New START treaty salvages U.S. 'reset' with Russia, experts say

WASHINGTON -- Senate approval Wednesday of a nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia has boosted President Barack Obama's long-shot initiative to rid the world of nuclear weapons and salvaged his drive to improve U.S.-Russian ties, experts said.

Fulfilling his call for a "reset" of the chilly relationship with Moscow, Obama's victory could also help in two U.S.-led initiatives that rely on Russian cooperation - to curb Iran's nuclear program and to prevent terrorists from stealing nuclear materials.

There are obstacles to accords in any of these areas, but Obama can pursue them with an enhanced image for himself and his government.

"There is a bigger audience out there. If we hadn't done this with the Russians, Obama looks impotent and the United States looks more uncertain, unpredictable and untrustworthy to the rest of the world," said Tom Fingar, who served until last year as chairman of the National Intelligence Council, which prepares presidential intelligence assessments.

Experts across the spectrum expressed relief, if not euphoria.

"It's a modest but useful agreement," said Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser in President George W. Bush's second term. "I think the biggest thing is that it avoids some downsides if it had been actually rejected by the Senate."

Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., who steered the pact through the Senate, said the 71-26 approval of New START "makes a statement about the United States of America as a whole, not just the president. It says we're a country in which, even in contentious times, where 100 senators have a responsibility, 71 of them came together ... and articulated the direction the U.S. wants to go with respect to nuclear weapons. That's going to be critical in shaping opinion on a global basis."

Obama's ambitious agenda still faces potential landmines.

It will be much harder for Washington and Moscow to reach agreement on cutting their arsenals to levels lower than those imposed by New START on operational warheads and delivery vehicles. The pact limits the sides to deploying no more than 1,550 strategic warheads on 700 bombers and land- and sea-based ballistic missiles within seven years.

Moreover, renewed frictions could arise over the Kremlin's growing authoritarian rule, repression of opposition parties, independent media and human rights activists, and its foot-dragging on legal and financial overhauls sought by international companies.

"Suppose there was a swing toward rabid nationalism in Russia. I think the comfort level over further (nuclear arms) reductions would be much less," said Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security adviser to former President Jimmy Carter.

There also are unresolved disputes dividing Washington and Moscow, like Obama's plan to deploy missile defenses in Europe, which Moscow worries could be used to neutralize its nuclear deterrent.

Obama won 13 Republican votes Wednesday, but a narrower Democratic majority in the Senate next year will make it harder to gain the two-thirds majority needed for his next arms control priority: the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty outlawing underground nuclear test blasts.

"The test ban treaty in the current atmosphere, in the current context, is a very, very difficult process," Kerry said. "A whole lot of educating has to go on. ... It's way too early to begin to second guess or start to scope out what's going to (happen)."

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More than 800 students graduate from UM

With some words of advice from Miami's Gloria Estefan, more than 800 University of Miami students received their degrees Thursday morning at the BankUnited Center.

UM President Donna Shalala greeted undergraduates, master's degree candidates, and doctoral candidates from each of the university's schools and colleges -- except the Miller School of Medicine.

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Scott faces deepening statewide budget gap

Rick Scott's campaign promise to cut property and corporate-income taxes got a little tougher Tuesday when state economists forecast that anemic tax collections could punch a $3.5 billion hole in his first proposed budget.

The big budget shortfall is at least $500 million more than recent estimates, and it could increase if Florida's economy worsens.

Cutting taxes would make the budget gap bigger. But Scott won't say what he'll reduce in the budget -- which he'll propose in February -- to offset his tax cuts. Scott will be sworn in Jan. 4 as Florida's 45th governor.

When asked by reporters to provide budget cut details and whether that will include employee layoffs, Scott repeated familiar refrains such as ``streamlining government'' and ``looking at programs.'' He also said he ``might'' privatize prisons.

Scott briefly spoke with reporters in Fort Lauderdale after the political newcomer hosted a meet-and-greet with South Florida legislators, who also tried and failed to wring specifics from the Republican governor-elect.

Rep. Jim Waldman, D-Coconut Creek, quizzed Scott about his plans to cut property taxes 19 percent when those taxes pay for schools, police officers and other local services.

``All the savings are at the state level,'' Scott said. ``I'm not changing how much we send to the counties.''

