Dear Fellow Floridian,

This week, I sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan requesting answers on his agency’s response to the significant bloom of naturally-occurring red tide that is impacting communities along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Last Congress, Senator Marco Rubio and I fought to pass our South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act, which was then signed into law. Making sure this bill became law was important because it requires an inter-agency task force to develop a plan to reduce, mitigate and control harmful algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee and along Florida’s coasts. Now it’s time for action.

In my letter to Administrator Regan, I requested a timeline on how quickly the inter-agency task force, authorized in law thanks to the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act, will be on the ground in Florida.

When I was Governor, I led a massive state and local response to red tide blooms in 2018, and directed the investment of more than $20 million into the research, mitigation and prevention of this naturally-occurring phenomenon.

While red tide has been something Floridians have dealt with for centuries, we cannot allow it to harm our state’s people, environment or economy like it is right now. I’m going to keep fighting to make sure we have a robust response to these blooms and will do everything I can to get resources to our communities that need them. 

Read my full letter 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.

Sens. Rick Scott, Marco Rubio Introduce Bill to Provide Tax Relief to Floridians and Puerto Ricans Impacted by Hurricanes Ian, Nicole and Fiona

Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio were joined by Representatives Byron Donalds, Jenniffer González-Colón, Bill Posey and Scott Franklin to introduce their Hurricane Tax Relief Act which would provide disaster-loss tax relief to families in 51 Florida counties and Puerto Rico impacted by Hurricanes Ian, Nicole and Fiona.

The Hurricane Tax Relief Act would make Hurricanes Ian, Nicole and Fiona qualified disasters for purposes of enhanced disaster casualty loss tax relief. This bill modifies the deduction for personal casualty losses in the hurricane disaster areas, waiving the requirements for impacted taxpayers to itemize deductions and to have losses that exceed 10% of adjusted gross income. Congress previously extended this tax relief for hurricanes Irma, Wilma, Dorian, and Michael, among others.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The last thing families should have to worry about as they recover from devastating storms like Ian, Nicole and Fiona is a big tax bill. In years past, Congress has worked to make sure that families can get the disaster loss tax relief they deserve following hurricanes, and this good bill follows that precedent. Communities in Florida and Puerto Rico have shown incredible strength in the days, weeks and months following these storms, and it is critical that we continue to make sure the federal government is working with state and local officials to get resources to those in need. I’m thankful for my colleagues, Senator Rubio and Representatives Donalds, González-Colón, Posey and Franklin, for their support of this bill that will help so many still recovering from these storms.”

Read more HERE.

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Sen. Rick Scott to Florida Superintendents: Engage Parents to Save Lives, Educate Kids About the Dangers of Fentanyl

Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to all of Florida’s public school superintendents highlighting the need to better educate students on the deadly fentanyl crisis facing the state and nation. In February, Senator Scott hosted a roundtable discussion on the fentanyl crisis that included parents and leaders representing border patrol officers and law enforcement, as well as subject-matter experts. During the roundtable, the parents and other attendees stressed the current lack of public education on fentanyl in schools and the need for better engagement with victims’ families to share stories and the true pain and loss that this illegal drug creates.

In the letter, Senator Scott emphasizes the toll fentanyl is taking on America’s teenagers, writing, “In 2021, 1,145 children aged 14–18 died due to a fentanyl overdose. That is roughly the size of a school classroom every week. Think about that: fentanyl is killing an entire classroom of high-school-aged Americans every single week.”

Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.

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Sen. Rick Scott on Biden’s Raging CPI: When Will You Stop Hurting Florida Families?

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. February’s CPI data shows that there has been a significant rise in inflation during Biden’s presidency, with CPI increasing 6.0% in February 2023 and 15.0% since Biden was elected.

Senator Rick Scott said, “It sure seems like Joe Biden likes having the title of president more than doing his actual job. Families in Florida and all across America have suffered for two years under Biden’s raging inflation crisis and he has done NOTHING to fix it. Just last week, Biden put forward a $6.8 TRILLION budget that’s even more full of reckless taxes and spending than his last terrible proposal. Credit card debt is up and savings are down as families struggle to make ends meet. For our poorest families, like mine growing up, Biden’s high prices make even the most basic necessities unaffordable. The president needs to WAKE UP and realize that the pain he is causing for hardworking Americans won’t end until he ends his addiction to reckless government spending. We need to bring fiscal sanity back to Washington and I’m standing with my colleagues in the House who are showing that they give a damn about this country and will fight to fix it. I hope my fellow Republicans in the Senate will join us. The debt ceiling is our opportunity to get something done and we cannot squander it by caving to the reckless and dangerous wishes of Biden and the Democrats.”

