FORT MYERS, Fla.—Today, Senator Rick Scott released the following statement outlining his expectations and the importance of the Senate to immediately reconvene and vote on a Hurricane Ian supplemental aid package once the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local and state officials determine the funding need. Since before Ian’s landfall, Senator Scott has been in constant contact with mayors, law enforcement, business and community leaders, utilities and federal officials to ensure Florida’s families and communities are getting every resource needed from the federal government to respond to and recover from Ian’s devastation. Additionally, Senator Scott continues his fight to secure desperately needed resources to rebuild communities in Puerto Rico, which was impacted by Hurricane Fiona. Yesterday, he spoke with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about the impacts of Hurricanes Fiona and Ian, and last week he wrote to Senate Appropriators requesting their support in developing a disaster supplemental. Read more HERE.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Since Ian made its devastating landfall in Southwest Florida, I have been traveling to impacted communities—what I have seen is heartbreaking. Floridians are resilient and the catastrophic damage caused by this storm can be overcome, but it will take the full support of government and community partners at every level to get families and businesses back to normal. The federal government has a big role to play in Florida’s recovery, and the minute that FEMA and our state and local officials determine the true funding needs, we must act. I will do everything in my power as a United States Senator to get a robust Hurricane Ian supplemental aid package passed, and today I am urging Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to commit to immediately putting a clean bill on the floor. Once we have the information we need from FEMA and our state and local officials, we cannot delay action on a clean aid package. If that means reconvening the Senate, then that is what we must do. While we wait for this critical information, I will keep fighting to make sure that FEMA and the entire federal government are working in total collaboration with state and local officials so we continue to get resources and aid deployed quickly. FEMA has always been a great partner to Florida, and I will make sure that continues in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.”

See Senator Scott's Hurricane Information webpage HERE. Senator Scott urges Floridians impacted by the storm to follow guidance from local officials. Stay up-to-date with information from your local Emergency Management officials. Impacted Floridians should not return home until the area is declared to be safe by local officials. Read more from FEMA about returning home HERE. See the latest on Hurricane Ian response and recovery from FEMA at www.fema.gov/disaster/hurricane-ian and from the Florida Division of Emergency Management at floridadisaster.org or @FLSERT on Twitter.  

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