Rick Scott

Mr. President, Positioning · 20 wordsreserving the right to object, first off, I want to say that I respect my colleague’s concern about the environment.Positioning Claims · 25 wordsSince I have been in the Senate, he has been very consistent about his concern about what we all should be doing for the environment, Reasoning · 17 wordsand I think we ought to take it very seriously--whatever we can do to protect our environment. Procedure · 10 wordsBut, today, I rise to object, to oppose this resolution.Procedure Anecdote · 71 wordsI have been to the Palisades. I have walked through the destruction. I saw the homes that were destroyed. I met with the people who lost everything. I talked to victims--including Spencer Pratt--and heard firsthand what they experienced and what they are still going through. We are talking about families who lost their homes, their possessions, their communities--in some cases, their loved ones. Today, those victims are still looking for answers.AnecdoteOff point Mr. President, Claims · 154 words12 people lost their lives in the Palisades fire, including vulnerable seniors.¹ As chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging, I felt a duty to make sure those families got some answers. I held a hearing to hear directly from survivors and understand what happened to seniors and other vulnerable Americans who were trying to prepare, evacuate, and recover. I have also been working with Senator Ron Johnson to get to the bottom of what happened through our work on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.⁷ Senator Johnson and I launched an investigation--a congressional investigation--because the victims deserve answers and accountability. We are looking at what happened before, during, and after the fire. We are looking at wildfire prevention and mitigation. We are looking at water and infrastructure. We are looking at staffing and preparedness. We are looking at evacuation plans and communications. We are looking at the decisions made by State and local officials. Procedure · 6 wordsOne thing is clear to everyone: ProcedureUnearned certaintyClaims · 5 wordsCalifornia had serious leadership failures. Procedure · 6 wordsHere is what we do know.Procedure Claims · 96 wordsIn the months leading up to the fire, Mayor Karen Bass cut the Los Angeles Fire Department budget by $17.6 million.² One month before the fire, the L.A. fire chief wrote in a memo that the budget cuts had ``severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.’’ Mayor Bass tried to deflect blame by terminating that fire chief.³ Three days before the fire, Mayor Bass traveled to Ghana, despite warnings of an imminent, life-threatening wind event in Los Angeles.⁴ We know that Gavin Newsom has done nothing.Unearned certainty Positioning · 13 wordsHe has done everything he can, though, to escape responsibility for the fire.Positioning Claims · 74 wordsYet court documents and testimony show that Governor Newsom could and should have closed the Topanga State Park after the Lachman fire in accordance with his own State guidelines. People were still out there hiking while there were underground embers burning. Fire crews were turned away by park officials. None of the State’s predeployed fire crews or trucks in southern California were sent to the Pacific Palisades, even despite the fire just days earlier. Procedure · 3 wordsThe bottom line: ProcedureClaims · 24 wordsKaren Bass and Governor Newsom were responsible for leading their governments through this crisis. They were responsible for preparing for it, and they failed. Reasoning · 19 wordsThe people in the Palisades deserve to know what went wrong and why their communities were not better protected. Promise · 11 wordsSenator Johnson and I are going to keep asking those questions. Claims · 29 wordsOur staff has sent request after request for documents and information. We have gotten delay after delay from California and Los Angeles agencies in providing the information we need. Promise · 55 wordsLet me be clear, we are not going to give up. We are not going to let bureaucratic delays prevent us from getting the answers for these families. We are going to keep requesting the documents. We are going to keep asking the questions. We are going to keep following the facts, wherever they lead. Procedure · 5 wordsSo here is my problem: ProcedureReasoning · 68 wordsI don’t think it is appropriate for a resolution that comes to the Senate and basically, essentially, tries to tell those victims that all of those failures--failure after failure--can be covered up with the vague excuse of climate change. And, clearly, we all know that we have got to take our own advice, take care of our environment, Unearned certaintyand deal with anything that our environment might be doing. Claims · 17 wordsThe correct response is not to spend more money when we already are $43 trillion in debt.⁵ Positioning · 13 wordsIt is an insult to the victims who are still waiting for accountability.Positioning Claims · 45 wordsIt is an insult to the intelligence of every American who can plainly see that Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom failed.Unearned certainty They failed these people. Now, in Florida, we know what responsible wildlife management looks like because I led these efforts as Governor of Florida. Reasoning · 19 wordsWe know you just can’t wait for a wildfire to start and then hope you can put it out. Claims · 11 wordsWe made prescribed burning an important part of wildfire management strategy.⁶ Reasoning · 38 wordsYou have to manage forests. You have to use prescribed fire responsibly. You have to make sure firefighters have the resources and infrastructure they need before disaster strikes. And you have to hold leaders accountable when they fail. Positioning · 5 wordsThat is real wilderness prevention.Positioning Reasoning · 15 wordsWe can’t write it off as climate change. That doesn’t address any of these issues. Positioning · 13 wordsIt just lets the politicians in California pass the buck and escape responsibility.Positioning Reasoning · 18 wordsThe victims of the Palisades fire don’t need Washington passing another resolution telling them what caused their suffering. Claims · 20 wordsThey know. They need answers. They need to know what will be done to make sure this never happens again. Promise · 14 wordsSenator Johnson and I will continue our investigation because the victims deserve nothing less. Claims · 11 wordsWe owe it to the 12 people who lost their lives. Positioning · 25 wordsWe owe it to everyone who lost their homes. We owe it to every American who expects their government to be prepared when disaster strikes.Positioning Promise · 58 wordsSo we are going to keep fighting for the truth. We are going to keep demanding records. We are going to keep demanding accountability. We are not going to give up until we get all the answers. We are not going to let the California officials responsible for these wildfires say climate change caused this as an excuse.Off point Thanks · 10 wordsSo, again, I appreciate my colleague’s concern about the environment.Thanks Reasoning · 19 wordsI agree with him that we have got to be very focused on how we can protect our environment, Procedure · 7 wordsbut, unfortunately, I object to this resolution.ProcedureOff point