Senator Rick Scott’s Week in Review

Dear Fellow Floridian,

This week, I kicked off my statewide Keeping Our Kids Safe Tour to hear from Florida’s parents, law enforcement officials and community leaders about what they are most focused on when it comes to raising families in safe schools and neighborhoods. Parents know what is best for their children and keeping them safe is my top priority.

Unfortunately, the fentanyl crisis continues to rage, artificial intelligence has started to creep into our kids’ lives and crime continues to hurt communities across Florida. I’ve always believed that families truly care about three main things: sending their kids to great schools, living in safe communities and being able to get a great job. Accomplishing those goals starts with keeping kids and families safe.

That is why I have introduced extensive legislation that keeps our kids safe like my END FENTANYL Act to combat the deadly fentanyl crisis, my ASK Act to give parents the power to control how their kids use AI on social media, and my School Guardian Act to put a law enforcement in every K-12 school on America to stop violence at our schools before it begins.

We can all agree we must do everything we can to keep our kids safe at school, home and online. The families, law enforcement leaders and local officials I’ve met with this week are 100% committed to doing just that. We’ve made progress, but I won’t stop fighting until we get this all done.

To read more about the things I’m doing to keep our kids safe, click HERE.

Sincerely,

Rick Scott

United States Senator

To be the first to find out about Senator Scott’s actions and statements, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

See more of what Senator Scott has been up to this week below.

Sen. Rick Scott to FBI Director Wray: Unlawful Spying on American Citizens Demands Accountability

Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray on the recent revelations that FBI employees frequently and repeatedly abused the authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702 to spy on American citizens with unlawful, warrantless searches. In his letter, Senator Scott calls on Director Wray to be transparent about any accountability or action taken against the employees or action to prevent further abuses and restore public trust, instead of lobbying Congress to renew the Section 702 authorities without substantial reforms that are clearly needed.

Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.

—

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 July, which showed inflation continued to rise. Since Joe Biden became president, CPI has risen 16.8% and PPI has risen 16.9%.

Earlier this week, following the latest CPI announcement by the BLS, Senator Scott released the following statement.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The Biden administration continues to hurt Florida families and businesses with its backward ‘Bidenomics’ policies without any plan to fix it. This week, I have been traveling Florida to hear what issues families are facing, and in each big city or small town I stop in one thing keeps getting mentioned—inflation. Folks all over Florida are struggling thanks to President Biden’s reckless tax-and-spend agenda. I continue to hear from parents who are having to make tough choices between gas and groceries, or our seniors having to come out of retirement to get another job—that is a scary reality for Floridians and it is unacceptable Biden has let it go this far. Folks in Florida have struggled for over two years with Biden’s inflation crisis that just continues to skyrocket out of control and I’m fighting like hell in Washington to end the broken status quo and put an end to it. I will never stop fighting to make Washington work for the hardworking Floridians who are trying their best to make ends meet and take care of their families. We have to stop Washington’s reckless spending and get our house in order.”

Read more HERE.

—

Sen. Rick Scott on PPI Inflation Report: Bidenomics is Bankrupting Small Businesses and Florida Families

Senator Rick Scott released the below statement following the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) releasefrom the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which showed inflation continued to rise. Since Joe Biden became president, PPI has risen 16.9%.

Senator Rick Scott said, “This week I have been traveling the state to hear from Floridians and share how I am fighting every day to make Washington work for them. Unfortunately, times are really tough for families in my state. Inflation is hitting them every day—and costing Florida families an extra $1000 PER MONTH. That’s the cost of Bidenomics.”

“Recently, I heard from a Floridian from Naples who runs a salon in town. She operates her business very responsibly but has had to raise her prices because of the rapidly increasing cost of supplies and her business has slowed down. She has even gone without a paycheck to keep her doors open… and she doesn’t know how much longer she can do that. Her story is the reality of small-business owners across the country who are feeling the impacts of this administration’s tax-and-spend agenda that is robbing them of their American Dream. It must stop. I will never stop fighting for Floridians. Enough is enough, Bidenomics is bankrupting America.”

According to today’s PPI release, price increases over the year in July included:

Beef: 19.2%
Vegetables: +11.9%
Soap: 11.9%
Rice: 11.4%
Coffee: +7.9%

Read more HERE.

