Rick Scott

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, I am extremely disappointed in my colleague's decision to block this resolution. My colleagues and I wouldn't be doing this resolution if we were receiving the information that my colleague said we were receiving. This has nothing to do with whether Senate Republicans want to provide relief. We want to provide relief. We want to do it in a targeted manner, and we want to make sure that we don't waste taxpayer dollars. This objection just blocked the Senate from requesting basic information that will help us do our basic jobs. Senate Democrats just objected to transparency. This means they are against giving us the facts, against ensuring accountability, and against getting targeted help to the right people. My colleague is choosing to prevent the Senate from receiving information that is pertinent to our ongoing negotiations. Senate Republicans believe in relief of those hurt by COVID-19. We want to help our small businesses. We want to help those who have lost their jobs. We want to make sure families are able to survive this crisis and come out on the other side with their health and livelihood. My colleague's objection shows that Senate Democrats are not actually interested in finding a bipartisan solution to our Nation's problems. Instead, they want to blindly spend money on provisions completely unrelated to COVID, as if there are no consequences to racking up more debt and spending beyond our means. I am thinking about the kids who are just like me, growing up in public housing, with parents who are barely scraping by. We need to help those families. In order to do that, we need to better understand where the need is. I am disappointed in my colleague's decision, and I hope he reconsiders. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I first want to thank my colleague from West Virginia and my colleague from Iowa for their focus on getting our kids back in school. I agree with the three r's: respect the science, reopen our schools safely, and return our teachers and our children to our classrooms. It has been almost a year since schools first shuttered due to COVID- 19. In many States across the Nation, unfortunately, schools remain closed. The consequences are devastating. Being forced to stay at home is taking a significant social and emotional toll, and it also directly impacts our children's future. Continuing to subject kids to this unnecessary virtual-learning system is not backed by science or facts. I applaud my State of Florida for getting schools reopened quickly and safely. The science is overwhelming and clear about reopening our Nation's schools. It is safe, and it is necessary for the well-being and the future of students. The CDC confirmed last month that in-person instruction does not pose an increased risk of community transmission. Schools can and should be open, and they can do so safely. We need to be honest about why we are even having this conversation today. The only reason schools across the Nation remain closed is because my Democratic colleagues and the Biden administration are standing with teachers unions instead of standing up for our children. For months, we have heard Democrats preach about following the science, but now Democrats don't want to acknowledge the scientific evidence that school reopenings are safe. They are blindly following the teachers unions because they are afraid of losing campaign contributions, and they are pushing a lie that schools can't reopen without more taxpayer money. Here is the truth: The funding they claim is absolutely necessary for schools to reopen would not even be allocated for 2 or 3 years. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Biden's COVID spending bill would distribute only $6.4 billion to K-12 schools this year. The remaining $122 billion would be spent between the years 2022 and 2028. Here is another fact: Congress has already provided $68 billion for K-12 schools, but so far States have spent just $4 billion of that money. Schools don't need more money to open safely. Yet the Biden administration keeps clinging to this lie and doing everything possible to keep schools closed. Last week, Speaker Pelosi said: We want as many kids to be back in school as possible. For that to happen, it takes some money. Also last week, Vice President Harris would not directly answer whether it is safe for teachers to go back to school if they are not vaccinated, despite clear CDC guidelines that it is not a prerequisite if other safety measures are in place. And earlier this month, all 50 Senate Democrats voted against students safely returning to classrooms even after teachers have been vaccinated. We all agree that teachers should be able to receive vaccinations. I will work with any of my colleagues on a way to get vaccines to teachers more quickly. We all agree that schools should have additional resources to ensure our students and teachers have safe, clean, and healthy classrooms, and we have allocated $68 billion to do just that right now. But keeping schools closed doesn't make sense. It is hurting our children and America's poorest families the most. I grew up in a poor family that struggled to make ends meet, and education was life-changing for me, just as it is for families across our great country. Every student in this Nation deserves the option of in-person learning. It is time for the Biden administration to acknowledge that the best place for children to learn is in the classroom, and it is time for my Democratic colleagues and the President to stop putting union bosses ahead of America's students and families. Let's get our schools open now. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 42, submitted earlier today.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I would like to thank my colleague Senator Rubio for joining me to introduce this resolution today honoring the 17 victims of the senseless attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018: Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque Anguiano, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, Peter Wang. I think of those innocent lives almost every day, lost too early in the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. These individuals were sons, daughters, parents, and partners. They were educators, athletes, musicians. Many of them just kids, with a life full of promise ahead of them. My heart breaks knowing they will never get to pursue their dreams and that their families will always have a piece of their heart missing. Since that horrible day, I have worked closely with many of the victims' families to ensure no child, educator, or family has to experience that again. We passed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act while I was Governor of Florida to make sure our State does everything in its power to prevent further tragedies. Now, as a U.S. Senator, I am fighting for improvements on the Federal level, including the Luke and Alex School Safety Act, named after Luke Hoyer and Alex Schachter, which builds on our work to keep schools safe. And while we can't bring back these lives lost that tragic day nearly 3 years ago, I will always work to honor those lost and do everything in my power to protect our students and educators and ensure they have a safe environment to learn and succeed. Now, I yield the floor to my colleague Senator Rubio

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, President Biden's proposed plan of open borders and amnesty isn't about practical reforms; it is a radical and dangerous subversion of law and order with no effort to secure the border. We can and must do better. To proceed is reckless and unfair to the American people, kills American jobs, and prevents countless families from pursuing the opportunity to chase their American dream. American innovation and our unique culture are built on legal immigration. I am from the great State of Florida. We love immigration in Florida, but it has to be legal. We have to give law enforcement and Border Patrol the resources they need to do their job, protect American families, and stem the tide of the rampant and unyielding illegal immigration we have seen for decades at the southern border. This amendment ensures that all applicable U.S. Government agencies enforce all immigration laws and provides $20 billion for border security. I ask everyone to support this amendment.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 872, and I ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, we are just weeks into a new administration, and all hopes and promise of bipartisanship have been rejected. The Biden administration and my Democratic colleagues in the Senate lasted 10 days before they ditched any attempt at real compromise. Now, instead of working together to provide targeted relief to those who are hurting from the coronavirus pandemic, the Democrats are moving forward with a reconciliation process to pass a nearly $2 trillion spending bill. Reconciliation is a process that was created to make quick changes related to budget and spending that were assumed to have gotten bipartisan support. It was never meant to be a tool to pass major legislation, but the Democrats know they can't pass their harmful policies through legislation, so they are looking for any tool they can find to ram them through the process Senators Schumer and Sanders keep pushing forward, without Republican support, to get the changes they need no matter what--no matter that the spending package includes a number of liberal policies that have nothing to do with the coronavirus; no matter that the spending package has a bailout of wasteful liberal States for their decades of mismanagement even though the latest data show that States across the country are reporting positive income growth; no matter that the $2 trillion would throw our Nation even deeper into unsustainable debt, hurting American families. We need to be very clear about this: America is in a debt crisis, and we need to start talking about it and taking decisive action to reverse course. In 2020 alone, the Federal Government increased its debt by more than $4 trillion. To date, it sits at a massive--an unsustainable--$27 trillion. That is why, every time I am faced with a question of spending taxpayer dollars, I ask myself some simple yet important questions: What is the plan to pay for it? What is the return on investment for American families? Does the proposal include measures to prevent waste and fraud and ensure accountability? Asking these questions isn't a novel idea. It is the same process I went through every day when I was the Governor of Florida, and it is what most Americans go through when making financial decisions at home or for their businesses. No family would needlessly spend money without a plan, and no business can afford to not get a return on its investment. Spending without consequence isn't how things work in the real world, and it is not how things should work in government. Congress's decades of failure to think and act responsibly has led to enormous deficits-- insurmountable debt--and out-of-control spending, but instead of getting serious about this debt and its inevitable consequences, the Democrats are focused on more government, more spending, higher taxes, and no accountability. Biden's nominees are no different. In 2018, Janet Yellen, Biden's new Treasury Secretary, was quoted as speaking about the unsustainable U.S. debt and said: ``If I had a magic wand, I would raise taxes.'' How is that good for an American family? Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the new Transportation Secretary, said he is open to raising the gas tax on American families. How is that good for an American family? Neera Tanden, tapped to run the Office of Management and Budget, has been a vocal supporter of the Green New Deal--a $93 trillion disaster that would devastate our economy and kill jobs. How is that good for an American family? These are the people who are going to get our economy on track and provide opportunities for American families? I don't think so. My concern about the future of our country cannot be understated. In August, Congress will have to deal with the expiration of the debt ceiling. This is a critically important issue, but, for years, Congress has ignored it. The debt ceiling has been suspended for more than 2 years, allowing the Federal Government to spend out of control and rack up insane debt on the Federal credit card, and we have to pay interest on this debt. Right now, interest rates are at historic lows--less than 1.5 percent--and we are still paying nearly $350 billion in interest on our debt each year. Think about it. We get no return on any of these dollars. Here is a chart. Look at this. This is the $345 billion we are going to spend in interest for 2020. Look at these programs: Medicare, 862; Medicaid; defense; Social Security. Look at the deficit we are running of $3.3 trillion. If this interest rate goes up--and we were already running a big deficit even before COVID, and we are going to have a deficit this year of over $1 trillion--what program does somebody anticipate cutting, and what taxes do people believe we ought to increase? Of the $350 billion we are going to spend on interest, we will get no return. There is no family that gets any benefit out of this interest expense unless you are holding treasuries. It is insane, but it is not the scariest part. If interest rates increase to the 50-year average of 6.2 percent--that is the 50-year average--we will be obligated to pay $1 trillion more in interest every year. So look at this. If the interest rates go to the 50-year average, we are going to go from a little less than $350 billion to over $1 trillion in interest expense. So if we have $1 trillion in interest expense, how are we going to fund all these programs when we are already running deficits? And that is if the debt stops growing. Every additional dollar in debt we hold increases the dollars in interest we owe. It is an awful cycle that has disastrous consequences for American families. That is why we cannot allow the debt ceiling to simply be suspended again. We cannot allow a radical liberal agenda to destroy America's chance to ever get out of this hole. As we recover from the pandemic, inflation will rise from its 2020 low of 1.4 percent to nearly 2.3 percent or more. That is a 60-percent increase in inflation. But if Congress continues to recklessly spend and do nothing about our growing debt, inflation will increase higher. There is a direct link between the Federal Government's unsustainable spending and the rising cost of goods and services. Here is what that means for American families: The price of everyday goods will rise; gas prices will rise; and rental housing costs will increase. Increases in inflation hit America's hourly workers and fixed-income families the hardest. And these hits are exacerbated when liberal politicians, like Pete Buttigieg, get their way and raise the gas tax and other costs on families. So while politicians in Washington keep spending money like it is a game, American families suffer. Radical spending and reckless proposals directly hurt families. Every dollar we allocate is borrowed from taxpayers, and if Congress is irresponsible, it is the taxpayers that suffer. Adding insult to injury, a rise in the debt will also either cause or be accompanied by a rise in interest rates. That is bad for everyone. When interest rates increase, everything from car loans, to student loans, to mortgages become more expensive for the American people. And the interest on our debt, which is already the fourth largest expenditure in the Federal budget, will become our largest expenditure. For every 1-percent increase in interest rate, we are going to spend another $2 trillion over 10 years. That is more taxpayer money getting no return. There is nothing. There are no services. There are no products. There is nothing for the American consumer. For people on fixed incomes, their incomes are going to stay the same, while the prices of the items they buy will go up month after month. For hourly workers, wages will never go up fast enough to cover the ever-increasing cost of goods and services. I know all of this sounds scary. That is because it is. Politicians in Washington are afraid to tell you the truth, so here it is: If you want our country to survive and thrive and continue to be a beacon for freedom, prosperity, and hope around the world, we will need to make tough choices after this crisis is over. We will need to do way more with less. We will need to reassert the fundamental principle of conservatism that the private sector and individuals--not government--should be the driving forces behind our economic stability and success. We have to stand up for these values, and when Democrats try to spend $2 trillion on their priorities that have no bipartisan support, we have to say no. We have to make sure that every dollar is spent strategically on things that actually help struggling families and businesses. When Democrats want to raise taxes to pay for government's wastefulness, we have to say no. Short-term solutions aren't going to work anymore. We are in a battle for the future of our Nation, and we cannot relent. As I stated after Congress passed the CARES Act, once this crisis is over, we must make a plan to cut Federal spending by at least the amount we spent during this crisis. There is no other option. In August, Congress will once again confront the expiration of the debt ceiling. It is time to take action. It is time to wake up. We can fix this and put our Nation on a fiscally responsible path. We fix this by doing what I did in Florida. We need to focus on growing the economy, cutting taxes and burdensome regulations, and streamlining permitting. We fix this by helping every American get a good job. And we fix this by getting a return on every taxpayer dollar we spend. I am going to keep talking about this issue and proposing solutions because this is one of the most severe and most ignored crises facing our Nation. It is not going away, and the harder the Democrats push their wasteful, harmful proposal, the harder I am going to push back. This problem is only getting worse. As long as I am a Member of the U.S. Senate, I will fight to rein in the out-of-control spending that is putting our children and our grandchildren's future at risk. I will be back on this floor again and again until something gets done. