Congress is returning to a packed summer agenda as lawmakers face pressure over spending, nominations and election-related legislation ahead of the 2026 midterms. In Washington, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida is arguing that the Senate’s work schedule itself is part of the problem, saying the chamber has met only 79 days this year and that the slowdown is helping stall election security measures. His latest criticism, published July 13 in a Fox News opinion piece and reposted in his Senate newsroom, has renewed attention on how much floor time the Senate is using and what remains stuck on its calendar.
Scott points to 79 session days and a stalled election bill
Scott said the Senate had been in session 79 days, or about 40% of the year so far, in a July 13 opinion article published by Fox News and highlighted the same day in his official Senate newsroom. He argued that senators should remain in Washington longer to finish legislative work, saying election security is among the issues left unresolved. The figure aligns with Scott’s public accounting of how often the chamber has met in 2026.
The election measure at the center of his complaint is the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act. Congress.gov identifies Scott as the sponsor of S. 1383, introduced April 9, 2025, and Senate records show the bill became a legislative vehicle during floor action in March 2026. The Senate agreed on March 17 to proceed to the House message accompanying S. 1383, according to the Senate Daily Press and roll call records.
But the bill has not cleared the Senate. Recent reporting from Axios and statements from Scott’s office show Republican lawmakers have continued discussing paths forward, including renewed floor action and other procedural options, after earlier efforts failed to produce final passage. Scott said in a June 29 appearance highlighted by his office that Republicans still needed a workable route to move the legislation.
For Florida readers, the immediate local angle is that the criticism is coming from one of the state’s two U.S. senators, who is using his national platform to tie Senate scheduling to a core issue in his political message. Scott has repeatedly framed the SAVE America Act as an election integrity measure and has pushed Senate leaders to keep it in focus as the midterm cycle accelerates. His July comments continue that approach.
What is confirmed is that Scott is publicly pressing for more Senate workdays and linking that demand to election legislation. What is not yet known is whether Senate leadership will add meaningful floor time specifically for the SAVE America Act, or whether the bill will instead be folded into another legislative strategy. Public schedules show the Senate returned for business on July 13 after pro forma sessions, but that does not by itself indicate when or whether this legislation will receive a decisive vote.
There is also no new Florida-specific implementation plan because the bill is still stalled in Congress. Scott has not announced a separate state-level policy change tied to these remarks, and the Senate has not released a final timetable for action on the measure. For now, the impact in Florida is political and procedural rather than operational.
The broader context is that the Senate is balancing nominations, appropriations and high-profile national security matters during a shortened summer work period. Reuters reported July 13 that Congress returned from the July 4 break facing a compressed four-week stretch, with defense legislation and government funding issues competing for attention. That crowded agenda helps explain why individual policy priorities can struggle to break through.
Scott’s argument is that the answer is simple: keep senators in session longer. The official Senate legislative schedule lists multiple non-legislative periods throughout 2026, and the Senate’s own daily guidance showed that several recent meetings were pro forma sessions before lawmakers returned for business this week. Scott has used those calendar realities to argue that the chamber is not matching the work pace expected by voters.
For residents watching from Florida and elsewhere, the practical takeaway is that election legislation backed by Scott remains unresolved, even as the debate over Senate priorities grows louder. Unless leadership changes course, the next developments are likely to come through floor scheduling decisions, negotiations over procedural strategy, or broader fights over must-pass legislation later this summer. As of July 15, the bill remains pending and the Senate calendar remains under scrutiny.