After putting forward ten ideas to compete economically with China, Rick Scott voted against them
According to a recent report from the American Independent, NRSC Chair Rick Scott voted against the very ideas that he bragged about in a press release last month. During a speech in February, Scott laid out 10 ways the U.S. can take on China and strengthen its economy. A month later he shot himself in the foot and voted against the COMPETES Act.
The bill, backed by President Biden and congressional Democrats, will “invest billions in American manufacturing and enhance the ability of domestic businesses to compete internationally.”
The COMPETES bill does many of the things Scott proposed in his speech: promotes American-made goods, reviews the presence of Chinese companies in U.S. capital markets, reports on Chinese influence, prohibits the use of TikTok on government-controlled devices, and bars the use of unmanned aircraft systems made in China.
Democrats came up with a solution to make America less dependent on China and Scott managed to clown himself yet again. That’s a win-win.
American Independent: Rick Scott voted against American manufacturing ideas he touted in his own plan
By Josh Israel | April 5, 2022
Key Points:
- “On Feb. 10, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) gave a speech at the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute that included 10 ideas for how the United States could beat “our enemy,” China, in what he called “a New Cold War.”
- “During his speech, he lauded Trump, who repeatedly praised and defended the Chinese regime during his single term in the White House, for having “opened the eyes of everyday Americans to the goals of that evil regime.” Scott also attacked President Joe Biden for not following his predecessor’s “proven playbook” to counter China.”
- “He then described the 10 ideas for policies he would like to see adopted, including some of the exact policy ideas Scott scolded Biden for not adopting.”
- “The COMPETES bill establishes an office to promote American-made goods, creates a supply chain database and toolkit, establishes a BuyAmerican.gov website, and invests billions of dollars in funding to help manufacture more items like microchips domestically.”
- “‘Second, we have to stop giving U.S. capital to Chinese-based companies through our stock exchanges, investments, and index funds,’ Scott urged. ‘We should get them out of retirement accounts and our pension plans. They refuse to be transparent about their accounting practices and we shouldn’t be putting American investors and retirees at risk.’”
- “Scott also said the United States needs to ‘face off against Communist China in international institutions. We cannot let Beijing into positions of power at the United Nations, at the IMF, the World Bank… THE OLYMPICS.’”
- “‘And finally,’ Scott concluded, ‘we need to think about how they’re penetrating our technology. I’ve introduced legislation to ban TikTok on government devices and to prevent Chinese-made drones, like those from DJI, from being used by government agencies.’”
- “Asked about his vote against all these provisions, a spokesperson for Scott referred the American Independent Foundation to a March 21 press release in which Scott called the bill a ‘$250 billion failure.’”
- “Scott’s controversial 11-point Rescue America plan — lambasted by Democrats and even by Fox News for raising taxes on over 100 million Americans and allowing vital programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to expire every five years — also includes a call for an ‘America First’ strategy to make the United States less dependent on China.”
Read the full story.
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Published: Apr 6, 2022