Florida Senator Rick Scott took to the Senate floor on Saturday to sharply criticize Democratic colleagues as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown continues to leave federal employees without pay. Scott highlighted the financial disparity between lawmakers and the frontline workers currently reporting for duty without compensation.
During his remarks, Scott pointed out that while the average TSA agent earns roughly $50,000 a year, members of the Senate earn an annual salary of $174,000.
He further noted that the average net worth of a Democrat in the Senate sits at approximately $3 million. Scott argued that it is “disgusting” for lawmakers to continue receiving their own pay while more than 260,000 DHS employees are denied theirs.
“These are our fellow citizens. These are patriotic people,” Scott said. “You are torturing them. Meanwhile, every Democrat Senator who voted to start this shutdown is getting paid.”
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The Senator’s comments were sparked by a colleague’s reported remark about needing their own Senate paycheck to cover a mortgage. Scott took aim at the perceived insensitivity of such a statement, given the current situation for working-class federal staff.
“What the hell do you think the people working hard-working people at DHS have to do?” Scott asked. “They have mortgages. They have to pay the rent. They have to buy groceries. It makes you sick. Imagine how it makes someone at TSA feel to hear that?”
Scott, who mentioned that he donates his entire Senate salary every year, clarified that his issue was not with personal wealth itself, but with the decision to withhold pay from DHS staff.
“I’m not here to shame those who worked hard and have been successful in life,” he added. “I’ve worked my butt off during my life, and I’ve been very successful. But I’m also not the one sitting here today, denying a paycheck to the more than 260,000 hard-working Americans at DHS.”
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