Senator Rick Scott’s Week in Review

Dear Fellow Floridian,

As I’ve traveled throughout Florida, I’ve witnessed the loss and devastation Florida’s families, small businesses and communities experienced from Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. Folks in the Sunshine State are still picking up the pieces, and this is especially true of our agricultural communities, farmers and growers.

Earlier this week, Congressman Scott Franklin and I hosted a roundtable with the Highlands Citrus Association and citrus growers from Highlands, Hardee, Hendry and Glades Counties to discuss pressing issues facing the citrus industry. We spoke with them about what they need to continue recovering and updated them on our Block Grant Assistance Act, which Representative Franklin and I are fighting to pass. This critical bill ensures the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides needed relief to agriculture producers devastated by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole and gives the agriculture secretary needed authority to provide block grants to the state of Florida to assist producers affected by the two hurricanes.

These folks are the backbone of our state, and I won’t stop fighting to make sure that the federal government keeps showing up for them.

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.

Sen. Rick Scott on Biden’s Inflation Crisis: Washington Must Stop the Reckless Spending

Following the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Senator Rick Scott released the below statement highlighting the need to implement substantive fiscal reforms to end the ongoing inflation crisis fueled by the Biden administration’s reckless tax-and-spend agenda. March’s CPI data shows that there has been a significant rise in inflation during Biden’s presidency, with CPI increasing 5.0% in March 2023 and 15.4% since Biden took office.

Senator Rick Scott said, “I grew up poor, lived in public housing and watched my parents struggle to provide for us. I think about that and what my mom went through every day as I travel around Florida and hear from families about how inflation is making it nearly impossible to make ends meet. Since Joe Biden took office, inflation has risen 15.4% and has remained extraordinarily high. Now, by ignoring the opportunity to fix this with the debt ceiling, Biden is showing he has no plan to get America’s fiscal house in order. We can’t accept that. Now is the time to make structural spending reforms that bring fiscal sanity back to America. Now is the time to make sure we get Americans back to work and put real work requirements on federal programs. Now is the time to slash the bureaucracy so American business can boom again and untie itself from the mass of red tape from Washington’s burdensome regulations. If we don’t do these things, stop reckless spending, balance the budget and grow our economy—inflation will continue to plague the bank accounts of families everywhere. American families deserve better than this broken status quo.”

Read more HERE.

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With Double Digit PPI, Biden Continues to Lie About Inflation Crisis Hurting Florida Families

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 March increasing 2.7% over the year. Since Joe Biden became president, PPI has risen 16.7% over the past two years.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Producer Price Index inflation is up 16.7% since Joe Biden took office. It’s not only a crisis the White House caused, but continues to shamefully deny and ignore. Ask any family if they are better off today than they were two years ago and they will say no. I grew up watching my mom struggle to put food on the table and no family should have to go through that. Until we see real reforms when it comes to how Washington manages debt, families will continue struggling. I WILL NOT stand for that. It is time to get Washington’s fiscal house in order, stop the reckless spending, balance the budget and grow the economy. It’s time for Biden to meet with Speaker McCarthy so that Congress can do its job and stop letting families struggle—it is time to put together a plan, and return to fiscal sanity in Washington.”

Read more HERE.

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Sen. Rick Scott Issues Weekly Update on Biden’s Inflation

Senator Rick Scott released a weekly update on his actions to address America’s debt crisis and rising inflation following the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releasing Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers for March, which showed inflation continued to rise. Since Joe Biden became president, CPI has risen 15.4% and PPI has risen 16.7% over the past two years.

Earlier this week, following the latest CPI announcement by the BLS, Senator Scott released the following statement.

Senator Rick Scott said, “I grew up poor, lived in public housing and watched my parents struggle to provide for us. I think about that and what my mom went through every day as I travel around Florida and hear from families about how inflation is making it nearly impossible to make ends meet. Since Joe Biden took office, inflation has risen 15.4% and has remained extraordinarily high. Now, by ignoring the opportunity to fix this with the debt ceiling, Biden is showing he has no plan to get America’s fiscal house in order. We can’t accept that. Now is the time to make structural spending reforms that bring fiscal sanity back to America. Now is the time to make sure we get Americans back to work and put real work requirements on federal programs. Now is the time to slash the bureaucracy so American business can boom again and untie itself from the mass of red tape from Washington’s burdensome regulations. If we don’t do these things, stop reckless spending, balance the budget and grow our economy—inflation will continue to plague the bank accounts of families everywhere. American families deserve better than this broken status quo.”

Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ.

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Wall Street Journal: Why is America Still Flying the A-10 Warthog, A Cold War Relic?

Senator Rick Scott shared the following story from the Wall Street Journal highlighting his work to fight for Florida’s military missions and to advance America’s national security interests.

Reporting for the Wall Street Journal, Daniel Nasaw writes, “Every day, teams of technicians at a vast Air Force base in Tucson, Ariz., tend to a fleet of attack jets the Pentagon has been trying to retire for more than a decade. They have picked replacement parts from the base’s famous ‘Boneyard,’ where old military planes go for scrap, which stretches far into the surrounding desert.

The Air Force has said for years that the A-10 jets, nicknamed Warthogs for their bulky silhouette and toughness in a fight, have passed their prime and will be vulnerable in the wars of the future. The production line where they were made fell silent in the mid-1980s, and the average A-10 here is four decades old. Its job can be done by newer, more advanced planes, the Air Force says.

‘The A-10, while it has served us well, is simply not a part of the battlefield of the future,’ said Lt. Gen. Richard Moore, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for plans and programs.

The Air Force said if it had been allowed to retire the A-10s at its desired pace, it would have freed up more than 900 total pilots, mechanics and support personnel that could be reassigned to advanced aircraft, especially the F-35.

Congress has other ideas. Bowing to members whose constituencies are dependent on the jet for jobs and the flow of federal tax dollars, it has instead insisted nearly all the planes keep flying at a cost of more than $4 billion over the past 10 years.

This kind of intervention is common—and is impairing the U.S.’s ability to respond to rapidly modernizing Chinese forces in a new era of great-power competition, say current and former senior defense officials and military analysts…

‘Is it just pure politics?’ Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott asked General Brown and Air Force Secretary Kendall at a May 2022 hearing, complaining about what he described as money wasted on A-10s. ‘I just don’t get this, this idea that we have to maintain something we’re not anticipating using anytime again. And we’re not spending enough money on F-35s.’

…Last year, Sen. Scott’s proposal to retire 63 A-10s was defeated by lawmakers siding with Arizona’s Sen. Kelly, who also sat on the Armed Services committee.”

Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal HERE.

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The Hill: Rick Scott on 6-week abortion ban: ‘If I was still governor, I would sign this bill’

The Palm Beach Post: U.S. Sen. Rick Scott: Louisville banker killed in Monday’s mass shooting was a ‘friend’

Florida Daily: Rick Scott, Scott Franklin Promise to Fight for Florida Citrus on Capitol Hill

Florida Daily: Rick Scott Visits SNMG2 Flagship in the Mediterranean Sea     

Senator Scott’s Team in Collier and Lee County

This week, Senator Scott’s team delivered appreciation letters to both Collier County Sheriff’s Office Dispatchers and Lee County Sheriff’s Office Dispatchers for National Telecommunicators Week.

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Senator Scott’s Team in Clewiston

Senator Scott’s team also toured U.S. Sugar, which grows and processes sugarcane, citrus and sweet corn. The team learned about the company’s growing process and its work to invest in the community.

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Senator Scott’s Team in Orlando

Additionally, Senator Scott’s team met with senior leadership of JBT AeroTech in Orlando and toured their manufacturing facility with representatives from the Manufacturers Association of Central Florida and FloridaMakes.

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Senator Scott’s Team in Belle Glade

Senator Scott’s team also toured the TKM Bengard Farms lettuce fields in Belle Glade.

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Senator Scott’s Team in Naples

Senator Scott’s team also gave presentations about the Military Service Academy nomination process to 5 JROTC classes at Lely High School. Learn more about the process HERE.

Senator Scott’s Team in Clewiston Senator Scott’s team also toured U.S. Sugar, which grows and processes sugarcane, citrus and sweet corn. The team learned about the company’s growing process and its work to invest in the community. — Senator Scott’s Team in Orlando Additionally, Senator Scott’s team met with senior leadership of JBT AeroTech in Orlando and toured their manufacturing facility with representatives from the Manufacturers Association of Central Florida and FloridaMakes. — Senator Scott’s Team in Belle Glade Senator Scott’s team also toured the TKM Bengard Farms lettuce fields in Belle Glade. — Senator Scott’s Team in Naples Senator Scott’s team also gave presentations about the Military Service Academy nomination process to 5 JROTC classes at Lely High School. Learn more about the process HERE. —

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