Delegation for 6.20.23: Guardians — prepping — Puerto Rico — another impeachment?

Federal Guardians

A pair of Florida leaders will serve as the face of a Republican push in Congress for securing America’s schools.

Sen. Rick Scott in April unveiled the School Guardian Act in the wake of a school shooting in Nashville. The legislation would create a block grant program that supports hiring at least one law enforcement officer on duty for every grade school in the country.

Now, Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart has filed a House companion bill.

“During my time in Congress, I have actively dedicated myself to enhancing community and school safety, recognizing the importance it holds,” the Hialeah Republican said. “It is unacceptable for parents or spouses to fear for their loved ones’ safety in educational settings. Regrettably, targeted school attacks persist, harming our most vulnerable. By placing armed law enforcement officers in K-12 schools, we have discovered effective measures to combat violence. As a proud co-lead of this crucial legislation, I am optimistic that this common-sense bill can pass the House and become law.”

Díaz-Balart filed the bill with Rep. Richard Hudson, a North Carolina Republican. With a focus on boosting the protection of campuses, as opposed to restricting access to guns, the bill could face a clearer path in the GOP-controlled House than other bills aimed at curbing school shootings.

And the bill has the support of families impacted by one of South Florida’s lingering tragedies, the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Max Schachter, whose son Alex died in that attack, put out a statement in support of the bill. Schachter now works as director of the School Safety Policy Center, a national advocacy group.

“After the Parkland School shooting, Florida made massive changes throughout our state to make schools safer for all our children,” Schachter said. “One of the most significant measures implemented was the mandate that every school has at least one armed school safety officer on all our 4,000 K-12 campuses. One of the key findings in the 2021 U.S. Secret Service study: ‘Averting Targeted School Violence, a U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots against Schools’ was that school resource officers play an important role in school violence prevention. I fully support Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s School Guardian Act to place armed law enforcement personnel at every K-12 school in the nation. Thank you to my friend for always being a champion of school safety.”

Tony Montalto, president of Stand with Parkland, also backs the bill. His daughter Gina died at the Florida school shooting.

“After the tragic shooting at Parkland, we worked closely with then-Governor Scott to make effective changes like this to keep Florida’s schools safe, and now we’re continuing the fight to bring change across the nation,” he said. “Plainly stated, no family should have to go through the indescribable heartbreak of having their child or spouse murdered at school. It is essential to America’s future that parents feel comfortable sending kids to school every day. Communities can choose to protect their children from danger with specially selected and highly trained officers standing guard as the funds in this bill provides that opportunity for all America’s families.”

Now Scott believes the plan can win support in Congress.

“We worked hard to make significant changes and establish measures to increase law enforcement in schools. Thanks to this work, and the landmark legislation we passed, every public school in Florida has an armed police officer, sheriff’s deputy, or an individual who has completed the rigorous training to keep our students safe from harm,” he said.

Prepare for disaster

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund is expected to run out of money in the first week of August. Florida’s Senators say that can’t be allowed to happen.

Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida’s senior Senator, just introduced the Disaster Relief Fund Replenishment Act, which would require restocking the fund. He characterized it as a travesty that President Joe Biden would allow the fund to run dry in the middle of Hurricane Season.

“Congress cannot allow the Biden administration to use disaster funding as a bargaining chip; doing so puts countless vulnerable communities at risk,” the Miami Republican said. “Our communities deserve better than this. It’s time for Congress to act and provide FEMA with the funding they need for disaster relief.”

Scott, a Naples Republican, joined as an original co-sponsor for the bill in the Senate.

“Floridians know that responding to natural disasters is a team effort, which requires every level of government to be ready to assist families in need at a moment’s notice,” Scott said. “This good bill will ensure the federal government can uphold its obligation to quickly deploy emergency funding and resources to communities and Americans impacted by natural disasters.”

Island representative

Scott this week also reaffirmed his support for Puerto Rico’s needs in Congress.

At the 2023 Puerto Rico Summit in Orlando, he promised to remain a staunch voice for the U.S. territory in Washington.

“I’ve had the opportunity to visit Puerto Rico over 10 times as both Florida’s Governor and Senator and I’ve met with many families and job creators who call the island home,” he said. “Over the past few decades, we’ve seen many Puerto Rican families move to Florida for the chance at a more prosperous future — but they deserve that future on the island. Just like Florida families, Puerto Rican families want great jobs, they want their kids to get a world-class education and they want to live in safe neighborhoods.”

He noted that as Governor, he pushed to offer in-state tuition for Puerto Rico residents and entered a host agreement with the island government to welcome displaced families during Hurricane Maria.

As Scott runs for re-election to the Senate, he also touted the work done by his office for those Florida residents with roots in Puerto Rico.

“There has never been a more important time to stand up and demand fiscal sanity in Congress. I promised you that I’d do that, and I won’t go back on my word. I’m in Washington to make it work for you,” he said.

