This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio
On Wednesday, I joined Florida State Representative Shevrin Jones (D-District 101) and State Senator Oscar Braynon (D-District 35) for a virtual town hall to discuss the latest on the coronavirus response. Watch the full town hall here.
On Tuesday, I joined Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) in urging Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to reverse his department’s recent decision to allow the importation of five varieties of citrus fruits from China. In 2005, a then-novel citrus disease commonly known as citrus greening (huanglongbing) was first diagnosed in South Florida. Since then, citrus greening has debilitated citrus groves and decreased domestic citrus output by approximately 70 percent. Allowing renewed imports of citrus products from China introduces unnecessary risk of invasive pests and diseases at a time when American citrus is still struggling with the effects of greening. Read more here.
On Monday, I joined the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for an online webinar, co-presented by Univisión 23 Miami, regarding the Small Business Administration’s Emergency Loan Program and the Paycheck Protection Program. On Monday, the SBA began accepting the second round of applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) from participating lenders on behalf of small businesses impacted by the coronavirus to help keep their workforce employed during the pandemic. Read more here.
On Monday, I joined Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo to discuss the second round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program and the need to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its actions regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Watch the full interview here.
On Thursday, I applauded the commencement of site work for the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir project by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the non-federal project sponsor of the EAA Reservoir project. I led the effort to authorize the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) in 2016 and secured its modification to include the EAA project in 2018. Read more here.
On Monday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I urged Jovita Carranza, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, to provide immediate guidance and expedite approvals to ensure Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) and minority depository institutions serving underserved communities have access to the second round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program. Read more here.
On Tuesday, I joined Fox and Friends to further discuss the second round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Watch the full interview here.
On Thursday, I joined Special Report with Brett Baier on Fox News to discuss the latest intelligence news, the need to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its actions regarding the coronavirus pandemic, and the need to move critical supply chains out of China. Watch the full interview here.
On Wednesday, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and I, as Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, led a bipartisan letter to Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and Jovita Carranza, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), urging the agencies to provide an immediate administrative fix to ensure the continued operation of the 7(a) loan program. Read more here.
On Thursday, I applauded reports that President Trump has directed his Administration to take swift action to prevent the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) from moving forward with a short-sighted decision to invest billions of dollars from the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) — the retirement assets of federal government employees, including members of the U.S. Armed Forces — in opaque Chinese firms engaged in human rights abuses and a wide range of military-related activities. Read more here.
On Tuesday, Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jim Risch (R-ID), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Representatives James McGovern (D-MA), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Michael McCaul (R-TX), co-sponsors of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (PL 116-76), sent a letter urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to fully implement the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and ensure that the recent developments in Hong Kong are reflected in the State Department’s forthcoming report to Congress. Read more here.
Last Friday, I joined Senators Jim Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Ron Johnson (R-WI), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Barrasso (R-WY), Rob Portman (R-OH), Rand Paul (R-KY), Todd Young (R-IN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and David Perdue (R-GA) in sending a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) António Guterres requesting that the UN convene an independent panel of experts to conduct a review of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Read more here.
Last Wednesday, I joined Senator David Perdue (R-GA) and colleagues in sending a letter expressing concerns with the impact that deteriorating global market conditions caused by COVID-19 will have on developing countries and the potential geopolitical implications of relief efforts. While we support efforts to provide aid for developing countries, in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, we cautioned that the U.S. must be wary of enabling China’s debt-trap diplomacy. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...
“U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott have sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue asking him to reverse a decision to let five varieties of citrus fruits be imported from China.” (Florida’s senators cry foul over U.S. decision to import certain Chinese citrus, Orlando Sentinel, 04/29/20)
“As PPP round two begins, Marco Rubio prioritizes underserved communities” (As PPP round two begins, Marco Rubio prioritizes underserved communities, Florida Politics, 04/28/20)
“Rubio Vows Public Will Learn All Recipients OF PPP Loans” (NBC 6 South Florida, 04/29/20)
“Marco Rubio Showcases PPP, Federal Programs for Small Business in Online, Telephone Events” (Florida Daily, 04/28/20)
“Mr. Rubio said some industries are too important to national security to be allowed to migrate overseas, as the free market might dictate. He advocates incentives to locate them in the U.S. ” (Globalization Is Down but Not Out Yet, Wall Street Journal, 04/28/20)
“Rubio warns China will face consequences 'diplomatically, economically and beyond' for coronavirus” (Fox News, 04/30/20)
“Marco Rubio backs bailout loans for news companies” (Florida Politics, 05/01/20)
“Marco Rubio says life won’t be ‘back to normal’ until coronavirus vaccine is released” (Florida Politics, 04/29/20)
““The Luckin Coffee scandal is just one of many examples of Chinese fraud, and it should be a major wake-up call for policymakers and regulators that the time for action is now,” said Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida.” (Chinese Coffee Chain’s Scandal Renews U.S. Calls for Oversight, New York Times, 04/30/20)
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