Read more HERE. 

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Sen. Rick Scott Reintroduces Bills to Free American Energy; Hold Biden Accountable for Rising Energy Costs

As February’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers showed another month of rising energy costs for American families, Senator Rick Scott reintroduced his Free American Energy Act to reduce burdensome regulations on American energy and speed up energy production approval for states with federal lands. Senator Scott also reintroduced his GAS PRICE Act to direct the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to report to Congress any policy or rule set by the Biden administration which raises energy costs for American families. The GAS PRICE Act is cosponsored by Senators Roger Marshall and Dan Sullivan.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The far left has fearmongered the American people into a false narrative that U.S. energy is evil. They want hardworking families to believe the apocalypse will come if they don’t support the Green New Deal and spend their last dime buying EVs. It’s all a lie told to justify the president’s all-out war on American energy. For families already struggling to make ends meet in Biden’s chaotic economy, rising energy and gas prices are more than just an inconvenience. For our poorest families, like mine growing up, rising prices from Biden’s anti-energy agenda are devastating. It’s time to expose the terrible consequences of Democrats’ failed policies and put forward the solutions Americans deserve. My bills, the Free American Energy Act and GAS PRICE Act do just that. These bills will reduce burdensome regulations and expedite the review process for energy companies to unleash safe, reliable and affordable energy to meet American demand, while holding the Biden administration accountable by shining a light on their bad policies that drive energy costs up. The days of relying on our adversaries for energy must end NOW. Putting America first means prioritizing American energy. I won’t stop fighting until we get that done.”

Read more HERE.

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Sen. Rick Scott: PPI Up 20.6% Since Biden Took Office

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 February increasing 4.6% over the year. Since Joe Biden became president, PPI has risen 20.6% over the past two years.

Senator Rick Scott said, “When I see the monthly inflation reports, I think about my mom. She worked tirelessly to make ends meet and teach us that if you keep working, anyone can live the American dream. Sadly, that’s not as true today as it was then. Thanks to Joe Biden’s radical agenda and addiction to reckless government spending, American families are struggling and watching opportunities disappear. We have $31 trillion in federal debt. We have high inflation, reckless spending, high interest rates, high credit card debt. Before we know it, the American dream will be dead. And somehow, Biden just doesn’t seem to care. We see that with the $6.8 TRILLION budget he proposed, just chock full of tax hikes, budget gimmicks and wasteful spending that will only make things worse. Biden has turned his back on American families and now Republicans must unite, stop caving and fight back. If we want to get Americans back to work, Congress needs to do its job first, force spending reform and return fiscal sanity back to Washington.”

Read more HERE.

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Sen. Rick Scott and Colleagues Call on DOJ to Sue Chinese Communist Party for Role in COVID-19

Senator Rick Scott led Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Braun, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on what, if any, legal action the Department of Justice (DOJ) has pursued against the Chinese Communist Party for its role in the origin and attempt to cover up the COVID-19 pandemic, which took the lives of over a million Americans. In the letter, the senators call on the Attorney General to use his position to vindicate the interests of the millions of Americans who suffered at the hand of the Chinese Communist Party rather than spend valuable agency resources catering to the politics and partisan policies of the far-left.

Read more HERE. Read the full letter HERE.

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Sens. Rick Scott, John Barrasso Lead Letter to Sec. Yellen on the Administration’s Latest Attack on American Energy

Senator Rick Scott joined Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) in leading 20 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen condemning the Biden administration’s latest attempt to weaponize the tax code against U.S. energy producers. The letter is in response to President Biden’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2024. Specifically, the letter focuses on the $100 billion in targeted tax increases on energy, including the production of oil, gas, and coal.

Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE. 

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Sen. Rick Scott Outlines Priorities at First Hearing as SASC Subcommittee Ranking Member

Senator Rick Scott presided over the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel for his first hearing as Ranking Member. During his remarks and questions to witnesses, Senator Scott highlighted his focus on finding solutions to problems related to recruitment, military housing, access to childcare and health care so that America’s military members and their families are taken care of. He also warned against the DoD prioritizing far-left culture war issues, like diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives and instead focus on recruiting and maintaining a lethal fighting force which first and foremost asks this question: is every person who wants to join solely focused on the mission of intimidating our enemies and defeating them if necessary?

Read more HERE.

