Rick Scott

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, we can and must pass commonsense reforms to restore confidence in our elections. The easiest thing we can do right now is require voter ID. Americans agree this is a necessary step. If we are serious about working together to move our country forward, restore public trust, and protect the democracy our Nation cherishes, we need to pass my bill today, and I look forward to all my colleagues joining me to protect our democracy. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1130, introduced earlier today. I ask unanimous consent that the bill 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. Madam President, my goal is 100 percent participation and zero percent fraud. It is not voter suppression or racist to prove your identity for in-person voting. It is not voter suppression or racist to prove your identity for mail-in voting. It is not voter suppression or racist to require ballot boxes to be monitored. It is not voter suppression or racist to make sure your vote is in on time. My colleague wants to call any attempt to fight fraud in our elections voter suppression. My colleague wants to call any attempt to fight fraud in elections racist. That is just not accurate. Voter ID should not be controversial. You need an ID to get on a plane, open a bank account, drive a car--even an ID to get into the White House. But we shouldn't have an ID to vote for the President? It just doesn't make sense. Americans believe in voter ID. It is a logical step to make our elections more secure, and it is a simple change we can pass today. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. It just goes to show you how out of touch the Democrats really are. All my Republican colleagues and I want to see is more Americans vote, and I am thankful Senators Barrasso and Cramer are joining me in this effort today. We want a vibrant democracy in which citizens are engaged and participating in government at every level. Sadly, the Democrats are refusing to work with us to protect our voting systems. Instead, the Democrats want to make it easier to cheat and harder to stop election fraud. That is why the Democrats are pushing H.R. 1, which would perpetuate distrust in our elections, impose anti-democratic mandates, and further erode our country's institutions. H.R. 1 is the most radical piece of voting legislation this Nation has ever seen at a time when restoring confidence in elections has never been more important. H.R. 1 removes the most basic safeguards against election fraud. The Democrat solution to election security is the same as their solution to all problems: a completely inept, big-government approach that fails at every level. Before continuing, I would like to yield to my colleague from Wyoming and thank him for his leadership on this effort.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the nomination of Wally Adeyemo for Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, The U.S. Treasury Department plays a significant part in enforcing American foreign policy through economic sanctions. We know that sanctions work and that the strong application of these measures against adversaries, including Communist China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, are essential to holding the brutal dictators and their enablers who hold power in these nations accountable. Communist China is the biggest threat our Nation faces. Communist China is committing a genocide against the Uyghurs, stripping Hong Kongers of their basic rights, and continues to threaten to take Taiwan by force. I am concerned that Mr. Adeyemo does not understand the risk Communist China poses to our national and economic security and to our allies. Communist China is not a strategic competitor; they are an adversary and must be treated as such. Any U.S. official who thinks that Communist China can play a positive role in the world is mistaken. I am also concerned that Mr. Adeyemo will not be strong when standing up to Castro's Communist regime in Cuba. I cannot support anyone who will back a return to the failed Obama-Biden appeasement policies, which did nothing to help the Cuban people and allowed Havana to extend its reach and expand its control, giving power to other ruthless dictatorships in Latin America. Currently, our Nation is on track to reach $30 trillion in debt. We have to get serious about Federal spending and the impacts it will have on our children and grandchildren. President Biden's massive spending policies are already causing the cost of living in America to rise. I cannot support candidates who think the solution to America's economic woes is more government, more taxes and more regulation, not more individual opportunity. That is wrong and will only send us further into debt and our families further into despair. We need to focus on growing the economy and growing jobs in order to preserve the American dream. For all these reasons, I oppose Mr. Adeyemo's nomination and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