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, there have been few other times in American history when the need for economic growth through strategic, responsible, pro-business policies has been as great as it is today. Nothing is more important to a family than a good-paying job. That is where the American dream begins. Today, as our Nation fights to overcome the horrendous health and economic impacts of COVID-19, we must balance our approach. We have to protect American families and individuals who have been hurt by this crisis, support commonsense public health policies and an aggressive vaccine distribution effort, while also keeping businesses open, incentivizing future growth of businesses, large and small, and standing up to our economic adversaries, like Communist China, by reshoring our supply chain back home. We also need to continue cutting regulations to make it easier for businesses to operate and for entrepreneurs to create jobs. President Biden and his Cabinet have the important task of revitalizing our economy amid one of our Nation's worst economic crises. In my 8 years as Governor of Florida, we balanced our budget each year, cut $10 billion in taxes, paid off one-third of our State debt, and Florida companies added nearly 1.7 million jobs. But instead of looking to innovation and approving policies of States like Florida that will create jobs and help Americans and small businesses, the Biden administrations is already making promises to go in the opposite direction--promises that are being championed by his nominee for Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen. Let me be clear. I support targeted relief to help our small businesses and individuals who are hurting because of the coronavirus. With the start of a new administration, I was hoping to hear some fresh, new ideas on how to accomplish our shared goal of addressing this crisis. But that is not what we are hearing from the Biden administration. Their answer is the same as it always has been for Democrats: more government, more spending, higher taxes, no accountability. Voters are befuddled by the claim that while families cannot borrow without limits or consequences, somehow the Federal Government can. It is irresponsible, and I won't stand for it. We have to get serious about how we are spending taxpayer dollars. We already have more than $27 trillion in Federal debt. If interest rates return to their 50-year average, the interest on our Federal debt will make it impossible to fund our military, Medicare, and Social Security. President Biden wants to spend more than $350 billion to bail out wasteful, liberal States for their decades of mismanagement, and his nominees, including Ms. Yellen, support this nonsense. Andrew Cuomo has threatened the New York wealthy that if they don't help him get a Federal Government bailout, he will raise their taxes. I was elected Governor of Florida when Cuomo was elected Governor of New York. While Governor of Florida, I lowered taxes each year. Cuomo raised taxes. Since we were both elected, families and businesses have increasingly left New York for lower taxes, better schools, better roads, and warmer weather in Florida. Asking taxpayers to bail out failed politicians in liberal States like New York and Illinois and save them from their own bad decisions isn't fair to the taxpayers in fiscally responsible States like Florida. After all, many Florida taxpayers left New York because of Cuomo's tax policy. It makes no sense. Congress has already allocated more than $4.5 trillion to address this crisis. Think about it. We just passed a nearly $1 trillion relief package 4 weeks ago. This is all borrowed money. The Federal Government doesn't have savings for a rainy day, and we still don't know how much money is unspent from the previous coronavirus relief packages. How can we possibly justify spending more money right now? We don't even know what we might need to spend money on. And for States like California, we know they don't need it. California's tax revenues for this fiscal year is running $9 billion, or 18 percent, above projections. Personal income tax revenue in October was $1 billion--15 percent higher than in the previous October, and sales taxes were up 9.2 percent. For the last 4 months, overall revenue in California has exceeded spring forecasts and even 2019 collections. But that hasn't kept Governor Newsom and his far left buddies in Congress from keeping their hands out for more money. We cannot simply throw massive spending at this with no accountability to the current and future American taxpayer. It is shameful. We have also heard the Biden administration and its nominees call for a new national minimum wage of $15 an hour. It is clear that these folks haven't talked to business owners. Small businesses in America are struggling like never before, especially in liberal States, where repeated lockdowns have exacerbated their work to stay open. And President Biden believes now is the time to slap another mandate