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Sens. Rick Scott, Mark Warner & Marsha Blackburn Request Cybersecurity Analysis of Chinese-Made Drones

Senator Rick Scott joined Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in leading a bipartisan group of senators urging the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to reevaluate the risks associated with the use of drones manufactured by Shenzhen DJI Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (DJI), a company with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Read more HERE. 

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Sen. Rick Scott to EPA: Red Tide Along Florida Gulf Coast Demands Immediate Attention

Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan requesting answers on his agency’s response to the significant bloom of naturally-occurring red tide that is impacting communities throughout Florida. Last Congress, Senator Scott fought alongside Senator Marco Rubio to pass and get signed into law their South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act, which requires an inter-agency task force to develop a plan to reduce, mitigate and control harmful algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee and along Florida’s coasts. In his letter to Administrator Regan, Senator Scott also requests a timeline on quickly will the inter-agency task force, authorized in law thanks to the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act, be on the ground in Florida. Before being elected to the U.S. Senate, as Governor of Florida, Senator Scott led a massive state and local response to red tide blooms in 2018 and directed the investment of more than $20 million into the research, mitigation and prevention of this naturally-occurring phenomenon.

Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE. 

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 Sen. Rick Scott Introduces Bill Package to Combat Communist Chinese Influence in Financial Sector

Senator Rick Scott reintroduced a package of five bills to hold Communist China accountable and better protect American families and investors. For years, Senator Scott has been urging both federal agencies and private businesses to decouple operations and investments from the genocidal Communist Chinese regime. The legislation being announced today will hold Communist China accountable by closing investment sanctions loopholes, protecting investors from dubious Chinese companies, imposing new sanctions, demanding additional transparency and accountability from publicly-traded companies, and identifying vulnerabilities and requiring disclosures so that transactions are transparent and safe for Americans.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Given the enormous challenges faced today in our banking system, it is even more imperative that we protect consumers from known bad actors, like the Communist Chinese Party, who pose a large threat to the U.S. economy and whose top targets are our investors, markets, supply chains and jobs. These five bills will take the necessary steps to secure our markets, protect consumers, demand transparency and accountability, and ensure investors are protected. I continue to strongly advocate for all American investors and business leaders to cut ties with Communist China, and force transparency to expose both financial and national security risks is absolutely necessary to achieve this. Chinese companies largely operate under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, and if they continue to act in bad faith, we cannot as a country continue to invest and provide capital to their regime. I am again fighting to pass this legislation because these bills are critical, not only for national security, but personal and financial security for families and consumers across the country, and I urge my colleagues to support their passage.”

Read more HERE.

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Sen. Rick Scott to HHS Secretary: COVID-19 Origin Records Were Mishandled, Hold People Accountable

Senator Rick Scott, sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra following a recent HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report criticizing EcoHealth Alliance’s failed oversight of their National Institute of Health (NIH) grant. EcoHealth Alliance received funding from the NIH, which then gave millions, and possibly to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). Senator Scott is raising concerns that EcoHealth’s work may have involved the coronavirus and gain-of-function at the WIV, and their lack of oversight may have resulted in records lost—specifically the records regarding the origin of COVID-19.

Read more HERE, and read the full letter 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 following the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releasing Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers for February, which showed inflation continued to rise. Since Joe Biden became president, CPI has risen 15.0% and PPI has risen 20.6% 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, “It sure seems like Joe Biden likes having the title of president more than doing his actual job. Families in Florida and all across America have suffered for two years under Biden’s raging inflation crisis and he has done NOTHING to fix it. Just last week, Biden put forward a $6.8 TRILLION budget that’s even more full of reckless taxes and spending than his last terrible proposal. Credit card debt is up and savings are down as families struggle to make ends meet. For our poorest families, like mine growing up, Biden’s high prices make even the most basic necessities unaffordable. The president needs to WAKE UP and realize that the pain he is causing for hardworking Americans won’t end until he ends his addiction to reckless government spending. We need to bring fiscal sanity back to Washington and I’m standing with my colleagues in the House who are showing that they give a damn about this country and will fight to fix it. I hope my fellow Republicans in the Senate will join us. The debt ceiling is our opportunity to get something done and we cannot squander it by caving to the reckless and dangerous wishes of Biden and the Democrats.”

Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ.

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Fox News: Rick Scott rebukes Biden in budget letter to White House, says he has made ‘the situation worse’

Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, ahead of her testimony in this week’s hearing in the Senate Committee on the Budget, to demand answers on Biden’s $6.8 TRILLION budget, which digs America deeper into debt and threatens higher inflation. In previous Budget Committee hearings, Director Young has been unable to answer Senator Scott’s simple questions regarding America’s budget and finances (see an example HERE). To ensure he receives answers to his questions this time, Senator Scott’s letter includes the exact questions he plans to ask during Wednesday’s hearing.