King of Versailles

When Donald Trump met supporters at Versailles Restaurant after his arraignment, CNN host Jake Tapper said it felt like a campaign ad. Now it has actually become one.

Trump’s arraignment in federal court drew a spectacle from supporters and protesters outside the federal courthouse in Miami. Now, his presidential candidate has cut images together with narration by the former President and selected news coverage of the indictment.

The Mar-a-Lago Republican’s campaign released a video on Rumble that splices together footage of supporters in Miami with voice-overs of pundits supporting Trump.

The video also uses a speech from a fundraiser Trump held in Bedminster, New Jersey the same night of the presidential candidate’s appearance in federal court.

“Never before have the two standards of justice in our country been more starkly revealed,” Trump said, “but they will fail, and we will win bigger and better than ever before.”

Of note, the absence of cameras in the courthouse means there was no video news coverage of the actual arraignment in Miami. That meant coverage and B-roll on TV and video platforms primarily centered around demonstrations outside and Trump mingling with supporters.

Much of the footage comes from a visit Trump made to Versailles Restaurant, a frequent political stop in Little Havana. Footage of Trump meeting a hero’s welcome there prompted Tapper to call live for his control room to stop airing it.

“He’s trying to turn it into a spectacle, into a campaign ad,” Tapper said.

Now Trump has.

To watch the video, please click on the image below:

 

Cottage homes

The nation continues to suffer a shortage of foster homes. Several members of the Florida congressional delegation are working together across the aisle on the issue to file legislation to address the shortage.

Reps. Neal Dunn, a Panama City Republican, introduced the Creating Accountable Respectful Environments (CARE) for Children Act, would create support for “cottage family homes” where more foster children could be housed — still with no more than two kids per bedroom.

“Going into the foster care system can be difficult for a child and their parents. The transition is even more difficult when there is a shortage of foster care options,” Dunn said. “The CARE for Children Act seeks to ensure the health and safety of children, as well as expands options by including cottage family homes. We must do everything we can to help the future generation become the best versions of themselves.”

Several Florida representatives from both sides of the aisle signed on as introducing co-sponsors. Rep. Darren Soto, a Kissimmee Democrat, called the bill a good solution.

“This bill will open up stable and nurturing home environments for children including an estimated six locations in Florida alone,” he said. “These locations will be extremely beneficial to the well-being of every child who needs them as they will increase capacity, keep sibling groups together, and provide children with a normalized home environment that maintains a strong connection with the child’s family.”

Republican Rep. Kat Cammack also signed on, along with Democratic Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

“The CARE for Children Act aims to create safe, healthy environments for children by promoting capacity-building, keeping sibling groups together, and providing a normalized home and community environment for our youth in Florida,” said Cammack, a Gainesville Republican. “At a time when foster homes are in short supply, this bill ensures that cottage family homes keep children safe, nurtured, and cared for to help them grow into happy, healthy adults. I’m glad to join Rep. Dunn and my Florida colleagues in supporting the CARE Act.”

Added Wasserman Schultz, of Weston: “Protecting children and giving them every opportunity to thrive is essential. The Creating Accountable Respectful Environments (CARE) for Children Act addresses the health, safety and well-being of children who must face and ensure hardship. I am proud to introduce this legislation with my colleagues so we can provide children with a normalized home and community environment when times are most difficult.”

Fire line

Gainesville firefighters secured a significant grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Cammack announced the $47,122 grant for operations and safety, including the purchase of personal protective equipment.

Purchases to keep firefighters safe are particularly important to the Congresswoman, whose husband Matthew Harrison serves as a firefighter-paramedic.

“I’m so excited for our brave men and women in Gainesville 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. I couldn’t be prouder of our firefighters in Gainesville. As the wife of a firefighter and paramedic myself, I know how deserving our departments are of this grant and I know they’ll continue to demonstrate the very best of our first responder community.”

Gainesville officials welcomed the funding, part of $320 million in competitive grants administered through the Homeland Security Department.

“Gainesville Fire Rescue is pleased to accept funding via the AFG that will go directly to equipment supporting front-line service providers,” said Gainesville Fire Rescue Chief Joseph Dixon. “Rep. Cammack’s experience as a Homeland Security Committee Member coupled with her direct knowledge of the firefighting community make her a welcome and formidable advocate.”

Bean on the line

First-term Rep. Aaron Bean will host a telephone town hall to tout the debt deal reached between the Republican House and Biden White House. Republicans in Florida’s House delegation split evenly on support for the deal, which raises the debt ceiling roughly $4 trillion in the next two years.

But the Fernandina Beach Republican still counted the deal, which averted a national default and cut spending, as a win.

“That’s right, we are cutting $2.1 trillion from the federal budget, and for the first time in over a decade, Congress will spend less money next year than this year,” Bean wrote in an email to supporters.

The Congressman also will field questions from constituents on the call. He’s encouraging participants to register in advance.

Aiming for Mayorkas

Republicans in the House have heavily criticized Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for security on the border. Rep. Laurel Lee, a Thonotosassa Republican, last week released a preliminary report from the majority caucus demanding a full investigation of the Cabinet member.

