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Dear Fellow Floridian, Earlier this week, Hurricane Debby brought significant storm surge, intense rainfall and massive flooding to families in coastal and inland communities from Southwest Florida up through the Big Bend. But Florida families were prepared and local officials did a great job of making sure folks had what they needed before, during and after the storm. Before Debby hit, I led a letter with Senator Marco Rubio to President Joe Biden urging his immediate approval of the State of Florida’s request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for 61 Florida counties as Tropical Storm Debby is forecast to bring severe weather and flooding to communities across the state. Thanks to this letter, our request was quickly granted. Last week, I also met with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell in Washington to discuss hurricane preparedness, and after traveling to impacted areas throughout this week and meeting with local leaders, I’m focused on ensuring Florida families have a reliable federal partner as work begins to respond to and recover from Hurricane Debby. I’m also working every day to introduce legislation that will make Washington work for Florida families, especially in the aftermath of these storms as homeowners’ insurance costs continue to surge. This week, I announced the introduction of my Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act . This legislation will provide American homeowners an above-the-line tax deduction of up to $10,000 of premiums paid for homeowners’ insurance annually at their primary residence. Additionally, I’m pushing to pass my Flood Insurance Relief Act to provide tax relief for Americans who purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). I’m also working to pass an expanded version of my Hurricane Tax Relief Act , which takes care of Americans impacted by disasters by providing disaster-loss tax relief to families who have been impacted by qualified disasters for purposes of enhanced disaster casualty loss tax relief. If there is one thing I know, it is that Floridians are resilient, and as your U.S. Senator, I’ll never stop fighting to get families the help and relief they need. Read more HERE . Sincerely,
Rick Scott United States Senator Senator Scott encourages all Floridians to visit his website at www.rickscott.senate.gov/hurricane-preparedness to get prepared today. See the latest on Potential Tropical Cyclone Four from the National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.gov or @NHC_Atlantic on Twitter, and from the Florida Division of Emergency Management at floridadisaster.org or @FLSERT on Twitter. MAKING WASHINGTON WORK Sen. Rick Scott Introduces Bill to Provide Property Insurance Tax Deduction for Homeowners As Florida recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Debby, and families continue to struggle with surging costs, Senator Rick Scott announced his introduction of the Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act . This legislation will provide American homeowners an above-the-line tax deduction of up to $10,000 of premiums paid for homeowners’ insurance annually at their primary residence. Senator Rick Scott said, “The dream of homeownership is becoming out-of-reach for families under the Biden-Harris administration with high interest rates, 20% inflation on their everyday items, and soaring property insurance costs. I hear heartbreaking stories from families all throughout my state that they are struggling to pay their bills and they can’t wait much longer for relief from the skyrocketing costs. I watched my mom struggle to make ends meet when I was growing up in public housing—working hard to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. While the business of property insurance is handled by the states, there is one thing the federal government can do to help lower costs for families. My new legislation, the Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act, will provide direct relief for families in Florida and across the nation with a deduction of up to $10,000 in homeowners insurance premiums paid on their primary residence. I urge my colleagues to give full support to this commonsense proposal that will allow families to keep more of their hard-earned dollars and a roof over their heads while we fight to bring fiscal sanity back to Washington.” Read more HERE . Lea más en español AQUÍ. Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Marsha Blackburn and 21 of their Republican colleagues in sending a letter urging National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President Charlie Baker to update their student-athlete policy to ensure only biologically female students can participate in women’s sports. Read more HERE . Senator Rick Scott and Senator Jeanne Shaheen sent letters to multiple Big Tech CEOs urging them to participate in two voluntary programs to locate and take down non-consensual intimate imagery (NII) on online platforms. The bipartisan group of Senators sent letters to the CEOs of X, Alphabet, Amazon, Match, Zoom, Pinterest, Discord, OpenAI, Twitch, Microsoft and Patreon requesting written confirmation that they intend to adopt the Take It Down and Stop NCII programs, which allow online users to remove explicit images of themselves from digital platforms. The increasing spread of NII remains a dangerous and concerning trend in a rapidly