Staff Reports
Can Congress undo deal that saves ZTE?
Despite it being the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, most Americans were likely unaware of the Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE. If Republican Sen. Marco Rubio has his say, and he is taking full advantage of the opportunity, that could change in the coming days.
In March it was revealed ZTE had violated U.S. export laws involving North Korea and Iran, leading the Trump administration to place crippling sanctions on an important cog in the Chinese economy. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has personally lobbied President Donald Trump for relief.
Rubio and some of his colleagues have railed against the thought of giving ZTE any breaks, calling them a national security threat. With Trump also placing tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, Rubio and others are opposed to any link between ZTE and trade negotiations with China.
The two-term Republican has also railed for months about Chinese espionage and the theft of intellectual property. He also fears ZTE could use unfair practices to overtake U.S. companies.
On Thursday, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced a deal had been reached to allow ZTE to get back in business. He described the agreement as “the largest penalty [the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security] has ever levied” and said they impose “unprecedented compliance measures” on ZTE.
The agreement included a $1 billion fine and other penalties.
It did not take Rubio long to react. He quickly tweeted “This ‘deal’ with #ZTE may keep them from selling to Iran and North Korea. That’s good. But it will do nothing to keep us safe from corporate & national security espionage. That is dangerous. Now Congress will need to act to keep America safe from #China.”
With Trump heading for a summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in Singapore next week, speculation has increased that Xi’s assistance with Kim may have been tied to a ZTE deal. That will become clearer once the results, or lack thereof, play out following the meeting.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated Democrats would try to undo the executive action, but that will be an uphill fight. Finding the necessary two-thirds majorities to override a certain presidential veto would be hard to achieve.
In other words, there may not be enough Rubios out there on the GOP side.
Nelson, Thune have a few more questions for Zuckerberg
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg may have thought he finished interacting with Congress for the time being, but Sen. Bill Nelson and others are saying “not so fast.” Nelson, the Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Chairman John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, have a few more questions.
Thune and Nelson wrote to Zuckerberg this week asking about a New York Times story about impermissible access to private user’s date. Facebook’s denial of impropriety or negligence prompted the Senators’ letter.
“Given the Committee’s ongoing oversight of Facebook’s data privacy and security practices in the wake of the revelations surrounding Cambridge Analytica earlier this year, we write to request a further explanation of this issue,” they said.
The Senators then asked for specific answers to five questions prompted by the Times’ story. Most focus on sharing agreements the company signed with device manufacturers.
In a tweet, Nelson said: “Americans deserve to know what data security safeguards are in place and whether Facebook adequately protected user information from unauthorized use and storage.”
Rubio blasts Obama administration for Iran deception
On Wednesday, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued a majority reporting finding the Obama Administration authorized Iran to access the U.S. financial system, then misleading the public and Congress. Rubio and other Republicans jumped on the news.
Among other things, the report points to former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who appeared before Congress in 2015 and 2016 while the complicated machinations of transferring billions to Iran were taking shape. Lew did not disclose what many call the improper access to the U.S. system.
“This report reveals that the Obama Administration misled Congress and the American people about going beyond the nuclear deal’s terms to grant Iran’s terror-sponsoring regime access to the U.S. financial system,” Rubio said in a statement released by his office.
The unfreezing of Iranian assets was one of the provisions of the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama Administration.
Rubio recalled urging Lew in early 2016 to block Iran from accessing the U.S. system. Lew assured Congress “The administration has not been and is not planning to grant Iran access to the U.S. financial system.”
Democrats scoffed at the report with Ranking Democrat Thomas Carper of Delaware saying the Obama administration “followed the law” and made an agreement that halted Iran’s advance toward nuclear weapons. “That’s what leaders do,” he said.
Trump names first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney in South Florida
For the first time, a woman will serve as the top federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida. On Thursday, Trump nominated Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan to be the next U.S. Attorney.
She replaces Benjamin Greenberg who was appointed just six months ago. The Southern District of Florida, stretching from Key West to Fort Pierce, has a national reputation for prosecuting major drug-trafficking, fraud and terrorism cases.
Fajardo Orshan had the support of Gov. Rick Scott, who had appointed her to the bench in Miami-Dade. She has previous experience as a state prosecutor, but not the federal justice system.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Florida International University and her law degree from Nova Southeastern’s Shepard Broad Law Center. Her nomination now goes to the U.S. Senate for confirmation.
Dunn, Webster among Republicans thanking Trump for signing veterans’ bill
On Wednesday, Trump signed the VA MISSION Act, which targets long delays in veterans receiving medical care. The bipartisan measure passed the House 347-70 and the Senate by a 92-5 vote.
Republicans were quick to praise Trump’s action, including Central Florida Republican Daniel Webster. In an op-ed on FoxNews.com, Webster described the bill as a “victory for veterans.”
“Veterans fought for the freedoms of complete strangers, they fought for individuals they never met,” he wrote. “They fought for the oppressed, for their parents, for friends and neighbors, for their own children and grandchildren to come, for you and me. We owe our veterans a debt we can never repay.”
Webster was one of four Florida Republicans who signed on as co-sponsors of the House legislation. Joining him were John Rutherford of Jacksonville, Neal Dunn of Panama City, and Bilirakis. Rubio co-sponsored the Senate version which became law.
“Today with President Trump, we took a big step in improving care and choice for our veterans,” said Dunn. “The VA MISSION Act gives certainty to our veterans, increasing benefits to our nation’s heroes and expanding options to seek care outside of the VA.”
Media pans Bilirakis Women’s Summit
On Saturday, Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis from Palm Harbor is holding what is billed as the annual Women’s Summit. The event will feature University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft, who “will discuss her unique experience as a woman who rose to a position of power leading one of the nation’s fastest-growing universities for almost two decades.
Among the topics on the agenda are “Finding a Work/Life Balance,” “Becoming Involved in Government,” “Community Health Care Resources,” and “Women of Faith.” Media previews of the event painted a narrow picture of the agenda.
Two of the 12 agenda items are “Community Gardening,” and “Losing Weight and Pursuing Wellness.” The Tampa Bay Times asked readers “So what are the critical issues facing women that Bilirakis will highlight in breakout sessions? Gardening, weight loss and ‘a woman’s guide to financial planning,’ according to the event flier.”
The Hill newspaper took a similar approach. Neither included a link to the flier containing the other topics, nor mentioned Genshaft’s role.
A Bilirakis spokeswoman said the Community Gardening topic was not about growing flowers, but growing communities. Bilirakis said the issues came from a “stakeholder session” he held four years ago.
The summit begins at 10:30 a.m. at East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs.
Castor calls out delegation Republicans on discharge petition
Much has been written of the discharge petition intended to force votes on pending legislation designed to legalize undocumented young immigrants known as DREAMers. Among the movement’s leaders in the House is Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Kendall.
Tampa Democrat Kathy Castor has been a vocal advocate for DREAMers, specifically the DREAM Act that would put them on a path to citizenship. Three other bills would be affected by the petition.
All Democrats are signing the petition and Republicans are beginning to come on board slowly. Castor is trying to help put the effort over the top. In addition to pointing out the effort is “only three signatures away from forcing a vote,” she is calling out delegation colleagues who have yet to sign.
“View a list of my Florida colleagues who have and have not joined me in signing and supporting this discharge petition,” she said in a newsletter to constituents.
In addition to Curbelo, delegation Republicans signing the petition are Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami.
Castor added that gaining enough signatures will “overcome the refusal of Speaker (Paul) Ryan to allow a vote on the DREAM Act.”
T. Rooney sides with Ryan, FBI in “Spygate” controversy; Gaetz reacts
Several Republicans, including Rep. Tom Rooney of Okeechobee, have chosen not to run for re-election his year. Many are going quietly, but do not count Rooney among those.
In one of the many Russia investigation spinoffs known as “Spygate,” Trump has tweeted about an embedded spy in his 2016 campaign. That notion has backing among many Republicans, but a slowly growing number, including Rooney, say that is not true.
“What is the point of saying that there was a spy in the campaign when there was none?” Rooney said in an interview with POLITICO on Wednesday. “You know what I’m saying? It’s like, ‘Let’s create this thing to tweet about knowing that it’s not true.’ … Maybe it’s just to create more chaos, but it doesn’t really help the case.”
Until recently, South Carolina Republican Trey Gowdy was the only Republican to hold a different meaning of the word “spy.” On Wednesday, speaker Paul Ryan joined Gowdy in saying the FBI “did what it was supposed to do.”
Now add Rooney, a key member of the House Intelligence Committee. He expects to receive significant criticism from within his party.
“Look, if you want to disagree with what we were briefed on and say that it was a spy? That’s fine, I guess. We would just disagree with that,” he said. “And if that makes us RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) because we have a different opinion about what the FBI was doing, then I guess we’re RINOs.”