Read the full letter to Director Young HERE. Read the full story in Fox News HERE.

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President Biden’s budget doesn’t solve the spending problem

The March 10 editorial “The U.S. has a $2 trillion problem. Mr. Biden’s budget won’t solve it.” told the truth about President Biden’s budget proposal.

Since Mr. Biden took office, the federal debt has ballooned to $31 trillion, growing by almost $4 trillion under his administration. As the editorial rightly pointed out, the United States’ enormous debt is a problem that both parties are complicit in, and Mr. Biden’s latest proposal does nothing to fix it.

But the editorial was wrong to dismiss the idea of balancing the budget. It is not unrealistic; it’s necessary. Those who say it can’t be done have conceded to the failed thinking in Washington that Congress is incapable of doing hard things. I reject that. If the Editorial Board or anyone reading this doubts my optimism, take a look at what Florida did when I was governor. We balanced the budget, paid down almost one-third of state debt and increased investments in transportation,the environment and education all while cutting taxes nearly 100 times.

How? We focused on growing Florida’s economy. We got people back to work. The same must be done in Washington, and it’s possible if everyone stops caving. Republicans need to stop caving to Democrats and Democrats need to stop caving to the reckless tax-and-spend wishes of their radical base.

I look forward to reading the series on spending reforms and implore future editorials to encourage the structural change needed to return fiscal sanity to Washington.

Read more HERE. 

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Following Letter From Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Troy Nehls, America First Legal Petitions the DOJ to Require Adam Silver and the NBA to Register as Foreign Agents of the CCP

Following a letter from Senator Rick Scott and Representative Troy Nehls to National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver, where they outlined concerns regarding Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda being broadcasted and promoted at NBA games, America First Legal (AFL) petitioned the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to require that the NBA and its commissioner, Adam Silver, register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as agents of the CCP.

The evidence that Mr. Silver and the NBA knowingly and intentionally advance and advocate for the Chinese Communist Party’s political and propaganda interests in exchange for payment is longstanding and substantial. Most recently, on January 21, 2023, Mr. Silver and the NBA provided the People’s Republic of China Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, and the Communist Party’s “China Media Group” with public relations services and a propaganda opportunity at the Capitol One Area in Washington, D.C., where a video message from the Minister of Foreign Affairs was broadcasted to thousands of fans.

Read the full letter, also signed by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and Congressmen Kevin Hern (R-OK-01), Byron Donalds (R-FL-19), Greg Steube (R-FL-17), Burgess Owens (R-UT-04), Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), Ryan Zinke (R-MT-01), and Lauren Boebert (R-CO-03), HERE. Read more from America First Legal HERE.

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Fox News: Senate Republicans demand DOJ sue Chinese Communist Party over role in COVID-19 pandemic

Fox News: Rick Scott demands answers on NIH funding that went to Wuhan Institute of Virology

Washington Examiner: Sen. Rick Scott calls for EPA action on Florida red tide algae

Jewish Journal: Republican Senators Asks Education Dept. Secretary Why “Taxpayer-Funded Antisemitism” Is Happening on College Campuses  

Florida Voice: Scott leads GOP lawmakers demanding DOJ sue the CCP for COVID-19

Florida Daily: Rick Scott: Republicans Need to Reject Joe Biden’s Budget Proposal

Florida Daily: Rick Scott Warns Defense Department About Prioritizing Culture War Issues

Florida Daily: Rick Scott, Byron Donalds Introduce Bill to Help Floridians, Puerto Ricans Impacted by Hurricanes Ian, Nicole, Fiona

Florida Daily: Rick Scott Calls on Florida Superintendents to Engage Parents to Educate Kids About Dangers of Fentanyl

Senator Scott’s Team in Fort Myers

This week, Senator Scott’s team attended the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Fallen Deputy Memorial Dedication Ceremony.

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Senator Scott’s team also attended the US District Court Naturalization Ceremony to welcome twenty-five new citizens to Fort Myers. 

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Senator Scott’s Team in Orlando

Earlier this week, Senator Scott’s team also met with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida to learn more about Second Harvest’s hunger relief programs and facilities. 

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Senator Scott’s Team in Tallahassee

Additionally, Senator Scott’s team attended Puerto Rico Day in Tallahassee, sponsored by the Puerto Rican Bar Association. 

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