Nelson: No. Supports a women's right to choose.
Scott: Yes. "Abortion is wrong & Roe versus Wade should be overturned."
Nelson: Yes. Backed 2017 DISCLOSE ACT requiring ads to disclose funders & major funders to reveal donations.
Scott: No position found.
Support Citizens United decision, allowing unlimited political donations from corporations & unions?
Nelson: No. The decision "opened the floodgates to dark money in campaigns."
Scott: Probable yes. Considers political donations part of exercising the right to free speech.
Protesters took aim at Scott for cutting funding for environmental agencies early in his first term, arguing Scott's cost-cutting and deregulation have kept the state from implementing measures that could have helped minimize naturally occurring red tide blooms.
Scott supporters who came out to see the candidate said it's unfair to blame the governor for the algae bloom when red tide has been documented going back centuries. But Scott's critics say his policies have exacerbated the problem. Red tide blooms start offshore but can feed on nutrients found in nearshore waters. Leaky septic tanks, lawn fertilizer found in stormwater runoff & other factors can add to nutrient levels in nearshore waters.
The governor also cut $700 million from the state's water management districts, which help implement a range of water quality programs. And Scott reduced staffing at the state Department of Environmental Protection and pushed to speed up and streamline environmental permitting, leading some to accuse the state of cutting corners in protecting the environment.
Scott declared a state of emergency last month covering seven counties impacted by the red tide bloom. The governor also has directed $9 million in grant funding to help communities cope with the bloom.
"While red tide is a naturally occurring algae that has been documented along Florida's Gulf Coast since the 1840's, Gov. Scott is fighting to use all available resources to help impacted communities, including declaring a state of emergency and providing millions of dollars in grant funding to Southwest Florida counties for cleanup and recovery efforts," a spokesperson said.
Scott has run a TV ad accusing Nelson of having done nothing during his time in Congress to improve the situation with Lake Okeechobee. Seasonal discharges from the lake have fueled toxic algae blooms along the Treasure Coast and in Southwest Florida.
Whenever heavy rains raise Lake O's water level, the Army Corps of Engineers releases billions of gallons of water from the lake through canals. Since the federal government controls those discharges, Scott blames Nelson for not doing more to stop it.
But the Army Corps doesn't control the quality of the water in the lake. Environmental groups across the state have been harshly critical of Scott's tenure in Tallahassee, saying his administration's budgets cuts for environmental programs helped lead to the water problems now plaguing the state.
Sen. Ron JOHNSON (R-WI): I would not support the law. You know, we send our sons and daughters over to Afghanistan, in Iraq. They defend our freedoms. If they do that, they ought to be able to buy a hunting rifle.
Q: What about an AR-15? 18-year-olds with AR-15s, that's OK?
JOHNSON: We ought to really detail what the operational characteristics are of weapons, rather than just a scary name or a gun that looks a little bit scarier. There are plenty of hunting weapons that basically have the same operational characteristics. And it's already illegal to have a fully automatic weapon. It's illegal to convert a legal weapon into an automatic weapon.
|
The above quotations are from 2018 Florida Senate race: debates and news coverage.
Click here for other excerpts from 2018 Florida Senate race: debates and news coverage. Click here for other excerpts by Rick Scott. Click here for a profile of Rick Scott.
Rick Scott on other issues: |
Abortion
|
Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade
Govt. Reform
| Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles Social Security Tax Reform Technology War/Peace Welfare
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
| Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!) | |||||||