evolving digital world. Last year, the Revenge Porn Helpline reported an alarming 106 percent increase in total reports received compared to the previous year, 34 percent of which represented cases of sextortion. In the letters, the senators write, “With one post, NII shared online has the opportunity to ruin the life of an individual, often times young women and girls, and the presence of such on your platform cannot be taken lightly.” The senators continue, “Take It Down and Stop NCII allow people to anonymously flag nude or explicit images of themselves they would like platforms to remove. […] By increasing participation in these programs, companies can take actionable steps to stop the life-altering impact that the NII has on the life, career and family of those affected.” Read more HERE . Sen. Rick Scott Receives Briefing in Steinhatchee on Hurricane Debby Response 17 days after the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that resulted in the murder and severe injury of innocent Americans, Senator Rick Scott again demanded accountability and transparency from federal officials during a joint hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Judiciary Committee. Since the horrific shooting at President Trump’s rally, Senator Scott has repeatedly pressed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) to hold daily public press conferences to share updates with the American people and answer questions about what happened, who is being held accountable, and how we make sure it never happens again. Senator Rick Scott said, “More than two weeks after the attempted assassination of President Trump, murder of Corey Comperatore, and the severe injury of other innocent and patriotic Americans, the DHS, FBI and USSS have totally failed to deliver the accountability and transparency that this historic and horrific security failure demands. There hasn’t been a single public press conference to answer the American people’s questions, which has caused rumors and speculation about that day to run wild. FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, which the U.S. Secret Service is part of, are facing an unprecedented crisis of integrity. We have seen failure after failure, and there is never any accountability or transparency from the Biden-Harris administration. Nobody is ever fired and the American people are tired of the total incompetence of this administration. During last week’s briefing, I asked if DHS and the FBI would commit to holding daily press conferences on this investigation and I was told that that was a decision that agency leadership needed to make. We need to see that commitment made publicly today if the FBI, DHS and USSS have any intention of rebuilding the credibility that they have lost with the American people.” Read more HERE. Sen. Rick Scott Receives Briefing in Manatee County on Hurricane Debby Response Senator Rick Scott received a briefing at the Manatee County Emergency Operations Center on Hurricane Debby recovery efforts from local law enforcement leaders and emergency management officials. This week, Senator Scott is traveling to impacted areas to meet with local leaders and ensure Florida’s families and communities are getting every resource needed to respond to and recover from the storm. Later today, Senator Scott will visit Steinhatchee. See more from Senator Scott’s visit to Lee County yesterday HERE . Senator Rick Scott said, “I want to thank the Manatee County Emergency Operations Center, Sheriff Rick Wells and the first responders working around the clock to ensure Florida families here have what they need to stay safe and recover from Hurricane Debby. This storm brought intense rainfall and flooding to communities in Manatee County, and it’s all hands on deck to get neighborhoods back on their feet. Last week, I met with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell in Washington to discuss hurricane preparedness and will be working closely with her and the FEMA Region 4 team to ensure Florida has a reliable federal partner as work begins to respond to and recover from Hurricane Debby. As I always say, you can rebuild your home, but you can’t rebuild your life. I urge families to continue to follow the directions of local authorities and stay safe. If there is one thing I know, it is that Floridians are resilient and we will get through this together.” Read more HERE. Sen. Rick Scott Surveys Hurricane Debby Damage in Lee County with Law Enforcement, Local Officials Senator Rick Scott joined local officials and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to tour impacts of Hurricane Debby and receive an update on response and recovery efforts. Ahead of the Debby’s landfall on Monday morning, Senator Scott spoke with sheriffs throughout Florida about storm preparedness and response, and in the coming days will be traveling to impacted areas to meet with local leaders and ensure Florida’s families and communities are getting every resource needed to respond to and recover from the storm. Senator Rick Scott said, “Hurricane Debby brought significant storm surge, intense rainfall and massive flooding to families in coastal and inland communities from Southwest Florida up through the Big Bend. I want to thank Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno and his deputies for working around the clock to ensure residents in Lee County have what they need following this storm, especially as they are