Delegation for 1.29.21: Filibuster ends? — abortion limits — debt ceiling — drilling ban — algae

Filibuster future?

The filibuster remains both one of the most sacrosanct mechanisms of the U.S. Senate — and an extremely controversial tool. 

It makes for great drama — like the climax for Jimmy Stewart’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and plots to episodes of The West Wing and Scandal. 

But the filibuster has also eternally frustrated majorities of lawmakers interested in delivering action instead of gridlock.

Congress has used the filibuster throughout history to delay legislation or make a point.

Segregationist Strom Thurmond set a record for a single-person standing filibuster when he tried to block portions of the Civil Rights Act, using the means to a racist end. Infamous Louisiana power broker Huey Long fought the New Deal using the tool. More recently, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul took to the podium for 15 hours to object to John Brennan’s confirmation as CIA director over drone policy. Notably, all three instances made headlines but, in the end, failed to stop the targeted policy.

More often, it’s the threat of a filibuster that ground the Senate to sloth speed. The need for 60 votes for cloture on debate meant many partisan actions have not moved in a closely divided Senate. 

Last year, Democrats during Donald Trump’s term used the ability to extend the debate to secure the CARES Act’s provisions and blocking funding for Trump’s border wall.

Just three years ago, Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked the “nuclear option” to do away with the filibuster on judicial confirmations over a Supreme Court confirmation. But living now with the title of Minority Leader in a 50-50 Senate, he fought bitterly over an organizational resolution, demanding assurances Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer won’t dispose of the filibuster and strip the minority of this treasured tool. Unsurprisingly, Florida’s Senate delegation — both Republicans — also made clear they see value in the filibuster.

Sen. Marco Rubio, a Miami Republican, notably signed a bipartisan letter favoring the preservation of extended debate on the floor. He’s pulled up quotes from now-President Joe Biden, who experienced life in the majority and minority as a Senator for decades before working in the White House, in support of a provision that gives the minority a voice.

“President Biden made clear he still opposes getting rid of the Senate filibuster,” Rubio tweeted this week. “So it should not be hard for Democratic Senate leaders to agree on this so we can move forward with getting the Senate to work.”

In the end, McConnell gave up a firm demand to enshrine the filibuster in the organizing resolution. Still, it was only after Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, moderates from West Virginia and Arizona, respectively, made clear they would vote against any action taken to suspend the rule.

Sen. Rick Scott, a Naples Republican, expressed gratitude to Schumer for not forcing the issue. “I want to thank my colleague Sen. Schumer for preserving long-standing Senate rule and ignoring calls from the radical Left to eliminate the filibuster,” he tweeted. “We have important work to do for American families, and protecting the filibuster maintains the order we need to succeed.”

But Democrats could always change their stance, and the organizing resolution makes no promises. For the first time in a decade, progressives in the Party, anxious to exploit Democratic control of the House, Senate and Oval Office, would like to spend their political capital on liberal reforms.

Then again, most Senators in this Congress know the plight of working in the minority, so they may be mindful of precedence. With Democrats holding control thanks only to a tiebreaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris, the tight Senate margin means a fragile hold.

Indeed, when Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy was briefly hospitalized earlier this week, it served as a stark reminder how events outside any Senator’s control could shift the balance of power in an instant.

Abortion limits tested? 

Rubio introduced legislation that could test Roe v. Wade’s limits in front of a conservative Supreme Court — if it passes. The Miami Republican filed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to outlaw abortions 20 weeks into a pregnancy, a point some studies show marks when a fetus can feel pain.

“It’s unconscionable that protecting the life of a newborn who survived a botched abortion is a partisan issue today, yet it speaks volumes about how radical extremism has become mainstream in today’s Democratic Party,” Rubio said. “Long gone are the days when Democrats preached that abortion should be ‘safe, legal, and rare.’ The Biden Administration believes American taxpayers should fund abortions in foreign nations, and the Democrat Party supports legal infanticide. I will always be a champion of the right to life — the most sacred and fundamental of all human rights.”

Rubio introduced the bill with Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and unrolled the legislation with 42 other Senate co-sponsors, including Scott.

Graham said the U.S. stands in a small group of nations, including North Korea and China, that allows abortion at such a late stage. “The United States should not be in that club,” he said. “I don’t believe abortion, five months into pregnancy, makes us a better nation.”

The list, which comes courtesy of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, also includes Canada, The Netherlands, Singapore and South Korea, all of which allow abortion unrestricted at 20 weeks.

However, it would allow abortions at that stage of pregnancy under certain conditions, such as threatening a mother’s health.

