Delegation for 2.10.23: Rescue — Everglades — back pay — periods — only lunch

Rescue me?

The State of the Union address rekindled national conversation on Sen. Rick Scott’s “Rescue America” plan.

President Joe Biden invoked the agenda in a clear swipe at Republican leadership and appeal to senior voters ahead of the President’s expected re-election campaign.

“Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans, some Republicans, want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I’m not saying it’s the majority,” Biden said to loud protests. As some GOP lawmakers shook their heads or objected vocally to the characterization, Biden said he can provide written proof. That echoed promises last year to widely distribute the documents Scott widely shared when he chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The plan, which originally promised to make sure that: “All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”

Scott has consistently challenged Democrats’ assertions that this would put Social Security and Medicare at risk, and the Naples Republican went on the defensive again the morning after the speech.

“Last night, Joe Biden rambled for a while, but it seems he forgot to share the facts,” Scott tweeted. “In my plan, I suggested the following: All federal legislation sunsets in 5 yrs. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again. This is clearly and obviously an idea aimed at dealing with ALL the crazy new laws our Congress has been passing of late. Joe Biden is confused … to suggest that this means I want to cut Social Security or Medicare is a lie and is a dishonest move … from a very confused President.

“Does he think I also intend to get rid of the U.S. Navy? Or the Border Patrol? Or air traffic control, maybe? This is the kind of fake, gotcha BS that people hate about Washington. I’ve never advocated cutting Social Security or Medicare and never would. I will not be intimidated by Joe Biden twisting my words or Sen. (Charles) Schumer twisting my words — or by anyone else for that matter.”

The Senator then went on a counteroffensive and unearthed footage and legislation from 1995 when Biden, then a U.S. Senator from Delaware, supported a freeze on federal spending. “When I argued we should freeze federal spending, I meant Social Security and Medicare as well,” Biden said then. “I meant Medicare and Medicaid. I meant every single solitary thing.”

Scott dug even further and found legislation Biden filed in 1975 that proposed sunsetting and reviewing federal programs every four years.

Of course, both Biden and Scott are up for re-election in 2024. It is still to be seen how much of a grudge voters hold based on plans unfolded respectively in 1975 and 2022.

Reservoir dogs

Florida lawmakers heavily criticized Biden last year for not including funding for the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir. The state’s Senate delegation early in the new Congress is asking for the project to receive priority treatment by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Sen. Marco Rubio and Scott sent a letter to Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army — Civil Works, detailing Florida priorities, the reservoir being chief among them.

“It is our expectation that, of the funds allocated for the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration (SFER) program, significant funding for the construction of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir will be allocated in the Work Plan,” the letter reads.

“Continuing contract clause authority for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and the EAA Reservoir should be approved in addition to major investment through the Work Plan to expedite reservoir construction and reduce the long-term cost of the project. Additionally, the CEPP North Validation Report must be delivered as soon as possible so a project partnership agreement with the South Florida Water Management District.”

The Senators touched on other funding including recovery dollars after Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole made landfall. General flood control and coastal protection efforts earned mention as well.

Everglades Caucus

House members from Florida joined forces to form the Everglades Caucus. Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart, a Hialeah Republican, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Weston Democrat, will chair the group, which for now is made up entirely of members of the Sunshine State’s congressional delegation.

That includes eight House Democrats — Reps. Kathy Castor, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Lois Frankel, Maxwell Frost, Jared Moskowitz, Darren Soto, Wasserman Schultz and Frederica Wilson — and 11 House Republicans — Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Díaz-Balart, Byron Donalds, Carlos A. Giménez, Laurel Lee, Brian Mast, Cory Mills, John Rutherford, Bill Posey, María Elvira Salazar and Daniel Webster — as well as Rubio.

Several of the members participated this week in a bipartisan roundtable with leaders of the Army Corps of Engineers. The group also sent a letter to President Biden, also appealing to him for support of Everglades projects including the reservoir.

“As you prepare your Fiscal Year 2024 budget request, we write to respectfully request an allocation of $725 million under the Army Corps of Engineers construction account for South Florida Ecosystem Restoration,” the caucus letter read. “The Everglades is a national treasure, one of the true ecological wonders of the world, and further efforts to preserve this unique ecosystem will prove imperative to its long-term viability.”

Military fatigues

Has congressional support of Ukraine worn thin? Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Panhandle Republican, introduced legislation to halt U.S. military and financial aid for the east European nation during its war on Russia. Ten other representatives, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a St. Petersburg Republican, were introducing co-sponsors for the Ukraine Fatigue Act.

Gaetz’s office said from the onset of the war last year has sent $110 billion in support to Ukraine.

“President Joe Biden must have forgotten his prediction from March 2022, suggesting that arming Ukraine with military equipment will escalate the conflict to ‘World War III.’ America is in a state of managed decline, and it will exacerbate if we continue to hemorrhage taxpayer dollars toward a foreign war,” Gaetz said. “We must suspend all foreign aid for the War in Ukraine and demand that all combatants in this conflict reach a peace agreement immediately.”

Back pay

While the COVID-19 vaccine mandate is no more, troops discharged for refusing to take it still lost months or years of pay. Rep. Neal Dunn, a Panama City Republican, wants Congress to make the soldiers whole.

He filed the TROOP Act (HR 858), which would offer back pay to all service members let go from the armed forces over the mandate.

“As the son of a veteran, the father of a veteran, and a veteran myself, I understand and appreciate the sacrifices service members and their families make in defending our freedoms,” Dunn said. “Over 8,400 service members have been discharged for choosing not to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Their lives were uprooted, and they now deserve justice since the Biden vaccine mandate has been lifted.

“Giving this pay and the option to be reinstated is long overdue. I’m proud and honored to do my part to fight for our service members and their families.”

The bill, which applies to armed services branches, reservists and the National Guard, would also allow reinstatement for anyone discharged for refusing vaccination.

Siren call

Ocala firefighters just received a burst of federal funding. Rep. Kat Cammack, a Gainesville Republican, announced Ocala Fire Rescue had received an Assistance to Firefighters grant worth $381,150.

The funding comes through a Federal Emergency Management Agency program and will be used for operational needs and equipment.

“I’m so excited for our brave men and women in Ocala to have the equipment necessary to help them do their jobs more safely and effectively,” Cammack said. “Our first responders are heroes and it’s imperative that we ensure they stay safe while serving our communities.”

OFR Fire Chief Clint Welborn also expressed gratitude at receiving one of three grants announced nationwide this week.

“Ocala Fire Rescue will use the Assistance to Firefighters Grant to purchase portable Advanced Life Support (ALS) tools that monitor cardiac function, blood pressure, and oxygen levels, among others, and serve as external defibrillators — better known as Lifepak 15s,” Welborn said.

Bite me

First-term Reps. Luna and Moskowitz hail from different parties, but that does not mean they can’t enjoy lunch.

Moskowitz, a Parkland Democrat, launched what he hopes to make a weekly tradition of dining with a Republican, and had his first such meal with the St. Petersburg Republican.

“I’m always trying to find common ground,” Moskowitz said. “The American people didn’t send us here to bicker just to increase our Twitter following — they sent us to D.C. to produce solutions to their problems. We don’t have to agree. But if we can find common ground that’s good progress. We must show the American people that you can adamantly disagree with your neighbor and still act normal.”

He let Luna choose the venue, Talay Thai, and picked up the bill. Luna said she was happy to partake.

“I met Rep. Moskowitz at a bipartisan orientation at the Harvard Kennedy School. It is no secret that though we are Representatives from Florida we have different outlooks on policy, disagreeing on most things in Congress,” she said. “However, that doesn’t mean we can’t have lunch to discuss certain issues important to our freedom-loving state and come up with solutions.”

Second chair

Rep. Vern Buchanan will serve as Vice Chair on one of the most powerful committees in Congress.

The Longboat Key Republican last month lost the race for House Ways and Means Chair to Rep. Jason Smith. But the Missouri Republican on Thursday named Buchanan as Vice Chair.

“Vern brings an invaluable level of knowledge and expertise to the Vice Chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee,” Smith said.

“His experience serving as the lead Republican on nearly all of our subcommittees, as well as his background as a business owner and entrepreneur will help ensure the Committee speaks to the needs of America’s small businesses and job creators. I look forward to working closely with Vern as we deliver for the American people, strengthen our economy, grow jobs and wages, and create greater financial, energy, food, and health care security for working families.”

Buchanan since his 2006 election to Congress has served as Chair or Ranking Member of five of Ways and Means Subcommittees. He served in the last Congress as the top Republican on the Health Subcommittee.

“I look forward to working with Chairman Smith and my fellow Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee to tackle some of the biggest issues facing our country,” Buchanan said.

“We need to get our economy back on track, and that starts with combating the Democrats’ radical agenda that is bankrupting our country and killing the budgets of American families and small businesses. The Ways and Means Committee will also be on the front lines for enacting pro-growth policies that create jobs and revitalize the economy.”

Full stop

As the Florida High School Athletic Association considered monitoring menstrual cycles as a requirement for playing female sports, members of Congress applied pressure from Washington.

Cherfilus-McCormick introduced legislation to cut off the practice. The Privacy in Education Regarding Individuals’ Own Data (PERIOD) Act would prohibit states from tracking any student’s menstrual cycle. Her office characterized the bill as a “way of discriminating against transgender students” that would also violate the privacy of cisgender girls.