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

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. What I am offering protects Medicare benefits, and the only change it makes to this bill is to strip out this ridiculous Pelosi bailout. A vote for my amendment is a vote to ensure that all 50 States play by the same rules. It is to preserve the current law. A vote against my amendment is a vote to say that your State plays by the rules, but Pelosi gets her own set of rules. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I have another 30 seconds.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, it must be nice to be the Speaker of the House. Speaker Pelosi gets to push around our new majority leader and my Democratic colleagues, and they get nothing in return. This bill is a bailout for Speaker Pelosi and gives California's healthcare system the ability to claim up to 175 percent of uncompensated care costs in their DSH Program while all the other States can only claim up to 100 percent of costs. How is that fair to Florida? How can the majority leader and my new colleagues from Georgia, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona justify a vote that is unfair to their States? Well, welcome to Pelosi's U.S. Senate. Seriously, how can anyone in this body, except, perhaps, my two colleagues from California, possibly justify voting against this amendment? This is a very simple concept. All 50 States should be treated equally. One State should not be given special treatment over the others. This is a bailout for Speaker Pelosi, period. I want to be very clear. I oppose any cuts to Medicare benefits. So what I am offering protects Medicare benefits, and the only change it makes to this bill is to strip out this ridiculous Pelosi bailout.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, I rise today to discuss another issue in the Democrats' massive COVID spending bill that we need to fix. My Democratic colleagues want to keep spending into oblivion, taking our national debt to $30 trillion. This would be bad enough on its own, but tucked into the bloated spending package were new tax hikes on self-employed individuals. President Biden and the Democrats didn't talk about it, and they certainly aren't talking about it as they travel the Nation to brag about their bad bill. Democrats are quietly raising taxes, hoping the American people don't notice. The $1.9 trillion so-called American Rescue Plan Act, of which less than 10 percent went to actually help fight COVID and 1 percent to vaccines, had several tax increases and burdensome reporting requirements, including one that significantly impacts the gig workers--those who have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Starting in 2022, this bill requires many contractors with gig economy companies like Uber, DoorDash, Airbnb, and Lyft to file 1099 forms when they previously would not have. The new requirement dramatically lowers the annual 1099 reporting threshold from $20,000 and 200 transactions to just $600 and eliminates the transaction minimum. In late February, before the Democrats rushed their spending bill through Congress on a purely partisan basis, a coalition of groups wrote to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer, asking that this onerous new provision, which has nothing to do with addressing the coronavirus crisis, be removed or at least reconsidered. The letter was signed by groups such as the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, the National Asian American Chamber of Commerce, National Association for the Self-Employed, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Women Business Owners. After receiving such a letter, one would think that Democrats would want to reconsider. Raising taxes and reporting requirements in the midst of a pandemic? This is never good policy, but I can't think of any worse timing. Of course, Democrats kept the provision buried deep within the bill, hoping the American public wouldn't notice. The Democrats' new reporting requirements are effectively a tax hike and will ultimately hurt low- and middle-income contractors, the self- employed, and freelancers, many of whom have been devastated by the pandemic, while Federal and State Governments will collect billions more in income tax revenue. My Democratic colleagues want the American public to believe this is about catching tax cheats. And, to be clear, any attempt to evade taxes and defraud the public by not following the law should be condemned, and Congress should appropriately address it. However, a massive new reporting requirement of gig workers, many just trying to make ends meet in the midst of this pandemic, is not about catching tax fraud. It is about punishing the self-employed and raising revenues for the Democrats' massive spending plans. It wasn't that long ago that President Biden promised that he wouldn't raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000. Obviously, that was not true. But this isn't the first time Democrats have tried to quietly increase taxes and saddle the self-employed with new requirements like this. They did it with ObamaCare when they required businesses to send 1099 forms for all purchases of goods and services over $600 annually. They quickly learned how unpopular and harmful this provision was, and they quickly repealed it. The Obama administration even praised the repeal as a ``big win'' for the self-employed. I guess some never learn. What I am proposing is very simple. It is what the Democrats supported in 2011 when they repealed this bad tax increase in ObamaCare. Today, I want to remove this new reporting requirement and simply reinstate the previous law back into U.S. code. Increasing reporting requirements on our gig workers will create new and unexpected challenges for independent, self-employed workers and entrepreneurs, who are already facing an incredible burden created by the coronavirus. Increasing costs and regulations on already struggling Americans is wrong, and I hope all of my colleagues will join me today and repeal this bad policy. Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 948, introduced earlier today. I further ask that the bill 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. Madam President, that sounded good, but this is clearly a tax increase. It is a massive tax increase, and it is a massive new reporting requirement on already struggling Americans. Our focus ought to be on helping support American workers, especially these gig economy workers who have been hurt so badly. I am disappointed my colleague wants to increase costs and regulations on American families. What is strange is that my colleague from Oregon voted to repeal this bad provision when Democrats added it to ObamaCare. So what is crazy is, why is he OK today with raising taxes on the American people now? This is all part of the Democrats' tax-and-spend agenda, and it is just the beginning. Let's remember, with the last spending bill the Democrats passed, we will have $30 trillion of debt. As Governor of Florida, I worked so that we cut taxes 100 times, and we paid off a third of our State debt. We have to think that way here. How can we grow this economy and reduce the costs for Americans, not increase the costs to Americans? These bad types of policies will ruin our economy and a shot at the American dream, which we all believe in. I am going to fight every day to get the government out of the way and make sure that doesn't happen. I yield the floor.

