U.S. Sen. Rick Scott lamented at a law enforcement roundtable that Senate Democrats won't support intercepting fentanyl at the border. But the Naples Republican voted against doing so twice.
Scott irked Democrats after a May 10 Kissimmee appearance with local law enforcement by begging the opioid crisis on President Joe Biden's administration.
"I won't stand by as fentanyl kills another 76,000 Americans this year. Getting my END FENTANYL Act signed into law is a big deal, but we can't stop there," Scott posted on social media after the event. "I'm fighting every day to force Biden to secure the border & hold his admin accountable to end this deadly crisis."
Scott told WESH that the problems with the fentanyl crisis start at better patrolling the border. And during the roundtable itself, Scott traced a rush in drugs crossing the border to two weeks after Biden took office. And he complained that he faced resistance in a Democrat-controlled Senate to have legislation considered.
"I've proposed a lot of bills. We've struggled to get them passed," he said.
But Democrats pounced and said Scott has also voted against bills that included better border patrol of drug trafficking. That included voting against a bipartisan border package that initially failed on a 50-49 vote, and which included The FEND Off Fentanyl Act. The measure later passed on a bipartisan 79-18 vote, but Scott still voted against it.
That FEND Off Fentanyl Act requires the administration to sanction foreign individuals connected to drug cartels, empowers the forfeiture of property and authorizes the Treasury Department to employ special measures to attack fentanyl-connected money laundering. It also requires annual reports to Congress on actions taken to reduce the international trafficking of fentanyl and related opioids.
The border package was negotiated in bipartisan fashion but notoriously faced opposition in Congress after former President Donald Trump urged lawmakers to reject a deal during an Election year.
"Rick Scott cares more about scoring political points than addressing Florida's fentanyl crisis," reads a statement from the Florida Democratic Party. "That's why he voted against the FEND Off Fentanyl Act and the bipartisan border security deal backed by the Border Patrol Union. Floridians see right through Scott's self-serving politics and will hold him accountable in November."
Scott of note did discuss bipartisan legislation he introduced that did pass in the Senate. The Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of life (END FENTANYL) Act was signed by Biden in March. The bill passed in the Senate by unanimous consent.
But Scott made clear the bill isn't a solution on its own and still pegged the nation's fentanyl problems on the President.
"I won't stand by as fentanyl kills another 76,000 Americans this year. Getting my END FENTANYL Act signed into law is a big deal, but we can't stop there," Scott posted on social media. "I'm fighting every day to force Biden to secure the border & hold his admin accountable to end this deadly crisis."
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