Freezing the debt ceiling

Congress in August will vote again on raising the nation’s debt ceiling. Scott started to make the case early that should not happen. 

The Naples Republican sent a letter to Senate colleagues suggesting America’s $27-trillion federal debt has already grown out of control. 

“We can’t forget that this year’s federal budget deficit will be the largest in the history of our nation,” he wrote, “in excess of the cumulative deficits for the first 200 years of our country’s existence.”

The debt grew to its current level in part because of enormous federal spending to provide relief during a coronavirus-driven recession. 

“We still have work to do, but we cannot keep suspending the debt limit and ignoring our fiscal problems,” Scott continued. “We can work together to fund our priorities, including the military, securing the border, battling COVID-19 and getting the vaccines out quickly, and preserving important programs like Medicare and Social Security. We must find a sustainable path forward that includes spending reforms such as concrete, enforceable limitations on deficit spending.”

Scott suggested the Aug. 1 expiration of the current limit provides an opportunity to implement a fiscal discipline that doesn’t come naturally in Washington. 

“Congress has a long history of passing comprehensive legislation to both address the debt limit while also imposing crucial deficit and debt reduction measures,” he said. “With the expiration of the budget caps this year, we have a great opportunity to revisit reforms and finally work together to put our nation on a successful fiscal path. But this can only be achieved if we get our debt under control. I fear that if we do not, we will soon face a day of reckoning beyond our comprehension.”

Webster honors Bean

Clermont Republican Dan Webster may be more of a fixture in Washington these days, but he keeps an eye on Florida’s capital city as well. On Wednesday, the Congressman announced the 2020 Daniel Webster Leadership Award to Florida Senate President Pro Tempore Aaron Bean, a Fernandina Beach Republican.

The award each year recognizes individuals for a commitment to preventing child abuse and neglect. The honoree gets decided through communication between Webster’s Congressional office, Healthy Families Florida, and the Ounce of Prevention Fund. Healthy Families Florida came into existence while Webster served as Florida House Speaker in 1998.

“Throughout his Legislative service, Aaron Bean has been dedicated to protecting children and ensuring that they have hope for a bright future. He has consistently promoted positive change in our child welfare system and promoted a focus on preventing abuse and neglect,” Webster said.

The honor doesn’t always go to a politician, but this year Webster honored the longtime lawmaker in Bean’s last term in the Senate. 

Bean said he was humbled by the award.

“Protecting children is one of our most important jobs,” he said. “Prevention programs not only save money but can completely transform the life of a child. It is my mission to help families and children not just survive, but thrive.” 

Doug Sessions, president and CEO of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, praised both Webster and Bean as “advocates who recognize the long-lasting benefits of prevention services.” Chad Poppell, Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary, praised the organizations giving the award and Bean. “Healthy Families Florida is proven to prevent abuse and neglect and is an important partner in our mission,” Poppell said. “On behalf of Florida’s children and families, I am grateful to President Pro Tempore Bean for his support of programs that strengthen families and empower communities.” 

Expanding Tricare

If there’s one issue where St. Augustine Republican Michael Waltz believes Congress can come together, it’s providing for America’s servicemen and veterans. He’s sponsoring the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act with Rep. Elaine Luria, a Virginia Democrat and part of the veteran-filled For Country Caucus.

The legislation would allow dependents on Tricare to stay on parents’ insurance until age 26.

Waltz, an Army veteran and currently a colonel in the National Guard, said now more than ever, it’s essential to provide substantial benefits to soldiers, especially with increasing reliance on branches like the National Guard. 

“The Guard has been hot and heavy in the news lately and actively utilized like never before,” he said. “We need to do what we can to take care of their families back home.”

Luria noted the American Care Act requires all private insurers in the Health Insurance Marketplace to allow dependents to stay on insurance plans through age 26, so there’s an inequity denying the same access to the children of soldiers on Tricare. 

“We’re trying to fix an issue of parity,” she said.

It could be an expensive fix. The Congressional Budget Office estimates extending the Tricare access could cost $125 million per year. 

But there are enormous intangible benefits, Luria and Waltz said. Waltz believes the disparity between benefits in Tricare and insurance provided through private employers has created a recruitment and retention issue for the U.S. military. 

Reunited?

Estela Juarez of Davenport earned national attention for a letter read at the Democratic National Convention slamming Trump’s immigration policy. 

Now, Kissimmee Democrat Darren Soto wants Biden to bring her family back together. The Congressman appealed to the new President, asking that Estela’s mother, Alejandra, deported in 2018, be granted parole and permission to reenter the U.S.

