Delegation for 8.2.24: Unrest – deep cuts – ports – censorship – surf’s up

Venezuelan unrest

Days after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claimed an election victory, Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly declared that a lie.

“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” he said in a statement Thursday that also called out arrest threats against opposition candidates, including María Corina Machado.

That was welcome news to several members of Florida’s congressional delegation, who have called for sanctions to be freshly imposed on the South American regime.

Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez and María Elvira Salazar, three Miami area Republicans, joined together and issued a video statement in Spanish expressing solidarity with the Venezuelan people and critics of the regime. Giménez posted the video with a warning to international allies standing with Giménez.

“We, the United States Congresspeople, are with María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia!” reads an English translation. “Countries allied to Nicolás Maduro will have to face severe consequences! This is until the end.”

In a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the three notably also called for the administration to reinstate sanctions against Maduro’s government. The sanctions had been lifted on Venezuela in exchange for a commitment to a free and fair election.

The sanctions enjoy bipartisan support in Florida. Díaz-Balart and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Weston Democrat, filed a House resolution this week that would formally recognize González as Venezuela’s President-elect and impose a fresh round of sanctions. Ten other members of Florida’s House delegation, including six Democrats and four Republicans, signed on as introducing co-sponsors.

“The violent repression of protesters’ demands for democracy must end and a peaceful transfer of power must begin,” Wasserman Schultz said. “The Biden-Harris Administration successfully forced Maduro to hold this election. Now we must bring pressure to bear on Maduro and his cronies to respect the will of the Venezuelan people or face the consequences.”

Díaz-Balart suggested democracy in the entire Western Hemisphere was on the line.

“The United States must stand in solidarity with the brave Venezuelan people who are struggling for democracy and freedom from Maduro’s brutal tyranny,” he said. The regime has been murdering and imprisoning pro-democracy protesters, yet the opposition stands strong. This is not only a pivotal moment for Venezuela, but also for those across our hemisphere and around the world who are struggling for basic human rights under repressive regimes – regimes that are aided by the Maduro dictatorship.”

As for the next steps, Sen. Marco Rubio took a direct approach in demanding regime change in the South American nation, calling more members of the Venezuelan military to turn on Maduro.

“If Maduro does not accept he lost the election, Venezuela will soon find itself isolated from its neighbors and much of the world,” he said. “The only survival option for the Maduro regime is to order the armed forces, National Guard and police to kill their fellow citizens. Those serving in uniform have a historic opportunity to prevent a bloodbath and secure a peaceful transition of power.”

The Miami Republican also swapped his profile picture on social media with a wanted poster from the Drug Enforcement Agency, dating back to 2020, that offers $15 million in U.S. dollars for information leading to the arrest of Maduro.

At the same time, the U.S. this week arrested Jordan Goudreau, a former Green Beret, accused of smuggling arms to Army deserters to use in a coup. A federal indictment unsealed in Tampa alleges Goudreau and a partner in Venezuela sent AR-style guns to Colombia, according to The Associated Press. Goudreau was arrested in New York.

Deep cuts

Even though both of Florida’s Republican Senators count themselves as fiscal conservatives, a tax-cut package divided Sens. Rubio and Rick Scott.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed legislation to the floor this week, which was primarily sold as an expansion of the child tax credit.

While widely seen as a Democratic counter to remarks by Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance about “childless cat ladies,” the bill itself already cleared the Republican-controlled House on a 357-70 vote.

But the Senate failed to advance it, with a 48-44 cloture vote stopping the bill’s consideration in the upper chamber. Three Republicans, though, sided with Senate Democrats in supporting the bill, including Scott.

The Naples Republican will notably stand for re-election this year. But he has for years insisted that the federal government should ease the tax burden on middle-class families.

Rubio, though, joined most Senate Republicans in voting “no.” In a Newsweek op-ed, he noted that he fought members of his party in 2017 and backed doubling the child tax credit then.

“Since then, however, runaway spending by the Biden-Harris Administration has slashed roughly 20% of the value of $2,000, which means the average family’s taxes have effectively increased,” the Miami Republican argued in the op-ed.

The legislation remains stalled as the Senate heads into the August recess and Florida lawmakers turn toward the coming Aug. 20 Primary.

Of note, when the bill passed in the House, it also drew some opposition from the Right. Most Florida lawmakers from both sides supported the tax package, but Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost and Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Brian Mast, Cory Mills, Bill Posey and Michael Waltz were among 70 votes against the bill.

Protecting the ports

Florida’s Senators don’t want the Chinese government owning shares of America’s ports. Rubio and Scott now want the Defense Department to proactively counter a buying spree by the Eastern power.

The two Florida Senators filed the bipartisan Strategic Ports Reporting Act with Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. If passed, the legislation will require the development of an interagency strategy report to address China’s investments in key ports in the U.S. and around the globe.

