Budgetary — birthright — Florida’s finest — PROTECT — deepfakes

Closing the books

Congress has passed four appropriations bills, finalizing its version of all budgets for the coming fiscal year. But members of Florida’s congressional delegation disagreed on final votes that didn’t break neatly along party lines.

“With the passage of these final appropriations bills, Congress will deliver core tenets of American strength to the American people, including combat-ready forces, a secure border, effective education and health systems and modern transportation. That’s why I was proud to vote for, and pass, the final four full-year funding bills in the House today,” said Rep. John Rutherford, a Jacksonville Republican.

“These bills will cut billions of dollars in wasteful spending, delivering real savings for Americans. It also brings a lot of great wins to our area, including funding to support road and airport infrastructure in Northeast Florida.”

But Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a St. Petersburg Republican, considered the bills a disappointment and slammed a series of provisions supported by Democrats. She voted against the consolidated budget package.

“Today the House voted to fund a minibus that included many pet projects for the various Senators that are NOT voting for the SAVE Act,” she posted, referring to a stalled elections bill.

“The House will tell you they care about election integrity, meanwhile, funding these bulls*** projects and let’s not forget giving money to hospitals that perform trans surgeries on kids. … I did not vote for this nonsense.”

Ultimately, six Republicans and one Democrat in Florida’s House delegation voted against the final budget bill. But other lawmakers voted differently on portions.

Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat, supported the final minibus, saying it was “heartening to see Democrats and Republicans come together to reject the harmful budget cuts proposed by the Trump Administration.” But she voted with every Florida Democrat against a Homeland Security budget in response to recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“The militarization of American cities is dangerous and un-American. At Donald Trump’s direction, ICE has discarded its core mission and is operating without accountability — targeting and terrorizing nonviolent people, violating Americans’ constitutional rights, and fueling fear in communities across the country,” Castor said.

“Congress must rein in this lawlessness. House Democrats fought to strengthen oversight, accountability, and Civil Rights protections. Unfortunately, House Republicans rejected those safeguards in allegiance to Trump over country. By voting for this legislation, House Republicans are enabling significant abuses of power they claim to oppose. I cannot sanction taxpayer dollars being misused to brutalize U.S. citizens and immigrant families, so I voted no.”

Bogus birthright?

Sen. Rick Scott wants to restrict Chinese nationals from having babies in the U.S.

The Naples Republican led a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum seeking to end a program allowing Chinese individuals to use surrogacy programs to guarantee American citizenship for children.

“This growing practice demonstrates how U.S. laws and programs are being strategically exploited by individuals linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and affiliated business interests,” Scott said.

He blamed former Democratic President Barack Obama for creating a special parole program in the Northern Mariana Islands that allows Chinese citizens to travel and bypass any standard vetting for visas. A similar waiver program was launched in Guam in 2009. Meanwhile, another program established under former President Joe Biden, also a Democrat, allowed visa-free access to some countries for 14 days.

The result, the letter says, was a spike in births to Chinese mothers in U.S. territories, with foreign births in Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands now exceeding those to American parents each year.

“In the next 10 to 20 years, the first beneficiaries of this Obama-era policy could easily apply for high positions within the U.S. federal government and likely receive priority consideration due to fluency in Mandarin,” Scott wrote. “This is an ongoing security vulnerability that (Chinese President) Xi Jinping and his successors in the CCP will be more than happy to exploit.”

Scott said citizens of U.S. territories deserve better than exploitation by the CCP’s plots.

Saving a citizen

Two St. Johns County deputies earned accolades from Sen. Ashley Moody. At a county event, the Plant City Republican honored Deps. Eddy Monduy and Jeremiah Foster with Florida’s Finest Awards.

The deputies rescued a senior who had accidentally driven a vehicle into a retention pond, breaking a window to extract him when water was already up to his neck.

“I’m honored to recognize two deputies whose courage, quick thinking and selflessness embody what it truly means to be Florida’s Finest,” Moody said. “In their heroic rescue of a senior from a sinking vehicle, there was no room for hesitation and no margin of error — but they put their safety aside to save another’s life. I’m grateful for their dedication to service.”

St. Johns Sheriff Robert Hardwick thanked Moody for recognizing the work of first responders with the Florida’s Finest Awards, and before that with Back the Blue Awards during her tenure as Florida Attorney General.

“Sen. Moody consistently has the backs of those in the law enforcement profession. Whether as a prosecutor, judge, Attorney General, or United States Senator, she has never wavered in her support,” Hardwick said.

“As the spouse of a law enforcement officer herself, she understands the commitment our deputies put forth each day as well as their sacrifices. I could not be more grateful for her friendship over the years and her partnership with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.”

Push to PROTECT

Rep. Jimmy Patronis took his fight to repeal legal immunity for social media platforms to the House floor.

