Rick Scott backs bill to pay Coast Guard
Gov. Rick Scott approved nearly $30 million for the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, funding an additional eight job-growth projects.

IMG_2160
SB 21 now has a bipartisan list of 23 cosponsors including Rick Scott and Marco Rubio.

Florida’s U.S. Sen. Rick Scott announced Wednesday he is co-sponsoring a bill to pay service members in the U.S. Coast Guard during the partial government shutdown.

Senate Bill 21 was introduced by U.S. Sen. John Thune, the Republican from South Dakota, and now has a bipartisan list of 23 cosponsors including Scott and Florida’s other Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. It seeks to make continuing appropriations for Coast Guard pay in the event of any expiration of appropriations acts that lead to partial government shutdowns. The bill also provides for such other benefits as housing allowances.

The current shutdown is in its 26th day.

“Our men and women risk their lives every day to protect our freedom and our way of life. Congress has failed to pass a budget and keep government funded; the men and women of our Coast Guard shouldn’t be punished for the dysfunction of Washington,” Scott stated in a news release issued by his office. “I am proud to support the Pay Our Coast Guard Act, which ensures our military men and women receive their salary while they perform their duties to protect and defend our nation, and I will always do everything I can to make sure they have all the resources they need to keep us safe.”

 The Senate bill has two related bills in the U.S. House of Representatives, including House Resolution 367, cosponsored by Democratic U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Stephanie Murphy, Darren Soto, and Kathy Castor, and Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, all of Florida.

There are currently 4,879 active duty U.S. Coast Guard members in Florida affected by the shutdown. The U.S. Coast Guard patrols the beaches, shore waters, and maritime territory of the state, conducts search and rescue operations, and intercepts boat shipments of illegal drugs and the victims of human trafficking, among other duties.

Scott Powers

Scott Powers is an Orlando-based political journalist with 30+ years’ experience, mostly at newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel and the Columbus Dispatch. He covers local, state and federal politics and space news across much of Central Florida. His career earned numerous journalism awards for stories ranging from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster to presidential elections to misplaced nuclear waste. He and his wife Connie have three grown children. Besides them, he’s into mystery and suspense books and movies, rock, blues, basketball, baseball, writing unpublished novels, and being amused. Email him at [email protected].


One comment

  • Linda Higgins

    January 22, 2019 at 10:09 pm

    Thank you Senator Scott, so much for seeing to money for our service men and woman. I feel terrible that any. One has to go without their pay checks, I also know that we need the border wall badly. Pelosi needs to get off her hi horse and get President Trump the money for the wall. For our protection from drugs and human trafficking and from our police being killed. This is an absolute necessity. Please do all you can, thanks.

Comments are closed.


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories