DeSantis Campaign Press Release - Ron DeSantis Will Restore Fiscal Sanity and His Record Proves It

Despite the headwinds created by the Trump and Biden administration's inflationary spending, Florida is in a strong fiscal position because Ron DeSantis kept the state open during COVID, signed multiple historic tax relief packages into law, and used his veto pen to curb $6.2 billion in reckless spending. Florida, which has the #1 economy in the nation and is #1 in the nation for net in-migration, is booming thanks to DeSantis' leadership.

Not only is DeSantis' budget balanced, but he has ensured Florida also maintains healthy reserves and pays down debts in record time. Since DeSantis took office in 2019, Florida has paid off nearly one-quarter of the state's outstanding debt – while the national debt has ballooned over the same period. In fact, Florida's credit rating is now higher than that of the U.S. government.

Ron DeSantis' fiscally responsible leadership in Florida builds on his record as a fiscal hawk in Congress, where he voted against multiple establishment-backed spending bills that ran up the national debt.

DeSantis has governed Florida as a fiscal conservative:

• Unlike the federal government, Governor DeSantis has demonstrated fiscal responsibility. Florida's total reserves are $15.3 billion, 13.2 percent of the total budget for the fiscal year, leaving ample resources for any unforeseen circumstances.

• In signing this year's budget, DeSantis established the Debt Reduction Program. This pledged $200 million, along with additional available funds, to immediately pay down state debt, resulting in $400 million in additional debt paid off early prior to maturity. The early payoff announced in July 2023 saves Florida taxpayers nearly $34 million in interest costs.

• Moreover, DeSantis has vetoed $6.2 billion in wasteful spending. In the 2022-2023 fiscal year budget alone, he vetoed over $3 billion. In the current fiscal year, he vetoed $511 million.

• Florida has maintained the highest rating category (AAA) by the three major credit rating agencies for five consecutive years. An August 2023 report from Fitch Ratings reinforces that Florida is "well-positioned to maintain a high level of fundamental financial flexibility through economic downturns, with broad expenditure and revenue controls buttressed by robust reserves." This announcement followed Fitch's recent downgrade of the Federal government's credit rating from AAA to AA+.

Ron DeSantis' fiscally responsible leadership in Florida builds on his record as a fiscal hawk in Congress:

• As a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, DeSantis voted against multiple establishment-backed spending bills that ran up the national debt. Each bill was supported by Paul Ryan, and some were even signed into law by President Trump.

• DeSantis voted against the Paul Ryan-backed $1.3 trillion omnibus package in 2018.

• Trump backed off his veto threat and signed this omnibus package into law despite calling it "ridiculous" and earlier noting it did not fully fund the wall.

• DeSantis voted against the Paul Ryan-backed $1.2 trillion omnibus package in 2017.

• Trump signed the bill into law and called it "a win for the American people."

• Governor DeSantis broke with Paul Ryan to vote to shut down the government and defeat the three-week DHS funding bill in February of 2015.