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

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, I rise in opposition to the nomination of William Burns to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Communist China is the biggest threat our Nation faces. General Secretary Xi will stop at nothing in his quest for world domination and has made clear that he seeks to push the United States out of the Indo- Pacific and weaken and intimidate his neighbors, including our allies. Communist China continues to threaten to take Taiwan by force. Communist China is committing a genocide against the Uoghurs and stripping Hong kongers of their basic rights. China sees the United States as its global adversary and is taking the steps necessary to ``win'' the great power conflict of the 21st century. China is taking every opportunity it can around the world to gain influence and exert control. I am concerned that some past statements and actions by Ambassador Burns indicate an inaccurate view of Communist China and the danger it poses to our Nation and to Americans. Any U.S. official who thinks that China can play a positive role in the world, particularly among developing states or as a contributor to peace and stability, is mistaken. Ambassador Burns has not shown that he understands the threat that Communist China represents. I am also troubled that Ambassador Burns' view of Castro's Communist regime in Cuba is equally flawed. I cannot support anyone who backed the failed Obama-Biden appeasement policies, which did nothing to help the Cuban people and allowed Havana to extend its reach and expand its control, giving power to other ruthless dictatorships in Latin America. My opposition to Ambassador Burns' nomination is grounded in our fundamentally different views. Ambassador Burns has not demonstrated that he understands the threats we face around the world and the causes of those threats. We need leaders who will be strong and stand up for American interests in the face of dangerous regimes like Cuba and China, regimes that are committed to harm the United States and our allies. For all these reasons, Mr. President, I oppose Ambassador Burns' nomination and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, I am proud to join my colleagues in celebration of Sunshine Week and promote the importance of government openness and transparency. Transparency isn't something you see too much up here in Washington. Being accountable to the American people should be a basic function of government. In Florida, we have sunshine laws to promote openness and build our citizens' trust in government. When I came to Washington, I made it my mission to bring the success and transparency we had in Florida to the Federal Government and make this dysfunctional place work for the American people. Unfortunately, my Democratic colleagues have blocked nearly every single one of my efforts for transparency and requests for information to help Congress make the best decisions for American families. Last month, I wrote to President Biden's Acting Director for the Office of Management and Budget requesting any documents related to enacted but currently unspent COVID-19 stimulus funding. The response? None. Total silence. This month, as we considered the Democrats' wasteful and partisan $1.9 trillion COVID spending package, I introduced a resolution calling on President Biden to inform the Senate and the American people of how much unspent funds are left over from the previous COVID spending bills, but Democrats blocked it. When my colleague Senator Johnson called for their massive, 600-page bill to be read on the floor so the American people could know exactly what was in the bill, Democrats complained and called it a waste of time. Let me be clear. Being transparent, open, and accountable to the American people is actually never a waste of time; it is our job. That is why I have been working on several measures to bring sunshine transparency to Washington, including my bill to make sure Members of Congress work for the American people and actually read bills before casting their votes and my STOP COVID-19 Act to set vaccine distribution reporting and transparency standards for States and create a program for cities and counties to increase funding, testing, contact tracing, and transparency efforts in order to reduce the spread of COVID. I will never stop fighting to bring sunshine to Washington and working to make sure our government and the Biden administration are transparent, open, and accountable to the American people who elected us to serve. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, the first thing I would like to do is correct what my colleague from Pennsylvania said with regard to preexisting conditions. I was here last year. I brought to the floor a bill that would say it didn't matter what the Supreme Court did; we would make sure that we could keep preexisting conditions if the Supreme Court declared that the Affordable Care Act was not constitutional. The Democrats blocked it. I have been up here 2 years, and I have never seen once my Republican colleagues want to reduce spending for Medicaid. What I do think is unfair is, in my State of Florida, what money we receive from the Federal Government is significantly less per person than what a State like New York has. So I would like changes to the Medicaid Program. I would like it to be a fair program in which States like Florida will get treated just as well as States like New York.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, it is hard to imagine that my colleague just rose in opposition to this good bill. Let's be clear. By objecting to this bill, Democrats are standing in full support of spending $2 billion to send $1,400 checks to inmates. Democrats want to spend $2 billion in taxpayer money to send checks to people in prison, convicted of committing serious crimes and victimizing their fellow Americans. That means Democrats are saying that they want American taxpayers to be on the hook for $1,400 checks to some of the most heinous criminals we have ever seen--people like Dylann Roof and the Parkland shooter. How can anyone justify sending checks to these people? Let's remember, inmates don't pay income taxes. They have all their needs, food and medical expenses included, paid for by taxpayers. They don't do anything to stimulate our economy. I do hope my colleague will reconsider his objection and stand with me in putting accountability to American taxpayers over this insane policy that does nothing but throw $2 billion we don't have out the window. Thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, there is no reason this bill should include funding for Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, a woefully mismanaged public railway system that benefits very few Americans. My amendment redirects this wasteful spending to strengthen many of the core missions of our military. For the U.S. Coast Guard, that includes search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, cargo and personnel transport, and maritime stewardship. American taxpayer dollars are better spent to support this mission and improve the defense and security of this Nation than to prop up wasteful and mismanaged transportation systems in New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. My amendment directs nearly $1 billion to the Coast Guard's Super Hercules program to continue their procurement of HC-130Js, a top-of- class long range surveillance aircraft which will strengthen our national defense and border security. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this amendment.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 2 minutes of debate, equally divided.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I have a motion to commit at the desk, and I ask that it be reported.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, as we can tell, this week, Washington is completely dysfunctional, and the unwillingness to work together has caused multiple government shutdowns. If Members of Congress cannot work together to pass a budget, they should not be getting paid. It is pretty simple. If we can't do our jobs, we shouldn't get taxpayer-funded salaries. My no budget, no pay amendment simply requires Congress to meet appropriations bills deadlines or forgo their own salaries until the job is done. This is a simple concept. There is no reason that Members of Congress should be held to a different standard than American families and businesses across the Nation. Accountability shouldn't be controversial. I hope my colleagues will join me in this motion.

