Iran war — delayed — DHS fight — surrogacy — harm reduction

War in Iran

​​After U.S. strikes killed Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the attention of Florida’s congressional delegation turned squarely on the Middle East. Florida leaders made clear the stakes, both for the U.S. on the world stage and in who wields power in Washington.

Several Florida figures besides President Donald Trump played key roles in orchestrating the attack, something clear in instantly historic photos from a makeshift situation room in Mar-a-Lago. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles were seated inches from the Commander-in-Chief.

The strikes occurred hours after Rubio, in his role as America’s top diplomat, designated Iran as a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention.” “For decades, the Iranian regime has cruelly detained innocent Americans and citizens of other nations to use as political leverage. Iran must end this abhorrent practice and immediately free all unjustly detained Americans,” Rubio posted.

In Congress, lawmakers’ attention focused on the level of oversight appropriate for military actions. While Democrats in a traditionally pro-military state issued remarks that strongly condemned the Iranian regime, they also demanded consultation.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Parkland Democrat, sent a letter to Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth on the weekend’s developments, requesting a classified briefing but also lamenting a lack of outreach by the administration before such a world-shifting action. He wants a rundown to lawmakers by today at the latest.

“The latest round of U.S.-Iran talks regarding diplomatic engagement and nuclear-related concerns concluded with an understanding that both parties will continue to engage. The Omani Foreign Affairs Minister reportedly stated that technical-level discussions will be held in Vienna next week. While negotiations continue, the broader security situation is extremely tense. U.S. forces have positioned significant naval and air assets in the Middle East, and there have been repeated public warnings of the potential for military action should diplomacy fail,” wrote Moskowitz, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“In light of the increasingly sensitive situation in the region and Congress’s authorities related to treaties and declarations of war, I request a briefing be provided to the relevant Committees on the status of negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, diplomatic coordination with allies and partners, and a security assessment of risk factors in the region.

Several Democrats want a war powers resolution debated on the floor to clarify Congress’s role. But Rep. Brian Mast, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spent much of the weekend batting down concerns of Democrats. In an appearance on Fox News, the Stuart Republican said lives would be put at risk if Congress tried to muddle up war execution powers.

“This war powers resolution that is going through Congress in a couple of days, where Democrats are trying to say the President has no authority at all to defend America against Iran — that’s what Democrats will do this coming week,” Mast said.

“Keep this in mind. There are thousands of Americans around the Middle East. There are allies of ours in the Middle East. And what is knocking all of those Iranian ballistic missiles out of the sky is American ordinance firing into the sky to save condo buildings and parks, and anywhere they are sheltering in place. If the Democratic bill passed, it would literally be telling the American forces to withdraw from hostilities. Stop shooting those missiles out of the sky.”

Moonshot delay

It will be at least another year before astronauts launch from Cape Canaveral with plans to land on the moon.

NASA on Friday announced plans to increase the scope of the Artemis program, but that also means a series of low-orbit missions to the moon will precede any landing. Artemis III missions in low-earth orbit will now take place in 2027, and a moon landing will not take place until Artemis IV in 2028.

“NASA must standardize its approach, increase flight rate safely and execute on the President’s national space policy. With credible competition from our greatest geopolitical adversary increasing by the day, we need to move faster, eliminate delays, and achieve our objectives,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

“Standardizing vehicle configuration, increasing flight rate and progressing through objectives in a logical, phased approach is how we achieved the near-impossible in 1969, and it is how we will do it again.”

The schedule changes were decided, NASA officials said, after the Artemis Space Launch System was rolled to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building last month for repairs. Engineers are addressing a series of systems.

Once NASA sends astronauts back to the moon, the agency plans to conduct at least one lunar surface landing every year afterward.

Homeland pressure

Instability in Iran also brings domestic fears, with the FBI putting counterterrorism units on high alert, and a shooting in Austin already shows a “potential nexus to terrorism.” This has Republicans demanding that Democrats relent in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding fight and drop their demands on immigration enforcement.

“It is irresponsible that Democrats continue to shut down DHS during this time,” said Sen. Ashley Moody, a Plant City Republican.

“We are in a conflict with a regime who has sworn to destroy us. Now more than ever, I would ask my Democrat friends to put politics aside and pass DHS funding. We need our men and women who defend our homeland to be fully supported and paid. We cannot afford anything but 100% support and funding for DHS.”

Late Monday, the House did bring an amended Homeland Security Budget to the Rules Committee, potentially signaling a deal.

Surrogacy exports

While Sen. Rick Scott hopes Congress will change citizenship laws surrounding paid surrogacy, he wants the Justice Department to address a growing foreign industry now.

The Naples Republican and Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi calling for a federal investigation into more than 100 reported Chinese-owned surrogacy services operating in California.

“These agencies cater almost exclusively to wealthy Chinese clients, and some are affiliated with Chinese state-owned entities. Chinese nationals pay women living in the United States more than $50,000 to serve as surrogates. The children are born on United States soil and granted automatic citizenship. And in most cases, the infants are promptly flown to China and raised there under the direct influence of the Chinese Communist Party,” the letter reads.

“In one instance, a single Chinese billionaire has fathered more than 100 American-born children through this process, with the explicit goal of producing male heirs who hold U.S. passports. These children will eventually be eligible to vote in American elections, access sensitive positions or otherwise advance Beijing’s interests, all while owing their allegiance to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).”

The Senators urged the Justice Department to see if the practices violate current federal statutes related to immigration fraud, human trafficking or even foreign business licensing. The lawmakers also hope to get an estimate of how many such surrogacy services are operating in the U.S. and how many are run by Chinese nationals.

Farm bill fight

As the farm bill heads into a Committee markup, Rep. Kat Cammack said she wants certainty for Florida farmers.

“Florida agriculture cannot afford to be an afterthought in a bill that determines the future of America’s food supply,” the Gainesville Republican said.

Cammack is now the only Florida lawmaker on the House Committee crafting the Farm, Food, and National Security Act bill (HR 7567).

Cammack said Americans deserve the process to get back on track.

“I’ve met directly with our farmers and brought their priorities back to Washington as we prepare to protect Florida’s interests,” Cammack said. “We’ve secured important wins, but the legislative process is where those wins are tested. Eight years is long enough. Our producers need certainty, flexibility and fairness. Food security is national security.”

She heads into markup with a list of provisions she wants in the legislative package before it heads to the floor.

Those include modernizing a tree assistance program to reflect real-world specialty crop losses, creating a Specialty Crop Emergency Assistance Framework, and increasing specialty crop block grants and innovation funding.

Florida is the nation’s top producer of Valencia oranges, sugarcane, watermelons and sweet corn, and is second behind only California in strawberries and tomatoes.

Cammack also wants the bill to include greater flexibility in payment options for producers who earn more than 75% of their income from agriculture.

Following several years of impact from hurricanes, freezes and fruit infections, Cammack wants disaster relief improvements following extreme weather impacts and long-term federal funding to fight citrus greening.

She also wants stability in sugar loan servicing, even during long lapses in appropriations.

Cammack said American agricultural producers also need greater export authority and investment in rural infrastructure, including broadband.

Advancing HSAs

Enthusiasm for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) has Rep. Aaron Bean pushing for the policy independent of broader health care policy talks.

The Fernandina Beach Republican just introduced the HSAs For All Act (HR 7681), which would decouple accounts from high-deductible health plan requirements, allowing anyone enrolled in an Affordable Care Act plan or an employer-sponsored health plan to open and contribute to an HSA.

“During the State of the Union, we heard a clear call to put patients first and make health care more affordable. The HSA for All Act turns that vision into action. Americans deserve more freedom and flexibility when it comes to their health care,” Bean said. “By expanding access to Health Savings Accounts, we’re giving families the tools to plan ahead, save smarter and take control of their health care future.”

Bean remains a co-sponsor of the More Affordable Care Act (HR 6538), the House companion to a broader reform package championed by Scott in the Senate.

He said the latest bill aims to capitalize on the momentum behind HSAs specifically. And several conservative health groups agreed.

“Our health care system is seriously off track, and the No. 1 problem is affordability. Health costs are rising three times faster than wages,” said Joel White, President of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage.

“Because health costs are rising faster than income, affordability is getting worse. Congressman Bean’s bill will help reverse these trends, providing relief to an additional 150 million Americans who would gain access to more affordable coverage and lower health costs.”

Harm reduction

Rep. Mike Haridopolos is the latest member of Florida’s delegation to join the House Tobacco Harm Reduction Caucus, a bipartisan coalition aimed at adopting harm reduction methods and innovation as part of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control.

Haridopolos’ inclusion follows Republican Reps. Laurel Lee and Neal Dunn, who joined in October, and Reps. Byron Donalds and Bean, who joined in August. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Miramar Democrat, previously joined the caucus.

Rather than solely pushing for a quit-only approach — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that only about 10% of adult smokers successfully quit each year — the caucus pushes for policy that emphasizes harm reduction, such as vapor, nicotine pouches or heat-not-burn products.

Additionally, the caucus works to tackle underage use, promote smoking prevention, and identify methods to improve public understanding of less harmful products available.

Members from the Florida delegation join about 25 others from across the nation in the caucus.

Bashing book bans

A National Day of Reading prompted two members of the delegation to spotlight Florida’s recent book-banning controversies.

Reps. Maxwell Frost and Frederica Wilson, both Democrats, called for passage of their Fight Book Bans Act (HR 7661), which would allow the Department of Education to provide grants of up to $100,000 to School Districts and cover the costs of opposing bad-faith book bans. As written, the legislation budgets up to $15 million over five years.

