Mills says USina ‘spiral’
Firebrand congressman talks Ukraine, wokeness at Oviedo town hall
U.S. Rep. Cory Mills railed against woke ideology, American involvement in Ukraine, China buying farmland in the United States, the flow of illegal immigrants at the Mexican border and federal funding of the Environmental Protection Agency, at his first town hall meeting on Wednesday in Oviedo.
“America is in reverse right now,” the firebrand conservative said to a friendly audience of about 80 fellow Republicans at the Oviedo Amphitheater and Cultural Center. “We’re in a downward spiral. … They tell us that America is the greatest nation on Earth and the freest nation on Earth. We’re not.”
Mills, of New Smyrna Beach, also noted that he supports Medicare, Medicaid and
Social Security, and that he was raised by his grandparents who relied on those federal social programs.
Many seniors on fixed incomes today have to decide between paying for prescription drugs or buying food because of high inflation, Mills said.
“I’m sorry, but that’s wrong,” he said to applause. “We’re looking at how we can improve Medicare, not cut Medicare.”
Florida Sen. Rick Scott and a few other Republicans have said that all federal programs, including Medicare and Social Security, should be sunset in five years. But Scott later clarified his comments after criticism from his own party — including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell — to say that Medicare and Social Security programs are worth preserving and Congress should seek ways to continue funding them.
Just over two months in office, Mills did not mention any issues specific to his district, which covers most of Seminole and Volusia counties. Nor did he speak about federal dollars allocated to the region as part of the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden in late 2021.
He called Gov. Ron DeSantis “the greatest governor in the United States.” However, he did not say whether he would support Donald Trump or DeSantis if the Florida governor launched a presidential bid.
Afterward, Mills briefly answered about a half-dozen written questions submitted by audience members into a glass jar near the stage and then read by an aide.
Introduced by Seminole School Board member Amy Pennock, Mills kicked off his presentation by explaining a House bill he sponsors that prohibits a publishing house from “knowingly furnishing sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency.” Publish
ing companies could face a $500,000 fine and top company officials up to five years in prison. Schools could lose federal funding.
Mills said he filed the bill to support “our great governor” in his efforts to stop woke ideology and critical race theory being taught in public schools.
“What this bill does is that it hits the root of the problem,” Mills said. “We do understand that you’ve got this woke, this sexualization and predatory manner of some teachers, and some school board members and union members who are advocating doing these types of things” in schools.
Mills said he supports “a 100% audit of every single dollar that has currently been allocated into Ukraine and guarantee to the American people that there has been no corruption.” The U.S. has allocated more than $29 billion and has pledged more than $100 billion for Ukraine, according to Mills and the Department of State.
Mills said funding the Ukrainian effort against Russia’s invasion is extending the conflict.
“You haven’t given me a clear military objective or how this advances or protects our national interests or how it protects our homeland,” he said. “In fact it’s doing the opposite. You’re prolonging this war because, guess what, as long as [Ukrainian president] Zelensky knows that he has an open checkbook, then he has no incentive to negotiate . ... I will not support this interventionism.”
In a Jan. 25 speech to the nation, Biden said the U.S. is working with its European allies in helping Ukraine protect itself from Russia’s “brutal full-scale invasion.”
“This is about freedom,” Biden said. “This is about freedom for Ukraine, freedom everywhere. It’s about the kind of world we want to live in and the world we want to leave for our children.”
Mills said the money could be used at the Mexican border to stop the illegal flow of immigrants.
“That’s where I would rather see $29 billion go, rather than Ukraine,” he said.
Mills accused China of working with North Korea and Russia to “eliminate the U.S. dollar as a global currency” and weaken America “as a global leader.”
He also said the Asian country is buying large amounts of farmland and properties around military bases in the United States as a way “to cut off our resources.”
“And I can tell you, they’re not looking at housing developments,” he said.
Mills said he’s been working with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from the Florida Panhandle, on a bill that would prohibit foreign ownership of American lands.
“I personally believe that we should be able to file eminent domain to reclaim these lands,” Mills said. “Look at that as an offset to what they think they owe us, and we take it back cost-free and call it even.”
Mills added he supported the release of the Jan. 6 surveillance footage that was offered by House Republicans to Fox commentator Tucker Carlson, “so that we can see what really happened.”
Without providing many details, Mills said that he wants to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency by defunding it. He encountered hurdles with agency regulations after he wanted to clear 100 acres of a property that he owned.
“This is the most graphic extortion process that we have in America today,” Mills said.
He called his Jan. 7 Twitter post about former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband’s attack a joke and a form of “military humor” that goes back to his days as an Army veteran.
“Finally, one less gavel in Pelosi’s house for Paul to fight with in his underwear,” read the post at 2:49 a.m.
“I took it down,” he said about the post. “But I’m not going to apologize. It doesn’t condone violence.”
Mills also defended passing out dummy grenades to other House members in January, saying the ordnance was manufactured in central Florida and it called to his military experience. House members are encouraged to pass out gifts that are unique to themselves and their districts, Mills said.
After the presentation, a woman who did not want to be identified and wearing a red scarf emblazoned with the GOP logo of red elephants, said she was impressed with Mills.
“I think he speaks his mind, and he’s not afraid,” she said. “That’s what we need in Washington today.”