Florida’s Senate race between Gov. Rick Scott and Senator Bill Nelson is deadlocked.
These senate could very well decide the balance in that chamber of congress, and if Democrats win the majority in the House, this race becomes all that more important.
Nelson is not the most charismatic candidate, but with Andrew Gillum running statewide for governor, the like-able Democrats from Tallahassee appears to have helped the elder senator’s electability numbers go up.
Because his voting record reflects a liberal ideology, Nelson served as a rubber stamp for President Obama during his eight years in office and embodies the “Deep State Swamp” Trump campaign against.
Scott has already framed Nelson as being a career politician who embodies the very same “swamp” he and Trump look to drain.
Now Scott is putting his campaign advertising money where his mouth is, putting forth a 10-point plan to “Make Washington Work Again.”
One of his proposals will surely put a smile on most American faces, as Scott wants to end taxpayer-funded congressional pensions and keep congress from raising their salaries.
Will this plan work for Floridians, Americans across the nation?
Here is Scott's 10-point plan
Term Limits
Career politicians are never going to change Washington, which is why Governor Scott is proposing to implement term limits for all members of Congress. Implementing term limits will help ensure elected officials work for Americans, not for themselves.
Supermajority Vote To Approve Any Tax Or Fee Increase
Just like Governor Scott championed this year in Florida, he will work to require a supermajority vote of two-thirds of each house of Congress to approve any tax or fee increase before it can become law. This proposal helps ensure Congress rightfully treats tax and fee increases as an absolute last resort, not as a knee-jerk reaction to fund government waste.
Line Item Veto
Just like in Florida, a line item veto gives more oversight to the budget process and helps ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely and with the best return on investment. Governor Scott has saved Floridians nearly $2.4 billion by using his line item veto authority to eliminate more than 1,800 pet projects from state budgets over the past seven and a half years.
No Budget, No Pay
Governor Scott will work to require Congress to pass an annual budget and meet appropriations bill deadlines, or they will be required to forgo their own salaries until the job is done – no budget, no pay. If Florida business owners failed to budget or do their jobs, they would be forced to shut their doors and families would be out of work. It’s not fair that we do not hold government to the same standards we hold ourselves. To further protect tax payer dollars, if Congress does not pass its spending bills on time, an automatic spending freeze should be implemented.
Full-Time Salary For Full-Time Work
The gridlocks we see every day in Washington show that Congress clearly doesn’t give themselves enough time to get anything done. As a result, Congress often fails to secure results for the Americans they serve, and frequently rushes to complete its most basic legislative work, even by voting on bills without reading them. Governor Scott will work to require Congress to put in full-time work for a full-time salary, just like hard working Americans across the country.
End Government Waste
Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability when it comes to spending their hard-earned dollars. Eliminating the concept of omnibus bills, which can total thousands of pages and trillions of dollars in spending, is an important step to increase transparency and deliberation in Congress – and put our nation on the path to responsible spending.
Improve Transparency And Accountability
While Congress needs to stop the growth of federal spending, it also needs the best advice it can get in doing so. Unfortunately, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Congress’ non-partisan scorekeeper, does not always fulfill its duty to act in an open and transparent manner when analyzing legislation. Governor Scott’s proposal includes reforming the Congressional Budget Office to improve transparency and accountability.
Stop Congress Members From Cashing In As Lobbyists
Congress should not serve as a training ground for future lobbyists. Governor Scott will work to end the revolving door by proposing to ban former Members of Congress from lobbying outright – or at the very least, extending the “cooling off” period for Members of Congress to work as lobbyists to a minimum of 10 years.
End Congressional Pay Raises And Pensions
Congressional members should not have the ability to vote for their own pay raises – especially since every dollar is at the taxpayer’s expense. Governor Scott will work to require that salaries for Congressional members remain locked in from the day they are elected until the day their term ends. Furthermore, serving in Congress should not be a career – and Governor Scott will work to ensure taxpayers no longer have to foot the pension bill for Members of Congress.
Stop Unfair Big Government-Run Insurance Subsidies
Currently, members of Congress receive insurance subsidies that can total well into the five figures on top of their generous pay. This is unacceptable and Governor Scott will work to stop this unfair and unethical practice.
