This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio
On Thursday, I joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and James Risch (R-ID), Ranking Member and Chairman, respectively, of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in issuing a statement after the Senate unanimously approved an amended version of my Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (S.3744). The bill is an important step in countering the totalitarian Chinese government’s widespread and horrific human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, including the mass internment of more than one million Uyghurs and other predominantly ethnic Turkic Muslims, as well as Beijing’s intimidation and threats against U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents on American soil. I hope the House will quickly take up the legislation and send it to the President to be signed into law. Read more here.
On Thursday, I joined Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), alongside Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), in applauding the Senate passage of the Never Again Education Act (H.R.943). The bill will establish a dedicated federal fund through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to provide teachers with resources and training necessary to teach our students the important lessons of the Holocaust. In January, the bill overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives 393-5. With the Senate’s action, the bill now heads to the President to be signed into law. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I published an op-ed in Newsweek discussing my recent move to introduce legislation to commemorate the life and sacrifice of Dr. Li Wenliang in Washington by renaming the street outside the Chinese embassy as Li Wenliang Plaza. Dr. Li was a hero who shared early news of the coronavirus outbreak and defied efforts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to silence him as part of Beijing’s efforts to cover up the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full article here.
On Thursday, I released the following statement after President Trump said his Administration would examine Chinese companies listed on American exchanges that are out of compliance with U.S. regulations and laws for financial transparency and accountability. Last year, I introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to ban Chinese and foreign firms that flaunt U.S. laws from the U.S. exchanges. Read more here.
On Thursday, I published a letter in the Wall Street Journal in response to an op-ed written by China’s Foreign Ministry Commissioner Xie Feng, which was another attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to sow chaos through conspiracy theories, spread propaganda and rewrite history amid a global crisis. Read the full letter here.
On Tuesday, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and I welcomed reports that the President had taken steps 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. On Wednesday, Senator Shaheen and I applauded the announcement by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) that it would halt its decision to invest in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Read more here.
On Tuesday, I released a statement after the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University jointly released their new Bipartisan Index rankings of members of Congress for 2019. The non-partisan tool measures the degree to which Senators and Representatives work across party lines on legislation. I was ranked in the top 10 among all Senators for bipartisan work. Read more here.
On Wednesday, 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 create certainty for Paycheck Protection Program borrowers on the borrower certification requirements. Read more here.
On Wednesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I urged Jovita Carranza, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), to provide information on the SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance (ODA) preparedness to respond to potential natural disasters that could arise in the upcoming months in advance of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season beginning on June 1st. Read more here.
On Thursday, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and I requested the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate a possible increased risk of stroke among younger and middle-aged Americans who are, or previously were, infected with coronavirus. Recent news reports have documented an increased prevalence of stroke among younger and middle-aged COVID-19 patients across the country, even though they are historically not high risk patients. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I released a statement following reports that China has increased efforts and launched cyberattacks to steal U.S. research related to COVID-19. Read more here.
On Thursday, I published an op-ed in the Henry Jackson Society’s May 2020 Report discussing the need to reduce strategic dependence on China and sustain the integrity of the Five Eyes partnership. Read the full article here.
On Thursday, I issued the following statement after the State Department certified, as required under Section 40A(a) of the Arms Export Control Act, those nations that are not fully cooperating with American counterterrorism efforts. Read more here.
On Tuesday, I joined Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and colleagues in praising the Senate passage of S. 249, legislation that calls for the Secretary of State to develop a strategy for Taiwan to regain observer status in the World Health Organization. Read more here.
On Tuesday, I was joined by Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, as well as Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) in sending a letter to Guyanese President David Granger as the South American nation begins a critical recount following a disputed presidential election earlier this year. Read more 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 Brian Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), requesting a staff briefing on the agency’s efforts to investigate fraud within the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...
“Marco Rubio: Rename The Chinese Embassy Street Name After The Coronavirus Whistleblower” (Newsweek, 05/13/20)
“‘Sen. Rubio: Chinese Official Spreads Virus Propaganda” (Wall Street Journal, 05/14/20)
“Breaking the China Supply Chain” (Henry Jackson Society, 05/14/20)
“The Tibetan Policy and Support Act, introduced by Rubio and Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, would make it US policy that the succession of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, be left solely to the Tibetan Buddhist community, without interference from the Chinese government.” (Senate approves Uyghur human rights bill, CNN, 05/14/2020)
“Klobuchar, Rubio ask CDC to investigate reports of coronavirus causing strokes in younger patients” (The Hill, 05/15/2020)
‘Rubio Questions SBA’s Disaster Assistance Preparedness” (The Floridan, 05/14/2020)
“Rubio: ‘We don't have enough information’"on coronavirus origins” (Axios, 05/12/2020)
“‘The issue of the I-Fund was first brought up by Florida Senator Marco Rubio and New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen last year, warning the Thrift Savings Investment Board from changing its index. ” (Trump Moves To Ban China From Military Pension Fund, OKs Other Emerging Markets, Forbes, 05/12/20)
“Sen. Rubio Urges Trump Administration To Protect Worker Interests With Paycheck Protection Program” (Daily Caller, 05/12/2020)
“Senador Rubio pide incluir a Venezuela en lista de patrocinadores del terrorismo” (Voz de América, 05/14/2020)
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