Senator Rick Scott’s Week in Review
Dear Fellow Floridian,
As a parent and a grandparent, I am gravely concerned that fentanyl and other deadly drugs are making their way to Floridians’ doorsteps, not only through the dark web and drug dealers on the streets, but now through social media apps where criminals are targeting our kids.
I have heard too many heartbreaking stories from Florida families about how they lost their child to an overdose of a drug bought through social media. We cannot stand idly by and allow this to happen. It’s time to stop the drug dealers and social media platforms that are complicit in the death of the hundreds of thousands of lives we have lost to overdose.
This week I was proud to stand with law enforcement and families and introduce my SOCIAL MEDIA Act to finally hold folks accountable and hopefully prevent the loss of another life. I thank the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Partnership for Safe Medicine, and the Major County Sheriffs of America for their support and hope my colleagues in the Senate stand up against this epidemic and do the same.
Read more about my work to combat our nation’s deadly fentanyl crisis HERE.
To read more about my fight to Make Washington Work for you, click HERE.
Sincerely,
Rick Scott
United States Senator
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See more of what Senator Scott has been up to this week below.
Senator Rick Scott released the below statement on the Secretary of the Air Force’s announcement that Hurlburt Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida will continue as a Special Operations Command and be home to a majority of the special operations units in the United States. This week, Senator Scott has been fighting for information from the Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall on the potential decision to move members of the Air Force Special Operations Command away from Hurlburt Field in Florida’s Panhandle. According to today’s announcement from the Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, about 600 of the nearly 9,000 service members at Hurlburt will be relocated to Davis-Monthan Air Base in Arizona over the next five years to help establish the 492nd Special Operations Wing (SOW).
Senator Rick Scott said, “I’ve been fighting all week against the potential move of the Air Force Special Operations Command and asking for transparency from the Biden administration. I just got off the phone with the Secretary of the Air Force and was informed that the Air Force Special Operations Command will continue its strong presence at Hurlburt Field. The Special Operations Command has been at Hurlburt since 1990—MORE THAN 30 YEARS. It’s clearly the best place in the nation to train the most lethal military force possible, and for our military members and their families to live. The quality of life for our service members and families in Florida, especially in Okaloosa County and the Florida Panhandle, is unmatched. These communities are known for going above and beyond to support and welcome our military community, provide opportunities for their family members and ensure their children have access to the best education possible. Our service members want to be stationed in Florida, and I’ll fight like hell to make sure they don’t lose that opportunity at the whim of a political decision by the Biden administration and that Florida’s military presence continues to grow.”
Read more HERE.
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Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urging the IMF to work with nations like Argentina on the implementation of meaningful fiscal reforms to put nations on a path to financial security and independence from continued international support. In his letter, the Senator notes that the IMF has, too many times, placed American tax dollars on the line with no return on investment and with no improvement in the countries’ economies it is intending to help, including the weak and poorly designed $44 billion IMF program authorities signed last year for Argentina.
Read more HERE.
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Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Mike Crapo in leading a letter to major shipping companies regarding their policies discriminating against legal firearms and ammunition. Over the past year, several large freight and shipping companies have implemented policies that discriminate against the firearm and ammunition industries, ranging from prohibiting shipments containing certain firearm parts to total bans on firearms and ammunition.
The letter reiterates that responsibility for enacting policies that affect gun manufacturing and purchases belongs to Congress, not freight companies. The senators ask the companies to explain why they implemented discriminatory policies and to disclose if they coordinated with any gun-control activists to craft the policies.
Read more HERE.
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Senators Rick Scott, Marco Rubio and colleagues reintroduced the Ensuring Linguistic Excellence and Vocational Aptitude by Teaching English (ELEVATE) Act to ensure states receive the federal funding necessary to provide high-quality instruction to students learning English. This bill would allow students from Puerto Rico to be fully counted in the annual grant allocation received by states under the English Language Acquisition grant program. Correcting this flaw will be especially helpful to states like Florida, which has a thriving population from the island.
Between 2010 and 2017, Florida’s Puerto Rican population rose from 864,000 to 1.1 million—a 27 percent increase. The English Language Acquisition grant program helps to ensure that English learners and immigrant students attain English proficiency and academic success. Currently, the U.S. Department of Education uses a flawed funding formula that does not accurately measure the number of K-12 students who relocate to the mainland from Puerto Rico. This flawed formula results in a misallocation of funds.
Senator Rick Scott said, “I will always do everything I can to support Puerto Rican families and make sure all students have the resources they need. This is an initiative I began when I was governor, and I’m proud to support the ELEVATE Act which ensures our schools have the federal resources needed to help English-learning students succeed and live their dreams.”
Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ.
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Sen. Rick Scott: PCE Data Confirms Bidenomics is Failing Floridians
As the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ June Personal Consumer Expenditures (PCE) release showed prices paid by consumers for goods and services rose 3.0% over the year, Senator Rick Scott released a weekly update on his actions to address America’s debt crisis and rising inflation. The PCE data released today is further proof that President Biden’s inflation crisis, caused by his and Democrats’ socialist policies and reckless government spending, continues to wreak havoc on the economy and shrink budgets for families as the prices of everyday goods continue to skyrocket.
Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ.
Pensacola News Journal published an article highlighting the concerns of Senator Rick Scott regarding Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s suspected decision to move members of the Air Force Special Operations Command away from Hurlburt Field in Florida’s Panhandle, without acknowledging the time-honored process to give proper notice or discussion.
