Delegation for 12.16.22: Statehood — spying — censorship — payday

Statehood or bust?

The decision on whether Puerto Rico citizens will vote on statehood now lies with the Senate.

That’s after a historic, yet still partisan, vote passing the Puerto Rico Status Act (HR 8393).

The House bill cleared the lower chamber on a 233-191 vote, for the first time advancing the prospect of a binding vote on the island to decide whether Puerto Rico becomes a state, an independent nation, or a sovereign state with free association with the U.S.

Rep. Darren Soto, a Kissimmee Democrat, played a crucial role in crafting the bill with Rep. Raúl Grijalva, Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, and a handful of House Democrats.

“We had bipartisan negotiations with the great leader on the Republican side, Jenniffer González Colón, the very voice of the island of Puerto Rico, along with my colleagues, Nydia Velázquez, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and our great Chairman here and our leader,” Soto said. “It’s bipartisan. And just to make sure we had another nearly day-listening hearing meeting with stakeholders on the island after the draft was released.”

Still, the legislation only saw 16 Republicans cross the aisle to join all House Democrats in its passage. That number included Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Coral Gables Republican, and Rep. Bill Posey, a Rockledge Republican, but no other members of the Florida delegation.

“For too long, Puerto Ricans have not been allowed to determine their own political destinies, and this bill would allow them to do exactly that,” Salazar said in a statement. “Puerto Ricans should be able to decide whether they want to become a state, seek independence, or have independence with Free Association. The United States, in turn, should respect the democratic will of the Puerto Rican people and address this long-standing issue.”

The most frequently cited reason Republicans had for opposing the bill was the lack of an option on the ballot for the status quo: leaving Puerto Rico as a U.S. territory. But a host of concerns, from the percentage of Spanish speakers to the dilution of House representation in the 50 existing states, all earned mention on the floor.

The low support in Florida was a bit of a surprise. Florida is home to about 20% of the 5.6 million Puerto Rican Americans living now in the continental U.S., according to Pew Research. That’s the same percentage as New York.

Moreover, many members of Florida’s congressional delegation have supported statehood efforts in the past — but not this bill.

“Such consequential legislation must go through regular order, but unfortunately, House Democrats waited until the last possible minute, during a lame-duck session, to rush this bill that was negotiated behind closed doors,” said Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, a Hialeah Republican.

But what happens in the Senate? González Colón, Puerto Rico’s nonvoting member of the House and a Republican, gave an impassioned speech on the floor and will continue to advocate in the Senate. She notably endorsed Sen. Rick Scott, a Naples Republican, in his narrow election a couple of years ago.

Scott told the Miami Herald through a spokesperson that the decision to hold a vote during the lame-duck session will be decided by Senate Democratic leadership.

“Sen. Scott will continue to fight for our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico to make sure they are treated fairly,” Scott spokesperson Rosa Perez told the newspaper.

Sen. Marco Rubio, a Miami Republican, hasn’t spoken to the House’s final bill. But he voiced support in March 2021 when Soto first announced forthcoming legislation. “I urge my Senate colleagues to keep an open mind and learn more about statehood before taking a firm position in opposition,” he said then. “I will continue to do my part to one day achieve the 60 votes needed in the Senate for admission.”

What is still yet to be seen is if the final language in the bill keeps the support of Florida’s Senators, or if they find it as unpalatable as Florida’s House Republicans.

TikTok spy

Rubio has long criticized TikTok and discouraged Americans from downloading the app. Now he wants the software banned entirely.

The Miami Republican introduced the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP) Act. The legislation would prohibit the app from operating, effectively turning off the accounts of 80 million active users in the U.S.

The Senator is still concerned that ByteDance, the China-based parent company for the video-sharing platform, could make all data gathered through the app available to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“The federal government has yet to take a single meaningful action to protect American users from the threat of TikTok,” Rubio said. “This isn’t about creative videos — this is about an app that is collecting data on tens of millions of American children and adults every day. We know it’s used to manipulate feeds and influence elections. We know it answers to the People’s Republic of China. There is no more time to waste on meaningless negotiations with a CCP-puppet company. It is time to ban Beijing-controlled TikTok for good.”

While Rubio champions the bill in the Senate, bipartisan legislation is also in the House, filed by Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher and Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi.

“The bipartisan ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act is a strong step in protecting our nation from the nefarious digital surveillance and influence operations of totalitarian regimes,” Krishnamoorthi said. “Recent revelations surrounding the depth of TikTok’s ties to the CCP highlight the urgency of protecting Americans from these risks before it’s too late.”

Or censorship

At the same time, Sen. Rick Scott took to Senate letterhead to slam TikTok and other platforms for censoring content. He promised Congress would hold leaders accountable if they ever lied in hearings about measures taken to limit content.

Scott pointed to releases of internal Twitter communications since new owner Elon Musk bought the platform.

“The disturbing evidence of Big Tech’s meddling and censorship highlighted in recent ‘Twitter Files’ releases have demanded the attention of the Congress and the American people,” he wrote in letters to Meta, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.

Scott noted communication between the Joe Biden administration allowing for “takedown” requests, and evidence of subject matters being censored regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice, the U.S. withdrawal in Afghanistan and American engagement in Ukraine.

