Rick Scott

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions, which were submitted earlier today: S. Res. 379, S. Res. 380, S. Res. 381, S. Res. 382, S. Res. 383, and S. Res. 384.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I know of no further debate on the resolutions.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I ask unanimous consent that the preambles be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, October 28; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; finally, that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 3055 under the previous order.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 362 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and 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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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. (English translation of the statement made in Spanish is as follows:) We need TPS now. I stand with the people of Venezuela, and I will continue to fight for freedom and democracy in Latin America. It is time for Maduro and his thugs to leave power.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the crisis in Venezuela, a defining human rights issue of our time. Nicolas Maduro is starving his own people, and innocent children are dying. What is happening in Venezuela is pure genocide. With every day that passes, the situation in Venezuela grows more dire. I will not stand by and let Maduro continue terrorizing his people. I will not let Democrats in Congress use the Venezuelan people as a political prop. I will not allow the inaction to continue. Americans have always stood up for freedom, and today is no exception. That is why I am here again to ask unanimous consent to pass my amendment to H.R. 549, granting temporary protective status for Venezuelans fleeing Nicolas Maduro's oppressive regime. Even though Senate Democrats blocked the same proposal last month, I refuse to give up. I stand with the proud Venezuelans. My proposal has the support of all Senate Republicans. I believe that the President will sign this into law. It is the only solution that stands a chance of becoming law. We have to act. We also need to be responsible. The courts have, basically, made a temporary program permanent, which is not sustainable. Despite what some confused Democrats, including Speaker Pelosi may say, the ``T'' in TPS actually does mean ``temporary.'' In addition to protecting Venezuelan people right now, my amendment makes much needed reforms to our TPS program and returns the program to its intended purpose. We want those seeking refuge from war and oppressive regimes to have a safe haven in our country, but we need a system that works and is truly temporary. We need to act now to save the Venezuelan people. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate in Spanish.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, in reserving the right to object, I appreciate the opportunity to work with my colleague from Maryland, and I look forward to working with him again in the future. It would be great if we could work together to try to figure out how to provide temporary protected status for Venezuelans and also to fix the program so it continues to work not just for Venezuelans but for people all over the world. The Democrats know their proposal cannot become law. It lacks support in the Senate, which is why I proposed an amendment that has support and that can actually become law immediately. My amendment grants TPS to Venezuelans for 18 months. It requires congressional approval for TPS extensions of no more than 18 months at a time. My amendment limits the ability of illegal aliens who have no connection to the TPS designation to benefit from TPS. It ensures that human rights violators who are identified under the Magnitsky Act are not eligible for TPS status. It includes provisions to distinguish that TPS status does not count as an admission for purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under my amendment, TPS recipients cannot return to the TPS country during the period of designation. Finally, the amendment requires that current TPS designations come up for congressional review 2 years after the enactment of this amendment. My amendment is the only way to help the Venezuelan people. It is the only proposal that can become law. There is no path forward for the Democrats' plan, and, unfortunately, they know it. It is clear, now more than ever, that, unfortunately, the Democrats don't want to get anything done on this issue. That is why they are standing in our way. All Republican Senators have signed off on this. Unfortunately, the Democrats have decided to use the Venezuelan community as a political prop instead of working with us to find a solution. We cannot lose sight of the fact that Nicolas Maduro is killing his citizens. It is a genocide. Who will we be if we turn our backs on a genocide right here in our hemisphere? We cannot. We must help Venezuelan families. It is also time to reform TPS in this country. Temporary protected status was never meant to be endless. It was meant to help families in need. So let's get the program to work. I look forward to working with my colleague from Maryland and with all of my colleagues to help the families in Venezuela and to finally create a long-term solution to TPS. I will not rest until we do. My colleague Senator Rand Paul asked that I object to the Senate Democrats' proposal. On behalf of Senator Paul, I object.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 549. I ask unanimous consent that my amendment at the desk be agreed to, that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 197, S. 2065.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 198, S. 2107.