WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott spoke on the Senate floor in support of Senator Ron Johnson’s request to unanimously pass a clean continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the government funded through February 4^th, 2023, after Republicans have taken the majority in the House of Representatives. This is the latest action taken over the past several months to support the passage of a CR until after the start of the 118^th Congress.

Earlier today, Senators Rick Scott and Mike Lee wrote an op-ed for Fox News demanding the passage of a clean CR that extends government funding until after the new Congress begins in 2023. Last month, Senator Scott joined Senators Lee, Ted Cruz and Mike Braun in writing a letter to leadership expressing the need to pass a short-term CR that funds the federal government only until shortly after the 118th Congress is sworn in. Additionally, in September, Senator Scott, along with Senators Cruz and Lee, demanded the passage of a clean CR that simply maintains current federal functions and programs until a new Congress begins in 2023.

Watch Senator Scott’s speech HERE or below. Read Senator Scott’s remarks as prepared for delivery below.

“Let me begin with a simple question: When are we going to say ‘enough?’

“The American people are saying it, heck, even traditionally liberal main stream news outlets are getting there, but here in Congress it is nothing but business as usual. We just keep letting it pile up. Month after month. Year after year. Now, it’s burying our country.

“Now, the ‘it’ here should be obvious. I’m talking about America’s massive federal debt. Now more than $31 trillion. It’s grown by nearly $5 trillion since President Biden took office and it was growing like a weed before that too.

“We should all be disgusted with the reckless spending in Washington that has caused this massive debt. Just look at what it is doing to our country.

“Historic inflation is raging across America, hurting families and business and pushing the American dream out of reach as prices skyrocket and interests follow close behind. Reckless spending approved by this chamber, and our colleagues in the House, has caused this.

“I’ve been in the Senate for about four years and in that time, I’ve talked a lot about my childhood. Many of you have heard my story as someone who was born to a single mom, grew up poor and lived in public housing. It’s a hard place to start your life and today, folks in this same situation are struggling more than ever to get by and make ends meet as they deal with sky high inflation.

“In most places across the world, people who grow up like me have no hope of being anything but what they are born into – for me, that was poor and watching my mom struggle every day to get by. But that’s not true in America. This is the greatest nation on earth because a kid that grows up watching their parents struggle, and living in public housing, can work hard and be anything. But that promise isn’t guaranteed. We have to protect that by be being responsible with taxpayer money and not allowing inflation and debt to ruin us.

“Throughout my life, I’ve run businesses big and small, from a couple employees to hundreds of thousands. Here’s the one thing that doesn’t change no matter how big you get, if you don’t live within your means, you fail. Same goes for any family. No family or business in any of our states gets to burn through money with no consequences.

“No, the only place that has become acceptable is here in Washington. Why? Because Congress stopped doing what it got elected to do. As I said, I’ve been in Washington for about four years now, one thing I’ve learned is that in Washington, compromise means everyone gets everything so nobody has to make a tough choice. The result is gross fiscal mismanagement and unsustainable debt. Instead of standing up to the broken status quo in Congress—something that I think most of us ran on—too many people get elected, come to Washington and become a rubber stamp for more spending.

“So here we are again. Just days away from a government funding deadline, some of our colleagues are again pushing a massive omnibus—what we’re calling the Pelosi-Schumer Spending bill—which keeps this inflation-bomb deficit spending going.

“I asked earlier: When are we going to start saying ‘enough?’ Will it be when the debt hits $35 trillion or $45 trillion… or will we wait until it is an unimaginable $50 trillion? No. The answer is now. We say, ‘enough is enough,’ today. And we start by saying, ‘no,’ to a massive omnibus spending bill and approving the simple Continuing Resolution being offered by my good friend, Senator Johnson of Wisconsin. Doing this allows the new Congress to put together a real budget that’s balanced. Which is what we should always be doing anyway.

“I don’t like CR’s. Since my first day in the Senate, I’ve been vocal about needing to pass a budget—a full budget—that’s balanced and gets America’s finances in order. But that’s not going to happen in the next three days, or before the next Congress begins for that matter.

“So, the thought of passing a Pelosi-Schumer spending bill, now, just weeks before a new Republican Majority takes power in the House is insane. It’s as bad an idea as I have heard up here. It also goes against decades of precedent. Since 1954, control of the House has changed five times and there has never been an instance of Congress passing an omnibus spending bill before a new House majority takes power. Given that America is now in more debt than ever before, and that inflation is the highest it’s been in about 40 years, why would we choose now to break precedent and greenlight more reckless spending?

“And let’s not forget what Democrats wish to do with the hard-earned tax dollars of American families. The last time Democrats passed a spending bill, they approved $80 billion so the IRS can hire 87,000 new agents to target working families and small businesses. Worse still, Democrats are now forcing every American to report any transaction of $600 or more to the IRS, giving the federal government unprecedented access into the personal finances of American families. We can expect more of the same from them now. Maya Angelou was right when she said, ‘When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.’

“Now, I already know what our Democrat colleagues are going to say when they object to this commonsense solution to avoid a government shutdown. They will claim that what we are proposing will cut services. Wrong. Passing this CR into next year will not result in any cuts to funding or services. This would simply continue government operations, just as they are today.

“Here’s the deal: for too long, the failed and ridiculous thinking here in Washington has been budgets don’t matter and inflation doesn’t matter because voters will never tie wasteful spending to inflation. The only way to get some things done is to shove them into a giant spending bill negotiated in secret and pass it before anyone has time to read it.

“That’s not how any family or business operates. In the real world, you make plans, meet deadlines, make choices and live within your means because failing to do those things means failing to survive and prosper. Congress should be treated no differently.

“Washington has been broken and unaccountable for too long. Congress should pass a funding bill that balances the budget and do so on time. That’s not too much to ask. It should be the bare minimum. And unless we stand up now, the reckless inflation-fueling spending will only get worse. If we don’t start standing up for something and getting our jobs done here in Congress, we will sentence American families, our economy and the very future of our nation to a sure decline.

“Today is the day that we must come together and say, ‘enough.’

“I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this good bill and taking a critical first step in getting America’s finances back in order.”

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