Rick Scott praises Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson’s job performance
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott praised Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson’s job performance Thursday on Florida’s Voice with Brendon Leslie.
Leslie asked Scott about the benefits of a partnership with the commissioner on the state level.
Scott said he had the opportunity to work with Simpson when he was governor and when Simpson was a state senator.
Scott said Simpson has “always been great to work with.”
“I’m glad that he’s the AG Commissioner,” Scott said. “He cares. He cares about our state, he cares about our agricultural community, so it’s nice to have somebody that cares about a very important community.”
The Florida senator said that going forward, he looks forward to working with Simpson in his role as commissioner.
Simpson paired up with Scott in September to promote the Federal Disaster Responsibility Act, aimed at supporting farmers.
Introduced by Scott, the Federal Disaster Responsibility Act dispenses emergency relief for natural disasters such as Hurricane Idalia, which severely impacted Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 3 storm.
This week, Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said she was “grateful” to Simpson and lawmakers for their “tireless work” to draft legislation aimed at disaster relief, which was passed during a special session.
Passidomo said the disaster relief package includes “targeted” programs to help homeowners and businesses.
She said other aspects of the package will “aid in no-interest loan and cost sharing programs for agriculture and timber industries.”
Passidomo said Simpson has “invaluable experience and perspective regarding what it will take for our agriculture and aquaculture businesses to make a full recovery.”
This year, one of Simpson’s top priorities cleared the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis, which entailed banning China from purchasing land across the state.
“When it comes to food, we don’t always think about it as a national security issue,” Simpson said earlier this year.
