Earlier in 2021, the Biden Administration announced a bipartisan infrastructure bill that dedicated $1 billion to protect and restore the Everglades in South Florida.
One of Florida's U.S. Senators, Rick Scott, claimed at a January 25th event at the Hebert Hoover Dike at Lake Okeechobee that he was "proud" to help secure the largest single money amount ever allocated by the federal government.
However, our partners at Politifact showed the Republican voted against the law that funded the project.
“Sen. Scott was one of many Republicans who have taken issue with the spending involved in that bill," said managing editor Katie Sanders. "He said he didn’t want the government to spend more money to borrow more money.”
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Sanders said it's part of a long political tradition of lawmakers claiming credit for something they voted against, hoping the voters don't notice or don't care.
It happened in March 2021, when not a single Republican voted for the American Rescue Plan but several promoted its programs. A decade before, some Republicans who voted against President Obama's stimulus package ended up promoting it.
"When we were looking into this particular example with Sen. Scott, we found this is just another chapter in a really long book," Sanders said. "Representatives in Congress voted against something and then went back home and tout the projects the money actually paid for.”
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Sen. Scott's office did not respond to a request from Politifact for comment. Florida's other U.S. Senator, Republican Marco Rubio, also voted against the infrastructure bill.
