pleased to see the progress of the military campaign and the Iraqi people finding freedom where they’re finding it, he remains very cautious because he knows there is a great danger that could still lie ahead.”
April 10, 2013 — President Obama’s most significant Florida supporter, Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schulz of Weston, is joining those questioning the travel to Cuba by two of Obama’s high-wattage supporters, Beyoncé’ and Jay-Z. She was not alone in that discomfort, sharing similar views with Republican Representatives Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart of Miami.
Late Monday night, another prominent Cuban-American political leader, Republican Rubio, followed Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart in condemning the trip. He issued a statement demanding the Obama administration explain how the trip was legal.
Illinois Democrat becomes first Senator to give birth while serving
With all the doom and gloom emanating from Capitol Hill, some good news emerged this week. Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth announced the birth of her daughter. On Monday Duckworth, 50, became the first Senator ever to give birth while serving. She now has two children.
Duckworth, elected in 2016, is a veteran of the Iraq War. In 2004, she lost both of her legs when enemy fire struck her helicopter. She says she is working to change Senate rules to allow her to bring the baby onto the Senate floor while they are in session.
“As tough as juggling the demands of motherhood and being a Senator can be, I’m hardly alone or unique as a working parent, and my children only make me more committed to doing my job and standing up for hardworking families everywhere.”
