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<\/a>John Rutherford supports final appropriations bills, while Anna Paulina Luna opposes the package over spending priorities.<\/p>\n\u201cToday the House voted to fund a minibus that included many pet projects for the various Senators that are NOT voting for the SAVE Act,\u201d she posted, referring to a stalled elections bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe House will tell you they care about election integrity, meanwhile, funding these bulls*** projects and let\u2019s not forget giving money to hospitals that perform trans surgeries on kids. \u2026 I did not vote for this nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, six Republicans and one Democrat in Florida\u2019s House delegation voted against<\/a> the final budget bill. But other lawmakers voted differently on portions.<\/p>\n Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat, supported the final minibus, saying it was \u201cheartening to see Democrats and Republicans come together to reject the harmful budget cuts proposed by the Trump Administration.\u201d But she voted with every Florida Democrat against a Homeland Security budget in response to recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).<\/p>\n \u201cThe militarization of American cities is dangerous and un-American. At Donald Trump\u2019s direction, ICE has discarded its core mission and is operating without accountability \u2014 targeting and terrorizing nonviolent people, violating Americans\u2019 constitutional rights, and fueling fear in communities across the country,\u201d Castor said.<\/p>\n \u201cCongress 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Bogus birthright?<\/p>\n Sen. Rick Scott wants to restrict Chinese nationals from having babies in the U.S.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThis 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,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 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,\u201d Scott wrote. \u201cThis is an ongoing security vulnerability that (Chinese President) Xi Jinping and his successors in the CCP will be more than happy to exploit.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott said citizens of U.S. territories deserve better than exploitation by the CCP\u2019s plots.<\/p>\n Saving a citizen<\/p>\n Two St. Johns County deputies earned accolades from Sen. Ashley Moody. At a county event<\/a>, the Plant City Republican honored Deps. Eddy Monduy and Jeremiah Foster with Florida\u2019s Finest Awards.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m honored to recognize two deputies whose courage, quick thinking and selflessness embody what it truly means to be Florida\u2019s Finest,\u201d Moody said. \u201cIn their heroic rescue of a senior from a sinking vehicle, there was no room for hesitation and no margin of error \u2014 but they put their safety aside to save another\u2019s life. I\u2019m grateful for their dedication to service.\u201d<\/p>\n St. Johns Sheriff Robert Hardwick thanked Moody for recognizing the work of first responders with the Florida\u2019s Finest Awards, and before that with Back the Blue Awards during her tenure as Florida Attorney General.<\/p>\n \u201cSen. 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,\u201d Hardwick said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs 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\u2019s Office.\u201d<\/p>\n Push to PROTECT<\/p>\n Rep. Jimmy Patronis took his fight to repeal legal immunity for social media platforms to the House floor.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Patronis said.<\/p>\n \u201cBig 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The PROTECT Act<\/a> would repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a controversial provision.<\/p>\n Scorecards in<\/p>\n The Susan B. Anthony List issued its annual National Pro-Life Scorecard<\/a>, offering polarizing assessments of Florida\u2019s congressional delegation. Both Scott and Moody received \u201cA+\u201d ratings from the anti-abortion organization, as did 18 of 20 Republicans representing Florida in the House.<\/p>\n Many Republicans welcomed the assessment. \u201cThe right to life is one of our nation\u2019s founding principles, and I\u2019m proud to help protect the most vulnerable in our society. I\u2019m grateful for the SBA List and will continue to be a strong voice for the voiceless in the House,\u201d said Rep. Aaron Bean, a Fernandina Beach Republican.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, every Democrat from Florida received an \u201cF\u201d from the group.<\/p>\n Two members fell in the middle of the continuum: Reps. Carlos Gim\u00e9nez and Mar\u00eda Elvira Salazar, both Miami-Dade Republicans.<\/p>\n 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 Gim\u00e9nez 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 Gim\u00e9nez in \u201cB\u201d territory.<\/p>\n Salazar fell to a \u201cC\u201d for voting to pass Jeffries\u2019 measure on the floor, which, if passed in the Senate, would extend tax credits for three years.<\/p>\n CBO slight<\/p>\n In a show of frustration with unfavorable analysis, Rep. Cory Mills filed legislation to rename the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) as the \u201cChina Budget Office.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s adversaries, Mills said.<\/p>\n \u201cWashington 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,\u201d Mills said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese failures didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Iconic<\/p>\n 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<\/a>). The bill, crafted with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, would criminalize<\/a> the creation and distribution of deepfake porn without consent.<\/p>\n \u201cDeepfakes are not harmless, and they are not victimless,\u201d said Lee, a Thonotosassa Republican. \u201cThey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI believed that the worst was behind me, but it wasn\u2019t, because today, what happened to me then is happening now to millions of women and girls in a new and more terrifying way,\u201d Hilton said.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore, someone had to betray your trust and steal something real. Now, all it takes is a computer and a stranger\u2019s imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n Saving children<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Specifically, the legislation would compel experts at institutions of higher learning or working in independent groups to work on the Justice Department\u2019s National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.