on their back and drive even more Americans chasing the dream of this country out of business? I am not sure how you could possibly be more detached from reality. According to the Congressional Budget Office, a federally mandated $15 minimum wage would cost as many as 3.7 million Americans their jobs. Let me tell you, I know what it is like to be poor, to live in public housing, to not have enough money to afford healthcare for a family member. I watched my parents struggle for work. I don't want any family to go through what I went through. I ran for office because I wanted to help struggling families like the one I grew up in to have the chance to live the American dream. So when I hear folks like Ms. Yellen say that job loss from a minimum-wage mandate is ``very minimal, if anything,'' it really leaves me at a loss. Watching 3.7 million Americans lose their jobs will not be minimal. Adding insult to injury, we have heard great praise for the implementation of a carbon tax. Let's remember, this was part of the Green New Deal, which would be a disaster if passed. According to estimates from the Heritage Foundation, a carbon emissions tax would cost the country 1.4 million jobs while decreasing our GDP by $3.9 trillion and reducing income for a family of four by $40,000, with disproportionate costs falling on low-income families. Again, how can this be seen as the logical step when so many in our Nation are simply trying to recover and rebuild from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic? If the administration has its way, Americans should prepare for higher taxes, less income, less opportunity, and more government mandates. Ms. Yellen seems to think the solution to America's economic woes is more government, more taxes, more regulation, not more individual opportunity. That is wrong and will only send us further into debt and our families further into despair. Based on what I have heard, I am concerned and, frankly, disturbed by what is being offered as the future of America's economic policy. When I ran for the Senate, I did so to fix Washington's broken way of doing things. We have to address Washington's unconscionable need to waste tax dollars on things that don't actually help or even hurt American families, especially working families and those on fixed incomes. I will never give up this fight. In 2018, Ms. Yellen was quoted speaking about the unsustainable U.S. debt and said: ``If I had a magic wand, I would raise taxes.'' We know that is not the real answer to solving our debt issue. It is simply the lazy, liberal approach. It is time to get value out of every dollar we spend and make hard choices that actually help families and ensure a strong economic future for our Nation. I cannot support the nomination of a candidate who proudly promotes Joe Biden's policies to mortgage our kids' and grandkids' futures with irresponsible and shortsighted tax spending. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Scott amendment at the desk to the resolution be agreed to.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to encourage all Americans to join the fight to support our Nation and our jobs and stand up against the growing threat of Communist China. I have been saying it for months: Buying American products is the No. 1 thing we can do to support American jobs and stand up to our foreign adversaries. There is a new Cold War occurring between the United States and Communist China, and we must be crystal clear about the negative impacts of continuing to buy Chinese-made products. General Secretary Xi is a dictator and human rights violator. He is yet another Communist leader trying to be the dominant world power. The Communist Party of China is stripping the people of Hong Kong of their freedoms--as the Presiding Officer experienced when he was over there--cracking down on dissidents, militarizing the South China Sea, supporting Maduro's genocide in Venezuela, surveilling its citizens, and imprisoning more than 1 million Uighurs in internment camps simply because of their religion. Communist China is stealing American jobs and technology and spying on our citizens. Is this the kind of nation we want to be sending our money to? Absolutely not. Washington politicians have been too concerned with short-term political success and have long ignored the long-term threats of Communist China to our way of life but not anymore. It is time to take action. Now, more than ever, Americans must remember that every time we buy a product made in China, we are putting another dollar into the pocket of the people stealing our jobs and our technology, denying their people basic human rights and propping up dangerous dictators like Maduro in Venezuela. We cannot continue to rely on countries like Communist China, which lied about the coronavirus and refused to be a partner in solving this crisis, for critical supplies. This outbreak has shown why we need to end our reliance on foreign supply chains. As a nation, we need to finally take a stand and demand that Communist China is removed from our supply chain. I am proud to lead my colleagues in a bipartisan resolution calling on Americans to buy products made in the United States whenever possible. Buying American is not partisan, and I am glad my colleagues from both sides of the aisle are continuing to come together to encourage Americans to take a stand. I know it is not always easy, but it is an important step we can all take at home to support American jobs, American producers, and American manufacturers, while helping build up the U.S. supply chain. In my State, we take immense pride in products made in Florida. It is a driving force that led to our incredible economic turnaround. A return to this pride in homegrown businesses and products ensures that America remains strong as the undisputed leader of the global economy. We all must do our part to support our Nation and make it clear to Communist China that the United States won't stand for their behavior. I am committed to supporting American businesses over Chinese products. I am urging my colleagues to join me in this effort and pass this resolution today. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 625.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the resolution, as amended.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Scott amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, that the Scott amendment to the title be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, the first thing I want to do is comment on the discussions we just had. I have been up here a little less than 2 years, and the thing that surprises me is, invariably, the Democrats won't stand up against the Communist Party in China. The case that we are dealing with now is they are going to stand up for Hollywood rather than rights, rights that we have here that I am going to talk about in a second. We ought to be standing up against Communist China stealing our jobs, our technology. We ought to be attacking the Communist Party for what they have done to Uighurs, for organ harvesting, for taking away the basic rights of Hong Kong citizens. Invariably, I watch my Democratic colleagues; they won't stand up against Communist China. I don't understand it. This is a party that clearly wants to dominate our society, our way of life. They completely disagree with our way of life. I want to thank Senator Ted Cruz for his continued fight for rights, for all the rights that we have in this country but fighting for those rights so people, whether in Hong Kong or in Communist China or in Taiwan, have the same freedoms that we have. So I want to thank Senator Ted Cruz for showing up today and doing this.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, today what I want to talk about is religious freedom. Religious liberty is our first freedom under the Constitution of the United States. Americans have the right to freely exercise religion, a sacred right that I will always fight for. There is no pandemic exception to the First Amendment. Unfortunately, we have seen liberal Governors and mayors across the country use the coronavirus pandemic to go after churches, synagogues, mosques, and other houses of worship. For months, they have argued that houses of worship should not meet and congregants could not sing. They have condemned in-person worship services as a threat to public safety, all while they applaud massive political protests. We saw it happen right here in the Nation's Capital. Mayor Bowser refused to grant a waiver to the Capitol Hill Baptist Church for religious gatherings but supported mass protests that violated her own orders. The church had to sue the city in Federal court for the right to gather, and the court ruled in favor of the church. It is simply hypocritical and unconstitutional to target religious institutions while letting other businesses operate. We know those on the left will take every opportunity to infringe on Americans' First Amendment rights, but we won't let it happen. This year has been challenging, and for many of us, our faith and our communities have helped us through it. Government doesn't have the right to take this away from American citizens. I am proud to lead a resolution today with 15 of my colleagues to call out those who have wrongly tried to prevent Americans from practicing their faith. This is about rights granted to Americans under our Constitution. What is the one thing every American believes in and has agreed to uphold. It is our Constitution, which we have each sworn to uphold as elected officials also. We each took the same oath of office: I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. There is no reason anyone should object to upholding our Constitution. I will always fight for the religious liberty of all Americans, and I look forward to my colleagues passing this important resolution today. However, I now am going to wait because I understand one of my Democratic colleagues is going to come object to upholding the Constitution and the First Amendment, the Bill of Rights. This is shocking to me. As if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 806, submitted earlier today; further, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, freedom of religion shouldn't be controversial. This is a fundamental right of our Nation, as stated in our Constitution: ``Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'' What this resolution says is that the Senate affirms its support for the rights, liberties, and protections enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. There is no pandemic exception to the First Amendment. For months, across this country, liberal politicians have targeted churches, synagogues, mosques, and other houses of worship. To let this happen undermines the principle of our Nation and the Constitution we have each sworn to uphold as elected officials. I don't understand why my colleague, who swore to uphold the Constitution, would object to a resolution that simply reaffirms our commitment to upholding the Constitution. We are blessed to live in a great nation that respects religious liberty and the right to worship, especially as we see countries around the world like Communist China and Iran deny their citizens these same rights. Americans have the right to worship, and government doesn't get to decide for them. I am clearly very disappointed that my colleague doesn't want to protect the First Amendment, but I will continue to stand against these misguided and hypocritical attempts to target religious institutions. I am never going to stop fighting for the religious liberty of all Americans, even during a pandemic. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Let's remember, the concern was that he didn't like the section about New Jersey and said that was inaccurate, but the idea that the Senate will support religious freedom, he is not willing to stand behind. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. First, I want to thank the chairman for his effort to try to figure out how we can stop shutting down the government. When I came up here with Senator Braun 2 years ago, we were in a government shutdown, and nobody wins. It doesn't work for any part of government when government gets shut down. I know, talking to the appropriations chair and ranking member, that they are also focused on making sure of what we can do to make sure we pass budgets, pass our spending bills, and not shut down the government. I want to fight the way Washington has been working. I want to make sure it works for all Florida families, not just career politicians. I have a background in business like Chairman Johnson does. In the real world, if you don't do your job, you don't get paid. It is really simple. If Congress can't accomplish its most basic task--which I believe is passing a budget, appropriations bills, in an orderly fashion--then why should we get paychecks? I think it is pretty simple. When you listen to what Chairman Johnson just said; that the current system in Washington is clearly broken, there is no--a lot of people care about this, but there is no one, ultimately, who has responsibility and there are no consequences and it costs our system a lot of money. Congress doesn't pass a budget. Instead, they just pass temporary measures, and it kicks the can down the road. The thing that has been surprising to me since I got up here is how little of the budget we actually review every year. It is surprising to me that about 70 percent of the budget we don't even look at every year. I think all these things are unacceptable. Congress can't continue to just get away with not doing its basic job and creating a burden. We have to do something different. That is why I am proud to join my colleagues today to pass the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which includes my no budget, no pay proposal. Withholding paychecks from Members of Congress who fail to pass a budget will help prevent government shutdowns, which hurt the economy, hurt millions of people. It is also an important step to promote fiscal responsibility in the face of what Senator Johnson said: $27.4 trillion worth of debt. I believe we need to pass the No Budget, No Pay Act now to show we are serious about getting this spending under control and we are serious about the future of this Nation. Members of Congress make significantly more than the average American makes. We make $174,000 a year, and we are asking them to do the most basic function: pass a budget. It is not complicated. I think every Member of Congress--rich or poor--can agree Congress should pass a budget every year. There is absolutely no reason we can't. Anyone who disagrees should not have this job. Let's go back. When the American people don't do their job, there are consequences. It is time we make Washington work a little bit like what the real world looks like. Let's pass the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act and get the No Budget, No Pay Act done. I refer to my colleague from Indiana.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I came to the Senate 2 years ago because the people of Florida entrusted me to fight against the broken ways of Washington and the out-of-control spending that is threatening the future of our children and our grandchildren. I am fighting every day against the political class in Washington-- the same elites that scoff when people like me say that government needs to be run like a business. They say government is too complicated to run like a business, but I say that any elected official or government bureaucrat who believes that should resign tomorrow because they are part of the problem. It is time to wake up. It is time to wake up to the fact that every dime spent in Washington belongs to American taxpayers, and every dollar spent now is a tax increase for a future generation. It is time to wake up to the fact that our Nation is more than $27 trillion in debt. Every cent we spend moving forward threatens our ability to fund our military and our safety nets like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. It is time to wake up to the fact that our position as the leader of the free world is not promised and shouldn't be taken for granted. Irresponsible career politicians who care more about their next election than the future of our country will run this Nation into the ground if we let them, and I am fighting like hell to make sure they don't. Now, let me be clear. I support another relief measure to help our small businesses and individuals who are hurting because of the coronavirus. For months, Senate Republicans have been trying to pass responsible and targeted measures to quickly help those in need. And for months, Democrats have blocked these measures because of politics. Nancy Pelosi admitted it. She said she purposely stood in the way of the deal until after the Presidential election so that politics would be in their favor to avoid ``considerations in the legislation that we don't want.'' It is shameful and exactly why the American people are fed up with Washington. Congress has already allocated $2 trillion in direct and indirect aid to States and localities. And we know, unfortunately, because Congress tried to get this money out the door as quickly as possible, many programs within the CARES Act are riddled with waste, inefficiency, and fraud. Now a group of my colleagues want to spend another trillion dollars, including almost $200 billion to bail out liberal States with Governors who can't do the basic job they were elected to do--manage their own budgets. And we don't even know how much is still unspent from the