Sen. Rick Scott's Bipartisan END FENTANYL Act Signed Into Law |
| On March 18th, Senator Rick Scott's bipartisan legislation, the Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of Life (END FENTANYL) Act, was signed into law by President Joe Biden. The END FENTANYL Act will require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to update its policies at least once every three years to ensure operational field manuals, including their drug interdiction guidance, are up to date. This legislation builds off the 2019 GAO report, "Land Ports of Entry: CBP Should Update Policies and Enhance Analysis of Inspections," that found drug interdiction guidance has not been updated in 20 years. The END FENTANYL Act was cosponsored by Senators Jacky Rosen, Mike Braun, Maggie Hassan and Mark Kelly. Representatives Michael Guest and David Trone led the charge in the House of Representatives. Senator Rick Scott said, "For nearly two years, I have been fighting to make my bipartisan END FENTANYL Act law. I am proud that Congress finally passed, and the president signed into law, this important legislation to better combat America's lethal opioid epidemic. President Biden must do more to secure the border and stop the deadly fentanyl that continues to flow illegally into the U.S. over the southern border and kills tens of thousands of our citizens. I look forward to seeing the Biden administration immediately implement this law and give America's brave CBP agents the tools needed to keep these dangerous drugs out of our communities. While nothing can heal the crushing heartbreak felt by the hundreds of thousands of families torn apart by fentanyl and who have lost loved ones, the END FENTANYL Act will make a difference in our fight to end the suffering. I am grateful for the strong support of Senators Jacky Rosen, Mike Braun, Maggie Hassan and Mark Kelly, and Representatives Michael Guest and David Trone in getting this done." The END FENTANYL Act:
Read more HERE. Vea abajo la version en Español. — See more of Sen. Rick Scott's fight for a secure border below: Sen. Rick Scott Leads Resolution Affirming Biden's Authority to Immediately Secure the Border On March 25th, Senator Rick Scott led Senators Ted Cruz, Shelley Moore Capito, John Hoeven, Marco Rubio, Kevin Cramer, Josh Hawley, Ted Budd, Marsha Blackburn, Tom Cotton, Tim Scott, Roger Marshall, Ron Johnson, Mike Braun and Cindy Hyde-Smith in announcing an introduction of a resolution in the U.S. Senate denouncing the Biden administration's open border policies which have allowed more than 9 million individuals to illegally cross the U.S. southern border since President Joe Biden took office. This resolution is being led in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz (TX-15) and passed with bipartisan support. Senator Rick Scott said, "President Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas have created the worst border security crisis in our nation's history. The Biden administration's open border policies have incentivized the unlawful crossing of the U.S. southern border by more than 9 million illegal aliens, including criminal aliens and suspected terrorists, from all around the world. The laws of the United States are the same today as they were when President Trump successfully secured our southern border. Everyone knows that President Biden used executive power to open the border and has the authority to close and secure the border but is purposefully failing to do so. I am proud to lead my colleagues in this resolution which affirms the authority of President Biden and his administration to secure the border and immediately end this crisis." Read the full text of the resolution HERE. Read more HERE. — Sen. Rick Scott on Fox Business: VP Harris Must Preside Over Mayorkas Impeachment Trial In case you missed it, Senator Rick Scott appeared on Fox Business to call for an end to the Biden administration's border crisis and discuss his letter to Vice President Kamala Harris urging her to fulfill her constitutional duty to serve as the presiding officer of Secretary Mayorkas' trial. As the President of the Senate, Vice President Harris is the appropriate constitutional presiding officer to oversee the impeachment trial of Secretary Mayorkas, and her appointment as President Biden's "border czar" only makes her role in the Mayorkas impeachment trial more critical. Read the full letter HERE. Watch the interview HERE or in the video from Fox Business below.
