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This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio
On Wednesday, I joined Mornings with Maria on Fox Business to discuss the U.S. closing the Chinese consulate in Houston, China’s efforts to dominate the 21st century economy, the importance of domestic industrial capacity, and passing additional federal relief for small businesses and their employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch the full interview here.
On Thursday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I convened a hearing titled, “Capital Access for Minority Small Businesses: COVID-19 Resources for an Equitable and Sustainable Recovery.” Watch a video of my remarks here and read a full transcript of the remarks here.
On Thursday, I welcomed the announcement that the federal government will be sending a shipment of 272 cases of Remdesivir to Florida this week, which will treat an estimated 1,813 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. On Sunday, after maintaining regular contact with Florida hospitals and the White House throughout last week, I similarly welcomed a shipment of 30,000 vials of Remdesivir to Florida. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I led members of the Florida congressional delegation in urging U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to include Florida’s commercial fishermen in the lobster relief program announced by President Trump on June 24, 2020. The program addresses the harm to the United States lobster industry caused by steep tariffs imposed by the Chinese government. Read more here.
On Thursday, as Acting Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I joined Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) in applauding the passage of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (IAA) as part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill, which was approved by the Committee on a bipartisan 14 - 1 vote on June 3, 2020, authorizes funding, provides legal authorities, and enhances Congressional oversight for the U.S. Intelligence Community. Read more here.
On Tuesday, I published an op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel with SBA Administration Jovita Carranaza discussing the Paycheck Protection Program’s historic impact in helping to lift up small businesses in Florida communities and push our nation towards economic recovery. Read the full article here.
On Friday, I published an op-ed in Fox News discussing the Trump Administration’s decision to close the Chinese consulate in Houston, which was a central node in the massive spying operation that China uses to undermine the United States. It also covered China's activities in seven states, including Florida. Read the full article here.
On Sunday, I joined Jim Defede on CBS4’s Facing South Florida to discuss the unemployment benefit under the CARES Act, the Trump Administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s role in covering up the virus, reopening schools in the fall, and more. Watch Part 1 of the interview here and Part 2 of the interview here.
On Sunday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I was featured in CBS’s Pandemia: Latinos in Crisis to discuss how the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has helped underserved and minority-owned small businesses stay afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch the full special here.
On Tuesday, during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Nominations Hearing, I questioned Carlos Trujillo, current U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), who is nominated to be the next Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere and Marshall Billingslea, nominee to be the next Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Watch a video of my remarks here and read a full transcript of the remarks here.
On Wednesday, I joined the Hoover Institution for a discussion on America's future after COVID-19. Watch the full interview here.
On Tuesday, I urged members of President Trump’s Working Group on Financial Markets to address China’s exploitation of U.S. capital markets, including the lack of disclosure by Chinese firms listed on U.S. stock exchanges, the inclusion of Chinese stocks and bonds on securities indexes, and lack of recourse for American investors who have been defrauded by Chinese firms. Read more here.
On Monday, I applauded the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) announcement for adding to the Entity List 11 Chinese companies implicated in gross human rights violations and abuses targeted at Muslim minority groups from Xinjiang. Read more here.
On Thursday, as author of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act , I released a statement on forced labor in Xinjiang. Earlier on Wednesday, a coalition of civil society organizations and Uyghur human rights groups urged clothing brands and apparel retailers to sever ties with all suppliers linked to human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities currently detained or trafficked in the Xinjiang Region. Read more here.
On Wednesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I named Sergio’s Family Restaurant of Miami, FL as the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Week. Read more here.
Legislation Introduced
- On Wednesday, the eighth anniversary of the violent death of Cuban dissident Oswaldo Payá by the Castro regime in Cuba, I joined Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in reintroducing legislation to rename the street outside of the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C. as “Oswaldo Payá Way.” Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...
“Marco Rubio and Jovita Carranza: Paycheck Protection Program helping stabilize Florida’s small businesses” (Orlando Sentinel, 07/22/20)
“Sen. Marco Rubio: Trump right to shut Chinese consulate in Houston — it was a massive spying operation” (Fox News, 07/24/20)
“Marco Rubio urges more federal relief spending to guard against economic ‘structural damage’” (Florida Politics, 07/22/20)
“GOP's PPP Loan Proposal Focuses on Low-Income Areas, Businesses With 'Substantial' Revenue Loss, Rubio Says” (Newsweek, 07/21/20)
“Facing South Florida: 1-On-1 With Sen. Marco Rubio” (CBS4 Miami, 07/19/20)
“Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who is the acting chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told a CBS affiliate in Miami this month that he was primarily concerned about reports of unidentified aircraft over American military bases — and that it was in the government’s interest to find out who was responsible.” (No Longer in Shadows, Pentagon’s U.F.O. Unit Will Make Some Findings Public, New York Times, 07/23/20)
“[Marco Rubio], a top U.S. lawmaker, called for U.S.-listed Chinese companies that do not meet U.S. auditing standards to be barred from American exchanges, pressing the White House to take a hard line as it ramps up pressure on China.” (U.S. lawmaker urges Trump administration to seek tougher rules for Chinese companies, Reuters, 07/21/20)
“U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, praised the Commerce Department’s designations ‘to ensure that U.S. technology does not aid the Chinese Communist Party’s crimes against humanity and egregious human rights abuses against Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, including the forced collection of DNA.’” (Chinese genetics company BGI denies U.S. human rights accusations, Reuters, 07/21/20)
“Marco Rubio Calls on President’s Working Group on Financial Markets to Address China’s Exploitation of U.S. Financial System” (Florida Daily, 07/22/20)
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