WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian, Senator Rick Scott released the following video sharing an update and demanding the passage of his Federal Disaster Responsibility Act. This urgently-needed bill, which Senator Scott announced just days after Hurricane Idalia made its catastrophic landfall in Florida’s Big Bend, includes key authorizations and funding to make sure the federal government is a reliable partner to those fighting to recover from natural disasters.

Importantly, along with providing the full funding that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) said it needs for its Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), Senator Scott’s Federal Disaster Responsibility Act also includes his Block Grant Assistance Act, which he has been fighting to pass since Ian devastated Southwest Florida last year, to deliver federal assistance to Florida’s growers and ranchers that suffered hurricane-related losses. The Block Grant Assistance Act was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on June 12.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The devastation caused in Florida by Hurricane Ian will never be forgotten. One year later, while the many scars of this storm remain, the resilience of hardworking Floridians is on full display. I’ve talked to so many Floridians who are happy to roll up their sleeves in this recovery fight, but they shouldn’t be in that fight alone. Unfortunately for Florida farmers, that is exactly what’s happened. For a year, we’ve been fighting to get block grants approved for Florida’s farmers. While we got it done in the House, Democrats in the Senate have blocked this bill at every turn. To make matters worse, with FEMA now at risk of running out of funds and being forced to delay projects, Democrats are still blocking my efforts to secure disaster relief. My bill ensures that FEMA is fully funded and that the federal government can be a reliable partner that will show up not just for Floridians, but all Americans fighting to recover from disasters. It makes no sense that Democrats would block this urgently needed aid. I know I speak for families in my state and all across our country when I say that we are SICK AND TIRED of seeing disaster aid used as some political pawn. I won’t stop fighting to get my Federal Disaster Responsibility Act passed so our families and farmers get the disaster relief they need and deserve.”

Watch the video HERE or below.

Senator Scott’s Federal Disaster Responsibility Act includes:

• Fully funding the immediate needs of FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund with at least $16.5 billion to ensure the federal government can uphold its obligation to quickly deploy emergency funding and resources to communities and Americans impacted by natural disasters. This exceeds what the Biden administration has said is needed to respond to recent disasters, including those in Florida and Hawaii.
• Ensuring final passage of the bipartisan Block Grant Assistance Act which provides needed authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue block grants to Florida’s citrus growers, Georgia’s peach growers and all U.S. agriculture producers devastated by natural disasters in 2022.
• Committing necessary funds and resources to Florida’s military installations to fully rebuild and recover from hurricane damage and to the Army Corps of Engineers to complete beach renourishment projects.

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