“I am grateful for your commitment to undo the harm posed on immigrant communities across the nation by the previous administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policies,” Soto wrote. “These policies have significantly impacted constituents in my district, such as the Juarez family, a military family who faced the heartbreaking reality of family separation.”

Alejandra’s husband, Temo Juarez, previously served in the Marines and Army National Guard. The couple raised two daughters in Davenport, 19-year-old Pamela and Estela. The daughters were both born in the U.S. But Alejandra, who came to the U.S. undocumented more than 20 years ago, was forced to leave the country.

Last year, Estela expressed her thoughts in a video at the virtual DNC. “Every day, you deport more moms and dads and take them away from kids like me,” she said. 

Estela is now making another emotional appeal, this one to a Democratic President.

“My father served his country as a soldier, like your son Beau,” she wrote. “ … Ever since my Mom left, I have a hole in my heart. I know you have one, too. I am deeply sorry about the loss of your son. I wish you didn’t have to go through such loss. I feel blessed that my mother is still alive. I see her every day when we video chat. I can see her face and talk to her, but I cannot touch her, hug her or feel her arms around me. My dad told me that he is hoping that as President, you will reunite my family by asking the Department of Homeland Security to grant my mom humanitarian parole.”

To watch Estela’s DNC video, click on the image below:

Castor celebrates drilling ban

While there’s legislation filed would extend a moratorium on drilling in the Gulf, Biden satisfied many in the delegation on Wednesday with an executive order nixing new leases. Tampa Democrat Kathy Castor applauded the move.

“President Biden’s early action to pause new oil and gas leasing in public waters and launch a rigorous review of all existing leasing and permitting related to fossil fuel development is good news for Florida,” she said. “This is an important step toward safeguarding our beaches, economy, and way of life. But executive orders can be reversed, so I’m more determined than ever to pass a law to make permanent the ban on drilling off Florida’s coasts.”

In the last Congress, Castor sponsored a ban on drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico that passed in the Democrat-controlled House. The bulk of Florida’s delegation joined in that vote; Rubio filed a Senate version, but that went nowhere. 

Rubio and Scott filed legislation again this year.

For decades, various circumstances helped keep rigs off Florida’s shores, whether it was the BP oil spill or the political opportunism that comes with Florida being a swing state. At least for the moment, the shoreline won’t see drills on the horizon for a few years, and that’s a victory Castor happily celebrates. 

But she also suggested relying on executive fiat should not be Plan A.

“The Congressional moratorium currently in place that protects waters up to 235 miles off the west coast of Florida from oil drilling will expire in June 2022,” she notes. “While I’m grateful for President Biden’s announcement, Congress must act now to pass my bipartisan legislation, the Florida Coastal Protection Act, into law which would make permanent the moratorium on oil drilling off Florida’s coast. It passed the House last Congress with a bipartisan majority and sat on Mitch McConnell’s desk without a vote. Florida’s beautiful beaches and our economy are tied to clean water and clean air, and it’s critical the Congress takes decisive action to fully protect Florida’s economy and environment.”

Crist, Rutherford stay 

St. Petersburg Democrat Charlie Crist will keep his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, at least for the next two years. That leaves the former Governor in a strong position to barrel some pork for Florida. 

Crist will mainly sit on three subcommittees under the Appropriations umbrella: Defense; Commerce, Justice and Science; and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. 

On the latter, he will work with subcommittee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Sunrise Democrat, to keep military funding flowing toward the Sunshine State.

“I’m proud to continue serving my bosses, the people of Florida’s 13th Congressional District, through my role on the Appropriations Committee,” Crist said. “I’m especially thankful to be the newest member on the subcommittee overseeing funding on some of the most critical programs for our neighbors — like improving military family housing and expanding assistance for veterans — under the leadership of my friend and colleague Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz,” Crist said. “On this Committee, I will continue fighting to better the lives of Pinellas families, small business owners, and veterans. Ready to get to work to deliver on the issues that matter most to my constituents.”

Since joining Appropriations in 2019, Crist helped secure $13 million for research on red tide, $35 million for veteran treatment courts, and $5 million for National Cancer Institutes, including Moffitt Cancer Center. 

On the minority side, Jacksonville Republican John Rutherford also kept his seat on the panel. He will also sit on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, giving the state a powerful voice. 