Reporting for the Pensacola News Journal, Tom McLaughlin writes, “U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and Florida’s First District Congressman Matt Gaetz promised Tuesday to work aggressively to thwart action by the Department of the Air Force they believe could drastically impact the Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field. In a conference call, Scott said that he, Gaetz and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, Republicans all, had been contacted three days ago by Frank Kendall, the Secretary of the Air Force, to schedule a Friday phone call to discuss ‘programmatic basing actions’ involving Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. Scott said the legislators have not been able to confirm anything since receiving the cryptic message and the Air Force has been tight lipped about revealing anything else before Friday…
The timing of Kendall’s planned phone call is suspicious, the senator said, because it will come one day after the Senate votes to pass the National Defense Authorization Act approving Department of Defense budgets and the same day both houses of Congress recess for five weeks...
‘We have busted our butts,’ he said. ‘I have never heard from anybody in the military saying we are not fulfilling our military’s needs in Florida.’ He said he, Gaetz and Rubio are poised to be ‘very aggressive’ in working to keep the Special Operations Command at Hurlburt and protect any other Florida commands that might be threatened. ‘We are going to do everything in our power to prevent the Biden Administration from playing politics,’ Scott said…
Efforts to contact public information officers at Hurlburt Field or the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force were not successful Tuesday…
‘To me, this is suspicious,’ the congressman, whose Panhandle district is also home to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Whiting Field, Eglin Air Force Base, Duke Field and the Seventh Special Forces Group, said. ‘There is nothing to show Florida is not the best location to house these commands…
Scott said that any sudden move by the Air Force to move the Hurlburt Field Special Operations Command would violate a time-honored process by which commands are traditionally transferred from one location to another…”
Read more HERE.
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Reuters: Sens. Rick Scott and Elizabeth Warren Seek Salary Information from Fed’s Inspector General
Reuters published an article highlighting Senators Rick Scott and Elizabeth Warren’s bipartisan letter to Mark Bialek, Inspector General of the Federal Reserve, voicing concerns of alleged conflicts of interest he faces in his role as a top-paid watchdog at the central bank.
Reporting for Reuters, David Morgan and Costas Pitas write, “Republican Senator Rick Scott and Democrat Elizabeth Warren have asked for salary information from the Fed’s Inspector General, who serves as the central bank’s watchdog, as they criticized the current system amid a push to make the role independent…
Some in Congress are concerned that the Federal Reserve’s current inspector general is not independent enough to serve as a check on the central bank. Unlike the Pentagon and other big agencies, the Fed’s internal IG, currently Mark Bialek, reports directly to the Fed board. Under the Senators’ plans, the holder of the role would instead be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Among their concerns with the current system, the Senators wrote in the letter, is that the IG’s compensation is now structured in such a way to create potential conflicts of interest. Specifically, they objected to having the IG’s salary tied to the compensation of Fed officials who the IG is tasked with investigating…
They detailed five questions in their letter, including what salary Bialek had received over the last five full calendar years, what percentage of his salary was based on the average bonus component of the pay formula and whether he had conducted any inspections in connection with bonuses at the Fed in the last five years…”
Read the full letter HERE and the article in Reuters HERE.
MORE… Sen. Rick Scott Introduces Legislative Package to Hold Federal Reserve Accountable
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Reuters: US senators seek to reverse ‘Buy America’ waiver for EV charging stations
The Hill: Sens. Warren, Scott push for Fed inspector general’s salary details
Washington Examiner: Sen. Rick Scott introduces bill cracking down on fentanyl sales over social media
Washington Examiner: Elizabeth Warren and Rick Scott team up against Fed’s inspector general
Newsmax: Sen. Rick Scott Fights Online Sales of Illicit Drugs
Daily Caller: GOP Senator Teams Up With Elizabeth Warren To Sound The Alarm On ‘Compromised’ Fed Official
Florida’s Voice: Scott, Gaetz concerned Air Force may move special ops command out of Florida
The Floridian: Scott Introduces SOCIAL MEDIA Act
The Floridian: Scott Insists IMF Ensure Efficiency of American Taxpayer Dollars
The Floridian: Rubio and Scott Leverage Congressional Power to Block Biden EV Rule
Pensacola News Journal: Special Operations Command will remain at Okaloosa’s Hurlburt Field, 600 others to move
Pensacola News Journal: Matt Gaetz, Rick Scott fear Air Force may move Special Ops command off Hurlburt Field
Florida Daily: Rick Scott Introduces Package of Bills to Reform the Federal Reserve
Florida Daily: Rick Scott, Kyrsten Sinema Introduce Bill to Help Customs, Border Protection Crack Down on Fentanyl
The Capitolist: Pointing to potential foreign actors, Sen. Rick Scott calls for FBI investigation following Florida hospital cyberattack
WEAR News: ‘Completely unexpected’: Senator voices frustrations with potential Hurlburt Field transfer
WFLA: Senator Rick Scott calls for FBI investigation into health care data breach
Florida Daily: Rick Scott, Jeff Merkley, Florida Congressmen Offer Resolution to End Dog and Cat Meat Trade
Senator Scott in Tampa
Senator Scott was honored to speak at the Florida Sheriffs Association’s summer conference and thank them for all they do to keep Florida safe.
Senator Scott’s Team in Altamonte Springs
Senator Scott’s team rode the new CraneRIDES autonomous vehicle pilot in Altamonte Springs.
Senator Scott’s Team in Kissimmee
Another event Senator Scott’s team attended was the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce where they received local government developments updates in Kissimmee.
Senator Scott’s Team in Whiting Aviation Park
Senator Scott’s team also attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Leonardo Helicopters Florida Support Center in Whiting Aviation Park.
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