The Fort Walton Republican gave a speech urging the body to quickly take up and pass his Promoting Responsible Online Technology and Ensuring Consumer Trust (PROTECT) Act (HR 7045).

“I am a father of two young boys, and I refuse to stand by while powerful technology companies knowingly harm kids without consequences. This is the only industry in America that can knowingly harm our children with no consequences and walk away without responsibility,” Patronis said.

“Big Tech has become digital fentanyl that is slowly killing our kids, pushing parents to the sidelines, acting as therapists, and replacing relationships with robots. This must stop.”

The PROTECT Act would repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a controversial provision.

Scorecards in

The Susan B. Anthony List issued its annual National Pro-Life Scorecard, offering polarizing assessments of Florida’s congressional delegation. Both Scott and Moody received “A+” ratings from the anti-abortion organization, as did 18 of 20 Republicans representing Florida in the House.

Many Republicans welcomed the assessment. “The right to life is one of our nation’s founding principles, and I’m proud to help protect the most vulnerable in our society. I’m grateful for the SBA List and will continue to be a strong voice for the voiceless in the House,” said Rep. Aaron Bean, a Fernandina Beach Republican.

Meanwhile, every Democrat from Florida received an “F” from the group.

Two members fell in the middle of the continuum: Reps. Carlos Giménez and María Elvira Salazar, both Miami-Dade Republicans.

In both cases, the pro-life group docked points for supporting discharge petitions seeking short-term extensions of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Both Giménez and Salazar put names to bipartisan compromises on extensions, though not on the petition by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that reached the floor. But that was enough to put Giménez in “B” territory.

Salazar fell to a “C” for voting to pass Jeffries’ measure on the floor, which, if passed in the Senate, would extend tax credits for three years.

CBO slight

In a show of frustration with unfavorable analysis, Rep. Cory Mills filed legislation to rename the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) as the “China Budget Office.”

His reasoning came from scoring that underestimated the costs of the Obama-championed Affordable Care Act while offering gloomy forecasts for the impact of Trump-era tax cuts. That should earn the office recognition for helping America’s adversaries, Mills said.

“Washington cannot have an honest conversation about budgets, debt, or spending while relying on analyses by the CBO. Under President Donald Trump, the Congressional Budget Office was weaponized to stand in the way of the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and later to undermine efforts like the One Big Beautiful Bill, while at the same time drastically underestimating the true costs of things like the Green New Deal-style spending,” Mills said.

“These failures didn’t just mislead people; they weakened American competitiveness. Communist China exploits those failures through supply chains, debt exposure, trade imbalances and strategic leverage. This legislation forces transparency, restores accountability, and makes it clear that fiscal responsibility and national security go hand in hand. America should never base its economic future on models that benefit China at the expense of American families.”

Iconic

Rep. Laurel Lee stood alongside social media influencer Paris Hilton to promote her Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act (HR 3562). The bill, crafted with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, would criminalize the creation and distribution of deepfake porn without consent.

“Deepfakes are not harmless, and they are not victimless,” said Lee, a Thonotosassa Republican. “They are deliberate digital forgeries, often sexual in nature, created to exploit, harass and humiliate; the technology to make them is becoming more accessible and more widespread, and while the images and the videos may be fake, the harm they cause is very real.”

Hilton, among the supporters at the news conference, arguably knew best the consequences of private content falling into the wrong hands. The reality star was just 19 years old when an ex-boyfriend released an intimate video. She revisited the sex tape controversy that in 2004 became one of the most infamous videos in the early days of internet ubiquity, something she said was dubbed a scandal but should now be recognized as abuse.

“I believed that the worst was behind me, but it wasn’t, because today, what happened to me then is happening now to millions of women and girls in a new and more terrifying way,” Hilton said.

“Before, someone had to betray your trust and steal something real. Now, all it takes is a computer and a stranger’s imagination.”

Saving children

Meanwhile, Rep. Vern Buchanan introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at the exploitation of minors in child porn. He introduced the Stop Crimes Against Children Act with Rep. Chris Pappas, a New Hampshire Democrat, which would expand collaboration opportunities between law enforcement, nonprofit organizations and colleges.

Specifically, the legislation would compel experts at institutions of higher learning or working in independent groups to work on the Justice Department’s National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.

“Crimes against children are among the most horrific and devastating offenses imaginable, and too often they are enabled by rapidly evolving technology,” Buchanan said.

“Law enforcement cannot fight this crisis alone. I’m proud to join Congressman Pappas in advancing this bipartisan legislation. By bringing together nonprofits, researchers and institutions of higher education, we strengthen prevention efforts, improve victim support and ensure our communities are using every available tool to protect children.”

Advocacy groups said the legislation would be a step in the right direction.

“There is a rapidly growing foundation of research and best practices that have been shown to protect children from violence and crime,” said Dr. David Finkelhor, Director of the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center.

“The Stop Crimes Against Children Act will help disseminate those programs and practices more rapidly and effectively. We are making progress, but we could do a lot more with this Act as support.”