“Requiring students to provide information with respect to their menstrual period would be yet another draconian measure instituted by a state that purports to love a less invasive government. Not even two months into the new year, the state of Florida has banned books in schools, blocked AP African American history courses from being taught in classrooms and is now attempting to require students to share private health information to play on athletic fields and courts. Tracking a person’s menstrual cycle is an unconscionable violation of a person’s constitutionally protected right to privacy,” the Miramar Democrat said.

“The Florida High School Athletic Association may be playing a role in Gov. DeSantis’ appeal to his far-right base, but I will not stand idly by as students in my district are forced to share private, intimate information concerning their bodies to play the sport(s) they love. We are all familiar with the phrase ‘let kids be kids’ — so we should freely allow children to play a game with their friends, classmates, and teammates without local and state governments infringing upon their constitutionally protected rights.”

Meanwhile, Frankel, a West Palm Beach Democrat, led a letter co-signed by all Democrats in Florida’s delegation urging FHSAA to abandon its proposal.

“A student’s medical history is private, personal information that is between the student and their trusted health care provider,” the letter stated. “School personnel have no need for this information and sharing it with them could violate a student’s privacy. Menstrual history is particularly sensitive information, and it should remain between a student and their provider.”

The lobbying proved effective. The FHSAA on Thursday voted 14-2 to remove any questions about their menstrual cycles.

Teach it!

Teachers would make a minimum of $60,000 a year if a bill Wilson introduced made it across the finish line.

The Liberty City Democrat and Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, both former teachers, introduced the American Teacher Act in the House with more than 50 co-sponsors.

The bill seeks to address the teacher shortage crisis by providing teacher salary incentive grants that support state efforts to increase teacher salaries to a minimum of $60,000. The bill also set up a second grant program to provide cost-of-living adjustments for teachers earning $60,000 or above.

“President Biden said during the State of the Union address, ‘Let’s give public schoolteachers a raise.’ Republicans and Democrats gave a rousing applause because it is long overdue,” Wilson said. “It’s time for Congress to send the President a bill that raises teacher salaries nationwide. Today, we’re taking the first step toward doing just that.”

That would represent a hefty raise for Florida teachers. The starting teacher’s salary in Florida is about $48,500. The state’s average teacher salary is 48th in the country, according to the latest data from the National Education Association’s latest report last April.

Cassie Palelis, Florida Department of Education (FDOE) Press Secretary, said there is no shortage in Florida.

“The notion of a large teacher shortage in Florida is a myth generated by media activists and teachers’ unions,” she said, pointing to an FDOE report showing there were about 4,442 teacher vacancies on Sept. 1, a 2.4% vacancy rate.

That’s less than the national rate, Palelis said.

Her numbers don’t line up with what the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, has counted, though.

Last month, the FEA reported 5,294 teacher vacancies.

What emergency?

After the multiyear national emergency around the COVID-19 pandemic, many are questioning how long a genuine emergency can last. Giménez said Congress should have some say on the matter.

The Miami-Dade Republican introduced the National Emergency Declaration Reform Act, which would allow Congress a vote on sustaining emergencies every six months. He voiced frustration that the administration kept ports closed and suspended student debt based on the perpetual emergency.

“We have given way too much power to the executive branch and unelected bureaucrats,” Giménez said. “The power must be handed back to the people through their elected representatives. I am proud to introduce the National Emergency Declaration Reform Act to ensure both houses of Congress will vote and represent the interests of the American people.”

The Congressman noted that Biden in September declared the pandemic was “over,” but continued to leave the state of emergency in place.

“Over the past two years, we have watched President Biden overreach his power with the use of the COVID Emergency Declaration with few to no checks from Congress. The executive branch, no matter the party, should never be able to abuse its power.”

On this day

Feb. 10, 1868 — “Conservatives seize control at Florida constitutional convention” via the Orlando Sentinel — Two totally divergent groups emerged in Tallahassee: radicals, mostly Republicans, hopeful of providing full equality to African Americans, and moderate conservatives, desirous of facilitating only what was necessary to enter the Union. Several moderate conservatives pulled a coup at midnight. seizing two radical delegates while they were still asleep, dragging them into the Tallahassee convention area, and proclaiming a quorum. Because President Andrew Johnson urged conciliation and getting the deed done, federal troops protected the moderate conservatives, helping to keep other radicals from the proceedings for enough days to get the document finished.

Feb. 10, 1915 — “Woodrow Wilson warns Germany of ‘strict accountability’” via World Biography — The announcement by the German government it would use its small submarine fleet to sink all Allied ships within a broad war zone without warning posed a grave threat to American neutrality, since Germans also said, because submarine commanders would sometimes find it impossible to discriminate between enemy and neutral ships, neutral ships would not be safe from torpedoes. Wilson sent a conventional warning to Berlin to the effect that the United States would hold Germany to a “strict accountability” for the destruction of American ships and lives on the high seas. What that warning meant in practical terms, no one, including the leaders in Washington, knew.

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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.