Scott didn't specify that his tax cut plan only targets the state-set property tax that pay for schools -- at a cost of about $1 billion -- and that he plans to find other state revenue sources so that the K-12 portion of the budget isn't sharply reduced.

``My goal is not to change funding for the public schools,'' Scott said. ``My goal is to find funding at the state level.''

He wouldn't identify that source of funding, nor say what programs would lose out as a result of shifting money from one part of the budget to the other.

In recent weeks, state economists have estimated that, due to declines in property values, schools will receive about $150 million less statewide if tax rates remain the same. That budget hit was somewhat blunted by forecasts that class sizes wouldn't swell.

But the student population was on the rise, especially in South Florida, which is expecting about 6,000 more students from disaster-ridden Haiti.

Sales taxes make up the biggest decrease, accounting for 67 percent of the $1.2 billion in lower-than-anticipated state revenues forecast Tuesday. Corporate taxes -- which Scott plans to eliminate -- are also decreasing.

Overall, however, state revenues are growing, but at a much slower rate than anticipated when economists last met in August.

``We're definitely seeing year-over-year growth,'' said Amy Baker, the Legislature's chief economist. ``But it's very, very slow.''

This economic forecast will underpin the budget Scott will propose. The economists from the governor's office, tax department and Legislature will meet again before the Legislature convenes its 60-day March session to hammer out the final budget for the fiscal year, beginning July 1.

The top budget writers for the House and Senate are also puzzled by Scott's pledge to cut taxes in a year of big budget holes.

``I haven't heard from him how he'll do it all,'' state Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales said, echoing his House counterpart, state Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring.

So far, the soft-spoken Scott has listened more than he has talked to legislators. From the questions Scott posed, it was clear that he wants to overhaul state workers' pensions and may tackle teacher tenure.

``What do you all think about employees contributing to the pension plan?'' Scott asked legislators. ``We are the only state in the country that state employees don't contribute'' to their pensions.

The sea of red ink increases the likelihood that Scott and his fellow Republicans who control the Legislature will also fire state workers, cut pay and reduce programs like Medicaid -- the biggest budget cost driver. Right now, the state budget stands at $70 billion, but $2.6 billion of that is federal stimulus money that the state won't get next year.

But, as of now, the specifics remain elusive.

After Scott met with lawmakers, Waldman summed it up this way: ``I walked out with no clarity on anything.''

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Republicans block youth immigration bill

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans on Saturday doomed an effort that would have given hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants a path to legal status if they enrolled in college or joined the military.

Sponsors of the Dream Act fell five votes short of the 60 they needed to break through largely GOP opposition and win its enactment before Republicans take over the House and narrow Democrats' majority in the Senate next month.

President Barack Obama called the vote "incredibly disappointing."

"A minority of senators prevented the Senate from doing what most Americans understand is best for the country," Obama said. "There was simply no reason not to pass this important legislation."

Dozens of immigrants wearing graduation mortarboards watched from the Senate's visitors gallery, disappointment on their faces, as the 55-41 vote was announced.

"This is a dark day in America," said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles. "The Senate has ... thrown under the bus the lives and hard work of thousands and thousands of students who love this country like their own home, and, in fact, they have no other home."

Hispanic activists and immigrant advocates had looked to the bill as a down payment on what they had hoped would be broader action by Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress to give the nation's 10 million to 12 million illegal immigrants a chance at legal status.

It targeted the most sympathetic of the millions of illegal immigrants - those brought to the United States as children, who in many cases consider themselves American, speak English and have no ties to or family living in their native countries.

"They stand in the classrooms and pledge allegiance to our flag," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the bill's chief sponsor. "This is the only country they have ever known. All they're asking for is a chance to serve this nation."

Critics called the bill a backdoor grant of amnesty that would encourage more foreigners to sneak into the United States in hopes of being legalized eventually.

"Treating the symptoms of the problem might make us feel better ... but it can allow the underlying problem to metastasize," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. "Unfortunately, that's what's happening at our border."

The legislation would have provided a route to legal status for an estimated 1 million to 2 million illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. before age 16, have been here for five years, graduated from high school or gained an equivalency degree and who joined the military or attend college.

Democrats' determination to vote on the bill before year's end reflected the party's efforts to satisfy Hispanic groups whose backing has been critical in recent elections and will be again in 2012. They said they'll try again in the next Congress, despite the increased GOP presence.