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

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

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 1395, and ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. SCOTT of Florida

Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, I thank Senator Lankford and Senator Ernst. Passing this resolution will show the American people that Congress can be both responsive to the needs of American families and small businesses hurt by this pandemic while also remaining fully accountable for the proper stewardship of tax dollars. This is about basic transparency and getting the facts. If this resolution passes and the administration shares the information I have been requesting, it will go a long way in helping Congress craft a targeted bill that directly addresses the real needs in our Nation today. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 88, submitted earlier today. I further ask 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. Madam President, America is in crisis. Today, the Federal debt sits at a staggering $27 trillion, and it has grown by more than $4 trillion in just the last year. Now, Congress is debating whether to spend another $1.9 trillion, raising our debt to nearly $30 trillion. Less than 10 percent of this massive $1.9 trillion package actually goes directly to COVID relief, and just 1 percent is dedicated to vaccine-related programs. The rest is filled with wasteful liberal priorities. Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer, bridges and tunnels have no business being included in a COVID relief bill. It is shameful. Only in Washington can people throw these numbers and ideas around without a care for what it means for our future. It is dangerous, and it is time to get serious. Congress has the responsibility to thoroughly review how every single tax dollar is spent by the Federal Government and make sure we are spending wisely. Sadly, this is rare behavior in Washington. Congress spends with reckless abandon and rarely considers how today's foolishness will impact our children and grandchildren, and we are seeing President Biden and Senate Democrats continue this dangerous behavior. For them, the Obama-era thinking of ``Never let a crisis go to waste'' is alive and well. Estimates show that there is roughly $1 trillion in enacted but unspent COVID-19 stimulus funding. Last month, I wrote to President Biden's Acting Director for the Office of Management and Budget requesting any documents related to enacted but currently unspent COVID-19 stimulus funding. The response: None. Total silence. Here is what that means: The Senate has no idea how States are spending their allocated funds, and we don't know what the actual needs are. It would be completely irresponsible and an abdication of our duty as stewards of American tax dollars if the Senate continues to approve further spending without more information. That is why my colleagues and I are introducing a resolution calling on President Biden to inform the Senate of how much unspent funds are left over from the previous COVID spending bills. We want to be very clear. This resolution only asks for information from the President that will help the Senate make an informed decision. I am proud to be joined today by Senator Lankford and Senator Ernst to ask for transparency. It is pretty simple. Ever since the pandemic started, I have wanted the Federal Government to step in and help those who are hurting and have lost their jobs. I will completely agree that we need to do more to help families and small businesses that continue to suffer from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Relief is needed, but it has to be targeted. We have to consider our debt and do only what is necessary for those in need. I grew up in public housing and watched my parents struggle to find work and make ends meet. I saw my dad's car get repossessed twice. I never want a family to go through what mine did growing up. But before another dollar is spent, especially dollars going to liberal initiatives that have nothing to do with COVID relief, there needs to be a full and clear accounting of all enacted but unspent funding. The decisions we make today have serious impacts on our children and grandchildren. But before I continue, I yield to my colleagues from Iowa and Oklahoma and thank them for their effort. I now yield to Senator Ernst.