Rutherford also sits on subcommittees for Homeland Security and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

“During my time on the Committee, it’s been an honor to support successful federal projects across the country and help secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for Northeast Florida,” Rutherford said. “I remain committed to safeguarding taxpayer dollars, eliminating waste, and working in a bipartisan way to support our nation’s priorities.”.

Mast, Soto attack algae

Combating algal blooms has become a defining issue in Stuart Republican Brian Mast’s House career, and he’s as focused on the matter as ever. 

In this session, Soto joins him in the fight. 

The two Florida Congressmen reintroduced the South Florida Coastal Waters Act to require a federal assessment and action plan to reduce harmful algae in the Greater Everglades region, along with the St. Lucie Estuary and Indian River Lagoon. Rubio filed a Senate companion.

“We continued to make great progress in our fight for clean water last Congress with legislation to reduce discharges from Lake Okeechobee and accelerate [the] construction of the EAA Southern Storage Reservoir, but there is still much more to be done,” said Mast, who this week also pushed for changes in discharge schedules. 

“Our waterways continue to be decimated by harmful algal blooms — some more than 60 times more toxic than the EPA’s human health standard — yet there has never been a federal Everglades-specific analysis designed to combat these algal blooms in the first place.”

Mast worked on algal issues in the past with former Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, with the lawmakers in 2018 passing legislation to authorize research funding on what causes toxic outbreaks of harmful algae. But this bill would be the first to focus that research attention specifically on the Everglades.

“For years, we’ve seen how harmful algal blooms have decimated ecosystems in the Greater Everglades region, devastating the local economy and environment,” Soto said. “Without a coordinated assessment and action plan, contaminated waterways will continue to threaten our public health and the Florida way of life. Our bill directs urgently-needed federal funding and resources to advance [the] restoration and improve water quality throughout the Sunshine State.”

Rubio promised to champion the matter in the upper chamber as well. “Harmful algal blooms can sicken Floridians, damage local economies, and devastate our ecosystems,” Rubio said. “We need to focus federal resources on understanding our blue-green algae and red tide problems in South Florida” and to develop an action plan to address these challenges meaningfully.

Greene gone?

South Florida Democrats Ted Deutch and Wasserman Schultz say they will back efforts in the House to punish or expel Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene over her violent remarks and conspiracy-laden past.

Greene also backs the QAnon theory and voiced support for executing elected Democratic officials. Video uncovered Wednesday shows Greene haranguing Parkland survivor David Hogg over his gun control advocacy. She’s also backed a lie that the 2018 mass shooting, which killed 17 people, was a planned “false flag” event.

California Democrat Jimmy Gomez now aims to expel Greene from the House for those past comments. Democrats expressed outrage GOP leadership allowed Greene a committee assignment.

On Thursday, Deutch — whose district covers Parkland, the site of the 2018 attack — said he’d support removing Greene from that committee and Congress altogether.

“I don’t believe that she should have the platform of the Education and Labor Committee,” Deutch said, citing her “disgusting” treatment of Parkland families.

“Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy should take her off the House Education and Labor Committee. And do I also agree that she doesn’t belong in the United States House of Representatives? Absolutely.”

Wasserman Schultz announced she’ll seek to remove Greene from committee assignments if Republican leaders don’t act.

“As soon as possible, which I believe will be [Friday] morning, I’ll be introducing a privileged resolution — just in case Kevin McCarthy, as expected, doesn’t do the right thing — to remove her from her committee assignments,” she said.

Deutch said he would support that resolution.

Greene has refused to apologize for her remarks, blaming media outlets instead for reporting her own words.

On this day

Jan. 29, 2002 — “George W. Bush describes Iraq, Iran and North Korea as ‘axis of evil’” via History.com — Just over a year into his presidency and several months into a war which would eventually become the longest in American history, Bush identified the three countries as the major nodes of a wide-ranging and dangerous network of terrorists and other bad actors threatening the United States. The speech outlined the logic behind Bush’s “War on Terror,” a series of military engagements that would define U.S. foreign policy for the next two decades.

Jan. 29, 1850 — “Henry Clay’s last compromise” via United State Senate Archives — Clay rose in the Old Senate Chamber to begin the most critical debate of his career and to forge one last compromise. A Whig from Kentucky, the “Great Compromiser,” entered the Senate in 1806, served intermittently over four decades, and became a leading voice in the Senate. He resigned in 1842 to run for President but returned in 1849 to seek a compromise solution to the nation’s growing sectional strife — to avoid civil war. The 72-year-old statesman proposed eight resolutions to settle the dispute over territories acquired from the Mexican War. The key issue was whether states carved out of those territories would allow or prohibit slavery.