Other Republicans are waiting for more information from the FBI and the Justice Department before weighing in. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Fort Walton Beach blasted all three without naming names.
“It is shameful to see House Republican Leadership emphasize support for FBI and DOJ intelligence collection on the Trump Campaign, Gaetz said in a statement. “Our leadership should be setting impeachment hearings for those who refuse to produce documents. Instead, some are carrying water for a Justice Department that has already resisted congressional oversight, misrepresented material facts to a FISA court, improperly redacted documents and failed to disclose spying on a presidential campaign. Sad!”
Deutch joins with Hirono in effort to expand social security
Under the backdrop that Social Security benefits are at risk within two decades, Deutch and Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie K. Hirono renewed their efforts to convince Congress to strengthen and improve the Social Security Program. The Social Security Administration (SSA) released its annual Trustees Report this week, which indicated that the program can meet its obligations now, but improvements should still be made.
Deutch and Hirono are blaming the GOP tax cuts for clouding the program’s future.
“When Congressional Republicans sold their tax scam to the American people they left out the fact that while the windfalls mostly line the pockets of corporations and the wealthy, the deficits they used to pay for them will fuel their threats to cut Social Security,” Deutch said. “Now is the time Congress should prepare for the future, not by threatening workers’ benefits,
“I’m proud to lead the fight to protect and preserve Social Security with Senator Hirono. No cuts. No retirement age increases. No chained-CPI.”
Last year, Deutch and Hirono reintroduced the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act, which would strengthen and improve the Social Security program by “restoring fairness” in contributions and providing more accurate measures to determine annual cost of living for beneficiaries.
“Social Security continues to serve as the cornerstone of retirement for millions of individuals and families around the country, including thousands in Hawaii who rely on the program every day to survive,” Hirono said. “I will continue to fight for working and middle-class families to ensure that their hard-earned benefits are preserved, and to oppose efforts to privatize Social Security and Medicare.”
New ad applauds Curbelo’s climate change efforts
In his race for re-election, Republican Rep. Curbelo of Kendall is the beneficiary of a new ad highlighting his efforts on behalf of climate change. The 30-second spot, released by the Alliance for Climate Solutions, replays parts of a speech that he gave on the House floor regarding the conversation around climate change.
“Enough of the demagoguery. Enough of the fact-less conversation.” Curbelo said. “Let’s focus on what’s happening in the world. And let’s try to make this situation better.”
“Neither the deniers or the alarmists have much to offer. It’s the men and women who are willing to sit at the table and have a sober conversation that can really help solve this problem,” he said.
All of this is an effort to thank Curbelo for his work on the Climate Change is Real Act, a bill on which he is a co-sponsor. According to the bill it would “require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to reinstate information about climate change that was removed from, or redacted on, the Agency’s website, and for other purposes.”
Curbelo is the co-founder and co-chairman, along with Deutch, of the bipartisan Climate Change Solutions Caucus.
The ad can be seen by clicking the image below.
On this date in the headlines
June 8, 1982 — To cries of “Hear, Hear!” from members of Parliament, President Ronald Reagan saluted Britain’s fighting force in the Falkland Islands and challenged Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev to a “competition of ideas and values” through an exchange of television broadcasts.
Reagan’s speech was described as advancing issues such as freedom of the press, saying it would “be a march of freedom and democracy, which will leave Marxism and Leninism on the ash heap of history as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people.”
June 8, 2005 — Republican Rep. Katherine Harris, Florida’s most famous member of Congress, declared her candidacy for the U.S. Senate, hoping to unseat Bill Nelson, the only remaining statewide elected Democrat. Harris, the controversial former Secretary of State whose name became synonymous with the 2000 presidential election, made her intentions known through telephone calls to reporters by consultant Adam Goodman.
As Secretary of State in 2000, Harris pushed to halt the recount in several Florida counties against the wishes of supporters of Democratic Vice-President Al Gore. Eventually, the courts intervened.
Facebook and hackers
This week’s issue included the news of a letter from Nelson and Thune to Facebook’s Zuckerberg regarding personal data security. The social media giant argues they have done nothing wrong, but the letter went out anyway.
The contents were in the public domain within minutes, but whether it actually went out in snail mail is unclear. Just in case, Nelson’s and Thune’s committee staff put the street address of Facebook’s corporate headquarters in Silicon Valley on the address line. It is:
1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025
We’re not making this up.
Until Tuesday …
