This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio
On Friday, I released the following statement after President Trump declared a national emergency in response to the coronavirus. Read more here.
On Tuesday, I joined Fox News’s Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss the coronavirus and combatting our supply chain risk. Watch the video here.
On Thursday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I convened a hearing titled “The Coronavirus and America’s Small Business Supply Chain.” Watch my opening remarks here.
On Thursday, I joined Fox News’s Fox & Friends to discuss the coronavirus and the 2020 election. Watch the video here.
Last Friday, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and I, Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sent a letter to Jovita Carranza, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), asking for the agency’s plan to work with states to approve Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for entities affected by the novel coronavirus as per the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, signed into law by the President today. Read more here.
Last Friday, I joined Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bob Casey (D-PA), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, in urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take action to protect seniors following the confirmation of community transmission of the coronavirus in the United States.The members pointed out that older Americans are at much higher risk of deadly complications related to COVID-19. Read more here.
On Wednesday, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and I published an op-ed in Fox News detailing the steps the United States must make in order to rebuild our domestic supply chain. Read the full article here.
On Wednesday, I praised the Trump Administration’s forthcoming Executive Order that will enforce Buy American Act requirements for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. Restoring Buy American Act preferences for pharmaceuticals is a part of my coronavirus plan which I released last month. Read more here.
On Thursday, I published an op-ed in National Review advocating for an increase in business spending in order to rebuild domestic productive capacity and help the economy recover from the effects of the coronavirus. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I led my Florida colleagues in urging Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to select Florida as the permanent location for the headquarters of the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM). Recently, Secretary Esper testified to Congress that the Department of Defense (DOD) would be reassessing where the permanent location for USSPACECOM headquarters should be located. Read more here.
On Wednesday, as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, I issued a statement after the State Department published its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I met with representatives from the Florida League of Cities to discuss local priorities, including coronavirus preparedness and federal grant funding for local infrastructure projects, and to express my continued commitment to assist Florida cities. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I met with executives from the National Aviation Academy to discuss the importance of assisting and transitioning our veterans’ into the aviation workforce. Read more here.
Last Saturday, I issued the following statement after irregularities in voting tabulations were revealed in Guyana’s March 2nd elections. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...
“Rubio, Gingrich: Coronavirus lays bare China's power over public health, economy – Here's what must happen now” (Fox News, 3/11/2020)
“Marco Rubio: The Case for a Coronavirus Supply-Side Stimulus” (National Review, 03/12/2020)
“Rubio Urges Trump to Use Federal Loans to Reduce U.S. Reliance on Chinese Medical Supply Chain” (National Review, 03/11/2020)
“Rubio wants to increase scrutiny of foreign home buyers in Miami with new legislation” (Miami Herald, 03/12/2020)
“Rubio wants more domestic drug-making to fight coronavirus, lessen reliance on China” (Miami Herald, 03/11/2020)
“Rubio: Coronavirus Exposes U.S. Health, Economic Vulnerabilities Related to China” (Breitbart, 03/12/2020)
“Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., raised concerns about diversifying the supply chain and reducing the U.S. reliance on imports, including from China, during a private lunch with Trump and GOP senators this week. ”(Trump order expected on medical supplies amid virus outbreak, AP, 03/11/2020)
“Rubio, Florida Small Business Development Center Hosts Tampa Small Business Expo” (WUSF, 03/10/2020)
“The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was co-sponsored by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Representative James McGovern, co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).” (U.S. lawmakers seek to tighten ban on forced-labor goods from China's Xinjiang, Reuters, 03/11/2020)
Legislation Introduced
- I introduced a targeted proposal to immediately open up the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) loan program, offered by banks nationwide, to provide near-term relief to America’s small businesses that face payroll and operational challenges due to economic effects from the coronavirus pandemic. In his Wednesday night address to the nation, President Trump called on Congress to pass legislation giving the SBA more resources to provide relief to small businesses, and I announced that my committee would immediately get to work on a bipartisan bill. Read more here.
- I introduced the Home Advantage for American Families Act, which seeks to reduce foreign investment in the urban real estate market, much of which is connected to illicit activity, and instead increase investment in affordable housing. This bill stems from an increase in areas that are quickly becoming too expensive to live and the need to restore equilibrium in housing markets for local residents to own a home and raise families. Read more here.
- I was joined by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Todd Young (R-IN), Dick Durbin (D- IL), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) in introducing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act . This bipartisan and bicameral bill will ensure that goods made in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and imported into the United States are not made with forced labor. Read more here.
- I joined Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senate colleagues in introducing the Transparency for Confucius Institutes Act to require program participation agreements between Confucius Institutes and American institutions that house them, to address the ways China exerts undue influence. Read more here.
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