“Protecting the ports, seaports, and infrastructure of the U.S., our allies, and trading partners around the globe is critical to our economic independence, U.S. national security, and the security of our allies,” said Scott, a Naples Republican.

“As our nation faces threats from adversaries around the world and Communist China continues its quest for global dominance, we must eliminate any ownership, influence, or access the Communist Chinese regime may have over our allies’ infrastructure and data that can be used against us. Our bill requires the Department of Defense to identify our most critical ports worldwide to ensure continued U.S. trade and military operations and develop a plan to keep them secure from our enemies. This overdue action is essential to protecting American trade and security.”

Florida is home to 14 seaports, which have become more strategically and economically significant since the expansion of the Panama Canal.

“Florida is home to many of our nation’s key ports. Our nation can’t allow Communist China to invest in geographically and economically strategic ports,” Rubio said. “We must prevent, at all costs, the chance for our adversaries to use our resources against us.”

Conversation muted

Gaetz says some of the nation’s top tech companies suppressed information about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. And he’d like the Homeland Security Department to do something about it.

The Fort Walton Beach Republican sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas accusing Facebook and Google of censoring information.

“Numerous news outlets have reported various irregularities in search results and homepages,” Gaetz said. “For example, Facebook has acknowledged that it censored an authentic photograph of Donald Trump as ‘false information,’ and Google has acknowledged that it excludes and does not autocomplete results for searches relating to the Trump assassination attempt.”

For the record, Meta representative Dani Lever acknowledged in a public statement that the platform flagged a photo of Trump for a period. The now-iconic photo shows Trump raising a first after being injured at a Pennsylvania rally this month. Lever said the problem arose because doctored photos of the image were distributed online.

“This was an error. This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing the Secret Service agents smiling. In some cases, our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo,” Lever posted on X. “This has been fixed and we apologize for the mistake.”

Google has denied that it has limited internet searches about the assassination attempt. The question arose after users shared images of searches where the autocomplete feature offered no assistance, even with searches that partially spelled out Trump’s name.

Sewer service

The version of the Water and Resources Development Act passed in the House could bring millions in funding to Central Florida. Mills touted spending dedicated to local initiatives in Deltona, Oviedo and Volusia County.

“The new environmental infrastructure authorities include $31.2 million for Deltona, Florida, $10 million for Oviedo, Florida, and report language expediting the review and completion of the Volusia County storm damage reduction and coral resilience study,” the New Smyrna Beach Republican said.

“As a native Floridian and resident of New Smyrna Beach, I have seen firsthand the damage past hurricanes have inflicted on our beloved beaches here in Central Florida. In addition to the residents who live here year-round, our beaches also welcome countless tourists throughout the year. I have met with officials here in Florida’s 7th and will do everything I can in Congress to ensure our district gets the recovery efforts we need.”

Deltona leaders plan to use the money to expand a sewer system to handle more commercial development. Oviedo’s funds will be used to obtain an additional 2.5 million gallons per day in groundwater capacity from the Lower Floridan Aquifer. Volusia County will use its portion of the money for a shoreline study in anticipation of coastline restoration following Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022.

“We very much appreciate the efforts of Congressman Mills and his staff and their support of the repair and replenishment of Volusia County Beaches,” said Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald. “The beaches are one of Volusia County’s strongest economic drivers and expediting the feasibility study will help the community continue its recovery from Hurricanes Ian and Nicole.”

Safer web surfing

Growing concerns about the safety of children online drove Rep. Kathy Castor to champion more significant internet safeguards this Congress. The Senate passed similar legislation in an overwhelming 91-3 bipartisan vote, and she hopes to see the House also act.

Castor introduced the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection (COPPA 2.0) Act (HR 7890) with Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican, and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) (HR 7891) with Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Palm Harbor Republican, in April.

“America’s kids can’t afford for us to continue waiting to get them the online protections they need and deserve,” the Tampa Democrat said. “I urge swift action in the House and encourage my colleagues to support COPPA 2.0 and KOSA.”

Now that the Senate has passed both bills within a larger legislative package, she wants a vote in the lower chamber. The House has passed a version of KOSA out of the Subcommittee, though COPPA 2.0 has yet to be heard.

“For years, I have sounded the alarm about the manipulative and predatory practices of Big Tech platforms that profit off our kids’ data and risk exposing them to harmful content. I introduced the bipartisan COPPA 2.0 and KOSA in the House to give young people a fighting chance to avoid dangerous online content and situations that have imperiled their lives and privacy. Research unequivocally shows that our increasingly digital world is hazardous for children, with popular apps pushing kids to spend unhealthy amounts of time on their devices, severely affecting their mental health,” Castor said.

“Congress must establish and strengthen safeguards to protect kids’ data, end the incessant surveillance of children, address addictive design features and require transparency in algorithms.”

Security and science

A series of funding bills passed by the House includes nine separate budget and policy initiatives introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan, the Republican Co-Chair of Florida’s congressional delegation.