working to recover from past storms, like Hurricane Ian. The damage we saw here in Lee County will make the long road to recovery from Ian even tougher, and I won’t stop fighting to make sure families here have what they need to get back on their feet. “Last week, I met with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell in Washington to discuss hurricane preparedness and will be working closely with her and the FEMA Region 4 team to ensure Florida has a reliable federal partner as work begins to respond to and recover from Hurricane Debby. As I always say, you can rebuild your home, but you can’t rebuild your life. Stay safe and follow the directions of local authorities. If there is one thing I know, it is that Floridians are resilient and we will get through this together.” Read more HERE . Senator Rick Scott and Senator Marco Rubio led a letter to President Joe Biden urging his immediate approval of the State of Florida’s request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for 61 Florida counties as Tropical Storm Debby is forecast to bring severe weather and flooding to communities across the state. Read the full letter HERE . Read more HERE . Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Tom Cotton and with six of their colleagues to send a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland to urge him to investigate cases of American institutions of higher education having ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In addition to investigating the current cases, the senators asked AG Garland for written responses on how the Department of Justice is working to mitigate the threat the CCP poses to the U.S. education system. The senators wrote, “Undisclosed and unmonitored financial relationships between U.S. academia and the CCP are glaring national security risks. Such relationships leave the U.S. vulnerable to intellectual property theft, improper influence, and even espionage. It is imperative that DOJ take additional steps to swiftly address this concern.” Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE . Sen. Rick Scott Issues Weekly Update on Biden’s Inflation Crisis Senator Rick Scott released a weekly update on his actions to address America’s debt crisis and rising inflation. This week, Senator Rick Scott announced his introduction of the Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act . This legislation will provide American homeowners an above-the-line tax deduction of up to $10,000 of premiums paid for homeowners’ insurance annually at their primary residence. Following this announcement, Senator Scott released the following statement. See coverage of Senator Scott’s Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act from WINK News in Fort Myers HERE and below.
Read more HERE . Lea más en español AQUÍ. IN THE NEWS IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… Florida Politics: Rick Scott pushes for tax break for homeowners’ insurance In case you missed it, as Florida recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Debby and families continue to struggle with surging costs, Florida Politics wrote a story highlighting Senator Rick Scott’s Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act to provide American homeowners an above-the-line tax deduction of up to $10,000 of premiums paid for homeowners’ insurance annually at their primary residence. Additionally, the article mentions Senator Scott’s push to pass his Flood Insurance Relief Act to provide tax relief for Americans who purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In the article , Florida Politics journalist A.G. Gancarski wrote, “In the wake of Hurricane Debby, one Florida Senator’s bill may offer some offsets from spikes in insurance premiums. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act would offer, per his office, an above-the-line tax deduction of up to $10,000 of insurance premiums at homesteaded properties. “The Senator notes that ‘soaring property insurance costs’ are part of why the ‘dream of homeownership is out of reach’ for many. “’While the business of property insurance is handled by the states, there is one thing the federal government can do to help lower costs for families. My new legislation, the Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act, will provide direct relief for families in Florida and across the nation with a deduction of up to $10,000 in homeowners insurance premiums paid on their primary residence,’ Scott said. “Earlier this year, the Senator introduced parallel legislation (S.4143 ) to amend the tax code to provide an above-the-line deduction for flood insurance premiums .” Read the full article in Florida Politics HERE and read more about Senator Scott’s Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act HERE . West Orlando News: Sen. Rick Scott to Fed Chair: Failure to Meet Balance Sheet Reduction Goals Unacceptable Tampa Free Press: Florida Sen. Rick Scott Joins Effort Urging NCAA To Keep Biological Men Out Of Women’s Sports Florida’s Voice: Sen. Scott proposes Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act amid rising costs, hurricane recovery Florida Politics: Rick Scott pushes for tax break for homeowners’ insurance
Senator Scott also received a briefing at the Manatee County Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday regarding Hurricane Debby recovery efforts from local law enforcement leaders and emergency management officials. |
