This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio
On Wednesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I convened a hearing titled, “Perspectives from Main Street: COVID-19’s Impact on Small Business.” Read my opening remarks here and watch the video here.
On Wednesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I released a statement after the Senate passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (H.R. 7010). On Friday, the President signed the bill into law. Read more here.
On Friday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I released a statement after the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 13.3 percent, well below the expected 20 percent. Forecasters initially expected 7.5 million job losses in May, but 2.5 million were added — the greatest number of jobs created in a single month ever recorded. The last time the economy experienced this level of job creation was in September 1983 when 1.1 million were jobs added. Read more here.
On Monday, I applauded the Senate confirmation of John L. Badalamenti to serve as a federal district court judge for the Middle District of Florida. Judge Badalamenti is the 10th judge to be confirmed to a Florida federal district court since 2017. Read more here
On Wednesday, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and I, Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sent a letter to Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza, urging the agencies to provide additional data and reporting on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL), and Small Business Debt Relief programs as enacted and expanded by the CARES Act. Read more here.
On Wednesday, as Acting Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I released a statement after the committee passed the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (IAA) on a bipartisan 14-1 vote. The bill authorizes funding, provides legal authorities, and enhances Congressional oversight for the U.S. Intelligence Community. Read more here.
On Thursday, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and I urged Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to include our bipartisan Child Tax Credit Equity for Puerto Rico Act (S. 698) in the next stimulus package. Nearly 60 percent of children in Puerto Rico live below the federal poverty line. Read more here.
On Tuesday, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and I called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the first federal financial regulator to create a climate risk working group, to include specific recommendations for addressing the financial risk of climate change in the upcoming report by its Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee. Read more here
On Wednesday, U.S. Representative Jim P. McGovern (D-MA) and I, the Chair and Cochair of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), respectively, issued statements on the 31st anniversary of the Chinese government and Communist Party’s violent crackdown against student-led protestors in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. Read more here.
On Thursday, I joined Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, respectively, and bipartisan members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in recognizing the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Read more here.
On Tuesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I named Ideal Aluminum Products LLC of St. Augustine, FL as the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Week. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I joined a conversation with Campus Reform and the Leadership Institute to discuss the role the Chinese government and Communist Party has played in influencing American universities. Read more here.
Legislation Introduced
- On Wednesday, I joined Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in introducing the bipartisan, bicameral American Space Commerce Act of 2020 . At a time when the U.S. has steadily decreased its dependence on foreign rockets and launch infrastructure, the American Space Commerce Act would bolster U.S. leadership in the space industry, enhance public-private partnerships with American companies, and further increase U.S. innovation. U.S. Representatives Bill Posey (R-FL) and Charlie Crist (D-FL) introduced the House version of the legislation (H.R. 6783). The legislation is supported by the Aerospace Industry Association, Blue Origin, Boeing, Space Florida, SpaceX, and ULA. Read more here.
- On Thursday, as Chair and Cochair of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), Rep. Jim McGovern and I led a bicameral, bipartisan resolution on the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests and their violent suppression. In the resolution, the Senate and House resolve to continue the commemoration of this tragic event until the Chinese people are able to do so freely, without censorship or harassment. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...
“Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican architects of the program, said they were likely to pursue legislation that would provide a technical change that ensures that businesses can have their loans forgiven in some form regardless of how they spend the money.” (Senate Gives Final Approval to Revisions to Small-Business Program, New York Times, 06/03/20)
“FL Sen. Rubio reacts to outcry for justice, violent protests” (Gray DC, 06/02/20)
“Marco Rubio eyes fast track for stalled civil rights panel proposal” (Florida Politics, 06/04/20)
“Marco Rubio confirms anarchists fueling riots” (The Floridian, 06/02/20)
“Marco Rubio vows to ‘confront the lingering cancer of racial inequality’” (Florida Politics, 06/03/20)
“In a video Tuesday, Rubio said he hopes ‘that there is growing recognition that we must once and for all address the fact that a significant percentage of the American family believes that their lives are valued less and that their problems receive less attention because of their race, because of the color of their skin.’” (‘My heart sunk.’ How Miami lawmakers are reacting to George Floyd’s death and protests, Miami Herald, 06/02/20)
“ Rubio: U.S. needs to make its own pharmaceuticals” (The Floridian, 06/04/20)
“Marco Rubio Marks 31st Anniversary of Chinese Crackdown of Protests in Tiananmen Square” (Florida Daily, 06/05/20)
“‘China, under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, represents a global challenge,” says Rubio, in a video posted on Twitter announcing the launch of the group. “We the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China stand together to coordinate the response to this great challenge.’” (TIME, 06/05/20)
“Co-sponsored by McGovern and Republican Senator Marco Rubio, the TPSA when signed into law will require China to allow the opening of a U.S. consulate in Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa before any new Chinese consulate can open in the United States.” (Radio Free Asia, 06/03/20)
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