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Dear Fellow Floridian,
I have great news for everyone who takes prescription drugs: this week my bipartisan Consumer Labeling for Enhanced API Reporting and Legitimate Accountability for Base Entity Listings (CLEAR LABELS) Act passed out of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee!
The bill — which would require country of origin labeling requirements to the U.S.’s prescription drug supply chain — passed the committee with a bipartisan vote of 21-1. Now it’s time for the House to pass it and send it to President Trump for his signature.
Americans deserve to know where their medicine comes from. Many prescription drugs, and their active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), are manufactured overseas in countries with lower safety standards like Communist China and India, and current federal labeling requirements do not require disclosure of where those ingredients or finished products are made. That’s why I have been fighting hard to protect America’s drug supply and give American consumers transparency.
This is also a matter of national security. We shouldn’t be dependent on Communist China for anything. They hoarded critical medical equipment during the pandemic and left the rest of world hanging out to dry. As long as they’re entangled in our supply chains, they can always do it again. We can’t let that happen. A country that cannot supply itself cannot protect itself.
This Sunday on News4Jax I will discuss all of this and how important this legislation is for the American people. Everyone can watch the interview at 9 am ET!
In addition, this week the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act also passed through the Senate HELP Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support. This legislation would require hospitals and insurers to publicly disclose healthcare prices, giving patients the ability to compare costs before receiving care. Too often we see patients get stuck with outrageous medical bills or patients who decide not to seek the medical care they need due to hidden prices. This bill will end this practice and give the American people the clarity they need to make their own medical decisions.
The bottom line is that the American people deserve transparency in their healthcare system, both in drug labeling and in pricing overall. They deserve a medical system that works or them and serves them as patients, not just profit centers. That’s the healthcare system I believe in, it’s the one I always tried to provide in my hospitals, and it’s the one I promise to keep fighting for as your U.S. Senator.
Sincerely,
Rick Scott
United States Senator
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Sens. Rick Scott, Marsha Blackburn Introduce Bill to Memorialize Victims of Communist Chinese Tyranny
U.S. Senators Rick Scott and Marsha Blackburn introduced the Honoring the Victims of Communist China’s Tyranny Act, a bill to create a permanent memorial in Washington, D.C. to honor those killed by authoritarian Communist ideology and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dating back to Mao Zedong. The memorial would be placed in a public park directly across from the CCP embassy in Washington, D.C.
Senator Rick Scott said, “Xi Jinping and Communist China are responsible for some of the worst human rights violations in human history. Those who are brave enough to fight back and speak up against them pay the price, like my friend, Jimmy Lai. Countless others have been forced into slave labor; some face torture, forced sterilization, organ harvesting, and other horrors. As Xi’s henchmen at the embassy walk into work every day, they should have to face the litany of crimes in which they’ve been complicit. The people of China deserve nothing less than the God-given liberty and unalienable rights America’s founders fought for 250 years ago. America should have zero tolerance for Communist China and its crimes.”
Sens. Rick Scott, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville Introduce Bill to Create Secretary of the Coast Guard Position
U.S. Senators Rick Scott, Dan Sullivan, and Tommy Tuberville introduced the Coast Guard Leadership Modernization Act. This bill would create a Secretary of the U.S. Coast Guard, mirroring a position across all other branches of the U.S Armed Forces. Currently, the Coast Guard lacks a dedicated civilian leadership position, and it defaults to the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.
Senator Rick Scott said, “The Coast Guard has a unique and highly specialized mission to protect our country from threats posed by smugglers, drug traffickers, terrorists, and other lawbreakers, and it deserves a service secretary to oversee and coordinate its operations, just like every other branch of the military. This bill creates a Secretary of the Coast Guard in federal law to ensure the Service has the leadership it needs to take on the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. This is a matter of readiness and national security; Congress should pass this immediately so President Trump can make his nomination, and the Senate can get to work on confirmation.”
Full text of the bill can be found HERE.
Read more HERE.
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Chairman Rick Scott, Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand Applaud Senate HELP Committee Passage of CLEAR LABELS Act
U.S. Senator Rick Scott, Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand celebrated the passage of their Consumer Labeling for Enhanced API Reporting and Legitimate Accountability for Base Entity Listings (CLEAR LABELS) Act out of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Senators Tommy Tuberville, Katie Britt, Ron Johnson, Ashley Moody, Mike Lee, Kevin Cramer, Chuck Grassley, Pete Ricketts, Joni Ernst, and Alan Armstrong are cosponsors of this legislation.
The CLEAR LABELS Act — which would add country of origin labeling requirements to the U.S.’s prescription drug supply chain — passed the committee with a bipartisan vote of 21-1. It now heads to the full Senate for final passage from the chamber.
Chairman Rick Scott said, “Today’s passage of the CLEAR LABELS Act in the U.S. Senate HELP Committee is a massive win for consumer safety and transparency, and America’s national security. Through more than a half dozen hearings and our investigative report, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging has exposed the dangers posed by foreign generic drugs, especially those made in Communist China and India. Our work has shown the urgent need for reforms to ensure Americans know where their drugs are made so they can be confident that their medications are safe for themselves and their families. I want to thank Ranking Member Gillibrand for leading this important legislation with me, and HELP Chairman Bill Cassidy and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders for their partnership to secure committee passage of this good bill. We cannot be depended on an evil foreign adversary for medications that our seniors, our military, and millions of Americans rely on. I look forward to passing this bill in the Senate and House of Representatives, so President Trump can sign it into law as soon as possible.”
Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott Sends Letter to Boost Florida Stevia Farmers, Block Chinese Market Saturation
U.S. Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Ambassador Julie Callahan, the chief agricultural negotiator for the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, highlighting the emergence of Florida’s stevia market and how cheap Chinese stevia – produced by slave labor and of questionable quality – undercuts American farmers and workers.
Senator Rick Scott said, “With appropriate protections, American farmers have the capacity to meet this demand and to grow well beyond it as consumers increasingly seek a safe, transparent, and natural low-calorie sweetener option that supports farmers, protects consumers, and strengthens public health. This supply chain is achievable, but it cannot be built or sustained without U.S. government intervention to counteract China’s structural excess capacity to grow and process this crop.”
Read the letter HERE.
Read more HERE.
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Senator Scott's Team in Orlando
Senator Scott's team attended the Colombian Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida’s Colombian 216th Independence Day Celebration in Orlando.
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Senator Scott's Team in Naples
Senator Scott's team team toured the Collier Veterans History Museum.
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Senator Scott's Team in Coconut Creek
Senator Scott's team held Mobile Office Hours at the Coconut Creek Government Center.
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Senator Scott's Team in Miami
Senator Scott's team joined local elected officials, South Florida Congressional representatives, the Department of State, and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department at Miami International Airport to mark the departure of the first relief flight to Cuba.
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Senator Scott's Team in Temple Terrace
Additionally, Senator Scott's team attended a Project FOCUS workshop in Temple Terrace with an emphasis on disaster preparedness and emergency response training for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
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Senator Scott's Team in Tallahassee
Senator Scott's team held Mobile Office Hours at the Leon County Sheriff's Office.
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