This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio On Tuesday, I led a bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers in a letter to President Trump in support of Governor Ron DeSantis’ request to declare a pre-landfall emergency declaration in expectation of Hurricane Sally, which the President approved later that day. Read more here.  On Wednesday, I joined Fox and Friends to discuss the threat of Hurricane Sally, deindustrialization and the need for dignified work, and the cost to small businesses caused by riots. Watch the full interview here. 
On Monday, I spoke on the Senate floor to discuss the current events in our country and America’s founding. Read more here. 
On Tuesday, I published an op-ed in Fox News to discuss how Joe Biden’s China plan falls short, and what the U.S. must do to rebuild our industrial base and restore dignified work for our nation. Read the full article here.  On Tuesday, I joined Bob Costa for a conversation on the 2020 election, common good capitalism, China’s relationship with the United States, and more. Watch the full interview here.  On Thursday, I applauded the U.S. Senate’s passage of my resolution, cosponsored by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), designating September 2020 as National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. Read more here.  On Wednesday, I joined Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Rick Scott (R-FL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and John Cornyn (R-TX) in sending a letter to President Donald Trump outlining significant concerns regarding reports that Oracle Corp. confirmed a deal with ByteDance to become a “trusted technology provider” for TikTok’s U.S. operations. The letter cautioned that the “arrangement could violate the requirements set about in the August 6, 2020 Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok and would do little to satisfy the range of concerns expressed in that order.” Read more here.  Last Monday, I urged President Trump to add QQ — a social media and messaging mobile application owned by the same Chinese company as WeChat, Tencent Holdings Ltd — to the Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat. Read more here.  On Monday, I issued a statement after the Trump Administration announced that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be barring the entrance of products, including cotton, apparel, computer parts, and hair products made by six entities using forced labor from, or in, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Read more here.  Last Friday, I joined my colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to The Walt Disney Company’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek, inquiring about Disney’s cooperation with Xinjiang’s security and propaganda authorities in the production of the movie Mulan. For years, reports have surfaced highlighting China’s campaign against Uyghur and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region’s (XUAR). In our letter, we highlight that, “the decision to film parts of Mulan in the XUAR, in cooperation with local security and propaganda elements, offers tacit legitimacy to these perpetrators of crimes that may warrant the designation of genocide.” Read more here.  On Wednesday, as Acting Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I joined Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) in releasing a joint statement regarding future briefings to the Committee from the Office of Director of National Intelligence. Read more here.  On Wednesday, I issued a statement after the UN’s Independent International Fact Finding Mission on Venezuela released a report highlighting “that Venezuelan authorities and security forces have since 2014 planned and executed serious human rights violations” against Venezuelan citizens. Read more here.  On Monday, I issued a statement after the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Board of Governors elected Mauricio Claver-Carone to serve as IDB President for the next five years. Read more here.  On Wednesday, Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY), and I welcomed news reports that the Department of Justice would require Qatari-owned media company, Al Jazeera, to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Read more here.  On Tuesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I named Fresco Foods, Inc. of Tampa, FL as the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Week. Read more here. 
Legislation Introduced- On Tuesday, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and I introduced legislation that would keep the United States on Daylight Saving Time (DST) through November 7, 2021. By preventing the United States from “falling back” to Standard Time in six weeks, Americans would also avoid changing clocks in March 2021 when the United States typically springs forward into DST. The bill would provide one year of stability for families who are already dealing with enough change with virtual learning, work from home, and other disruptions the COVID-19 pandemic has placed into our daily lives. Read more here.
- On Thursday, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and I introduced the Set Sail Safely Act, which would establish a Maritime Task Force, in coordination with a Private Sector Advisory Committee, to address the health, safety, security, and logistical changes needed to develop a roadmap for cruise lines to resume operations. Currently, cruise lines are under a Centers for Disease Control No Sail Order until September 30, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Read more here.
- On Thursday, I joined Senators John Kennedy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) in introducing the Stop Blocking Hospitals Act to make obstructing emergency vehicles and personnel a federal crime. Read more here.
- On Monday, I joined Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID) and Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-NJ) as well as Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) in introducing a resolution condemning the crackdown on peaceful protestors in Belarus and calling for the imposition of sanctions on officials responsible for human rights abuses. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...“Sen. Marco Rubio: Biden's economic plan is inconsistent, outdated and weak. This is not a serious blueprint” (Fox News, 09/15/20) “Rubio and Scott push to keep Florida in daylight saving time year-round” (Sun Sentinel, 09/16/20) “There’s just one catch: states can’t make the switch without federal approval. That’s why Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has introduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which would eliminate the return to standard time to make DST year-round across the country.” (Daylight Saving Time Should Be Permanent. The Pandemic Shows Us Why, TIME, 09/14/20) “Senator Marco Rubio and five other Republican senators on Wednesday urged the administration to reject the deal as long as ties remained to Chinese owner ByteDance, and suggested the president could block the proposal.” (Trump raises questions about TikTok-Oracle deal if ByteDance ties remain, Reuters, 09/16/20) “Rubio Warns of China Interfering in 2020 Elections” (The Floridian, 09/15/20) “Florida Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio introduced the Set Sail Safely Act, which will establish a Maritime Task Force, in coordination with a Private Sector Advisory Committee, to address the health, safety, security, and logistical changes needed to allow cruise lines and ports to resume operations, according to a press release.” (Cruise Industry News, 09/16/20) “‘As we have in the past, the Committee will continue to expect timely and complete information from our intelligence agencies,’ Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a statement.” (DNI Ratcliffe says he will brief some Congress members on election security, Fox News, 09/17/20) “‘The bigger problem here is Sen. Schumer has decided there shouldn’t be negotiations. Right now, we’re not even in the position of even talking to rank-and-file Democrats because they’ve been told not to negotiate,’ said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee, which has jurisdiction over the popular Paycheck Protection Program.’ (Senate leaders quash talk of rank-and-file COVID-19 deal, The Hill, 09/16/20) “On Friday, a group of U.S. legislators led by Sen. Marco Rubio, sent a lengthy and critical letter to Disney, demanding an explanation for what they called ‘profoundly disturbing’ cooperation with Xinjiang authorities who are “most responsible for committing atrocities.” (Disney’s “Mulan” Sees Tepid Box Office in China. Why There’s a Backlash to the Backlash., Barron’s, 09/15/20) “On the Senate Floor, Marco Rubio Pushes Back Against the New York Times’ 1619 Project” (Florida Daily, 09/15/20) |
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