A Defense budget includes $3 million for measures to prevent military training accidents, $2 million for the Army Body Composition Program and $1 million for a pre-training course to whip Navy recruits into physical shape.

He also championed $4 million to increase physical technology, including drones and security cameras along the border and artificial intelligence to ensure cutting-edge monitoring technology is used. That was in a Homeland Security funding bill that also had $2 million for investigations of missing and exploited children and $3 million to increase research into preventing cyberattacks.

“We must protect our brave service members, secure our wide-open southern border and work to preserve our pristine waterways that Floridians rely on for our tourism-based economy,” the Longboat Key Republican said.

Additionally, an Interior and Environmental budget bill included $1 million for manatee rescues through the Prescott Grant Program, $2 million to research Harmful Algal Blooms and $1 million for the Department of Environmental Protection to combat the effects of red tide and other algae.

“I’m very pleased to see these proposals pass the House with broad bipartisan support and will work to see them enacted into law,” Buchanan added.

Glow up

Since his arrival in Washington, Rep. Byron Donalds has been focused on nuclear power’s potential. This week, he announced a “Summer 2024 Nuclear Push,” advancing advocacy for a half-dozen bills on atomic power while also lobbying national and international entities to spur investment.

“My nuclear financing letter campaign promotes American nuclear export potential to top global institutions with nuclear financing capabilities,” the Naples Republican posted on X.

He sent letters to World Bank President Ajay Banga, Export-Import Bank President Reta Jo Lewis, Development Finance Corp. CEO Scott Nathan and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Meanwhile, the lawmaker will rally support for several bills in Congress.

Donalds filed all of the bills, including the USA-Russia-China Nuclear Competition Resolution (HR 1395), Maximize Risk-Informed Performance-Based Licensing Act (HR 9198), Exclude Pesky Fees From Duplicative Nuclear Reviews Act (HR 9199), Atomic Supply Chain Solutions Act (HR 9200), Nuclear USA Act (HR 9201), and Nuclear Waste Reprocessing Act (HR 9202).

Collect and destroy

The trafficking of fentanyl remains a chief concern when it comes to controlling the border. Salazar this week introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at disrupting the drug trade before substances get near the United States.

The Miami Republican introduced the Destruction Initiative for Stored Precursors Overseas and Safe Enforcement (DISPOSE) Act, which would create destruction facilities in Mexico, Colombia and Peru for fentanyl and many of the chemicals used to make the narcotic.

“Fentanyl is killing thousands of Americans, and we can no longer afford to sit still as our enemies flood our communities with these dangerous drugs,” Salazar said. “The DISPOSE Act will combat the crisis by working with our partners in Latin America to destroy these drugs well before they cross our borders.”

She filed the bipartisan bill with Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat.

The legislative calls for a Precursor Chemical Destruction Initiative in the Western Hemisphere. By assisting in international efforts to seize and destroy the ingredients for the deadly drug, such an initiative could alleviate a backlog in disposing of the products intercepted at the U.S. Southern border. Proper disposal could also bring environmental benefits.

“Congress needs to do our part to address the roots of the fentanyl crisis in our country. The DISPOSE Act will help our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere safely destroy fentanyl and precursor chemicals that have been seized from the black market,” Castro said.

Celly time

The Senate officially passed a resolution, introduced by Rubio and Scott, to celebrate the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup win.

The legislation details the path the National Hockey League team took to its first championship, including playoff victories against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers, as well as 52 regular-season victories.

It also notes that center Aleksander Barkov won the Selke Trophy, and that forward Sam Reinhart and Sergei Bobrovsky were All-Stars this season. Owner Vincent Viola, CEO Matthew Caldwell, General Manager Bill Zito, and coach Paul Maurice also get their names checked.

The measure passed through unanimous consent.

On this day

Aug. 2, 1937 – “Marijuana Tax Act enacted” via Living New Deal – The federal government began taxing marijuana in 1937 after Harry Anslinger, Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, testified to a congressional committee that smoking marijuana produces in users “insanity, criminality and death.” The Marihuana Tax Act regulated the importation, cultivation, possession and/or distribution of cannabis and placed a tax on its sale. Moses Baca and Samuel Caldwell, arrested in Denver for possession and dealing, respectively, were the first in the nation to be convicted of failure to pay the tax.

Aug. 2, 1990 – “Iraq invades Kuwait” via BBC News – More than 100,000 Iraqi soldiers backed up by 700 tanks invaded the Gulf state of Kuwait. Iraqi forces established a provisional government and their leader, Saddam Hussein, threatened to turn Kuwait City into a “graveyard” if any other country dared to challenge the “takeover by force.” Iraqi jets have bombed targets in the capital and special forces landed at the defense ministry and the Emir’s palace. Roadblocks are in place and there are reports of looting in the city’s shops. The younger brother of Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah was killed while trying to defend the palace, while the Emir himself escaped to Saudi Arabia.

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