Ten days into the budget Special Session, a stark divide remains between the Legislature’s chambers over funding for the Institute for Freedom in the Americas, a Miami Dade College initiative meant to educate students about the consequences of communism.

The House, led by Speaker Daniel Perez of Miami, just moved to fully fund a $2.5 million local appropriation request for the institute.

Meanwhile, the Senate, helmed by Senate President Ben Albritton of Wauchula, continues to offer nothing.

The institute, housed at the historic Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, was the subject of near-identical funding requests filed for the past Session by Sen. Ileana Garcia and Rep. David Borrero, both Miami-Dade County Republicans.

Both sought $2.5 million in nonrecurring state funds through the Florida Department of Education for the coming fiscal year. The project previously received $2.5 million in the 2025-26 budget.

The institute’s stated mission is to support curriculum and exhibits at the Freedom Tower narrating the history of the search for freedom, the plight caused by communism and its historical and cultural impact.

“It fosters freedom through civic engagement, global dialogue, and a Fellowship program for students to learn from Latin American leaders via academic studies, workshops, and interactions with leaders from the Western Hemisphere,” the requests say.

A spending breakdown shows the $2.5 million covering $900,000 in multimedia modernization and exhibit updates, $500,000 for core staff salaries, $450,000 for field trips and student travel, $400,000 for curriculum expenses, $150,000 for fellowship stipends and community grants, and $100,000 for digital and audio-visual upgrades.

Discord over the facility’s funding comes amid renewed coverage of the Freedom Tower, where acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and other Justice Department officials this week unsealed a grand jury indictment of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro for the shooting deaths of four crew members on Brothers to the Rescue flights in 1994.

The tower’s surroundings have also drawn controversy over the past year. In December, Miami Dade College’s Board of Trustees voted to transfer valuable undeveloped downtown land to the state for the purpose of building a Donald Trump presidential library, drawing multiple legal challenges.

The nearly three-acre parcel sits just off Biscayne Boulevard, assessed by Miami-Dade County at more than $67 million, though some real estate experts have estimated its market value is even higher.

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