Senator Rick Scott’s Week in Review
Dear Fellow Floridian,
When you hired me to be your U.S. Senator, I promised to fight every day to Make Washington Work for Florida families. It is no secret that Washington is broken. Too often, the policies and spending bills passed benefit career politicians while abandoning the best interests of taxpayers. It’s unacceptable.
To that end, I led a press conference with Senators Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Mike Braun to discuss the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and to call for a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government until shortly after the 118th Congress begins.
Our brave service members should not be discharged over inept policies like the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and we cannot continue greenlighting Democrats’ reckless spending spree. Anything short of a short-term, clean CR will force Americans already struggling with record-high prices to grapple with them soaring even higher.
Watch my full remarks HERE. Read more HERE.
Sincerely,
Rick Scott
United States Senator
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See more of what Senator Scott has been up to this week below.
At the Urging of Sen. Rick Scott, Biden Finally Calls for Cuban Prisoners to be Released
Following more than a year of urging from Senator Rick Scott to stand with the brave Cuban people and denounce the oppressive, illegitimate, communist regime in Cuba, President Joe Biden issued a statement calling for the immediate release of all political prisoners who have been held since the July 11th protests.
Senator Rick Scott said, “For decades, the illegitimate, communist Cuban regime has oppressed the Cuban people and forced them to live under tyranny. The Cuban people want freedom, and on July 11, 2021, democracy activists from across the island organized, and with one voiced shouted, ‘¡Patria y Vida!’ and ‘¡Libertad!’ Since then, the regime has held and tortured hundreds of peaceful Cubans, including teenage boys and girls. I’ve spent more than a year calling on President Biden to join me in denouncing the regime and denying the expedited consideration of his nominees until he called for the immediate release of these brave people, and I am proud to see that finally happen today. But, this is not the end of our fight. I expect President Biden to continue to be a voice for freedom and democracy in Latin America, and end his appeasement of the regimes in Cuba and Venezuela. The Cuban people want a new day of freedom, and we will fight alongside them until that day is here.”
Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ.
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Sen. Rick Scott Resolution to Commemorate Terrorist Attack at NAS Pensacola Passes Senate
Senator Rick Scott led his colleagues in passing a resolution recognizing the third anniversary of the terrorist attack at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, when a Saudi military trainee who killed three U.S. sailors and wounded several others on December 6th, 2019. Senators Marco Rubio, Richard Shelby, Tommy Tuberville, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock co-sponsored the resolution.
Senator Rick Scott said, “Today, in recognition of the third anniversary of the terrorist attack at NAS Pensacola, we come together to honor the brave men and women in uniform, and commemorate the legacy of Mohammed Haitham, Joshua Watson and Cameron Walters. These three young men dedicated their lives to the service of our country, but were tragically and senselessly taken from us in an act of terror at NAS Pensacola. We must honor them, their families, and the brave sailors and law enforcement officials who looked in the face of pure evil and ran toward it to save the lives of others. We also join together to condemn the evil that exists in the world and reiterate our commitment to fighting against it. This act of terror should never have happened, let alone on a United States military base, and I’ll keep working to ensure my Secure U.S. Bases Act, as passed in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, is fully implemented. ”
Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott’s Bipartisan Bill to Increase Disaster Resiliency & Save Taxpayer Dollars Becomes Law
Senator Rick Scott and Senator Gary Peters’ Disaster Resiliency Planning Act was signed by the president and became law. The Disaster Resiliency Planning Act requires federal agencies to take disaster resilience into account when investing in and managing federal property and assets. The legislation builds off of a 2021 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which found that over the past five years, the government spent billions of dollars to repair federal property damage resulting from natural disasters. The bill will help ensure that federal property – such as hospitals, research centers, offices, and roads and bridges – can withstand worsening natural disasters and save taxpayer dollars that would be spent on damages. The legislation was passed by the Senate back in June.
Senator Rick Scott said, “In Florida, we know how valuable pre-disaster mitigation is and that preparedness saves lives. With this good bill now law, federal assets like hospitals and critical infrastructure will be safer when disaster inevitably strikes. We are resilient because we prepare and I am proud to see our bipartisan and commonsense approach to disaster mitigation efforts signed into law.”
Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott Leads Colleagues in Defending Religious Vaccine Exemptions for U.S. Military Members
Senator Rick Scott was joined by Senators Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to announce the Defending Religious Accommodations Act, requiring the Government Accountability Office to audit the military’s current process for evaluating and granting religious exemptions for vaccination requirements. Since the Department of Defense implemented its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, thousands of servicemembers citing religious objections have been discharged from the military for refusing the vaccine, and questions remain over the fairness and consistency of this process. Meanwhile, the military is facing a recruitment and readiness challenge reportedly underperforming by 23% of annual targets.