previous coronavirus relief packages. I have reached out to every single Governor--twice now--to learn exactly how they have spent the hundreds of billions of dollars they have already received, and only 10 have replied. They won't tell us because they don't want us to know there are still billions of dollars left unspent. They don't want us to know that the real purpose is to take taxpayer money meant to help get through this crisis and use it to backfill their inefficient and wasteful budgets and pension programs. Liberal Governors and mayors around the country think the American people are stupid. They think taxpayers in States like Florida won't realize if the Federal Government uses their taxpayer money to bail out States like New York and California and pay for those States' wasteful spending. Governor Newsom has had his hand out for a bailout despite the fact that California's tax revenues for this fiscal year are running $9.9 billion or 18.6 percent above projections. Personal income tax revenue in October was $1 billion--15.6 percent higher than in the previous October i California, and sales taxes were up 9.2 percent. For the last 4 months, overall revenue in California has exceeded spring forecasts and even 2019 collections. This is a State that paid $1.5 million to the chief investment officer of its public pension fund, who was actively investing in companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party, only to later find out this person was personally invested in companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. You can't make this stuff up. How is that for pension waste and a national security threat? It is the same story with Governor Cuomo. New York's overall tax revenue was up 4.3 percent in September compared to September 2019. These are the same Governors who are OK issuing new stay-at-home orders that are killing small businesses. As long as they get more money from the Federal Government to backfill their budgets and pension plans, they don't care how many people in their States have to suffer. These Governors and mayors don't care, as long as they don't have to follow their own oppressive rules. Let's not forget about Nancy Pelosi and the hair salon, California Governor Gavin Newsom dining at the French Laundry, Austin Mayor Steve Adler encouraging constituents to stay home from his timeshare in Mexico. Do as I say, not as I do. These liberal politicians who refuse to open their States or spend taxpayer money wisely are seeing high numbers of unemployment. Most of the States with the highest unemployment rate in the country are controlled by Democrats. On the other hand, Republican-led States that are making the hard choices to get on a fiscally responsible path and reopen their economy safely are succeeding and seeing lower unemployment rates. Thirty States have halved their unemployment rate since May, while real GDP grew 33 percent in the third quarter, erasing losses from the previous quarter. You can see there, this is from a Wall Street Journal editorial--if you haven't heard, ``states are experiencing a surge of-- tax revenue.'' Politicians don't want this good news to get out because they want to get more of our money from States like Florida to pay for the budgets of Illinois, New York, California, and New Jersey. You can see the GDP growth of 33 percent in that quarter. Over here you can see States have seen a big drop-off in their unemployment rates by half over the last 6 months, and there has been a big growth in private sector employment, but it doesn't stop these liberal Governors and mayors from wanting more money. Look, I know everyone wants to help our States, and so do I. We help our States by ensuring appropriate spending of the billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars already allocated. We help our States by safely opening the economy and getting Americans back to work. We help our States by sending money to schools to safely reopen and funding vaccine research and distribution. Most States will be in a strong position to get through this pandemic without more Federal aid, and that is great news for our country. But we know New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey don't need bailouts; they want bailouts so they can use that money intended to address the fallout from COVID to backfill their longstanding budget problems and their pension problems. I have said all along that I will not support that. It is not fair to the citizens of States like Florida, where over my 8 years as Governor, we made the hard choices--they were hard--that put our State on a fiscally secure path. We paid down our State debt. We cut taxes. We balanced our budget every year without borrowing money. And $908 billion--$908 billion--of spending today equals a tax increase of $7,000 per American family down the road. It is not money that we have. It is a tax increase of $7,000 per American family down the line. Many families in our country right now are trying to figure out how to celebrate this holiday season while they struggle to afford daily expenses. These are people we need to be helping. You wouldn't run your business or family the way Washington is run-- like there is an endless supply and no consequences to racking up unthinkable amounts of debt. That is what many of my colleagues want. But to keep spending money like this means taking away the same opportunities that I have had and others have had to live the American dream, and it will take it away from our children and our grandchildren. It is time to wake up. It is time to make the hard choices to put our Nation on a path to recovery--recovery from this virus, from the economic devastation it has brought with it, and from the fiscal calamity that decades of politicians have ignored. That includes refusing to bail out wasteful States for their decades of poor fiscal choices I yield the floor.