This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio
On Monday, I released a statement after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that I would serve as Acting Chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I joined Fox & Friends to discuss my new role as Acting Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Planned Parenthood affiliates improperly receiving Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and gradually reopening the State of Florida. Watch the full interview here.
On Thursday, as Acting Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I released the following statement after the Senate confirmed Representative John L. Ratcliffe (R-TX) to serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Read more here.
On Tuesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I released a statement regarding reports that 37 Planned Parenthood affiliates applied for and improperly received a total of $80 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). On Friday, I led 33 of my Senate colleagues and 94 Members of the House of Representatives in requesting that Jovita Carranza, Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), conduct a full investigation into this matter. Read more here.
On Monday, I released a statement after Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray held a virtual press conference announcing updates in the criminal investigation of the December 6, 2019 shooting at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida which killed three U.S. Service members and wounded eight other Americans. Read more here.
Last Friday, I joined Representatives Brian Mast (R-FL) and Francis Rooney (R-FL) in issuing a joint statement regarding a decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will delay critical work on the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir. Read more here.
On Thursday, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and I, Ranking Member and Chairman, respectively, of the Senate Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee that oversees human rights and democracy, and authors of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (P.L. 116–76) in issuing a statement as Chinese lawmakers were expected to propose a national security law that would strongly diminish Hong Kong’s autonomy. Read more here.
On Thursday, I joined Senator Jim Risch, Chairman of the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations, and Cory Gardner (R-CO) in releasing a statement regarding reports that the National People’s Congress will introduce legislation on Friday to implement Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, and other concerns about recent steps by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy. Read more here.
On Tuesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I participated in a conversation with AEI’s Michael R. Strain on the Paycheck Protection Program and economic policy amid the coronavirus pandemic. Watch the full webinar here.
On Tuesday, Representative Michael Waltz (R-FL) and I wrote a letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis requesting the Florida State Board of Administration and the Board of Trustees revisit its policy to invest state employees’ pensions in opaque Chinese firms engaged in human rights abuses and a wide range of military-related activities, effectively funding the Chinese government and Communist Party’s efforts to undermine U.S. economic and national security. The Florida Retirement System (FRS) is the fourth-largest public retirement system in the country with over $200 billion in total funds under management. Read more here.
On Wednesday, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ben Sasse (R-NE), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and I sent a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin following disturbing reports that the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) state-owned and -directed enterprises are looking to exploit the economic crisis by buying U.S. and foreign companies. Read more here.
On Tuesday, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and I sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging the State Department to provide long-term emergency care for all U.S. Government employees who experienced mysterious brain injuries while serving at U.S. Embassies in China and Cuba. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I applauded the Senate passage of an amended version of Senator John Kennedy’s (R-LA) Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (S.945), which would increase oversight of Chinese and other foreign companies listed on American exchanges and delist and ban over-the-counter trading for firms that are out of compliance with U.S. regulators for a period of three years. Key provisions of mine were included in the bill. Read more here.
On Thursday, I applauded the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's passage of multiple bills and resolutions. As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, I remain committed to advancing a broad foreign policy agenda that keeps America safe, promotes our democratic principles, and advances public health priorities. Read more here.
On Monday, Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Rick Scott (R-FL), and I urged Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, to expediently consider and report the bipartisan, bicameral Ensuring Quality Information and Transparency for Abroad-Based Listings on our Exchanges (EQUITABLE) Act (S.1731) to the full Senate. The legislation would increase oversight of Chinese and other foreign companies listed on American exchanges and delist firms that are out of compliance with U.S. regulations for a period of three years. Read more here.
On Tuesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I named No Limits Cafe of Middletown, NJ as the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Week. Read more here.
Last Thursday, I joined Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), along with 26 Republican Senate colleagues, in urging Senate leadership to provide businesses with regulatory relief in the wake of the economic crisis caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.