<\/p>\n \u201cCrimes against children are among the most horrific and devastating offenses imaginable, and too often they are enabled by rapidly evolving technology,\u201d Buchanan said.<\/p>\n \u201cLaw enforcement cannot fight this crisis alone. I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocacy groups said the legislation would be a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a rapidly growing foundation of research and best practices that have been shown to protect children from violence and crime,\u201d said Dr. David Finkelhor, Director of the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Animal rights<\/p>\n For years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has funded animal research testing in other countries, including procedures banned in the U.S.<\/p>\n But a growing number of politicians on both sides of the aisle object.<\/p>\n Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, filed legislation this week that would stop any taxpayer dollars from going to the practice.<\/p>\n \u201cTorturing 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 \u2014 especially considering the NIH has set clear guidelines for domestic laboratories to follow,\u201d Steube said.<\/p>\n His Worldwide Animal Testing Compliance and Harmonization (WATCH) Act<\/a> would prohibit the international funding of research overseas that violates any of the animal welfare protections governing scientists in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cAny scientific research involving animals demands proper care and a humane environment for God\u2019s 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,\u201d Steube said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Condo down-payments<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cFloridians 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%,\u201d the Naples Republican said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Flight change<\/p>\n The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has changed flight restrictions around Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago estate, lessening the impact on Palm Beach County neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Rep. Lois Frankel, a West Palm Beach Democrat, said the move showed some progress.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m 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,\u201d she said. \u201cMy office will continue working with all stakeholders to reach a fair and lasting solution.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s first term, constant restrictions<\/a> on airspace, even when the President is not in town, have meant rerouting all other flights to and from Palm Beach International Airport.<\/p>\n The FAA said details about the changes in flight restrictions will be made publicly available in the coming days.<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s future?<\/p>\n Venezuelan opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado has made several public appearances in Washington since the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. Most recently, she appeared alongside Reps. Mario D\u00edaz-Balart and Gim\u00e9nez at a news conference on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n Machado at the event called the South Florida Republicans, along with Salazar, \u201cgenuine champions of our cause since the very beginning until the end.\u201d She also said the events of the year would lead to a free Cuba and Nicaragua, as well as a change in Venezuela.<\/p>\n Gim\u00e9nez called Machado \u201cthe bravest woman I will ever know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAfter enduring years of repression and threats from a brutal narco-terrorist regime, Mar\u00eda Corina united the Venezuelan people behind a historic democratic movement,\u201d he said. \u201cThanks to President Donald J. Trump\u2019s decisive actions in capturing dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, Venezuela is closer than ever to freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n The Congressmen both joined in praising Trump for arresting both Maduro and his wife, Cilio Flores, on narco-terrorism charges. D\u00edaz-Balart suggested that Machado and her political allies would lead Venezuela to a greater future.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has united her people, both in Venezuela and across the diaspora, through a remarkable movement,\u201d he said. \u201cAgainst all odds, she exposed the fraud and illegitimacy of the Maduro regime, with the President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Mar\u00eda Corina Machado winning the overwhelming support of the people in the 2024 Elections.\u201d<\/p>\n On this day<\/p>\n<\/a>Rick Scott pushes restrictions on Chinese surrogacy births, citing risks and exploitation of U.S. laws.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Eddy Monduy and Jeremiah Foster rescue a senior from a sinking vehicle in St. Johns County pond.<\/p>\n<\/a>Jimmy Patronis moves to repeal Section 230, arguing Big Tech must face liability for child exploitation.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Aaron Bean welcomes the Susan B. Anthony List scorecard, pledges advocacy to protect the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n<\/a>Cory Mills proposes renaming the CBO, arguing flawed analyses benefit China over American families.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Laurel Lee joins Paris Hilton to promote a bipartisan bill targeting deepfake pornography and non-consensual abuse.<\/p>\n<\/a>Vern Buchanan introduces bipartisan legislation strengthening collaboration to combat child exploitation and support prevention efforts.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Greg Steube proposes a bill blocking NIH funding for overseas animal research violating U.S. welfare standards.<\/p>\n<\/a>Byron Donalds presses federal officials to revisit Fannie Mae condo rules impacting Florida buyers statewide.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Lois Frankel welcomes FAA changes easing flight restrictions at Mar-a-Lago while urging further relief for residents.<\/p>\n<\/a>Mar\u00eda Corina Machado appears with Mario D\u00edaz-Balart and Carlos Gim\u00e9nez praising the opposition movement and Trump\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n