“Book bans in Florida and in states across the nation are a direct attack on our freedoms and liberties everywhere. As my home state shamefully leads the country in book bans, we cannot let this censorship and dismantling of our education system go unchecked,” said Frost, an Orlando Democrat.

“What we are seeing in Florida and states like Texas, Utah and Missouri are loud and clear attempts by far-right conservative leaders to silence and erase our Black, brown, Hispanic and LGBTQ+ communities. The Fight Book Bans Act takes a stand against censorship to firmly stand on the side of history, education, our students, teachers and schools who don’t deserve to suffer the consequences of radical politics in the classroom. This is about protecting our libraries and protecting truth and history.”

Wilson, a former educator, said Florida’s crackdown on books in schools has proved especially hurtful to children.

“As a former teacher and principal, I have watched a child discover their power in the pages of a book,” the Miami-Dade Democrat said.

“That is what education is meant to do. Yet in Florida, thousands of books by Black, brown, and LGBTQ+ authors are being banned. This is not protection. It is censorship that erases stories, hides history, and limits our children’s imagination. Our schools should open doors, not build walls around knowledge. I stand with Rep. Maxwell Frost to fight these book bans because our children deserve truth, not fear. I will always stand on the side of freedom.”

Housing crisis

Rep. Lois Frankel, at an event in West Palm Beach, announced an $850,000 federal investment in the Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency. The money, earmarked for an attainable housing project, will be used to purchase available, blighted and foreclosed properties.

The CRA has a project underway to build 700 units and make them available to renters and first-time homebuyers. Frankel, a West Palm Beach Democrat, included the project among her community project funding requests this Congress.

Frankel said the money addressed a critical issue facing working-class residents in the region, a place with some of the fastest-rising real estate values in the country.

“In Palm Beach County, we know that more than half of the people are spending more than 30% of their income on housing, much more for some people,” Frankel said. “With the rising cost of living today, that means a lot of people are struggling.”

She presented the money to Lake Worth Beach Mayor Betty Resch and CRA Director Loan Oliva.

Frankel’s office said that in Florida, the rising housing prices have reached crisis levels.

Nearly 1 million low-income renters across the state spend more than 40% of their income on housing, according to statistics released by the office. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Palm Beach County exceeds $2,200.

Cuba up next?

With Iran’s Supreme Leader dead and Venezuela’s former President Nicolás Maduro in federal custody, much of Florida’s Cuban contingent wants more dominoes falling closer to home.

“If I were the Cuban leaders, I’d take notice,” said Rep. Carlos Giménez, a Miami-Dade Republican, to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.

He has been vocal for years in criticism of the communist government in Cuba, and suggested regime change was in the air. Cuba notably provided security to Maduro when a military strike in Caracas resulted in the Venezuelan leader’s arrest — and left much of that security force dead.

Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart on social media posted an emoticon of an hourglass, along with photos of Maduro, Khamenei, Cuban political leader Raúl Castro and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. The words “Captured” and “Eliminated” appear across the first two shots, implying captions on the latter two could soon follow.

Giménez, the only sitting member of Congress born in Cuba, has openly pushed for a change in leadership, whether by the people on the island or with U.S. assistance.

“For decades, Cubans have endured repression, shortages, and silence, but the desire for freedom has never disappeared,” he posted on X. “Cuba is next. Are the Cuban people ready for a turning point?”

On this day

March 3, 1845 — “Florida becomes 27th state” via the Florida Department of State — William Moseley was elected the new state’s first Governor, and David Levy Yulee, one of Florida’s leading proponents for statehood, became a Senator. By 1850, the population had grown to 87,445, including about 39,000 enslaved African Americans and 1,000 free Black people. The slavery issue began to dominate the affairs of the new state. Most Florida voters — who were white males, ages 21 or older — did not oppose slavery. However, they were concerned about the growing opposition to it in the North, and during the 1850s, they viewed the new anti-slavery Republican Party with suspicion. In the 1860 presidential election, no Floridians voted for Abraham Lincoln.

March 3, 1931 — “’Star-Spangled Banner’ becomes national anthem” via History.com — In 1814, Francis Scott Key composed the lyrics after witnessing the massive overnight British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. Key’s words were later set to the tune of “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a popular English song. Throughout the 19th century, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was regarded as the national anthem by most branches of the U.S. armed forces. It was not until 1916, and the signing of an executive order by President Woodrow Wilson, that it was formally designated. Congress passed an act confirming Wilson’s presidential order, and President Herbert Hoover signed it.

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Peter Schorsch publishes Delegation, compiled by Jacob Ogles, edited and assembled by Phil Ammann and Ryan Nicol, with contributions by Janelle Irwin Taylor.