On Tuesday, Fox News political analyst Juan Williams commended my repeated calls for transparency from the Chinese government and the reduction of U.S. dependence on Chinese manufacturing. Watch the clip here.
Legislation Introduced…
- On Wednesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I joined Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE), and James Risch (R-ID) in introducing the Small Business Lending Continuity Act of 2020 to prevent the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) flagship loan program from shutting down. The bill would fix an error in the CARES Act that inadvertently results in the SBA’s flagship 7(a) Loan Guarantee Program shutting down whenever the newly-created Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) runs out of funding. If left unfixed, SBA’s 7(a) Loan Guarantee Program’s Fiscal Year 2020 $30 billion authorization cap would be void until July 1, 2020. The program runs the risk of shutting down if PPP reaches its authorization cap of $310 billion. Read more here.
- On Wednesday, as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee that oversees human rights, I joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in leading our Senate colleagues in introducing a bipartisan resolution to commemorate World Press Freedom Day. The resolution underscores the sacrifices that journalists around the world have borne in pursuit of truth and accountability and acknowledges increasing international threats to freedoms of the press and expression against the backdrop of COVID-19. Read more here.
- On Thursday, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and I, Ranking Member and Chairman, respectively, of the Senate Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee that oversees human rights and democracy, in introducing the World Press Freedom Protection and Reciprocity Act , which seeks to protect and promote worldwide press freedom and enhance reciprocity for U.S. news and media outlets. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...
“McConnell taps Rubio as acting Intelligence Committee chair after Burr stepped aside amid FBI probe of stock sales” (Washington Post, 05/18/20)
“In a statement, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was tapped earlier this week to serve as the acting chairman of the Intelligence panel, said it was ‘critical to have a Senate-confirmed DNI ensuring the wide array of intelligence agencies are sharing information across lines, coordinating capabilities’ and furthering U.S. national security goals.”(Senate confirms Ratcliffe as Trump's intelligence director, POLITICO, 05/21/20)
“‘It is in the interest of the United States to respond swiftly to Beijing’s repeated attacks on Hong Kongers, their autonomy and their basic rights,’ said Republican senator Marco Rubio said on Thursday. Mr Rubio is one of the authors of the 2019 Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, a law passed last year that aims to hold Beijing accountable for its treatment of Hong Kong.” (China looks to set up national security agencies in Hong Kong, Financial Times, 05/22/20)
“‘The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, authored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and co-sponsored by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Thursday” (Senate approves Uyghur human rights bill, Catholic News Agency, 05/15/20)
“Sen. Rubio: Planned Parenthood Affiliates Don’t ‘Qualify’ For $80 Million In Small Business Stimulus Funding” (Daily Caller, 05/20/20)
“In the Senate, Small Business Committee Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is finalizing legislation he said would give businesses up to 16 weeks to use the loans — less than the 24 some businesses are seeking.” (House and Senate lawmakers begin efforts to rework Paycheck Protection Program so businesses can have more flexibility, Washington Post, 05/20/20)
“Rubio, Waltz warn Florida about pension fund investments in Chinese companies” (Washington Examiner, 05/21/20)
“‘Applicants with troubled pasts can’t qualify for PPP loans. Rubio hopes to change that.” (Miami Herald, 05/21/20)
“The resolution, which came nine days after Shula died on May 4 at the age of 90, was sponsored by Florida Senator Marco Rubio with Florida Senator Rick Scott and Maryland Senator Benjamin L. Cardin joining the effort as co-sponsors.” (Late Dolphins coach Don Shula honored by U.S. Senate with congressional resolution, Sun Sentinel, 05/18/20)
"‘There may be no bigger football fan in the Senate than Marco Rubio. Following the recent NFL draft, the Florida Republican even changed his Twitter avatar to a photo of former University of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins’ first round pick.” (Senators anxious for football to start, but maybe not as anxious as Trump, Roll Call, 05/21/20)
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