Before Congress begins debating additional coronavirus relief spending next week, Senator Rick Scott wants more information on how the more than $1 trillion from the CARES Act and other federal coronavirus response measures is being spent. Congress needs as much information as possible to make the best decisions to move the nation forward.

On June 15th, Senator Scott led Senators Ron Johnson and Ted Cruz in a letter to U.S. Governors requesting details on how this taxpayer money is being spent. He is disappointed fewer than 10 states have responded to date. This week, Senator Rick Scott also wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin requesting the agency’s plan to publicly release information on how the more than $1 trillion in state and local government funding already allocated for coronavirus response is being spent.

Also this week, Senator Scott urged Amazon, Walmart and the National Retail Federation to take action to inform Americans about where the products they buy online are made. Following a recent push from the Indian government, Amazon Inc. and Walmart’s Flipkart voluntarily agreed to require merchants to prominently display the country of origin for all goods sold online in India, and Senator Scott is encouraging all online retailers to voluntarily do the same in the United States. 

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

Senator Rick Scott to Online Retailers: Require Merchants to Display Country of Origin Labeling

Senator Rick Scott sent letters to Amazon, Walmart and the National Retail Federation urging them to take action to inform Americans about where the products they buy online are made. Following a recent push from the Indian government, Amazon Inc. and Walmart’s Flipkart voluntarily agreed to require merchants to prominently display the country of origin for all goods sold online in India, and Senator Scott is encouraging all online retailers to voluntarily do the same in the United States. Read more, including the full letters, HERE.

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Sen. Rick Scott: House Democrats’ Plan to Resurrect Peace Corps Programs in Communist China is Despicable

Senator Rick Scott released the following statement after the House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2021 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs bill, which includes a provision to prevent the closure of Peace Corps programs in Communist China. This comes after the Peace Corps announced its decision to wind down operations in Communist China. The decision followed months of Senator Scott’s calls for the Peace Corps to get out of Communist China and the introduction of his Peace Corps Mission Accountability Act, which prohibits all Peace Corps activity in hostile countries, including Communist China.
 
Senator Rick Scott said, “The Peace Corps made the right decision to pull volunteers from Communist China – a wealthy nation and an adversary that doesn’t need help from American taxpayers. Now, the House Democrats want to kowtow to the Communist Party of China and send American volunteers and taxpayer dollars back to Communist China. That’s despicable. Communist China is one of the world’s worst human rights violators, steals our jobs and technology, is militarizing the South China Sea and is the cause of this global pandemic. Not one cent of American taxpayer dollars should be spent helping to prop up their dangerous government." Read more HERE.

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Sen. Rick Scott to Treasury Department: Release Coronavirus-Related Spending Information Before Congress Considers Spending More

Senator Rick Scott wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin requesting the agency’s plan to publicly release information on how the more than $1 trillion in state and local government funding already allocated for coronavirus response is being spent. Read more, including the full letter, HERE.

Sen. Rick Scott in the Washington Post: China Doesn’t Deserve to Host the 2022 Olympics

Senator Rick Scott wrote a letter to the editor of the Washington Post in response to a recent editorial on the genocide Communist China is committing against the Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang.

In the letter, Senator Rick Scott wrote, “It’s time the world sees Communist China for what it is. 

… For General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, the genocide — and that’s exactly what it is — of the Uighurs in Xinjiang is finally making the world wake up to China’s human rights abuses and general contempt for freedom and liberty.

…It’s incumbent on all of us to take a stand. That’s why I introduced a resolution in the Senate calling on the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 games out of Beijing, and why I asked NBC not to air the Olympics unless the Games are moved out of Communist China…"

Read the full letter to the editor in the Washington Post HERE.

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The Daily Signal: States Seeking Bailouts Are Making Payouts to Planned Parenthood

Senator Rick Scott has argued that taxpayer money should be used only for virus-related expenses or to support individuals and businesses hurt by this pandemic. Congress should not bail out fiscally irresponsible states like New York that waste taxpayer dollars on liberal politicians’ pet projects, like Planned Parenthood.

Read more in The Daily Signal article, “States Seeking Bailouts Are Making Payouts to Planned Parenthood,” below:

"Data from government transparency sites, usually maintained by state treasurers or comptrollers, show that over the course of the last four fiscal years states have paid out more than $300 million to Planned Parenthood affiliates. Now, some of the biggest contributors are asking for federal money to cover their nonpandemic-related budget shortfalls.

… A federal bailout would represent a massive transfer of funds from states that have been fiscally responsible and have chosen to minimize funding for abortion providers to those that have not.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a former governor, has warned Congress against bailing out states, noting that his state has worked steadily to balance its budget and meet pension obligations.

… Scott, along with fellow Senate Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Mike Lee of Utah, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, sent a letter to the White House opposing state bailouts, and the states these senators represent have generally low contributions to Planned Parenthood.

… Money from previous federal bailouts has been mismanaged in a variety of ways: permanently expanding government programs instead of balancing budgets, adding new staff positions in schools rather than propping up education systems, and pumping money to big spending projects in place of contributing to pension funds.

… As states pressure the federal government for a bailout, Congress should consider the importance of protecting not just pocketbooks but unborn human life."

Read the full article in The Daily Signal HERE.

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Politico: GOP senator calls on Treasury to account for pandemic aid to states

Newsmax: NBA Criticized for Barring ‘FreeHongKong’ on Personalized Merchandise

WFKS Kiss 95.1: Sen. Scott Calls Out St Petersburg Policing Plan

Villages Daily Sun: Gov. Scott Industrial Park sparks economic success

Florida Politics: Rick Scott, Jim Cantore tag-team on hurricane awareness PSA

Florida Daily: Rick Scott Continues to Stand Against the Peace Corps Operating in China
Newsweek: Senators Praise U.K Decision to Ban China’s Huawei After U.S. Pressure

Florida Daily: Rick Scott Calls on Online Retailers to Have Merchants Display Country of Origin Labeling

El Impulso: Rick Scott: Se acabó el tiempo de Maduro #13Jul

EVTV: Scott: Se acabó el tiempo de Maduro

La Patilla: “Se acabó su tiempo”: Rick Scott celebró que la UE se una en contra de Maduro

The 2020 Hurricane Season is underway, and Senator Rick Scott is urging Floridians to take action and prepare NOW. Although preparing for a storm might look a little different amid the coronavirus, we cannot let our guards down, and must do everything we can to ensure our families stay safe. See more in Senator Scott’s Hurricane Season PSA, in partnership with The Weather Channel, HERE. 

Read more on how to protect yourself and others from the Coronavirus while preparing for hurricane season from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) HERE, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) HERE, or by visiting www.RickScott.senate.gov/Hurricanes. 

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Senator Rick Scott is committed to keeping Florida families safe and healthy. Following the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Senator Rick Scott released a CARES Act Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document with information on how Floridians can get help amid the coronavirus crisis and details about the support available to small businesses, individuals, non-profits.   

See the FAQ document HERE or more resources and information available to Floridians by visiting www.RickScott.senate.gov/CoronavirusResources.

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