Senator Rick Scott’s Week in Review
Dear Fellow Floridian,
When I came to Washington, I promised Florida families that I would fight every day to make Washington work for them – and that includes making sure the federal government keeps its promises to Florida families and doesn’t increase the cost of living. I’m hearing from Florida families every single day who are concerned about being able to pay the bills and put food on the table thanks to soaring inflation caused by Democrats’ reckless spending. It’s impacting everyone, and what’s scary is it could get worse thanks to regulations and policies the Biden administration passed just this week that I’m fighting to stop.
Florida’s seniors are facing the impacts of soaring costs and historic inflation. It’s forcing many people, including our seniors, to work multiple jobs or tap into their retirements to pay their bills. Adding insult to injury, Biden cut Medicare Advantage benefits again this week for the second year in a row. Nearly 60% of Florida’s Medicare beneficiaries choose Medicare Advantage because it works. I will be fighting like hell to reverse this terrible decision that hurts our seniors and pass my Protect Our Seniors Act to stop Biden’s horrible war on seniors that is devastating for so many older Floridians. Read more HERE.
On top of that, Biden’s FEMA decided to eliminate discounts for some National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy holders in Lee County, Florida. I was proud to lead a letter urging them to reverse this terrible decision because insurance costs are already too high. This decision only makes that worse.
I’ve been fighting for years to reform the broken NFIP and lower costs for Florida families. I recently introduced several bills, including the Flood Insurance Affordability Act, which would require FEMA to offer Floridians the option to pay their flood insurance premiums monthly rather than in a larger lump sum once a year. Read more HERE.
Our country cannot afford more of Biden’s disastrous economic policies. It’s past time Washington returned to fiscal sanity and worked for you. Floridians shouldn’t have to worry about retirement, putting food on the table or affording insurance. Enough is enough, and as your U.S. Senator, I promise to keep fighting every day to get our country back on track before it’s too late.
Sincerely,
Rick Scott
United States Senator
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Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Tom Cotton and six of their congressional colleagues in sending a letter to President Joe Biden to express their deep concern with the White House’s plan to host Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in April.
The letter notes that President Biden’s decision to meet with Prime Minister al-Sudani at this time sends the message that the Biden administration is more interested in appeasing Iran than supporting Israel’s defeat of Hamas. The planned visit will occur even as Iraq continues to fund numerous terror groups and remains under significant Iranian influence. Co-signing the letter were Senators Ted Budd and Bill Hagerty and Congressmen Jake Ellzey, French Hill, Mike Turner and Mike Waltz.
Earlier this month, Senator Rick Scott returned from his sixth trip to Israel, where he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other high-ranking officials to discuss the United States’ and Israel’s shared priority of destroying Iran-backed Hamas terrorists that have killed thousands of individuals, including Americans since the October 7, 2023 attacks. Read more HERE.
Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.
Sen. Rick Scott Slams Biden’s Medicare Cuts
Following a decision by the Biden administration to cut Medicare Advantage benefits for the second year in a row, Senator Rick Scott released the following statement. Since being elected to the Senate, Senator Scott has fought to preserve and protect the benefits of programs like Medicare and Social Security. This Medicare Advantage benefits cut will result in the 2.8 million Florida seniors currently enrolled in Medicare Advantage, many of whom live on a fixed income, having their supplemental benefits reduced by $33 per month, or $396 per year. In Florida, 58% of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage. Last year, Senator Scott introduced the Protect Our Seniors Act to preserve and protect Social Security and Medicare benefits.
Senator Rick Scott said, “President Biden has no plan to protect Social Security, and now he just cut Medicare benefits. Biden’s war on seniors is disastrous – especially for seniors on fixed incomes who are already struggling with skyrocketing inflation. The takeaway from Biden’s actions is clear: Democrats don’t give a damn about the 2.8 MILLION Florida seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage who will see costs go up by nearly $400 a year. Nearly 60% of Florida’s Medicare beneficiaries choose Medicare Advantage because it works. I will be fighting like hell to reverse this terrible decision that hurts our seniors and pass my Protect Our Seniors Act to stop Biden’s horrible war on seniors that is devastating for so many older Floridians.”