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, my story begins with my mom. My mom had a very difficult life. She grew up with a verbally abusive, alcoholic father. She married a physically abusive, alcoholic husband, whom she divorced when I was born. At that time, divorce was frowned upon. My birth father never gave my mom, my older brother, or me a dime. I never met him. My mom eventually married the man who became my adoptive father, a busdriver who made all four combat jumps with the 82nd Airborne in World War II. This summer, I had the opportunity to go to the D-Day anniversary in Normandy and to look at the area he parachuted into, where 17 percent of his company died. He was a loving father, but with only a sixth-grade education and five children, he struggled to support our family. We had no money and lived in public housing, but even with all of those issues, I cannot think of a better childhood. Even with no money, my mom was optimistic and hopeful. She told us that we were blessed because God and our Founders created the greatest country ever, where anything was possible. I am not sure my mom ever really had a plan for us, but she certainly knew what she was doing. We sat through many sermons, and church was not optional. We were told we had to make straight A's. We memorized the first part of the Declaration of Independence and the 23rd Psalm. We became Eagle Scouts, cleaned the house, and had to have a job. I started working at 7 years old and haven't stopped since. We weren't allowed to complain. Debt, Big Government, socialism, and communism were bad. College was for a better paying job. We were constantly lectured about the dangers of drug abuse. Unfortunately, drugs have destroyed the life of one of my family members. I enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 18, where I swabbed the decks, cleaned the latrines, served the mess decks, and took college courses aboard a destroyer during the last years of Vietnam but never close to Vietnam. I married my high school sweetheart at 19, and, today, Ann and I have two daughters, six very perfect grandsons, and a seventh very perfect grandchild on the way next year. My wonderful wife, Ann, is here today and has been by my side every step of our journey. While I didn't always appreciate my tough-love, my-way-or-the-highway mom growing up, I now thank God every day for my mom and for this country. She gave me the opportunity to experience every lesson this country had to offer before I was 20. Unfortunately, the left has worked hard over the last 50 years to discredit the values of the America I was raised with--the values of the America I want my grandsons to grow up with. We all acknowledge that Americans, our country, and our institutions have flaws, but the left has worked to discredit our Founders, our institutions, our churches, our law enforcement, our morals, and almost everything my mom taught me. It has been happening for a long time. The left railed against our soldiers during the Vietnam war. They call those still believing in a supreme being or the commitment of marriage uninformed and old fashioned. They are now openly saying that churches that hold traditional values should lose their tax-exempt status. The left doesn't care about our enormous debt, pushes for socialism, and criticizes the Boy Scouts. The left thinks it is OK that our schools don't teach about the Founding Fathers or free markets. They want you to think America was never great. To a degree, the pressure from the left is working. Americans under 30 are less interested in joining the military. Church attendance is at an all-time low. Participation in the Boy Scouts, even after allowing girls in, has shrunk. Many are choosing not to have families. And Socialism, the single most discredited idea of the last century--an idea that has led millions into poverty and tyranny around the globe-- has gained a foothold in one of our two political parties. I spent most of my life in business. The values that my tough-love mom instilled in me helped me to achieve the success she expected--not just hoped for but expected--for me. I was able to live the American dream because I worked hard. I lived out the values my mom taught me in my business career--hard work and fiscal responsibility but with a caring spirit to support those around me. I built a healthcare company that had lower costs and better quality of care than my competitors. We had the highest patient satisfaction surveys in the industry. I built and bought businesses for most of my life that helped hundreds of thousands of people get good, high-paying jobs. Many of them were failing businesses that we had to turn around to save jobs. My experience growing up in a family that struggled to get good jobs influenced everything I have done in my life. It is not easy, and it shouldn't be, but everyone--every single American--should have the opportunity to struggle, work hard, and overcome the obstacles. I took those exact same values to the Governor's office when I was elected in 2010. Florida had been struggling, and 832,000 jobs had been lost in the 4 years before I took office. Home prices were cut in half. Debt was soaring. The State raised taxes on its poorest citizens by more than $2 billion to fill a budget hole. I always think about my mom. I think about how it impacted her when food prices went up, taxes went up, when my brother got sick without health insurance, and when my dad was laid off. I became a jobs Governor. It wasn't a political talking point. It was about real people. I have traveled around the State highlighting new businesses that opened in Florida, even small businesses. I remember a local legislator asking me once why I wasted my time going to a small town in Florida to highlight a new business's opening with just 30 new jobs. My response was that my dad struggled to find any job, and that is 30 families who have the opportunity to live the American Dream, and what could be more important? In 8 years, Florida added 1.7 million new jobs, we paid down almost one-third of State debt, and we invested record funding in education, the environment, and transportation. I also tried to fight for the values that are being lost in this country. I fight to protect life, to support the institution of the family, to lift up our military members, veterans, and law enforcement, to promote capitalism, and to defend the rule of law and the Constitution. These values are under attack from the left and have been for quite some time. There is no easy solution to that problem, but one thing is clear: Government is not the solution. Washington is not the solution. In my short time in the U.S. Senate, I have promoted policies I believe support the idea of an America where anything is possible. We need lower taxes. We need less regulation. We need a secure border and a sane immigration policy. We need to get healthcare costs under control. We need to defend freedom and liberty all over the world. But none of this will matter unless