Odd political bedfellows struck port deal

December 21, 2013

Lois Frankel, an anti-war liberal Democrat from South Florida, bonded with some of the most strident conservatives from the tea-party movement during her first year in Congress – and really came to like them.

They include Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who famously shouted "You lie!" at President Barack Obama during a State of the Union address, and Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Steve King of Iowa, known for their caustic attacks on liberal causes.

"I have traveled with people who I had only read about in the newspapers and who I thought were a little bit odd," Frankel said last week with a laugh. "But I get to meet them up close and personal. When you have dinner together and fly together, you realize they are very personable, nice people to deal with. It's just that our political philosophies are so different."

The friendships among these odd political bedfellows, some of them forged on a trip to Afghanistan in May, paid off by the end of the year. They helped Frankel strike a deal that paves the way for expansion of Port Everglades, one of her highlights for 2013 because of the project's potential for bringing a burst of shipping business to South Florida.

Frankel, 65, who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, was one of many freshmen who came to Congress last January determined to overcome partisan confrontations to solve problems and create jobs. During one of the most unproductive congressional years in history, they only partly succeeded.

Partisan standoffs blocked most major legislation, notably attempts to overhaul immigration law and pass a jobs bill. Frankel had to settle for helping constituents round up grants and benefits while adding minor provisions to bigger bills to score small-bore legislative victories of special significance to Florida.

The port deal is the best example. And her friendship with an unlikely partner – freshman Republican Tom Rice of South Carolina, who traveled with her to Afghanistan – explains how it came about.

"He kept trying to tell me that my vote for the Violence Against Women Act was the wrong vote,"Frankel recalled. "I kept saying, `Please don't even discuss it with me.'

"Turns out he's got a port in Charleston, a port he cares about. Port Everglades is a port I care about. We both have a similar dredging issue. We worked together to get language in a bill that will help us move forward in both our districts. Our friendship actually led to progress on this bill. No doubt about it: Our friendship was made in Afghanistan."

The provision, added to a sweeping water-projects bill, would allow Port Everglades to begin design work next year to deepen and widen its channels to accommodate gigantic ships that will pass through a widened Panama Canal. If the project is cleared for construction by the Army Corps of Engineers, the provision would allow Broward County to eventually get reimbursed for expenses to begin the design work.

The House and Senate have passed different versions of the water bill, and a conference committee of members from each chamber was formed to reconcile differences and produce a final version. After working with Rice and others to put the port language in the House version, Frankel was named to the conference committee – a coup for a low-ranking freshman.

Frankel will be fighting for the port language, and Congress is expected to approve a final bill early next year.

Although the former mayor of West Palm Beach made friends of all stripes along the way, she still accuses the tea-party movement of "thwarting progress." And she has not repaired antagonistic relations with its leaders back home.

"She's been a very polarizing person and very negative toward tea-party members and conservatives here in South Florida," said Everett Wilkinson of Palm Beach Gardens, a tea-party activist and chairman of the National Liberty Federation.

"She has a history of not just being left-leaning but attacking conservatives and tea-party members – really a provocateur for the extreme left. I don't see having anything in common with her. For her to say, 'These are nice people, and we can find a pet project we can agree on,' that really is hypocritical."

Frankel has tried to separate political clashes from legislative dealings. She admitted that she came to Washington somewhat naively hoping to change the course of Congress, with limited success.

At first, after settling into a spare one-bedroom apartment and trudging home after long days to frozen dinners from a nearly empty refrigerator, she found Washington an exhilarating place to work but a cold and frantic place to live, far from the balmy "paradise" of South Florida.

Personal relationships formed through the year made the capital seem more welcoming.

"We're all a long way from our families, but we've managed to form some very close bonds," she said. "It's not just a place to work, it's a place of friendship for people on both sides of the aisle."