Senator Rick Scott said, “The military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate has proven disastrous for America’s military readiness and needlessly destroyed the lives and careers of thousands of brave servicemembers. Our brave men and women in uniform put their lives on the line to protect this great country and the thought that their sincere religious concerns are not being handled with fairness and impartiality is infuriating. My bill, the Defending Religious Accommodations Act, will require the Government Accountability Office to immediately launch a full investigation into how requests for religious exemptions are being handled, and force the Biden administration’s appointees at the Pentagon to finally be held accountable. While our military is facing growing recruitment and retention issues, threatening America’s national security and military readiness, the last thing we need is more harmful bureaucracy hurting our military members. I want to thank Senators Braun, Lee and Rubio for supporting this good bill and urge the rest of our colleagues to do the same.”
Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott, Colleagues Demand Hearing to Investigate Biden Administration’s Inhumane Treatment of Migrant Children
Senators Rick Scott, Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter demanding Committee Chairman Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) hold a hearing to investigate an alarming whistleblower report that claims the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is knowingly transferring unaccompanied migrant children into the custody of known criminals, including sex traffickers.
Read more from Senator Johnson’s office HERE and in Fox News HERE.
Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott and Colleagues’ VA Bill Signed into Law
Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio along with Representative Kat Cammack (R-FL) applauded President Joe Biden’s signing of their legislation to name the Clay County Veterans Affairs Clinic, in Middleburg, Florida, the “Andrew K. Baker Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic.”
Senator Rick Scott said, “Our veterans have made countless sacrifices to defend our nation. We must do everything possible to provide them with the support and care they need. I’m proud the president signed this bill into law and that the Veterans Affairs clinic in Clay County will pay homage to U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Andrew Kenneth Baker.”
Read more from Senator Rubio’s office HERE.
Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott & Colleagues: Congress Should Oppose Pelosi-Schumer Spending Spree, Support Short-Term CR
Senators Rick Scott, Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a letter expressing opposition to passing the Pelosi-Schumer omnibus spending bill in the current lame duck Congress.
The senators wrote, “The American people sent an unmistakable message in the November midterm elections, making clear that they want a Republican-led House to serve as check on the unfettered spending of the current Democrat-controlled Congress. For the Senate to ram through a so-called ‘omnibus’ bill—which would fund the entirety of the Pelosi-Schumer spending agenda through most of next year—would utterly disempower the new Republican House from enacting our shared priorities. Locking the new Congress into yet another year of Democrat policies would flout the will of the voters and prevent the incoming Republican majority in the House of Representatives and the newly elected Republican Senators from moderating the reckless policy agenda of the last two years. Moreover, adding an increase or suspension of the debt ceiling for another year would issue Democrats a blank check and inevitably add trillions more to our crushing national debt.”
Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott & Colleagues Host Press Conference to Discuss NDAA, Call for Short-Term CR & Rejection of Pelosi-Schumer Spending Spree
Senator Rick Scott led a press conference with Senators Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Mike Braun to discuss the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and to call for a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government until shortly after the 118th Congress begins.
Rear Admiral Pete Brown (retired), former Commander of the Coast Guard’s Seventh District, was also present to discuss the Biden administration’s decision to dishonorably discharge members of our armed services who refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
Watch Admiral Brown’s comments HERE. Watch the full press conference HERE.
Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott & Colleagues Host Press Conference to Discuss NDAA, Call for Short-Term CR & Rejection of Pelosi-Schumer Spending Spree
Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra regarding the surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) across the country, which is especially dangerous for infants and children. Senator Scott’s letter comes amid reports that hospitals are running out of bed space due to increased RSV-associated hospitalizations.
Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott on PPI Report: Pelosi-Schumer Spending Bill is Ticking Inflation Bomb & Must be Stopped
Senator Rick Scott released the below statement following the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which showed inflation continued to rise in November increasing 7.4% over the year.
Senator Rick Scott said, “I know how much inflation hurts hardworking families because I saw it growing up, and today’s PPI report shows that thanks to President Biden’s addiction to reckless government spending, too many American families are now living that same struggle. For nearly two years, Americans have been struggling with higher prices, but Democrats refuse to end their insane spending spree and now want yet another massive Pelosi-Schumer Spending Bill that will only make inflation worse. We can’t let it happen. Republicans in Congress must demand fiscal responsibility that will finally end this national nightmare. We need to pass a short-term funding bill that carries government operations into the new Congress, and then pass a balanced budget that finally gets America’s finances in order. That’s what every family and business has to do and I won’t stop fighting to make that happen here in Washington.”
Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ.
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Sen. Rick Scott in the Wall Street Journal: Time for Republicans to Say No to More Debt
Senator Rick Scott wrote a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal in response to a recent editorial on Democrats’ push for a massive spending bill after spending TRILLIONS on liberal priorities over the last two years and adding to America’s unsustainable $31 trillion national debt crisis.
In the letter, Senator Rick Scott wrote, “I’ve been in the Senate for almost four years, and one thing I’ve learned is that in Washington compromise means everyone gets everything so that nobody has to make a tough choice. The result is gross fiscal mismanagement and unsustainable debt.…
While I’ve fought to rein in insane spending, Congress has been fiscally irresponsible for so long that people think it’s normal. It isn’t…
I ran for Republican Senate leader because if we’re silent and never challenge the status quo, we sentence America to more of the same: More bureaucracy, more reckless spending, more multithousand-page bills … more debt and more inflation.
I reject that, and so do American families…
Caving to more debt isn’t an option. We must fight for our country while we still have something to save.”
Read the full letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal HERE.
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Sens. Rick Scott and Rand Paul in Fox News: It’s Time to End the Military’s COVID Vaccine Mandate
As Congress considers the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Senators Rick Scott and Rand Paul wrote an op-ed in Fox News sharing they will not vote to move forward with the NDAA until the Senate votes on their amendment to prohibit discharges from the Armed Forces based on a servicemember’s COVID-19 vaccination status, but also reinstate those who may have already been separated with back pay.
In the op-ed, the senators wrote, “Halfway across the world, we watch as protestors take to the streets in China, rebelling against the draconian mandates and lockdowns that are sweeping their country once again. We cheer and hope they will prevail, but we also know our so-called leaders did a lot of damage here with their abuse of power.
In very few places was the contrast over freedom as clear as it was in the military, where the very men and women we count on to protect our freedom were stripped of theirs.
Without question, the Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine mandate has ruined the livelihoods of men and women who have honorably served our country.
As of April 2022, approximately 3,400 troops have been discharged from the military for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19… the effects of the mandate are antithetical to readiness of our force, and the policy must be revoked.
The Senate will soon be asked to take up and consider the National Defense Authorization Act…
However, before we move forward with the bill, we must take a stand for the brave men and women of our military…
We will not vote to move forward with the NDAA bill until the Senate votes on our amendment to not only prohibit discharges from the Armed Forces based solely on a service member’s COVID-19 vaccination status, but also reinstate those who may have already been separated, with back pay.
It is outrageous that the U.S. military is firing young service members who choose not to get vaccinated…
The military also faces challenges with recruitment… down 23 percent from annual targets.
…[L]osing thousands of troops due to their vaccination status is a readiness issue that the Department should take extraordinarily seriously…
There is no justification. The pandemic has been declared over for months. Schools, businesses and local governments have belatedly and finally opened…
The CDC acknowledges the COVID vaccine does not stop transmission, so the argument that the mandate will stop incapacitating spread in the close quarters of military barracks is not applicable…
Whether the argument is science, military readiness, or freedom, the answer is the same — end the mandates and reinstate those who lost their positions taking this stand.”
Read the full op-ed in Fox News HERE.
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Newsmax: 13 GOP Senators Demand Vote to End Military Vaccine Mandate
Israel National News: Florida Senator thanks Musk for standing up against antisemitism
The Floridian: Scott and Rubio Denounce Kanye West’s Antisemitic Remarks
Florida Daily: Biden Signs Disaster Resiliency Planning Act From Gary Peters, Rick Scott Into Law
Florida Daily: Rick Scott Champions the Afghan Vetting Accountability Act
Tampa Free Press: Senator Rick Scott Has A Different Take On Government’s Job Report
Sen. Scott’s Team in Naples
This week, Senator Scott’s team attended the Collier Sheriff’s Office ceremony.
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Sen. Scott’s Team in Kissimmee
Additionally, Senator Scott participated in the State of Osceola County 2022 vision casting for 2023.
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Sen. Scott’s Team in Casselberry
Senator Scott’s team also attended the Remembering Pearl Harbor Day at Old Glory Post 183 American Legion in Casselberry.
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