Delegation for 12.12.23: Tick tock — Chinese lessons — testing — crackdown — cheap tickets

Crises ramp up, clocks run out

After a tumultuous year, Congress nears the end of 2023 without a deal to support Israel or Ukraine and with disagreement raging over the Southern border.

The House and Senate appear no closer to consensus about the matter than they did a couple of months ago when a looming government shutdown launched historic turmoil in the lower chamber.

“This is the last week Congress is in session before the year ends, meaning it’s our last chance to approve funding for Ukraine in its fight for democracy,” posted Rep. Frederica Wilson on X. “Attempts to stonewall aid to Ukraine is what (Vladimir) Putin wants and will hinder the United States’ leadership in combating tyranny.”

But Republicans in the House say any vote on Ukraine cannot be held ahead of domestic priorities like the border wall. Rep. Cory Mills, a Winter Park Republican, said he doesn’t believe the GOP-controlled House will move the budget until they direct more to security.

“Look, the No. 1 priority for me and many of my colleagues is securing our border,” he told Fox News over the weekend. “I’m sorry. I am not going to try and secure another country’s border before I am able to secure my own.”

But the House appears to be moving ahead on opening an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican who sits on the House Oversight Committee, predicted a Wednesday vote on the floor on an impeachment inquiry, “We have three (Department of Justice) officials and one White House official who are ignoring congressional subpoenas,” he told conservative pundit Charlie Kirk. “We are going to hold our impeachment vote. We have brought a significant amount of information to our members to review. We believe that vote is going to pass this week. So, you are going to have an informal impeachment inquiry of the House.”

Democrats have suggested that’s a misuse of the limited time Congress has to do its job and fund the government.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Parkland Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, suggested politics only drove the current House interest in impeachment over passing a budget. He also suggested the House’s failures showed a lack of seriousness about defending Israel, which will remain unfunded if no deal comes together.

“If Speaker (Mike) Johnson was Moses, all the Jews fleeing the Pharaoh would have drowned in the Red Sea since Moses Johnson’s failed strategy ended aid to Israel in its greatest time of need,” Moskowitz posted on X.

Schooling China

Sen. Marco Rubio wants to remove China’s hand from American education. He introduced the Protecting American Education from Malign Foreign Influence Act, which would restrict funding for colleges and universities working with foreign adversaries. It would also extend many of those restrictions to elementary and secondary schools.

“The integrity of our schools is one of the most basic guarantees that we should give to our students,” the Miami Republican said. “Current federal policies to protect our students from adversaries are incomplete and disappointing. The U.S. is being infiltrated through its educational institutions. This bill aims to close those gaps, securing a robust defense against malign foreign influence in our classrooms.”

The Florida Legislature has already banned connections between state universities and the Chinese Communist Party. Rubio’s bill would impose similar restrictions nationwide. He also wants to prohibit Reserve Officer Training (ROTC) programs at schools connected to China.

His legislation is co-sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott.

“It’s a universally accepted truth that Communist China is stealing U.S. technology and intellectual property from institutions of higher learning,” the Naples Republican said. “We cannot allow the U.S. federal government to sit back and let this dangerous espionage happen. Now is the time to take a stand against this madness, and I’m proud to join my colleagues in fighting to pass the Protecting Education from Malign Foreign Influence Act to better protect America’s colleges and universities.”

The National Association of Scholars and Parents Defending Education Action immediately endorsed the bill, as did Parents Defending Education Action.

Test, test

Scott also wants to disconnect American health care’s reliance on China. He reintroduced a bill this week that would bar the use of federal dollars to purchase COVID-19 tests from China or any subsidiary of the communist government.

In November, the Senator led a letter with Rep. Diana Harshbarger, a Tennessee Republican, to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra after learning some companies the administration purchased tests from have connections to China.

“There is absolutely no reason that this administration should be buying COVID tests made in Communist China instead of working with American manufacturers to support domestic production,” Scott said.

“I have been clear that we need to stop giving Communist China our money and buy American-made. Unfortunately, instead of supporting American manufacturing, the Biden administration is again bowing to a murderous communist regime and handing hundreds of millions of your tax dollars to CCP-controlled companies in Communist China. The Biden administration’s willingness to fund the Communist Chinese economy, instead of the American economy, is a disgrace.”

Last year, Scott similarly called for restricting tax dollars going to China for tests and sought passage on unanimous consent, but Democrats blocked the bill.

Safer schools

As school safety continues to plague American institutions, Rep. John Rutherford wants to see more safety development centers on campuses.

He filed legislation, the Preparing Leaders to Assess Needs (PLAN) for School Safety Act (HR 6613), to establish a funding mechanism.

“Every child has a right to be safe in school,” said Rutherford, a Jacksonville Republican and former Sheriff.

“I am proud of the significant federal resources Congress has made available to schools to improve security measures; however, many schools struggle to find and apply for these resources. The PLAN for School Safety Act will build on our efforts by connecting subject matter experts with school leaders to better facilitate participation in school safety programs and grants. As a former Sheriff and lifelong member of law enforcement, I know firsthand the importance of investing in security to prevent violence before it occurs.”

The legislation has the support of parents in both the 2016 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting in Parkland and the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Connecticut in 2012.

“One month after the Parkland school shooting, Rep. Rutherford shepherded his landmark school safety legislation, the STOP School Violence Act, through the U.S. House of Representatives. That bill has resulted in $702 million of school safety funding flowing into schools since 2018,” said Max Schachter, father of Parkland shooting victim Alex Schachter and founder of Safe Schools for Alex.

“By introducing the PLAN for School Safety Act today, Rep. Rutherford, along with Rep. (Joe) Neguse, are giving schools the necessary resources they need to reduce the epidemic of violence our children face every day. John Rutherford understands that school safety must be prioritized over education because we can’t teach dead kids. I look forward to working alongside John to pass another of his crucial school safety bills.”

Contractor crackdown

A bipartisan bill filed by two delegation members has already earned accolades among tax watchdogs.

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance praised the Defense Spending Oversight Act (HR 6187), filed by Reps. Maxwell Frost and Cory Mills in November. The organization dubbed the legislation the bill of the month.

“Inspectors General at all levels of government must be empowered and equipped to investigate waste, fraud and abuse,” said Taxpayers Protection Alliance Executive Director Patrick Hedger.

“This is particularly the case with the notoriously insulated Pentagon, which has failed five consecutive audits. To understand the scale of operations and provide necessary resources to the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, Congress must be kept up to date with all costs associated with investigations.”

The bill would allow an analysis of the net financial benefits for all military spending and a crackdown on billions of unaccounted spending with the Defense Department and military contractors.

Cheap seats?

Congress is cracking down on ticket prices and Rep. Gus Bilirakis helped usher in proposed changes.

Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously advanced the Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act (HR 3950) on a 45-0 vote. The legislation would require vendors to advertise the total cost of tickets, including upfront service fees, and would ban the sale of speculative tickets a seller doesn’t have secured. The bill would also promise refunds for canceled events and postponements and outlaw the use of deceptive website addresses to protect consumers from fraud.

As Chair of the Innovation, Data and Commerce Subcommittee, Bilirakis played a crucial role in marking up the bill. He released a statement with fellow Committee leaders, including House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican, and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat, as well as Rep. Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat and the ranking member of Bilirakis’ Committee.

“The bipartisan TICKET Act that unanimously passed 45-0 out of Committee yesterday, as amended with the ‘STOP Act’ led by Rep. Kelly Armstrong, will transform the experience of buying event tickets online. It ends practices that frustrate people who simply want to enjoy a concert, show, or sporting event and will restore fairness and transparency to the ticketing marketplace,” the statement read.

“We would like to thank our colleagues, both on and off Committee, for their collaboration. This bipartisan achievement is the result of months and years of hard work by members on both sides of the aisle. Our Committee will continue to lead the way on this effort as we further our work to bring this solution to the House floor.”

Insta creepy

Is Instagram profiting from content designed to appeal to kiddie porn consumers? Rep. Kathy Castor co-led a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri pressing the tech platform on whether it has monetized certain content. Seven other lawmakers joined the Tampa Democrat and Rep. Lori Trehan, a Massachusetts Democrat.

“We are deeply concerned by reports indicating that Meta and Instagram steer users toward sexualized videos through associations with children and that the platform runs ads alongside such content without advertisers’ knowledge and in violation of their policies,” the letter opens.

The lawmakers voiced concern that this was a known problem, but Meta ignored it so it could turn a profit marketing to pedophiles.

“Meta’s former head of Youth Policy described the chaining of youth content and sexualized content as so severe that he recommended “either we ramp up our content detection capabilities, or we don’t recommend any minor content” on Reels,” the letter notes.

It also references Wall Street Journal reporting from June that the Meta algorithms encourage communities online for pedophiles and push certain content their way.

Castor has promoted stronger safeguards for children online for years.

The letter from lawmakers seeks detailed information from the platform on how it promotes content and steps taken to shield children from exploitation.

Close coverage

Legislation allowing Alzheimer’s patients to access new treatments could soon be heard on the House floor. Rep. Vern Buchanan championed legislation that the House Energy and Commerce Committee had just advanced.

“The federal government should make it easier for seniors to access breakthrough treatments, not unreasonably restrict potentially life-changing drugs for our nation’s most vulnerable patients,” the Longboat Key Republican said.

The Mandating Exclusive Review of Individual Treatments (MERIT) Act (HR 133) would ensure patients relying on federal coverage have access to new treatments for the condition. He filed the bill with Rep. Nanette Barragán, a California Democrat, after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services restricted coverage for Aduhelm. That marked the first time coverage was denied for a drug previously approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

“Unfortunately, the Biden administration and unelected bureaucrats in Washington have continuously pursued policies that will stifle innovation and halt progress toward revolutionary cures.,” Buchanan said. “That is why I am so pleased to see this important legislation pass out of Committee and come one step closer to becoming law.”

The bill cleared its last House Committee on a 42-0 vote.

Seeking relief

Days after Biden announced $4.8 billion in student loan relief, Wilson was among several Democrats seeking more.

The Hollywood Democrat and ranking member on the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee joined a bicameral letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona urging the administration to use authority under the Higher Education Act (HEA) to expand relief for all working and middle-class borrowers.

“This rule-making process presents a significant opportunity to address pervasive problems within the student loan system by fortifying the authority to waive debt in order to ensure that postsecondary education becomes accessible to all students,” lawmakers wrote. “We urge you to leverage this authority to its fullest extent, maximizing relief for the greatest number of borrowers facing financial hardship.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Alex Padilla of California, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts represented the Senate in the letter. Fellow Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota joined Wilson in the House.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a sweeping student loan forgiveness program Biden previously announced. The high court ruled Biden overstepped existing authority, and the administration set out to create a new program operating within the bounds of the ruling.

Democrats signing the letter urged the Education Department to consider more. That includes cutting all debt beyond a previous balance of a loan, canceling excess interest, and providing relief to those facing specific financial hardships and who have suffered from bureaucratic errors.

The letter also asks for streamlined eligibility determination.

“While we commend the Biden administration for taking key steps forward to fix the broken student loan system through the regulatory process, we believe that the regulatory text could be improved to better take advantage of the Department’s full authority under the HEA to protect vulnerable borrowers,” the lawmakers wrote. “As we lend our support to your diligent efforts to provide debt relief through regulatory procedures, we urge you to consider several recommendations to strengthen the Department’s debt relief rule.”

On this day

Dec. 12, 2000 — “George W. Bush wins in Supreme Court; Al Gore pressured to concede” via the Los Angeles Times — In a dramatic coda to a remarkable election, a divided U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday night for Texas Gov. Bush to become the nation’s 43rd President by calling a halt to the counting of Florida’s disputed ballots. Capping hours of suspenseful deliberations, the Justices voted, 5 to 4, to overturn a Florida Supreme Court decision allowing the hand tabulations sought by Vice President Gore. The Bush camp hailed the decision as an unqualified triumph. The Gore camp withheld comment pending further study of the ruling.

Dec. 12, 2018 — “Deal lets tabloid avoid U.S. charges over hush money in 2016 election” via Reuters — The publisher of the National Enquirer has reached a deal with U.S. prosecutors in New York to avoid charges over its role in paying hush money to a woman before the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, prosecutors said. Former Playboy model Karen McDougal has said she had a monthslong affair with U.S. President Donald Trump years before he took office and that she sold her story for $150,000 to American Media, but it was never published. The incident involved a practice known as “catch and kill” to prevent a potentially damaging article from being published.

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