Senator Scott’s Protect Our Seniors Act includes three key provisions to protect the benefits of Social Security and Medicare and promote the long-term solvency of these critical programs:
- Rescinds funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for 87,000 new IRS agents and redirects those funds to the Medicare and Social Security Administration Trust Funds to help shore up the solvency of each program.
- Creates a Budget Point of Order, and requires a two-thirds vote, against any legislation that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) determines would reduce or cut existing Medicare and Social Security benefits.
- Amends CBO scoring laws such that savings to Medicare cannot be used to offset or pay-for spending outside of Medicare.
- NOTE: This tactic was used by Democrats for the “infrastructure bill” as well as the Inflation Reduction Act where Medicare savings were used as ‘pay-fors’ for green new deal projects and other wasteful spending.
Read more HERE.
Senator Rick Scott joined Senators Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, along with 34 of their Senate Republican colleagues, in calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct a fair and unbiased review of recently announced oil and gas mergers after Senate Democrats requested the FTC investigate these major energy acquisitions by citing misleading and false allegations. Previously, Senate Democrats also urged the FTC to abuse its authority by arguing that such investigations must be used to stop these companies from discrediting “climate science,” “subverting our democratic processes,” and “frustrate self-governing” through more oil and gas production.
Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.
Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, joined by Congressmen Byron Donalds and Greg Steube, sent a letter today to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell urging her to reverse the agency’s recent decision to eliminate discounts for some National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy holders in Lee County, Florida. Previously, FEMA offered NFIP policyholders in Lee County a community premium discount of 25 percent, which will be eliminated for some policyholders if FEMA moves forward with its recent decision.
Senator Scott has been fighting for years to reform the broken NFIP and lower costs for Florida families. Senator Scott recently introduced the Flood Insurance Affordability Act, which would require FEMA to offer Floridians an option to pay their flood insurance premiums monthly, rather than in a larger lump sum once a year. In August 2023, Senator Scott wrote a letter to David Maurstad, Senior Executive of the NFIP, demanding transparency and accountability as FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0 has unfairly increased flood insurance rates for millions of Floridians, making the coverage nearly unaffordable for working families who need it. Earlier this Congress, Senator Scott also reintroduced three bills, the Removing Barriers to Private Flood Insurance Act, the Flood Insurance Consumer Choice Act, and the Flood Insurance Transparency Act to reform the NFIP which would help lower the cost of flood insurance, build a more robust private market, and ensure the property insurance market better serves Florida families. Senator Scott’s NFIP package has been endorsed by the Federal Association for Insurance Reform (FAIR).
Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.
In response to the Biden administration’s recent decision to approve yet another Iran sanctions waiver, potentially worth billions of dollars, Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Tim Scott and their colleagues in an effort to hold the Biden administration accountable and demand transparency for the American people on U.S. enabled payments to Iran, the leading state sponsor of terrorism. In a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the senators raised concerns that the latest waiver makes sanctioned Iranian funds, which could be used to fund terrorism, more accessible to the Iranian regime and disregards congressional intent calling for severe restrictions on payments to Iran.
Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.
Sen. Rick Scott Demands President Biden Reimpose Sanctions Against the Maduro Regime
Senator Rick Scott released the following statement demanding immediate action from President Biden to reimpose sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. In October 2023, the Biden administration was played by Nicolás Maduro and his thugs and made a bad deal to lift sanctions, believing Maduro’s lie that his regime would allow free and fair elections in Venezuela. Since then, Maduro and his thugs have unjustly arrested several opposition leaders and blocked María Corina Machado from being on this year’s election ballot.
Senator Rick Scott said, “President Biden and his administration got played by Dictator Nicolás Maduro and his thugs. It is absolutely pathetic that the president of the United States ran into the arms of a ruthless, murdering dictator and did exactly what they wanted. At the end of the day, Maduro failed to keep his promise to honor the legitimate candidacy of María Corina Machado and hold a free and fair election this year in Venezuela. Now Biden must honor his word and reimpose sanctions on the murderous Maduro regime. Maduro works with Iran, Russia, Middle East extremist terror groups, Communist China and Cuba. All evil regimes that hate America. He, just like his comrades in those countries, is a genocidal tyrant and a liar and yet Biden decided to trust him. Lifting U.S. sanctions and allowing money to flow into Venezuela because you’re counting on the word of a mad dictator is one of the most ridiculous things I could have imagined from this president. President Biden failed the American people and the Venezuelan people. It’s time for him and his administration to acknowledge their failure and immediately reimpose sanctions on Nicolás Maduro. Joe Biden has been a disaster for the fight for freedom and democracy in Venezuela, but we will continue working alongside the freedom-loving Venezuelan people to bring democracy back to their country.”
Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ.
In case you missed it, Senator Scott shared the following video ahead of Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley’s visit to Florida today. During a recent hearing in the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, Senator Scott pushed Administrator O’Malley on the Biden administration’s failure to address looming insolvency issues within the Social Security Trust Fund that threaten future benefits. In his recently proposed Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, President Biden failed to address these issues while pushing more massive spending that would increase the national debt by $6.4 trillion over the next four years, putting further stress on the federal government’s ability to keep its promises to the American people and protect the benefits of Social Security for future generations. Last year, Senator Scott introduced the Protect Our Seniors Act to preserve and protect Social Security and Medicare benefits.
Read more HERE.
Sen. Rick Scott Slams Biden’s Lies About Bad Jobs Report
Following the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ March jobs report that showed part-time employment is up 691,000 jobs in March of 2024, Senator Rick Scott released the following statement along with a weekly update on his actions to address America’s debt crisis and rising inflation. Since President Biden took office, his so-called “Bidenomics” agenda has bankrupted American families and forced some into taking on multiple jobs to afford basic necessities like gas, rent and groceries.
Senator Rick Scott said, “While Democrats and their partners in the media are celebrating today’s jobs report and pushing lies about our economy, their fake narrative ignores the truth. This jobs report shows that full-time jobs are down AGAIN – dropping 6,000 month over month – while part-time jobs rose by nearly 700,000. That means that more Americans are working multiple jobs to make ends meet and deal with Biden’s skyrocketing inflation. This month’s jobs report also showed that unemployment among black Americans is up again, rising a full percentage point to 6.4% – the highest it’s been in two years. President Biden has led America into economic disaster and families in Florida and all across America are paying the price for his failures. These figures make President Biden’s recent decision to cut Medicare benefits for the second year in a row even more disgusting. Everywhere you look, American families are suffering more under Biden’s failed leadership and no amount of lies in the press or in White House press releases will change that sad reality for hardworking families. It has never been more clear that we need new leadership in the White House that puts American workers first and brings fiscal sanity back to Washington.”
Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ.
Fox News: Biden admin needs to ‘change their tune’ on Israel: Sen. Rick Scott
The Hill: GOP senator says Israel has to ‘go into Rafah to destroy Hamas’
Washington Examiner: Rick Scott ‘mad’ over Biden’s criticism of Israel: ‘How does he know better?’
The Floridian: Scott Rips Biden’s Proposed Medicare Cuts
Florida’s Voice: Rick Scott demands answers on ‘secret’ Biden migrant flight program
Florida Daily: Rick Scott Slams Biden’s Medicare Advantage Cuts
Fort Myers News-Press: Mad about FEMA cutting your flood insurance discount? Byron Donalds and Rick Scott step in
Fox 4: “We are discouraged!” 4 US lawmakers tell FEMA to return insurance discount
The Hill: GOP lawmakers slam Biden for hosting Iraqi prime minister amid Mideast conflict
NewsRadio WFLA Orlando: Florida Sen. Rick Scott has Strong Message for President Biden on Israel
West Orlando News: Senator Rick Scott from Israel: U.S. Must Stand Against Evil Hamas Terrorism
Newsmax: Sen. Rick Scott: Biden Must Focus on Hostages, Not Netanyahu
Senator Scott’s Team in Orlando
This week, Senator Scott’s team attended the National Vietnam War Veterans Day Ceremony at the Orlando VA Medical Center.
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Senator Scott’s Team in Fort Walton Beach
Senator Scott’s team hosted a Service Academy Night at Fort Walton Beach High School.
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Senator Scott’s Team in Miami
Senator Scott’s team attended the Miami-Dade Hall of Fame induction ceremony. v
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