"The echo of this vote will be loud and long," said Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, D-Ill., a key House sponsor of the bill. "We are at the tipping point that will define the political alignment of the Republican and Democratic parties with Latino voters for a generation."

"This country has a history of opening its arms," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. "Today, it's arms were closed, but we're going to get there."

Three Republicans - Robert Bennett of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Richard Lugar of Indiana - joined 50 Democrats and the Senate's two independents in voting for the bill.

Five Democrats - Max Baucus and Jon Tester of Montana, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas - joined 36 Republicans in blocking it. Not voting were Republican Sens. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

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GOP fundraiser Alan Mendelsohn pleads guilty to scheme

A prominent Broward County ophthalmologist who raised millions for Republicans and once advised Gov. Charlie Crist pleaded guilty Thursday to scheming to bilk the U.S. government -- including failing to report $82,000 in political donations secretly given to a former state senator.

Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, 52, pleaded in Fort Lauderdale federal court to a single conspiracy charge, which also accused him of lying to federal agents. He is eligible to receive about two years in prison under sentencing guidelines, but his lawyers plan to seek significantly less punishment from U.S. District Judge William Zloch.

Zloch set Mendelsohn's sentencing for Feb. 17.

The Mendelsohn case was among a string of corruption investigations stretching from South Florida to Tallahassee in recent years.

Although the ex-senator is not identified in Mendelsohn's plea agreement, he told the judge that Mandy Dawson, a Broward Democrat, received the secret political donations. Mendelsohn said that Dawson approached him and a Tallahassee lobbyist to hire her aide, Venica Blakely, to work for their political action committees.

``She made this request repeatedly,'' said Mendelsohn, noting that he and the lobbyist hired Blakely because they were concerned Dawson would retaliate by not supporting legislation for the medical profession. He told the judge that he and the lobbyist, Stephen D. Hull, knew that Blakely ``was passing some or all of the money to Sen. Dawson'' between 2003 and 2005.

Zloch asked Mendelsohn if this practice applied to other state legislators -- that otherwise ``they won't give you the time of day'' in Tallahassee. ``Absolutely,'' Mendelsohn said. ``In stronger words, you're toast.''

Zloch expressed disgust over the notion of pay-to-play politics, saying: ``This is a pretty sorry state of affairs with regards to what goes on in the statehouse.''

Dawson, 54, has not been charged in the Justice Department's four-year corruption investigation into Mendelsohn and state officials.

Dawson could not be reached for comment. Her mother, who lives in Daytona Beach, said she had not heard from her daughter in a while.

Blakely's attorney, Michael Doddo, would only say that ``justice has prevailed in this case.''

Mendelsohn, initially indicted in September 2009 on dozens of fraud charges, was facing trial in January. He admitted failing to report $700,770 in income diverted from three political action committees, according to court documents filed with his plea agreement. This month, he had to pay the IRS back taxes of $196,215 from 2003-06.

Mendelsohn used some of the political proceeds for his children's private high school education, SAT tutoring, a luxury car, home renovations, a mistress and other personal expenses, according to court records.

Mendelsohn had to sell his Hollywood medical practice, Eye Surgeons & Consultants, to help pay those taxes. He will be able to keep his medical license because his conviction is not related to his profession, and he plans to continue practicing in Broward, according to his attorneys Alvin Entin and John Keker.

Mendelsohn's fall is one of the stranger tales in Tallahassee history: He boasted of his close ties to Crist, whose transition team he served on in 2006. He also bragged about his connections to other GOP players, to dupe contributors into donating millions of dollars for campaigns, lobbying and other political activities, according to prosecutors.

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Florida political muscle grows in Congress

WASHINGTON -- For a state its size, Florida has not wielded considerable clout on Capitol Hill in years. But that's about to change: Republican control of the House in January will boost the state's influence, with three Floridians chairing three key committees.

Miami's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will chair Foreign Affairs, Orlando's John Mica will head the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the Panhandle's Jeff Miller will chair the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

The delegation's dean, St. Petersburg Republican Bill Young, is likely to once again chair the powerful defense appropriations subcommittee that has doled out tens of millions of dollars to state military installations, and Miami Republican Mario Diaz-Balart and Sarasota's Vern Buchanan have been appointed to seats on key budget and tax writing committees -- Appropriations, and Ways and Means, respectively.

Also, incoming Sen. Marco Rubio is already a rising star -- tapped to second the nomination of Sen. Mitch McConnell for minority leader.