She released the findings with Rep. Mark Green, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee.

“A Florida grand jury report from March revealed alarming details about the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s role in the trafficking of minors,” Lee said. “The report details critical failures in the process, both in screening minors and in screening sponsors, that serve to empower drug cartels and criminal organizations, putting those who cross our border in danger of being trafficked, exploited and harmed.

“To make matters worse, fentanyl is being trafficked over our border, infiltrating our communities which has resulted in it being the leading cause of death for people ages 18-45. Recently, authorities in my own community (Polk County) confiscated 11 pounds of fentanyl. Shortly after this bust, Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that Florida authorities have seized enough fentanyl in just a few months to kill every single Floridian.”

Green signaled the start of a five-phase investigation that could ultimately lead to impeaching the Secretary, though some reporting suggests the votes aren’t there for that action just yet. Mayorkas has not responded directly to the report yet.

Impeachment for something?

Some Republicans say the time has come to impeach Biden, including Rep. Greg Steube. The Sarasota Republican on Fox News told host Maria Bartiromo that he’s seen enough documentation of the Biden family making money adjacent to his public service that the House should bring impeachment proceedings.

He pointed both to recent accusations from House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer into Biden family members making money overseas and bribery accusations filed with the FBI. He also pointed to a recent interview Tony Bobulinski, a business associate of Biden’s son Hunter, gave to Twitter pundit Tucker Carlson alleging Joe Biden was present for some business deals.

“We can’t allow a corrupt president to stay in office,” Steube said.

But he didn’t allege a crime by Biden or point to actions taken during Biden’s presidency. Still, Steube said he’s signing on as a co-sponsor for impeachment proceedings.

He’s not the first Florida delegation member to do so. Reps. Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, and Cory Mills, a Winter Park Republican, already signed on as co-sponsors to impeachment papers filed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican. Gaetz also co-sponsored another impeachment filing by Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican.

Rep. Bill Posey, a Rockledge Republican, last month filed his own impeachment legislation. He also filed papers in the last Congress similarly seeking to impeach Biden over border security measures.

It’s unclear which impeachment filings Steube wants to co-sponsor. Four separate pieces of legislation impeaching the President have been filed this Congress.

The Congressman acknowledged that with Republicans only controlling the House, any proceedings may not go far. “We have to take action,” he said.

Parading to protest

Wasserman Schultz paraded shoulder to shoulder with revelers at Saturday’s Stonewall Pride Parade & Street Festival in Wilton Manors and then at Monday’s South Broward Juneteenth Parade.

This year, the Weston Democrat marked these parades as protests against state Republicans on her Facebook posts.

“I was proud to stand in defiance of the hatred directed at our friends, family and neighbors by Gov. (Ron) DeSantis and other extremists, and to remind everyone that it’s more than OK to #SayGay,” she wrote, using the flags that symbolize LGBTQ rights and showing her riding with Democratic state Rep. Robin Bartleman of Weston.

The Legislature this year expanded last year’s legislation that expanded the bill critics dubbed “don’t say gay.” The law (HB 1069) DeSantis signed extends tighter regulation of classroom discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity from grades K-3 to PreK-8.

And she also threw a not-so-veiled barb at state Republican changes to voting laws in her post that showed her riding with Hollywood Commissioner Idelma Quintana.

A federal appeals court overruled U.S. District Judge Mark Walker’s finding that the 2021 law unconstitutionally targeted minority voters with tighter regulations on third-party voter registration, drop boxes and limits to line warming activities at polling sites.

“Commemorating Juneteenth as part of the ongoing struggle for racial justice is essential, especially as we continue to witness pervasive racial discrimination, police violence targeting people of color, and an attack on one of our most fundamental rights — the right to vote,” Wasserman Schultz’s post says.

On this day

June 20, 1963 — “United States and Soviet Union agree to establish a nuclear ‘hotline’” via History.com — The agreement was a small step in reducing tensions between the United States and the USSR following the October 1962 Missile Crisis in Cuba, which had brought the two nations to the brink of nuclear war. The need for nearly instantaneous and full-time communication between the U.S. and Soviet governments became apparent during the Cuban missile crisis. The United States had discovered the Soviets were building missile sites in Cuba capable of firing missiles with nuclear warheads. The administration of President John F. Kennedy instituted a naval “quarantine” around Cuba to block the delivery of such missiles.

June 20, 1782 — “Congress approves Great Seal of United States” via U.S. National Archives — The First Continental Congress in 1776 originally commissioned Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams to create a national seal. As members of the First Great Seal Committee, these Founding Fathers intended to design a national emblem that reflected the independence and aspirations of the new nation. This was no easy task. It took more than three committees and six years of congressional debate to complete the Great Seal. It was the Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson, who submitted the final design for the Great Seal. Thomson’s design combined elements of submissions presented to the prior committees. His uncluttered, symbolic design fulfilled Congress’s expectations.

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