Senate Passes Rick Scott's "Buy American" Resolution

Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) praised the Senate for passing his and Senator Tammy Baldwin’s bipartisan "Buy American resolution that urges Americans to buy products that are made in the United States to support both American jobs and manufacturing.

In turn, it is also meant to help build up the United States supply chain.

In a statement, the former Governor of Florida stated that “this outbreak has shown that we cannot continue to rely on our adversaries, like Communist China, who lied about the coronavirus and refused to be a partner in solving the crisis, for our critical supplies.”

Acknowledging that “it’s not always easy,” Scott asserted that “buying American is an important step we can all take at home to support American jobs, American producers and American manufacturers while helping build up the U.S. supply chain.”

He concluded by affirming his commitment “to supporting American businesses and jobs, and ensuring America remain strong as the undisputed leader of the global economy.”

This year, the tension between the United States has increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Senator Scott has remained a firm critic of China’s handling of the coronavirus. This has resulted in the Florida lawmaker calling for the United States to limit its dependence on China, which he says will not happen under a Biden presidency. Because of that, Scott has raised concerns over the relationship between both countries, warning that Biden would make it easier for China to "steal our tech & jobs."

The passing of the resolution also comes at a time when lawmakers have compromised on a COVID-19 relief package to help Americans and businesses that are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement came this week as both the House and Senate passed on the bill, and the bill has now been directed to President Trump's (R) desk for his signature.