Republicans say the country's fourth-biggest state will have the ear of leadership and access to the power circle -- the extent to which Florida hasn't seen since the 1980s. That was when senior Democratic congressmen such as Claude Pepper, Dante Fascell and William Lehman chaired major committees, put their stamp on legislation and steered money home.

``The chairs are all at the leadership table with the speaker on a very regular basis,'' said Miller, whose committee oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs and its $119 billion budget. ``It gives Florida an opportunity to have a major voice in many of the issues that will be coming before the 112th Congress.''

LESS PORK?

But unlike past years when clout often translated into pork sent back home, Republicans face a new political reality: They are coming into power during a wave of voter discontent, and may be forced to scrap funding for hometown projects as they seek to downsize government and rein in federal spending.

``That Brinks truck is going to be more like a Brinks Volkswagen,'' suggested Bob Burleson, president of the Florida Transportation Builders' Association, which nevertheless hailed Mica's ascension to the committee that will write a national blueprint for transportation spending. ``There just isn't that much money, but we certainly at least will get our fair share of what little money there is to hand out.''

Diaz-Balart, who acknowledged his committee was once the prime ladler of pork, said it's now charged with ``bringing sanity to our fiscal house, to our fiscal situation.''

Even without the largess, he expects benefits to the state by having members in powerful positions.

``We've got Florida people in key positions when the key decisions are being made,'' Diaz-Balart said.

Mica, who has ties to Miami and has toured the area during rush hour with Diaz-Balart, said he's eager to see Florida projects get off the ground.

``Some have already started and I will be in a position to nudge them along,'' he said. ``I've got an eye on Florida, but I can also take you through the rest of the country.''

One priority, he said, improving rail service up North.

A CONCERN

Broward Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who will lose her post as chair of the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the legislative branch, agreed that the GOP clout could benefit the state. But she noted that a top Republican leader has suggested a priority will be ensuring that President Barack Obama serves just one term.

``It's a good thing that Florida has some veterans chairing committees, however I'm gravely concerned about the direction they're going to take this country,'' said Wasserman Schultz, who was promoted to vice chair of the Democrats' Steering and Policy Committee and will serve as a chief deputy whip. ``If all you're doing is holding oversight hearings and your priority, like [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell is to defeat President Obama, that's not going to be productive for the state of Florida. Having power is important but it matters what you do with it.''

All three committee chairs said oversight and trimming costs will be priorities: Ros-Lehtinen has already identified ``a number of cuts'' to the State Department and foreign aid budgets she'd like to make. Diaz-Balart said he's hoping to land a slot on the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the State Department and foreign operations. And Miller said he wants to beef up the committee's oversight operations -- including looking into problems with improperly sterilized medical equipment at veterans' hospitals, including Miami's.

But the committees themselves may be smaller: Incoming House Speaker John Boehner said in an interview to be aired Sunday on 60 Minutes that one of the House's first votes will be to cut congressional budgets, including his own, by 5 percent.

Florida's status as a presidential swing state for both parties is likely to continue to bolster its profile -- as evidenced by this week's Transportation Department announcement. Agency officials said Thursday they are giving Florida more than $300 million for a bullet train.

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Legislators inadvertently give 'pill mills' a break

TALLAHASSEE -- In their zeal to slow down government regulations, Florida lawmakers have inadvertently halted an effort to regulate so-called ``pill mills'' that fuel an epidemic of prescription drug abuse.

The regulations were set to take effect Sunday for most pain clinics. But they are stalled by a new law intended to crack down on expensive state regulations. The law requires legislative approval of rules that have a significant fiscal impact.

That means the regulations could be in limbo until next spring when the 2011 legislative session convenes, according to state health officials.

``I would like legislators to explain the fact that the drug epidemic continues to grow while they remain silent,'' said Lynn Locascio, a Crystal Beach woman who founded Parents Against Prescription Drug Addiction. ``We feel like we're back to square one banging our heads against the wall.''

Locascio's 26-year-old son, Robert Palmisano, has been clean from pills since 2006. Before that, he was one of hundreds of addicts who went from doctor to doctor to get their fix of pain meds such as Oxycodone.

The new regulations provide basic standards for pain clinics, including how patients are evaluated and the physical specifications of offices. The rules also require unannounced inspections each year. Many clinics are currently unregulated because they don't accept health insurance.

