The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) specifically slagged U.S. Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Darren Soto, targeted Democrats in battleground districts.<\/p>\n
\u201cRadical Democrat Darren Soto and his lazy colleague Jared Moskowitz voted to block critical funding for Floridians,\u201d said NRCC spokesperson Maureen O\u2019Toole. \u201cTheir radical crusade to defund law enforcement at the expense of their constituents\u2019 safety and betterment of their communities is wrong, and voters will hold them accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soto this year pursued some $10.45 million through community project funding that made it into budgets voted on this year. That includes projects related to flooding in Central Florida, such as $2 million for a stormwater project at Buenaventura Lakes<\/a>, another $2 million for a similar effort at Narcoossee Road and Vista Lakes<\/a>, and $850,000 for a Belle Isle flood mitigation project<\/a>.<\/p>\n The budget also includes $1.2 million for a Columbia Avenue Complete Streets<\/a> project in Kissimmee; $850,000 to help with land acquisition for Orange County\u2019s Green PLACE<\/a> land acquisition program; $850,000 for a Poinciana pedestrian safety project; $850,000 for Oakwood senior housing; $500,000 for an outdoor learning project at Valencia College; and $250,000 for LYNX digital signage.<\/p>\n Soto\u2019s Office noted that the money for projects in his district came from other funding silos, including appropriations bills for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies; and Energy and Water Development. That means most of the funding runs through the House and Urban Development Department and the Interior Department.<\/p>\n Because those budgets already were approved by the House and Senate, the funding should still flow to Florida. And all those budgets initially passed in the House on a bipartisan vote, with every Florida Democrat supporting the bills except U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost of Orlando.<\/p>\n However, after the appropriations returned to the House during negotiations with the Senate, all that spending was included in an omnibus bill (HR 7148<\/a>) that only narrowly passed in the House on a 217-214 vote. Every Florida Democrat voted \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kissimmee Democrat defended his vote.<\/p>\n \u201cI voted NO on the ICE budget,\u201d Soto said. \u201cThis budget fails to include critical ICE reforms like no masks, ID requirements, prohibition on sensitive areas, stronger guardrails against their reckless abuses and more.\u201d<\/p>\n The budget also contains $8.45 million in public safety projects in Moskowitz\u2019s district. That includes $2 million for a Jeffrey Street<\/a> railroad and highway grade-crossing, $1.5 million for park improvements in Parkland<\/a>, $1.2 million for a mobility project at the Las Olas corridor<\/a> in Fort Lauderdale, and $1 million for Port Everglades Bypass Road<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other South Florida items include $850,000 for a Dixie Highway safety fence, $850,000 for improvements to Burt Aaronson Regional Park, $800,000 for Everglades Memorial Loop, and $250,000 to replace Lighthouse Point Bridge.<\/p>\n Moskowitz\u2019s Office did not respond to emails about the spending items.<\/p>\n The Parkland Democrat has been considered the most moderate member of Florida\u2019s delegation since his arrival in Congress. But he has remained in lockstep with Democrats using the budget as leverage to obtain reforms in DHS. Even outside the ICE issues, he criticized the DHS handling of disaster response.<\/p>\n When asked last week what could break an impasse on agency funding, he suggested top-down changes.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how the Kristi Noem resignation letter is coming,\u201d Moskowitz said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if they\u2019re one or two paragraphs in, but they should get that done. That might move the needle.\u201d<\/p>\n The Senate and House ultimately approved spending for all agencies outside DHS, leaving only that agency in shutdown mode. That means unless funding was specifically included in the Homeland Security budget, it will move forward regardless how the individual Representatives cast their votes.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FAC_728x90_web-ad_03.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/energyalliance728x90.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n