Senator Rick Scott’s Week in Review 08/03/24
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Dear Fellow Floridian, Monday was a dark day for democracy in Latin America as Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro stole another election from the Venezuelan people, again rejecting their calls for freedom and democracy. Sadly, the events leading up to this event started way before this week when the Biden-Harris administration cut a deal with Nicolás Maduro to ease oil sanctions. Since the Biden-Harris failed deal with dictator Maduro, the regime has grown in strength, our Western Hemisphere has become more dangerous and adversaries like Russia, China, Cuba and Iran are active in Venezuela at the dictator’s invitation. Maduro’s massive fraud is not the free and fair election we hoped it would be. But it is a clear result of the Biden-Harris failed appeasement that has emboldened Maduro. The result is a dictator who is murdering innocent Venezuelans on the streets and issuing an arrest warrant for María Corina Machado, Edmundo González, and other opposition leaders. I spoke with María earlier this week and saw the election results. Edmundo González won this election, and after days of calling on the Biden-Harris administration to do so, I’m glad they finally recognized him as president-elect. This is a significant moment in the Venezuelan people’s fight for freedom and true representative government. As your U.S. Senator, I will continue working alongside the freedom-loving Venezuelan people to bring democracy back to their country and demanding the administration’s weak appeasement policies that got us here are put to an end. Read more HERE. Sincerely,
Rick Scott United States Senator Senator Scott encourages all Floridians to visit his website at www.rickscott.senate.gov/hurricane-preparedness to get prepared today. See the latest on Potential Tropical Cyclone Four from the National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.gov or @NHC_Atlantic on Twitter, and from the Florida Division of Emergency Management at floridadisaster.org or @FLSERT on Twitter. — To be the first to find out about Senator Scott’s actions and statements, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. — |
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Senator Rick Scott received a briefing from National Hurricane Center (NHC) Director Dr. Mike Brennan and released the following statement urging Floridians to stay alert and get prepared as the state monitors the path of Potential Tropical Cyclone Four, which the NHC forecasts to have a 90% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next seven days that could impact Florida starting this weekend. Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ. — Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urging their administration to express unwavering support for Venezuelans in the fight for freedom in the aftermath of dictator Nicolás Maduro’s corrupt attempt to maintain power following Sunday’s election. Senator Scott has repeatedly slammed Biden-Harris sanctions relief that has benefitted the Maduro regime in exchange for a false promise for free and fair elections. Since the agreement was not met, Senator Scott is demanding the Biden-Harris administration own up to its mistakes and immediately reimpose sanctions on Maduro and his thugs. Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ. — 17 days after the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that resulted in the murder and severe injury of innocent Americans, Senator Rick Scott again demanded accountability and transparency from federal officials during a joint hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Judiciary Committee. Since the horrific shooting at President Trump’s rally, Senator Scott has repeatedly pressed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) to hold daily public press conferences to share updates with the American people and answer questions about what happened, who is being held accountable, and how we make sure it never happens again. Senator Rick Scott said, “More than two weeks after the attempted assassination of President Trump, murder of Corey Comperatore, and the severe injury of other innocent and patriotic Americans, the DHS, FBI and USSS have totally failed to deliver the accountability and transparency that this historic and horrific security failure demands. There hasn’t been a single public press conference to answer the American people’s questions, which has caused rumors and speculation about that day to run wild. FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, which the U.S. Secret Service is part of, are facing an unprecedented crisis of integrity. We have seen failure after failure, and there is never any accountability or transparency from the Biden-Harris administration. Nobody is ever fired and the American people are tired of the total incompetence of this administration. During last week’s briefing, I asked if DHS and the FBI would commit to holding daily press conferences on this investigation and I was told that that was a decision that agency leadership needed to make. We need to see that commitment made publicly today if the FBI, DHS and USSS have any intention of rebuilding the credibility that they have lost with the American people.” Read more HERE. — Senator Rick Scott released the below statement ahead of Venezuela’s presidential election this Sunday. Ahead of the election, the regime of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro disqualified the leading opposition candidate, María Corina Machado, from participating in the upcoming presidential elections. Over the last few months, members of Machado’s team have been targeted and even arrested by Maduro’s thugs. Since the Biden-Harris administration took office, it has repeatedly taken actions to appease murderous dictators like Maduro and failed to stand up for freedom and democracy in Venezuela and throughout Latin America. Senator Rick Scott said, “If given the opportunity for a truly fair and free election, I believe the people of Venezuela will choose to vote for the future of their country and reject the murderous dictator Nicolás Maduro this Sunday. For too long, Nicolás Maduro and his thugs have deprived the Venezuelan people of this choice by attacking his political opponents, using violence and threats in a desperate attempt to hold onto power over a people that hate him. “This election must be different. Maduro MUST allow the Venezuelan people to finally exercise their right to vote in a free and fair election. President Biden and Vice President Harris have shown nothing but weakness and appeasement toward Maduro and that has fueled his oppression of the Venezuelan people. The Biden-Harris administration must immediately reimpose the sanctions it lifted without any assurances from this murderous regime, and call on Maduro to allow a peaceful transfer of power when a true leader is chosen. The Biden-Harris administration appeasement of Maduro has clearly failed and must end now. We cannot waste this opportunity to advance our fight for democracy in Venezuela. This is a significant moment in the Venezuelan people’s fight for freedom and true representative government. I will continue working alongside the freedom-loving Venezuelan people to bring democracy back to their country.” Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ. — Following the Venezuelan presidential election that was neither free nor fair, Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Marco Rubio and Senators Bill Cassidy, John Kennedy, Michael Bennet, Peter Welch, Pete Ricketts, John Cornyn, Tim Scott and Representatives Carlos Giménez, Jenniffer González-Colón, María Elvira Salazar, Ruben Gallego, Chris Smith and Mario Díaz-Balart in a joint statement following the criminal and illegitimate Maduro narco-regime claiming victory in this sham presidential election. Additionally, earlier this afternoon, Senator Scott sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urging their administration to express unwavering support for Venezuelans in the fight for freedom in the aftermath of dictator Nicolás Maduro’s corrupt attempt to maintain power following Sunday’s election. Senator Scott has repeatedly slammed Biden-Harris sanctions relief that has benefitted the Maduro regime in exchange for a false promise for free and fair elections. Since the agreement was not met, Senator Scott is demanding the Biden-Harris administration own up to its mistakes and immediately reimpose sanctions on Maduro and his thugs. The members wrote, “To no one’s surprise, dictator Nicolás Maduro has once again stolen a presidential election. However, what the narco-regime will never steal is the Venezuelan people’s desire to return to democracy and live in freedom after decades of tyranny. We must prioritize uniting the free world in rejecting these sham election results and securing the release of the more than 300 Venezuelans that remain arbitrarily detained in torture centers as political prisoners. The Maduro dictatorship is experiencing an internal fracture, and members of the dictatorship know their status quo, which is filled with incompetence, is no longer sustainable. There is massive discontent in the streets of Venezuela, and everyday citizens have stood in support of opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez. Let there be no doubt: the countries and international organizations backing this fraud of unimaginable proportions must be held accountable, as should members of the narco-regime and its ‘National Electoral Council’.” Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ. — Nine days after the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and with numerous questions still unanswered, Senator Rick Scott reiterated his call for the Biden-Harris administration, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Secret Service (USSS), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to hold a daily public press conference to share updates with the American people and answer questions about what happened, who is being held accountable, and how we make sure it never happens again. Senator Rick Scott said, “It has been over a week since the assassination attempt on President Trump and we still do not have any answers. That is unacceptable. USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle must resign TODAY. The American people deserve answers and I am demanding daily updates from the Biden-Harris administration and accountability for its massive failure. I am very grateful for the Secret Service agents and law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line following the shooting to protect President Trump. They are heroes, but the leadership at DHS and USSS clearly failed. As I said on Saturday, the security of our Republic is being questioned. The Biden-Harris administration can’t wait until the investigation is complete to release details. I will continue reiterating my calls for transparency and accountability from this administration. It needs to start today.” Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ. — Sens. Rick Scott, Mark Warner Lead Bill to Crack Down on Chinese-Made Drones in the U.S. Senator Rick Scott announced the introduction of the bipartisan Countering CCP Drones and Supporting Drones for Law Enforcement Act with Senator Mark Warner, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The Countering CCP Drones and Supporting Drones for Law Enforcement Act would blacklist dangerous Chinese drone companies Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) Technologies, Autel Robotics, and other CCP-linked drone industry participants and cut them off from U.S. telecommunication infrastructure by including these companies on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List, which identifies telecommunication equipment that poses an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. The legislation also creates a short-term Department of Transportation grant program, specifically designed for first responders, to replace any existing Chinese drones and purchase American-made ones. Senators Scott and Warner also filed this legislation as an amendment to the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act. Senator Scott has been leading efforts in the Senate to counter People’s Republic of China-made technology that can harm national security—especially drones. Communist China funds technology, like drones made by companies like DJI, with the capability to spy on Americans, steal their data and gather sensitive information. Senator Scott successfully fought to include his and Senator Warner’s American Security Drone Act in the FY2024 NDAA to ban the United States Government from purchasing drones made by Chinese companies, like DJI, which was signed into law by President Biden last year. Senator Rick Scott said, “Drones made in Communist China pose a significant threat to our freedoms and security and cannot be allowed to continue operating in American skies. Companies based in Communist China are at the will of Xi’s evil regime, meaning one of the United States’ greatest adversaries has total access to every bit of data collected by devices. It should terrify every single American that the Chinese Communist Party, known for spying, stealing and espionage, could have access to footage of Americans, their land, their businesses and their families without their knowledge. I was glad to successfully pass my and Senator Warner’s American Security Drone Act to stop the use of drones made by companies in adversarial nations, like Communist China’s DJI, in the United States Government and military, which is critical to protecting our national security. Now, we must pass the Countering CCP Drones and Supporting Drones for Law Enforcement Act as a necessary next step to eliminate the threats we face from Communist China and further protect the security of the United States and every American family.” Read more HERE. — In an effort to stop the threat of the Chinese Communist Party from expanding and establishing its global maritime network, Senators Rick Scott, Marco Rubio and Mark Kelly introduced the Strategic Ports Reporting Act that would require the U.S. Department of Defense to draft an interagency strategy report to proactively counter this growing threat. Currently, multiple Chinese companies possess ownership shares to key ports in the U.S. and around the world. This investment is a significant risk to our national security interests and to America’s access to trade, global supply chains, and overall maneuverability in the maritime domain. Senator Rick Scott said, “Protecting the ports, seaports and infrastructure of the U.S., our allies and trading partners around the globe is critical to our economic independence, U.S. national security and the security of our allies. As our nation faces threats from adversaries around the world and Communist China continues its quest for global dominance, we must eliminate any ownership, influence, or access the Communist Chinese regime may have over our allies’ infrastructure and data that can be used against us. Our bill requires the Department of Defense to identify our most critical ports worldwide to ensure continued U.S. trade and military operations and develop a plan to keep them secure from our enemies. This overdue action is essential to protecting American trade and security.” Read more HERE. — Ahead of this week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jay Powell, urging accountability regarding his massive failure to meet his target of reducing the Fed’s balance sheet and severely misallocating capital. Senator Scott has been adamant about holding the Fed accountable to their goals of reducing the balance sheet since his election to the Senate. During Powell’s time as Chair, he has overseen a wildly unaccountable Fed, which has grossly mismanaged U.S. monetary policy and grown its balance sheet to an unsustainable $7.2 TRILLION, hurting millions of hardworking American families with skyrocketing interest rates and inflation and losing over $2 TRILLION of taxpayer money in the past two years. Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE. — Sen. Rick Scott Slams Chuck Schumer for Delaying NDAA, Ignoring National Security Threats Senator Rick Scott, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and ranking member of the SASC Personnel Subcommittee, spoke on the Senate floor slamming Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for delaying consideration of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Senator Scott is fighting to secure major wins for Florida, the military and the national security community, yet Leader Schumer is refusing to advance this critical bill to set the policy and authorize funding levels for America’s armed forces. Senator Scott reiterates that America cannot afford to send any signal of weakness at this time of growing threats and instability around the globe and is requesting a vote on the NDAA, which has been passed out of its committee, today. Watch Senator Scott’s remarks HERE. Read more HERE. — Sen. Rick Scott: Senate Unanimously Passes Resolution Celebrating Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Win In recognition of the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in the team’s 30-year franchise history, Senator Rick Scott and Senator Marco Rubio celebrated the unanimous passage of their Senate resolution honoring the hockey team for their accomplishment and congratulating the loyal fan base for their support throughout the season. Read more HERE. — Sen. Rick Scott Slams Biden-Harris Jobs Report, Shares Weekly Update on Harris Price Hikes Following the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ abysmal July jobs report showing the unemployment rate rise to 4.3%, Senator Rick Scott released the following statement and a weekly update on his actions to address America’s debt crisis, rising inflation and failing economy caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s reckless and radical agenda. The July report shows that job creation is much lower than expected, and multiple jobs holders increased by 311,000, over the last year, highlighting the dark reality that more people are taking on multiple jobs to make ends meet. The report also shows that the June jobs report has been revised down by 27,000 jobs. Senator Rick Scott said, “Growing up, my family had very little and we lived in public housing. I watched my parents struggle to find and keep jobs and saw how hard that made it for them to keep food on the table. It makes me furious that the Biden-Harris administration’s radical agenda is forcing that same hardship on families all across our country as unemployment rises, more than 450,000 full-time jobs have disappeared in the last year and 514,000 more Americans than at this time last year are working part-time jobs just to survive. This jobs report would be terrible even without the record inflation Biden and Harris have caused, but with Harris Price Hikes sending costs up 20% since January 2021, too many families are running out of money and options and seniors are having to come out of retirement to keep their homes. “Under Democrat rule in Washington, our country has lost its way and chosen to incentivize people not to work – and now 100 million adults aren’t in the labor force. If we want to rescue America from this nightmare of fewer jobs, skyrocketing inflation and now $35 TRILLION of debt, we need every American who is able to work to get back in the workforce. I am always optimistic about our future, but we can only fix this if we force a sea change in Washington that brings fiscal sanity and commonsense back to our government.” Read more HERE. Lea más en español AQUÍ. — Senator Rick Scott joined Senators Marco Rubio, Dick Durbin, Tim Kaine, Bill Cassidy and Michael Bennet to introduce a resolution recognizing Edmundo González as the President-elect of Venezuela. This year’s presidential election in Venezuela was seen as a beacon of hope as the Venezuelan people casted their vote amid tyranny. Despite the Maduro regime’s continued attempt to maintain its illegitimate grip on power, the Venezuelan people voted, in a landslide, for Edmundo González Urrutia. Senator Rick Scott said, “Evil dictator, Nicolas Maduro, emboldened by the appeasement of the Biden-Harris administration, is attempting to steal yet another election from the people of Venezuela, meeting their calls for freedom with oppression and violence. Democracy in Venezuela is at stake and the security of our hemisphere is in danger. The United States cannot be silent or complicit in Maduro’s tyranny. The Venezuelan people have made their voices heard when they chose Edmundo González as their rightful leader and now the United States, and every freedom-loving nation, must stand with them.” |
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The Hill: Rick Scott demands more press conferences Real Clear Politics: Sen. Rick Scott: Is The Secret Service Covering Something Up? “It’s Like A Black Hole Of Information” The Washington Times: Republicans warn Biden against transferring 9/11 terrorist Moussaoui to France Tampa Free Press: Florida Senator Rick Scott Urges Immediate Action On NDAA, Slams Schumer Tampa Free Press: Florida Sen. Scott Rips Border Czar VP Kamala Harris “America Is A More Dangerous Place” Capitolist: Scott and Rubio introduce bill to combat Chinese influence in global ports Florida’s Voice: Sens. Rubio and Scott, U.S. leaders decry Maduro’s ‘stolen’ election as ‘dark day’ The Floridian: Scott Chastises Secret Service, FBI for Lack of Updates into Trump Shooting Investigation |
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Senator Scott’s Team in Maitland
Senator Scott’s team attended the Grand Opening of Shalom Orlando’s Shayna’s Village at The Heller Family Grove. — Senator Scott’s Team in Melbourne
Senator Scott’s team attended a rally in support of free elections in Venezuela. — |
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