``If you accepted only cash, there were no regulations,'' said Paul Sloan, who runs a Venice-based pain clinic and heads an association that supports the rules. ``An inspector can't go in and say, `Gee, you don't meet the rules' when there are no rules.''

The new law regarding agency rule-making -- enacted last week when the Legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Charlie Crist -- requires legislative approval of new rules that cost more than $1 million over five years.

There are now roughly 600 rules proposed by agencies that have not yet taken effect. It's difficult to know how many of those will require final legislative approval because agencies have to prepare a more comprehensive cost estimate.

The state Board of Medicine will discuss the pain clinic regulations at a Dec. 3-4 meeting in Orlando.

Afterward, the board will review an updated cost estimate to see if the new rules must be ratified by lawmakers.

Under the new law, if a proposed rule needs legislative approval if it has more than a $1 million adverse impact over five years on economic growth, competitiveness, employment, investment, job creation, or regulatory costs.

So what will happen in the meantime?

``What's going to happen is nothing,'' said Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey. ``And seven more people will die each and every day until the Legislature ratifies these rules that are being approved by the Board of Medicine and the Department of Health.''

Fasano was a lead supporter of pill-mill regulations and also voted against overriding Crist's veto of the bill last week, arguing it needed more study.

Sponsors of the rule-making bill stood behind their decision to enact the law, saying it was needed to reduce regulations.

Although much of the focus of the law is on the cost to regulated businesses, House sponsor Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, portrayed it as an effort to save tax dollars.

``Our goal is to get a firm grip on rules that have a high level of expense for state government,'' he said.

Cracking down on prescription drug abuse has received wide support in the Legislature.

The new drug regulations were passed in 2009, and lawmakers approved setting up a statewide database this spring to track drug purchases and monitor ``doctor shopping'' by addicts.

The database was supposed to be in place Dec. 1, but has stalled because of a contract dispute. There is only enough money to run the database for a few months because lawmakers ordered it to operate solely on donations.

``We need to start checking on these pain clinics that are operating illegally and start shutting them down,'' said Bruce Grant, director of the state Office of Drug Control and an advocate of ``pill mill'' regulations. ``It's not in the interest of Florida to have these pain clinics operating without any guidelines. Any help we could get would be appreciated.''

Tallahassee Bureau chief Steve Bousquet contributed to this report. Lee Logan can be reached at llogan@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.

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Miami city manager announces staff promotions

As he prepares to step aside next month, Miami City Manager Carlos Migoya announced the promotion of key deputies Tuesday in moves that could presage who is likely to replace him at the helm of City Hall.

The changes are intended to leave an administrative structure in place for when Migoya leaves his post Dec. 31, said Mayor Tomás Regalado, who plans to reveal his choice to replace Migoya at a Dec. 16 city commission meeting.

Migoya promoted Tony Crapp Jr., the chief of operations and assistant city manager, to deputy city manager. Replacing Crapp will be Luis Cabrera, the deputy chief of police -- prompting a domino effect at the Miami police department.

``What Carlos is trying to do is help us in creating an executive team so the new manager will have a very smooth transition,'' Regalado said.

At Regalado's request, Migoya, whose entire career had been as a banker, took the city's top job without a salary in February to shore up the city's sinking finances. He has been preparing his exit since commissioners signed off on Miami's budget in September.

His handoff plan involves bringing back the deputy city manager position -- giving Crapp oversight of all of Miami's departments except police, fire, and equal opportunity and diversity.

Crapp, 37, has been with the city since 1996, when then-Commissioner Regalado hired him as a legislative assistant. He eventually became Regalado's chief of staff before joining the administration earlier this year to manage a slew of departments, including solid waste, parks and grants.

``The transition to the administration really helped me to see both sides, the policymaking side and the administrative side,'' said Crapp, adding that his $140,000-a-year salary will remain the same.

Crapp will be replaced by Cabrera, who was a police department lieutenant in charge of employee relations before he was appointed to the deputy chief post in December as part of a leadership shake-up when Chief Miguel Exposito took over the department.

Exposito promoted Cabrera along with nearly 20 other officers.

Cabrera will remain a sworn police officer, and his $163,343.35 salary will stay unchanged, said Regalado. The mayor has known Cabrera since he was a neighborhood resource officer in Regalado's Flagami commission district 12 years ago.

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