—

Sen. Rick Scott on Inflation Report: Biden Administration Hurts Floridians with Another Month of High Inflation

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. July’s CPI data shows that there has been a significant rise in inflation during Biden’s presidency, with CPI increasing 3.2% over the year in July 2023. Since Biden took office, inflation is up 16.8%.

According to today’s CPI release, price increases over the year include:

Flour: +8.5%
Bread: +9.5%
Pet Food: +10.6%
Rent: +8.0%
Sugar: +8.9%
Margarine: +11.3%

Read more HERE.

—

Sens. Rick Scott, Elizabeth Warren & Ted Budd Call on DoD to Further Invest in its Critical Child Care Program

Senator Rick Scott joined Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ted Budd, all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urging him to invest in further improving the Department of Defense’s (DoD) critical child care program to ensure all of the nations’ military families have access to the affordable, high-quality care they need.

Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE.

—

Sen. Rick Scott Travels to Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines and Singapore to Reiterate America’s Commitment to Strength Across the Indo-Pacific

Following his recent trip to Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines and Singapore, Senator Scott, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, shared the following photos and statement to highlight the meetings and briefings he received while in the Indo-Pacific. The primary purpose of Senator Scott’s trip was to see first-hand the hard work our men and women in uniform do to protect America’s national interests across the globe, and meet with leaders in allied and partner countries to share his commitment to strengthening military and economic relationships in the Indo-Pacific theater.

Senator Rick Scott said, “While Russia wages war in Europe, Communist China remains a grave threat to the national security of America and our friends, partners and allies across the Indo-Pacific. My visits with U.S. military commanders and government leaders in Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines and Singapore made clear that America cannot take its eyes off this region or the increased aggression shown by Communist China. While this trip only reinforced my confidence in America’s military being the strongest, most lethal, and most resilient fighting force in the world, we must acknowledge that this is not a military challenge alone. We cannot lose sight of the economic challenges we face as well and ensure we do not become complacent and fall behind. Every American and every business should take a stand and stop buying things made in Communist China or investing in Chinese-based companies – every dollar that goes to the Communist Chinese Party fuels their mission to end the American way of life and the freedoms we enjoy.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to meet with the leaders of our allied and partner nations, and I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our service members for working hard every day so Americans at home can have the opportunity to wake up and live the American Dream. There is still a lot of work to be done, and much more I will say following this trip, but I am confident that America will move in the right direction if we continue to support and work together to build strong and secure economic and military alliances within the Indo-Pacific theater.”

Hawaii

While in Hawaii, home to the headquarters of Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) and the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Senator Scott received briefings from Pacific Air Forces, a Major Command of the United States Air Force and the air component of the United States Pacific Command, and toured the flight line. Additionally, he visited the USS Arizona to pay his respects to those who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Guam

While visiting Guam, Senator Scott toured Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base, a pivotal point of strength and sea power for the Western Pacific, and received briefings from Task Force TALON, the U.S. Army’s premier artillery air defense; 36th Air Wing; and Helicopter Sea Combatant Squadron 25. He also had the opportunity to meet with Floridians stationed in Guam. Additionally, he met with members of the Guam Chamber of Commerce and met with Governor Lourdes “Lou” Aflague Leon Guerrero of Guam.

The Philippines

While in the Philippines, Senator Scott met with Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines MaryKay Loss Carlson and attended meetings hosted by the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, and received briefings from Filipino and American military leaders related to defense and security in the region. In addition to the meetings, Senator Scott visited Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and was briefed on the P-8 missions the armed forces carry out while completing search and rescue, reconnaissance and patrol missions in the West Philippine Sea.

Singapore

While in Singapore, Senator Scott had meetings with the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, Jonathan Eric Kaplan; Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Gam Kim Yong; Singapore’s Minister of Defense, Dr. Ng Eng Hen; and Singapore’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, to reiterate his support for strong national security and hear their priorities for the region. He also met with the American Chamber of Commerce of Singapore. In addition to these meetings, Senator Scott met with Rear Admiral Mark A. Melson, Commander of the Logistics Group Western Pacific CLWP/CTF 73, to tour his facility which commands theater logistics and sustainment in order to conduct Distributed Maritime and Expeditionary Advanced Based Operations in competition, crisis and conflict for the U.S. Navy.

Read more HERE.