Animal rights

For years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has funded animal research testing in other countries, including procedures banned in the U.S.

But a growing number of politicians on both sides of the aisle object.

Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, filed legislation this week that would stop any taxpayer dollars from going to the practice.

“Torturing animals in the name of science is both morally wrong and wholly unnecessary. The fact that the United States continues to fund foreign laboratories that engage in animal cruelty is indefensible — especially considering the NIH has set clear guidelines for domestic laboratories to follow,” Steube said.

His Worldwide Animal Testing Compliance and Harmonization (WATCH) Act would prohibit the international funding of research overseas that violates any of the animal welfare protections governing scientists in the United States.

“Any scientific research involving animals demands proper care and a humane environment for God’s creatures. That is why I am introducing the bipartisan WATCH Act to bar the NIH from funding studies in foreign countries that fail to protect the welfare of innocent animals,” Steube said.

He filed the bill with Rep. Susie Lee, a Nevada Democrat. Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon will carry a Senate companion bill.

Condo down-payments

Rep. Byron Donalds, at a House Oversight Hearing this week, publicly questioned a financial review process that has negatively impacted condominium owners in Florida for almost two decades.

“Floridians seeking to purchase a condo are required to put 25% down up front and are subject to a 75% loan-to-value, while the rest of the country qualifies for 90%,” the Naples Republican said.

That’s because of the Fannie Mae policy put in place in 2008, at the dawn of the Great Recession. Donalds urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to review the regulation. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner committed to doing just that.

“I will make sure that we work very closely with our partners at FHFA to make sure that Florida residents, as it pertains to your issue, are being treated appropriately and fairly in this issue,” Turner said.

The conversation already has Florida Realtors wondering if the change will produce the most significant impact on Florida housing costs in years, and at the moment when Donalds is running for Governor.

Flight change

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has changed flight restrictions around Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, lessening the impact on Palm Beach County neighborhoods.

Rep. Lois Frankel, a West Palm Beach Democrat, said the move showed some progress.

“I’m pleased these changes will reduce the impact on some residents, but there is still more work to do to lessen the burden on the remaining homes in the flight path,” she said. “My office will continue working with all stakeholders to reach a fair and lasting solution.”

Frankel has been speaking both during public hearings and in private with the Secret Service and the FAA about undue burdens now placed on the community where the President calls home. Unlike during Trump’s first term, constant restrictions on airspace, even when the President is not in town, have meant rerouting all other flights to and from Palm Beach International Airport.

The FAA said details about the changes in flight restrictions will be made publicly available in the coming days.

Venezuela’s future?

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has made several public appearances in Washington since the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Most recently, she appeared alongside Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Giménez at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

Machado at the event called the South Florida Republicans, along with Salazar, “genuine champions of our cause since the very beginning until the end.” She also said the events of the year would lead to a free Cuba and Nicaragua, as well as a change in Venezuela.

Giménez called Machado “the bravest woman I will ever know.”

“After enduring years of repression and threats from a brutal narco-terrorist regime, María Corina united the Venezuelan people behind a historic democratic movement,” he said. “Thanks to President Donald J. Trump’s decisive actions in capturing dictator Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela is closer than ever to freedom.”

The Congressmen both joined in praising Trump for arresting both Maduro and his wife, Cilio Flores, on narco-terrorism charges. Díaz-Balart suggested that Machado and her political allies would lead Venezuela to a greater future.

“She has united her people, both in Venezuela and across the diaspora, through a remarkable movement,” he said. “Against all odds, she exposed the fraud and illegitimacy of the Maduro regime, with the President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and María Corina Machado winning the overwhelming support of the people in the 2024 Elections.”

On this day

Jan. 23, 1964 — “Amendment on poll tax ratified” via the Zinn Education Project — The 24th Amendment was ratified, officially abolishing the poll taxes in the South that disenfranchised African Americans (and some poor Whites) from exercising their constitutional right to vote in federal elections. The poll tax, a fee voters had to pay to vote, was one of several Jim Crow devices created to deter the political rights and influence of African Americans in southern states. It took several years, and more violence against Black voters, before the state and local poll taxes were ruled illegal.

Jan. 23, 1907 — “Charles Curtis becomes first Native American elected to Senate” via History.com — The Republican’s tenure later as Herbert Hoover’s Vice President made him the highest-ranking Native American ever to serve in the federal government. Curtis was born in the Kansas Territory shortly before it became his state. His mother, Ellen Papin, was of French, Kaw, Osage and Potawatomi heritage, making him 3/8 Native American. As Americans did not directly elect Senators until 1914, Curtis was first elected to the Senate by the Kansas Legislature. After the 17th Amendment introduced direct election, the people of Kansas elected him three times in a row.

Happy birthday

Best wishes to Reps. Aaron Bean, who turns 59, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who turns 47, on Sunday, Jan. 25.

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