we see hearts and minds change. We need a renewal in America of the values that made this country great. That will not happen on the floor of the U.S. Senate. It will happen in the living rooms, classrooms, churches, synagogues, and boardrooms. We need to remember that hard work is a feature, not a bug, of this American experiment and that the family unit is at the center of our society, and the breakdown of the family has been hugely detrimental. We need to remember that capitalism is the greatest force for economic good in the history of the world and socialism belongs in the ash-heap of history. We need to remember these things because our freedoms and the country we love can be lost forever. The values that made America great can go away, and there are those among us who want them to go away. This challenge is much bigger than politics, and the solution is not political. It requires us--every one of us--to stand up and fight and to say without reservation or fear that we will not give up on America or the plans of our Founders. We will not stop fighting for our future. If we want America to be great in the future, we must reject the politically correct attempts to rewrite our history, and we must reject the leftwing attempt to slander the greatness of our ideals. America is, in fact, the greatest country in the history of the world, and we should not be embarrassed to say so. We should proclaim it proudly. America is the greatest country in the history of the world. I fear the values that I grew up with--the ones my tough-love mom taught me--are becoming a way of the past, but I believe these values, these virtues can and should be part of our country's future. I love it when my grandkids pray before eating, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, ask to visit military museums, join the Boy Scouts, thank police officers and soldiers for their service, and place their hand over their heart when they hear the National Anthem. I hope they memorize the Declaration of Independence and the 23rd Psalm, become Eagle Scouts, have crummy-paying teenage jobs with unreasonable bosses, and get benched in sports for not trying hard enough. Also, I pray they consider a life of military service--one already wants to be a paratrooper--and are lucky enough to marry a wonderful person and have enough kids to worry about how to pay for college. Maybe my grandkids will complain about parents being way too strict. Maybe they will complain about demanding teachers and bosses not caring what they think. Maybe they will complain about screaming drill sergeants, difficult degrees, restrictive banks, and life not being fair. If so, I will smile and say: ``That's great; America is back.'' Then, I will know my grandsons have the opportunity to do something worthwhile with their lives, like build a loving family, successful career, thriving community, better country, and better world. In the meantime, I will keep fighting. I ran for public office to fight for the country I was raised in because that is the country our children and our grandchildren deserve. They deserve what my mom gave me--a free country with unlimited potential for every citizen. I hope everyone will join me in this fight. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I would like to recognize the 100th birthday of Julius Eisenstein who was born on October 13, 1919, in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. I am honored to have the opportunity to speak about Julius's remarkable life today. Living in Poland during the Holocaust, Julius was abruptly taken from his home and forced into the Tomaszaw Mazowiecki Ghetto from 1940 to 1943. From the ghettos, he was then transported all over Eastern Europe. Between May 1943 and April 1945, he was interned in the Blizyn Labor Camp and four other concentration camps. In April, Julius was finally liberated from Dachau by the U.S. Army. Julius and his brother Jacob survived the Holocaust. After he was liberated, Julius lived in Munich for some time. He married his wife Phyllis in 1947. Julius moved to New York in 1950, where he owned and operated numerous businesses. Julius now permanently resides in Florida. Julius and his wife have two children, Tobi and Fred. Julius's wife Phyllis passed away in 2017. Julius has been an active speaker for the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, Inc., where he has touched the lives of so many. Sharing Julius's story is so important as we seek to educate our children and future generations about the atrocities of the past and stand together against all forms of hate, evil and violence. The Holocaust is a stark reminder that evil and hate exist in this world. Even today, we must remain ready to confront this hatred and bigotry in all forms. Every generation must heed the call to take action in the face of evil; this is the Holocaust's enduring lesson of mankind. Julius has lived through unspeakable horror and has dedicated his life to educating and inspiring those around him. Our memory of all those who suffered must never weaken, and we must always fight against hate. I am honored to wish Julius a happy birthday, and I wish him continued happiness with his family, friends, community, and loved ones.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Reserving the right to object, I object on half of my colleague, Senator Rand Paul. What I propose is a bill that grants TPS to Venezuelans right now. It also makes much-needed reforms to the TPS program and gives Congress real oversight. I am very disappointed that my Democratic colleagues would block this commonsense compromise. Republicans support it. The sponsor of the House-passed bill supports it. I believe the President would sign it. It is clear that the Democrats actually don't want to get something done on this issue. Unfortunately, they decided to use the Venezuelan community as a political prop, instead of working with us to find a solution. I think that is shameful. Even though the Democrats stood up and blocked TPS for Venezuelans today, I will never stop fighting to support the Venezuelan community here. My amendment is a solution that can be passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will help us to get this done. We cannot lose sight of the fact that Nicolas Maduro is killing his citizens. It is genocide. Every passing day, the situation on the ground grows worse. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans are fleeing the violence and starvation of Maduro's socialist regime, and they need our help. While extending TPS to Venezuelans is the right move, the United States and freedom-loving nations around the world need to do everything in our power to isolate Maduro in Venezuela and cut off the supply of money from Cuba to Caracas. It is time to help Venezuelan families. It is time to get TPS reform done in this country. Temporary protected status was never meant to be endless. It was meant to help families in need. We need to get this program to work. We need to get TPS for Venezuelans today. I look forward to working with all my colleagues to help all the families in Venezuela and finally get a real long-term solution to TPS.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. We need TPS now. I stand with the people of Venezuela, and I will continue to fight for freedom and democracy in Latin America. It is time for Maduro and his thugs to leave power. Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 549. I ask unanimous consent that the Scott of Florida amendment be agreed to and that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I rise to speak about my amendment to H.R. 549, which grants temporary protected status, or TPS, for Venezuelans from Nicolas Maduro's oppressive regime and reforms the broken TPS program. I would like to thank my friends, Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who have been tireless advocates for the Venezuelan people as we fight for freedom in Latin America and across the globe. I am proud to have worked with Senator Rubio, along with my colleague from Utah, Senator Lee, and other Republican Senators to offer protection for the Venezuelan people while making necessary reforms to TPS. The crisis in Venezuela is a defining human rights issue of our time. Maduro is starving his own people, and innocent children are dying. What is happening in Venezuela is pure genocide. We have to act, but we also need to be responsible. The courts have basically made a temporary program permanent, which is not sustainable. My amendment protects the vulnerable Venezuelan population while making sure that human rights violators are clearly identified as ineligible to come to the United States. My bill grants TPS for Venezuelans right now. The amendment also makes much-needed reforms to our TPS program. The amendment grants TPS to Venezuelans for 18 months. It requires congressional approval for TPS extensions, no more than 18 months at a time. My amendment limits the ability of illegal aliens with no connection to the TPS designation to benefit from TPS. It ensures that human rights violators identified under the Magnitsky Act are not eligible for TPS status. It includes provisions to distinguish that TPS status does not count as admission for purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under my amendment, TPS recipients cannot return to the TPS country during the period of designation. And finally, the amendment requires that current TPS designations will come up for congressional review 2 years after the enactment of this amendment. We want those seeking refuge from war and oppressive regimes to have a safe haven in our country, but we need a system that works and that is truly temporary. I am honored to work with my colleagues to get something done today to help Venezuelan families and to make some much-needed changes to our broken system. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate in Spanish.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, on August 15, 1887, 2 years after the end of the Civil War, history was made in Florida, when a group of newly freed slaves voted to incorporate the town of Eatonville on 122 acres of land. With its founding, Eatonville became the first African-American incorporated city in America. I want to congratulate Eatonville as they celebrate their 132nd anniversary and Founders Day this August. The story of Eatonville is one that all Americans should be proud of, and it stands today as an example to our Nation and the world. This town started as a tightly knit community, built around church, school, and family, and they have maintained that heritage through over a century of growth and development. They share the challenges faced by all of our communities: the need for good jobs, a great education for their children, and a safe community. Eatonville is famous for being the home for two influential authors, Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker. Zora Neale Hurston wrote about Eatonville in her 1937 novel, ``Their Eyes Were Watching God.'' Forty- five years later, Alice Walker would write ``The Color Purple,'' which shared similar themes. Today, Eatonville and Zora Neale Hurston are recognized in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. In 2018, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded Eatonville the prestigious Culture of Health Prize for their efforts to address the high rates of diabetes in their community. This is an honor awarded to just a handful of communities across the Nation each year, with only 4 winning cities out of 200 entries. To address the health needs of the entire community, they created the Healthy Eatonville Initiative and established a diabetes education and research center, the Healthy Eatonville Place, where residents can come to learn how to improve diet and exercise habits. They improved access to fresh fruits and vegetables. They built safe sidewalks and bike paths and placed historical markers along the way for all residents to learn and take pride in their rich history. I am proud of the community spirit of Eatonville and the work they have put in to make the community so successful. As Governor and now as Senator, it is an honor to work with partners like the Town of Eatonville to make Florida the best place to live, work, and raise a family, and I look forward to their future achievements.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and 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 when the Senate receives H.R. 3877, it be placed on the calendar and not be required to lay over a day before a motion to proceed is in order.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3253.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Blunt substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill.