Dear Fellow Floridian,

For nearly two years, we’ve seen the devastating impact of reckless spending and a growing national debt in Washington that has fueled a raging inflation crisis across America. As I’ve traveled that state, I’ve heard from countless Florida families about the pain it’s causing them at home and in their businesses. That’s why, as so-called leaders in Washington work in secret to pass yet another massive, multi-trillion dollar spending package that no one has had the opportunity to read,  scrutinize or suggest changes to, I’m fighting to end the backroom dealing and stop more reckless spending of your tax dollars.

With voters in Florida and across American choosing to put Republicans in power in the House of Representatives, it would be unthinkably foolish to give Nancy Pelosi a multitrillion-dollar gift right after she’s been fired as House Speaker. I’m fighting to make sure Congress rejects the massive Pelosi-Schumer Spending Bill and instead passes a short-term funding bill to continue current government operations through the new year, allowing the new Republican-led House to do its part in writing a FULL, BALANCED budget. 

Washington has been broken and unaccountable for too long and Florida families can’t afford another inflation-bomb spending bill. In 2018, you elected me to the United States Senate to make Washington work for Florida families and I’ve spent every day since working to protect your interests. I won’t ever back down from that fight.

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’s Bipartisan END FENTANYL Act to Help Border Patrol Stop Drug Smuggling Unanimously Passes in Senate

Senator Rick Scott’s bipartisan legislation, the Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of Life (END FENTANYL) Act, unanimously passed the Senate and heads to the House of Representatives where Congressmen Michael Guest and David Trone have introduced the House companion legislation. The END FENTANYL Act would require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to update its policies at least once every three years to ensure operational field manuals, including their drug interdiction guidance, is up to date. This legislation builds off the 2019 GAO report, “Land Ports of Entry: CBP Should Update Policies and Enhance Analysis of Inspections,” that found drug interdiction guidance has not been updated in 20 years. This legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Mike Braun, Maggie Hassan, Dianne Feinstein and Jacky Rosen.

Senator Rick Scott said, “For too long, the crushing heartbreak felt from losing a loved one to a drug overdose, and the opioids that cause them, have plagued American families. This epidemic, fueled by the massive amounts of fentanyl flowing illegally over our southern border into our communities, has only grown worse. Every life taken by an accidental drug poisoning is a preventable tragedy and we must do everything in our power to stop them. We must continue our work to support our brave CBP agents, and all who are on the frontlines of this battle, ensuring they have every tool needed to fight back, keep these dangerous drugs out of our country and save lives. This is a big win in our fight against the lethal opioid epidemic, but it is not the end. I am thankful for my colleagues in the Senate voting for its passage, in addition to Congressmen Guest and Trone for leading this bipartisan charge in the House. I look forward to working together to get this important bill to the president’s desk and signed into law.”

Read more HERE. 

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Sen. Rick Scott, 10 Colleagues Urge Pentagon to Freeze COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Discharges, Reinstate Discharged Soldiers with Backpay

Following the Senate’s approval of the National Defense Authorization act (NDAA), Senator Rick Scott led his colleagues in a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The Senators urged Secretary Austin to freeze all COVID-19 vaccine-related discharges, and to establish a quick and thorough process so all members who were discharged because they refused the COVID-19 vaccine can be reinstated with back pay and full benefits.

Senators James Lankford, Mike Braun, John Hoeven, Jim Risch, Lindsey Graham, Mike Crapo, Mike Lee, Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson and Marco Rubio all co-signed the letter.

Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.

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Senate Democrats Block Sen. Rick Scott’s Amendment to Stop IRS Spying, Expansion

Senator Rick Scott secured a full vote of the United States Senate on his amendment to the week-long continuing resolution to stop the IRS from adding 87,000 new agents to audit families and small businesses. Senator Scott’s amendment would also repeal a provision that allows the IRS to spy on every financial transaction of more than $600 made with Americans’ bank accounts through vendors like CashApp, Venmo and PayPal. Although a bipartisan group, including all Senate Republicans, supported the amendment, Senate Democrats ultimately blocked its approval.

Watch Senator Scott’s speech in support of his amendment HERE. Read More HERE. 

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Sen. Rick Scott Applauds Unanimous Senate Passage of Bipartisan, Bicameral BOLIVAR Act; Calls for House Passage

The Senate unanimously passed Senator Rick Scott’s Banning Operations and Leases with the Illegitimate Venezuelan Authoritarian Regime (BOLIVAR) Act. The legislation would prohibit federal agencies from doing business with anyone that supports the oppressive Maduro regime. The bill had unanimously passed the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in March 2021. The BOLIVAR Act is co-sponsored by Senators Jacky Rosen, Marco Rubio and Thom Tillis.
Congressman Michael Waltz and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz are leading the companion bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives. In 2019, Senator Scott’s amendment to cut off funds to the Maduro regime was included in the National Defense Authorization Act and Senator Scott signed similar legislation into law as Governor of Florida.

Senator Rick Scott said, “We all know what Nicolás Maduro is doing in Venezuela. He’s starving his own citizens. He’s imprisoning his political enemies. He’s providing a foothold to Russia, Iran, Communist China and Hezbollah and is actively destabilizing our hemisphere. There is no reason the U.S. government should be working with companies that also work with such a gross dictator. I’m incredibly proud that the Senate voted to hold Maduro accountable for his abuses by unanimously passing my BOLIVAR Act. As we work to weaken Maduro’s position in the Western Hemisphere, and oppose our enemies, such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, who support Maduro, this bill is a huge step forward and a big win for America’s security. The passage of the BOLIVAR Act exemplifies the commitment of the American people to being tough with our enemies when they threaten America’s national security. I’d like to thank my colleagues in the Senate and Representative Waltz for leading this effort in the House—we can and should pass this important bill into law NOW.”

Read More HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ. 

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Sen. Rick Scott on CPI Report: Short-Term CR is Necessary to Stop More 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. November’s CPI data shows that there has been significant inflation nearly every month of Biden’s presidency, increasing 7.1% in November. The 7.1% increase reported for November 2022 is on top of the 6.8% increase reported for November 2021. That means that since Biden’s election, inflation has jumped 13.9%.

With government funding expiring on Friday, December 16, Senator Scott, along with Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), wrote a letter expressing strong opposition to passing the Pelosi-Schumer omnibus spending bill, which would continue authorization for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to use $80 BILLION of taxpayer money to hire 87,000 new agents. The senators also called on their Republican colleagues in the Senate to support a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) which simply extends current funding levels until the 118th Congress begins with a new Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Senator Rick Scott said, “As inflation continues to rage and make life harder for American families, Washington Democrats are doubling down on their plans for even more reckless spending and a bigger IRS to snoop on your finances. The Pelosi-Schumer Spending Bill is not just a reckless inflation bomb, it also advances dangerous federal overreach that will impact the lives of nearly every hardworking American and business owner. Since we won’t be putting together a balanced budget in the next few days, the next best thing is a CR that rejects any new reckless spending. When the new Congress convenes in January, Republicans in the Senate, along with a new Republican majority in the House, can begin the important work of building a real, balanced budget, repealing Biden’s 87,000 agent IRS army and its insane $600 transaction reporting threshold, and getting America’s finances back in order. It’s time to stop caving to Democrats and stand up for what the American people want in Washington: less government, less spending and more accountability. That’s what I’m fighting for and I won’t stop until we get it done.”

Read more HERE.

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VIDEO RELEASE Sen. Rick Scott on Senate Floor: Americans Have Had Enough of Washington’s Dysfunctional Spending

Senator Rick Scott spoke on the Senate floor in support of Senator Ron Johnson’s request to unanimously pass a clean continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the government funded through February 4th, 2023, after Republicans have taken the majority in the House of Representatives. This is the latest action taken over the past several months to support the passage of a CR until after the start of the 118th Congress.

Read more HERE. Watch Senator Scott’s speech HERE. 

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VIDEO RELEASE Sen. Rick Scott Speaks in Support of School Choice on Senate Floor

Senator Rick Scott spoke on the Senate floor in support of Senator Tim Scott’s Congressional Review Act which would undo Joe Biden’s attempts to restrict school choice for parents by nullifying the Department of Education’s new burdensome requirements on charter schools.

Read more HERE.

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Sens. Rick Scott and Ron Johnson Urge GAO to Report Potential Risks in Federal Employees Health Benefits Program

Senators Rick Scott and Ron Johnson sent a letter to Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), requesting an audit of health care services to members of the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. Following audits to Medicare and VA health programs, GAO uncovered potential fraud through improper payments causing an increase in the cost of the program and putting those in need of care at risk for seeing providers that may have had suspended medical licenses. As the largest employer-sponsored health insurance program in the country, the FEHB Program covers more than eight million federal employees, retirees and family members at annual cost of more than $59 billion.

Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE. 

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Sens. Rick Scott & Tom Cotton Introduce Bill to Cut Huawei and Chinese 5G Companies off from U.S. Banks

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 more from Sen. Cotton’s office HERE. Read more HERE. 

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Sen. Rick Scott to Social Media Execs: Congress Will Hold You Accountable for Censoring Speech & Lying Under Oath

Senator Rick Scott sent letters to leaders of social media companies Meta, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube demanding answers regarding the extent of their knowledge of the platforms’ censorship. Earlier this year in a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing, the executives testified under oath their respective companies were not shadow banning or manipulating news feeds to censor speech. Recent reports, such as Twitter Files, have shown this testimony to be at a minimum misleading, and potentially false. In his letter, Senator Scott makes clear that if social media executives lied under oath, they must be held accountable.

Read the full letters HERE. 

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Sen. Rick Scott & Colleagues Warn FBI Against Politically-Charged Investigation of Israel Defense Forces

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.

Read the full letter HERE.  Read more HERE. 

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

Senator Rick Scott released a weekly update on his actions to address America’s debt crisis and rising inflation. Since being elected to the U.S. Senate, Senator Scott has urged government accountability to the American taxpayer. Ahead of Friday’s government funding deadline and following this week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Senator Scott released the following statement:

As inflation continues to rage and make life harder for American families, Washington Democrats are doubling down on their plans for even more reckless spending and a bigger IRS to snoop on your finances. The Pelosi-Schumer Spending Bill is not just a reckless inflation bomb, it also advances dangerous federal overreach that will impact the lives of nearly every hardworking American and business owner. Since we won’t be putting together a balanced budget in the next few days, the next best thing is a CR that rejects any new reckless spending. When the new Congress convenes in January, Republicans in the Senate, along with a new Republican majority in the House, can begin the important work of building a real, balanced budget, repealing Biden’s 87,000 agent IRS army and its insane $600 transaction reporting threshold, and getting America’s finances back in order. It’s time to stop caving to Democrats and stand up for what the American people want in Washington: less government, less spending and more accountability. That’s what I’m fighting for and I won’t stop until we get it done.

Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ. 

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To share your opinion or get help with a federal agency from Senator Scott’s team, click HERE. 

Sens. Rick Scott and Mike Lee in Fox News: US can’t afford Pelosi-Schumer spending bomb: We demand continuing resolution until new Congress

as Congress considers spending bills ahead of government funding expiring on Friday, December 16, Senators Rick Scott and Mike Lee wrote an op-ed for Fox News demanding the passage of a clean continuing resolution (CR) that extends government funding until after the new Congress begins in 2023.

Their newly published op-ed echoes their sentiments from earlier this year expressed in both a previous op-ed and a letter stressing the need for Republicans to unite behind a clean government funding bill that simply maintains current federal spending bills until a new Congress begins in January 2023. 

In their new op-ed, the Senators wrote, “Back in September, we wrote in these pages about our disgust with reckless spending in Washington and the historic inflation it was forcing on American families. In that Op-Ed, we made clear that for the spending to stop, Republicans must unite in opposing another spending bill and demand that we pass a continuing resolution (CR) that simply maintains current federal spending levels—and not a penny more—until a new Congress begins.