“Americans have a right to political speech, which is protected by the First Amendment regardless of whether such speech is critical of government policy. This sacred right, afforded to all American citizens, relies on the free exercise of speech without fear of government interference or intimidation,” he said.

Cash crops

In a sign of agriculture’s overarching importance to the Florida economy, Gainesville Republican Kat Cammack joined Soto to co-lead a letter seeking relief for specialty crop insurers.

The letter to Appropriations leaders in the House and Senate drew attention to spiking administrative and operating costs even as the price of specialty crops remain relatively stagnant. Complicating matters is a cap put in place by Congress in 2011 on reimbursements for those costs to insurance providers.

“We have seen the effects of this flawed funding design play out through recent years. Since the 2020 crop year, crop insurance funding for specialty crops will experience a nearly 40% cut, with Florida among the top five states to be hit the hardest,” the letter notes.

“The sharp rise in row crop prices due, in part, to the war in Ukraine has resulted in the continued downward pressure on specialty crop funding. These deep cuts are being made to funding levels that have already been flat since 2015, despite rising inflation and other factors. This situation is unsustainable and needs to be addressed before serious damage is done to the risk management infrastructure for specialty crops.”

Much of the Florida congressional delegation co-signed the letter, including Republicans Gus Bilirakis, Neal Dunn, Scott Franklin, Posey, Salazar, Greg Steube and Michael Waltz, and Democrats Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Al Lawson.

Protecting paradise

Florida’s eastern seaboard suffered bruising damage both from Hurricane Ian after it crossed Florida and went to sea, then weeks later from Hurricane Nicole as it made landfall in the state. Now Waltz wants greater protection on the coast.

The St. Augustine Republican sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Conor for beach renourishment and shoreline protection in Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns counties.

Waltz wants more dollars for the City of Daytona Beach Stormwater and Flood Protection Project.

“Storm surge from back-to-back hurricanes ravaged our beaches, dunes and coastal armoring. It’s clear that North Central Florida needs federal Army Corps of Engineers projects to protect our coastal communities,” Waltz said. “I continue to advocate for supplemental disaster assistance for Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. Once aid is signed into law, my goal is for the Biden Administration to fund these projects in Volusia, Flagler, and St Johns, which will be the Biden administration’s discretion.”

In addition to the Daytona Beach project, the Congressman specifically named the Volusia County Shore Protection Project, St Johns County’s Summer Haven shore protection, and ongoing projects for specific segments of shore in Flagler and St. Johns counties.

Reef madness

Provisions introduced by Soto as part of his Restoring Resilient Reefs Act (HR 160) also found a place in the defense budget.

This piece of legislation updates a Coral Reef program authorized in 2000 and provides five years of funding in grants to states for restoring and managing reef ecosystems.

“Our Florida coral reefs are national treasures that contain part of the most diverse ecosystems on planet Earth,” Soto said. “Time and time again, we’ve witnessed how the effects of climate change, overfishing, pollution, and development have threatened the vitality of coral reefs around our coasts. I’m thankful that our legislation was included in the FY23 NDAA and will help protect our environment — specifically our precious habitats for marine life. I look forward to seeing key federal programs reauthorized and funded to help stop the deterioration of our coral reefs. In Florida, our way of life certainly depends on it.”

Prior federal funding expired 15 years ago.

Screening terrorists

Steube said the Republican House needs to at once target one member of the Biden administration for removal. He wants to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The Sarasota Republican spoke at a news conference on Capitol Hill and accused the Cabinet member of failing to stop enemies of the state from entering the nation.

“I had the opportunity to serve our country in the military and I served as the chief of detainee operations for Multinational Division North, so I know a little something about fighting terrorism,” Steube said. “I can’t think of a higher crime than releasing known terrorists into our country.”

Steube expressed alarm at agencies under Mayorkas and slammed the Secretary for allowing 98 known terrorists to come into the country under his watch. That’s a matter Mayorkas refused to discuss in a recent House Judiciary Committee, on which Steube serves.

Of note, the statistic Steube cited appears to be the 98 terrorists apprehended by Border Patrol agents through a screening process using the Terrorist Screening Database.

ESG free

Whether a company limits emissions or promotes social justice should have no bearing on whether they receive federal contracts, according to Naples Republican Byron Donalds. He just filed The ESG Rule Prevention Act, which would prohibit the administration from imposing a disclosure requirement on environmental, social, and corporate governance practices.

“It’s no secret that superfluous decrees and regulations bog down our nation, and the addition of ESG rules by Democrats dramatically expands the reach of unelected federal agencies and diverts the attention of our agencies toward woke activism,” Donalds said.

“The federal procurement marketplace must operate without the heavy hand of egregious policies that raise regulatory costs, hinder competition, and ultimately impact the American taxpayer. Heading into the 118th Congress, I look forward to championing legislation to eradicate EGS rules in corporate America and throughout the federal government.”

The move comes as Florida leaders weigh in more aggressively against ESG. State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis just divested the state from BlackRock over “woke” investment strategies. Florida House Speaker Paul Renner also promised this year to crack down on “ESG’s political dogma” after being sworn in as a presiding officer in the state Legislature.