Read more HERE. — Sens. Rick Scott & Mike Lee Lead Call for Senate Trial on Mayorkas' Impeachment On February 20th, Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Mike Lee to lead their colleagues in sending a letter to Leader Mitch McConnell, noting the Senate's constitutional responsibility to conduct a thorough trial following the House's impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Joining Senators Scott and Lee were Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Ron Johnson (R-WI), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Read more HERE. — On February 20th, Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris urging her to fulfill her constitutional duty to serve as the presiding officer of Secretary Mayorkas's trial following the House of Representatives impeaching him last week. As the President of the Senate, Vice President Harris is the appropriate constitutional presiding officer to oversee the impeachment trial of Secretary Mayorkas, and her appointment as President Biden's "border czar" only makes her role in the Mayorkas impeachment trial more critical. Read the full letter HERE. Read more HERE. — On February 9th, Senators Rick Scott and Ted Cruz led their colleagues in introducing the Keeping International Land Ports of Entry Open Act to prohibit Joe Biden from closing commercial ports of entry and diverting Customs and Border Protection staff from facilitating lawful commerce to processing illegal aliens. Senators Scott and Cruz were joined by Sens. Pete Ricketts, Mike Lee and Marsha Blackburn in introducing the bill. Senator Rick Scott said, "Democrats do not care about border security, and everything that the Biden administration does proves that fact to the American people. We must do everything possible to force Joe Biden to secure the border and limit his ability to make stupid decisions that hurt U.S. trade. This good bill does just that, and I urge the Senate to pass it immediately." Read the full text of the bill HERE. BACKGROUND: The Biden administration closed four border ports of entry in December, including 2 key railroad bridges in El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas. These closures gave the appearance that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was assisting Border Patrol. However, the CBP's monthly update admitted that the agents were used to "quickly process individuals encountered." Shutting down lawful commerce to welcome illegal aliens is unacceptable. This decision shut down approximately $250 million in commerce per day. The agricultural sector suffered in particular from rippling effects across the network since Mexico is a large market for grain exports, with $28.5 billion in sales in 2022. The Keeping International Land Ports of Entry Open Act would prevent DHS from diverting staff away from ports of entry unless there is a delineated exception. The exceptions include deploying CBP agents to physically secure the border, but they do not allow staff diversions for mere administrative work like welcoming in illegal aliens. Read more HERE. — Sen. Rick Scott: Abandoning Voters Doomed the So-Called "Border Security" Deal
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On February 6th, Senator Rick Scott led a press conference with Senate conservatives to voice their strong opposition to the recently released "border deal." Joining Senator Scott were Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO). Following the press conference, Senator Scott released the following statement.
Senator Rick Scott said, "It was a TOTAL FAILURE of Mitch McConnell to abandon the voters by keeping nearly every member of the Senate GOP Conference in the dark to craft an immigration bill falsely labeled as a border security bill. I want a secure border, and so do people in my state of Florida. That's not what this bill does. Not only does this bill not force President Biden to secure the border, it codifies catch-and-release letting millions of illegal aliens into the country, funds sanctuary cities, gives illegal aliens U.S. jobs and spends your tax dollars so they can have free attorneys. If that's not bad enough, it also spends $10 BILLION to fund the salaries of Ukraine's government employees and lets BILLIONS go to Gaza, which is still dominated by the Hamas terrorists that killed 1,200 Israelis, more than 30 Americans, and are still holding Americans hostage. That won't fly. We can't forget: BIDEN is leading a lawless administration – we have to force his hand to actually secure the border and protect U.S. national security, not give money to terrorists. Anything short of that is an unacceptable failure."
View Senator Scott's remarks HERE. Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott joins Sen. Rand Paul in Letter to Senate Leadership on Proposed Border Bill
On February 1st, Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Rand Paul and their Republican colleagues on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The letter urges that any proposed bill affecting border security should undergo careful consideration by the committees of jurisdiction, which includes HSGAC. The senators stressed the need for all members to be afforded the opportunity to thoroughly review and consider any proposed changes that have significant consequences on our nation's security, immigration system and taxpayers.
Read more HERE.
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Sen. Rick Scott & Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Applaud Committee Passage of CHECKPOINT Act
On February 1st, Senators Rick Scott and Kyrsten Sinema applauded the passage of their Continuing High-Quality Evaluations of Concerning and Known Persons of Interest through National Training Updates (CHECKPOINT) Act out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC). This bipartisan bill will require regular updates to drug seizure data collection categories, reporting requirements, and responsibilities for checkpoints and secondary inspection sites operated by the U.S. Border Patrol. This legislation makes recommended changes to the procedures following reports from the Government Accountability Office and will increase the accountability of the Checkpoint Program Management Office leadership. It now heads to the Senate floor for consideration.
Senator Rick Scott said, "It's heart-wrenching and terrifying that fentanyl continues to flow across our southern border and into U.S. communities where it takes more lives every single day. We cannot allow this drug to continue endangering American families. This commonsense legislation will make several updates to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection training and procedures of the Checkpoint Program Management Office to ensure we are doing everything possible to seize these drugs from dangerous criminals before they harm our communities. I'm glad to have bipartisan support for the Continuing High-quality Evaluations of Concerning and Known Persons of Interest through National Training Updates (CHECKPOINT) Act, and I'm thankful it passed out of committee this week. I won't stop fighting for this bill's full passage so that we may take another step toward ending the deadly fentanyl smuggling happening at our border."
- Codify the Checkpoint Program Management Office (CPMO) and require an accountable Assistant Chief of Border Patrol for the office to clarify the roles, responsibilities, and actions necessary to carry out their important mission;
- Require the CPMO to regularly coordinate with Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Border Patrol Offices that support checkpoint operations;
- Require the Chief and Assistant Chief to regularly update categories for seizure collection data to most effectively capture this information;
- Require a data collection plan to develop goals and milestones for improving checkpoint data collection, improve the reliability and accuracy of data collected, and address issues related to data collection identified in GAO-22-104568;
- Require data on the use of the Border Enforcement Secondary Tool, license plate reader technology, and any additional tools developed to document information about secondary inspections and checkpoints; and
- Require an annual report to HSGAC and House Homeland on the data required to be collected, steps taken to implement this bill, and actions taken to ensure proper oversight of the CPMO.
Read more HERE.
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