Now, with the government funding deadline just days away and the start of a new Republican majority in the House coming in mere weeks, we again demand fiscal responsibility and urge our colleagues to stand strong in opposing the Pelosi-Schumer spending bill…

For nearly two years, we’ve seen the devastating impact of total Democrat control in Washington and heard from countless families in our states about the pain it’s causing them at home and in their businesses. That’s why the American people sent an unmistakable message in the November midterm elections, making clear that they want a Republican-led House to serve as a check on the unfettered spending of the current Democrat-controlled Congress…

To understand why, let’s reflect for a moment on what the last two years of total Democrat control in Washington have delivered to hardworking families:

The national debt has grown by nearly $5 TRILLION to an insane $31 TRILLION, causing record inflation that is nearly four times higher than the Federal Reserve target of 2%.…

…Washington Democrats have worked to raise taxes on nearly every American while recklessly spending $80 BILLION so the IRS can hire 87,000 new agents to target working families and small businesses. Worse still, Democrats are now forcing every American to report any transaction of $600 or more to the IRS, giving the federal government unprecedented access into the personal finances of American families.

And there is a historically uncontrolled humanitarian and national security crisis on America’s southern border due to Biden’s radical open border and pro-amnesty policies…

Given these Democrat “achievements,” it would be a blatant dereliction of our duty for Senate Republicans to allow Chuck Schumer to ram through a so-called “omnibus” bill…

In fact, since 1954, control of the House has changed five times and there has NEVER been an instance of Congress passing an omnibus spending bill before a new House majority takes power…

It’s time for Republicans to stand together and force Democrats to compromise. We cannot cave and give Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a multitrillion-dollar gift right after she’s been fired as speaker of the House. To ignore the clear results of the recent election by locking in and fully funding the Pelosi-Schumer spending agenda just weeks before the new Congress begins would be an unforgivable betrayal of the will of American voters…”

Read the full op-ed in Fox News HERE.

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Fox News: Rick Scott urges McConnell to respect House incoming GOP majority and tank yearlong budget deal

Wall Street Journal: Will the Republican Party Find Its Way Again?

The New York Post: GOP senators demand government spending bill get pushed to next year

Newsmax: 8 Republican Senators Ask DOJ to Close IDF Probe

Newsmax: Sen. Rick Scott Blasts Dems for Inflation

NTD: White House Leaves Open Possibility Biden Will Sign Bill That Removes Military’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

NTD: White House Leaves Open Possibility Biden Will Sign Bill That Removes Military’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

NTD: White House Leaves Open Possibility Biden Will Sign Bill That Removes Military’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

FL Voice: ‘What About U.S. Marine Paul Whelan?’: Biden Administration Slammed for Russia Prisoner Deal for Brittney Griner

The Floridian: Rick Scott Once Again Defends Vaccine Religious Exemptions

The Floridian: Rick Scott Calls for Continuing Resolution to Avoid Government Shutdown 

Florida Daily: Rick Scott Takes to the Senate Floor to Praise School Choice

WFLA: USCG admiral: Military vaccine mandate rollback not enough for discharged service members 

Sen. Scott’s Team in Fort Myers Beach

 Last week, Senator Scott spoke with USPS
Postmaster DeJoy and urged him to work with locals to swiftly restore mail service in Ft. Myers Beach, which is critical to Floridians recovering from Hurricane Ian. This week, Senator Scott’s team attended a Town Council meeting to assist with the USPS issue in Fort Myers Beach and follow-up on the USPS’ progress. 

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Sen. Scott’s Team in Mary Esther

Additionally, Senator Scott’s team went to the AFSOC Change of Command Ceremony at Hurlburt Field at which Lt Gen Slife relinquished command of AFSOC to Lt Gen Bauernfeind.

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Sen. Scott’s Team in Okeechobee

Another event Senator Scott’s team attended was the Florida Power & Light groundbreaking for the new Cavendish NextGen Hydrogen Hub in Okeechobee County.

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Sen. Scott’s Team in Orlando

Senator Scott’s team also met with the SBA to discuss hurricane disaster relief loans for individuals, small businesses and non-profits.

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Sen. Scott’s Team in Kissimmee

Additionally, Senator Scott’s team attended the Three Kings Day Celebration press conference in advance of the event on January 8, 2023.

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