Harassment transparency

A third of all women experience harassment in the workplace, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. West Palm Beach Democrat Lois Frankel says when it happens at publicly traded companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission needs to stop it.

She led a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler calling on the SEC to use its rule-making authority to require disclosures of all harassment settlements, judgments, and awards in annual public filings.

“The SEC’s stated mission is, in part, to make sure that the public and shareholders have the timely, accurate, and complete information they need to make confident and informed decisions about when or where to invest,” the letter reads. “By informing shareholders and the public about expenses related to harassment and assault disputes, the SEC will be able to improve accountability for these companies and incentivize them to prevent workplace harassment and assault.”

A number of victim advocacy groups endorsed the letter and 61 of Frankel’s peers co-signed, including Democrats Kathy Castor, Cherfilus-McCormick, Soto, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Frederica Wilson.

Survive and thrive 

The ranks of those who survive cancer are growing — expected to increase 40% to 26 million people by 2040. Now, Wasserman Schultz is leading a team of legislators in introducing a bill that will help this growing community live through diagnosis and beyond it.

This week the Weston Democrat, along with Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Democratic Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of California, introduced the Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act.

The 50-page legislation aims to make cancer treatment, follow-up care and support for returning to normal life a little less fragmented, addressing concerns that range from conserving fertility to end-of-life care. The way things are now, unmet needs, such as spotty follow-up screenings and more long-term issues, are more likely for people of ethnic and racial diversity, younger people, rural residents and those with fewer resources.

Wasserman Schultz, who started surviving cancer 15 years ago following a breast cancer diagnosis, says the continuum of cancer care needs addressing.

“From the point of diagnosis, through active treatment and transitions to primary care, until the end of life, this legislation sets the standards of care that all survivors need and deserve,” she said. “The (legislation) confronts care planning, transition, navigation, workforce, education, and awareness, and empowers survivors with the best possible resources and care to overcome this terrible disease.”

Pay hike

School systems nationwide struggle to recruit teachers, but Wilson offered a significant incentive. The Hollywood Democrat filed federal legislation that would set a minimum salary for K-12 teachers at $60,000 a year.

“Teachers deserve a raise. Our nation’s teachers have been underpaid, overworked, and deprived of resources for too long,” said Wilson, Chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee. “That’s why I’m filing the American Teacher Act today, to give our nation’s teachers the raise they have earned and deserve. Teachers are the backbone of our education system and economy, playing a foundational role in the development of our children.

“For seven hours a day, they help shape and inspire young minds as well as nurture students academically and socially. As the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, teachers continued to play a critical role in our recovery, underscoring their indispensability. I am proud to introduce the American Teacher Act, a critical first step in the fight to support a livable, competitive wage for America’s educators.”

The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association both at once came out in favor of the bill. Florida just increased starting pay for teachers to $47,000 a year.

The legislation also sets up grants to states and local school districts to fund what in some regions will be a major increase. It also includes language requiring cost-of-living adjustments, so the minimum salary goes up with inflation.

As written, the bill required pay adjustments for part-time educators to be in line with the minimum salary.

Snow birds?

​​Twitter has apparently stopped paying rent at its offices.

So, would now be the right time to move to Miami? Carlos Giménez believes so.

The Miami-Dade Republican sent a letter to Twitter owner Elon Musk suggesting now was the perfect time to move the social media platform from San Francisco to South Florida.

“As Mayor of Miami-Dade County, I worked tirelessly to transform our world-class city into a global technology hub,” Giménez said. “Early on, we identified the tech sector as one with limitless potential and dreamed of creating a Tech Beach, right in the heart of South Florida.”

He also suggested Florida, just touted by Gov. Ron DeSantis as a “fiefdom of freedom,” would better serve as the home for Twitter under Musk, a self-described free speech absolutist (with some notable exceptions). Florida has passed a law punishing social media companies for censoring content, something Musk has accused the company of doing before he bought it.

On this day

Dec. 16, 1773 — “The Boston Tea Party” via History.com — In Boston Harbor, a group of Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British tea ships and dump 342 chests of tea into the harbor. The midnight raid was in protest of the British Parliament’s Tea Act of 1773, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and granting it a virtual monopoly on the American tea trade. The low tax allowed the East India Company to undercut even tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, and many colonists viewed the act as another example of taxation tyranny.

Dec. 16, 1950 — “Harry Truman proclaims state of emergency during Korean War” via The New York Times — President Truman proclaimed a national state of emergency in order to fight “Communist imperialism,” a reference to Chinese forces fighting against United States-led United Nations forces in the Korean War. The President signed a proclamation stating that it was necessary “that the military, naval, air and civilian defenses of this country be strengthened as speedily as possible to the end that we may be able to repel any and all threats against our national security.”

Happy birthday

Best wishes to Rep. Bill Posey, who turns 75 on Sunday, Dec. 18.

___

Delegation is published by Peter Schorsch and compiled by Jacob Ogles and edited and assembled by Phil Ammann and Ryan Nicol, with contributions by Anne Geggis.