This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio On Friday, ahead of the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Michael making landfall in the Florida Panhandle, I wrote to Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Mark Esper stressing the importance of continued efforts to restore operational capacity and capability at Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB). The powerful category 5 hurricane caused massive damage to the installation, with approximately 60 percent of Tyndall AFB facilities suffering significant damage. As a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, I have led the charge in Congress to ensure there is federal funding to rebuild and expand Tyndall AFB’s operational capacity. Read more here.  On Tuesday, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and I announced a resolution congratulating the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the team’s loyal fans, for winning the 2020 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Finals. Read more here.  On Tuesday, I joined Fox and Friends to discuss former Vice President Joe Biden’s proposed policy towards Cuba and Venezuela, as well as the confirmation process of Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Watch the full interview here.  Last Thursday, just a month before the November 3rd election, 40 experts on elections and democracy, including law professors and a former President of the National Association of Secretaries of State, called on Congress to support my proposed legislation to extend the federal safe harbor period for states to determine electors from December 8, 2020 to January 1, 2021 for this year’s presidential election. Doing so would give states the flexibility needed in a pandemic to help ensure each and every legal vote cast is counted. Read more here.  On Thursday, I published an op-ed in The Telegraph calling for global democracies to open their eyes to reality and recognize China’s refusal to keep its promises on climate change, human rights, territorial expansionism, technology theft, and virtually any important issue of the day. Read more here.  On Wednesday, I joined Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and 32 Senate colleagues in filing an amicus brief supporting Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s lawsuit against the Mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser. Although Mayor Bowser has permitted and participated in several mass protests in recent months, the city’s COVID-19 regulations prohibit religious gatherings of more than 100 individuals outdoors. We argue that the selective enforcement of the District’s rules violates the church’s First Amendment rights and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Read more here. 
In Case You Missed It...“Marco Rubio: Democracies are still falling for China's lies” (The Telegraph, 10/07/20) “Marco Rubio says PPP, coronavirus relief deal can’t wait until after election” (Florida Politics, (10/08/20) “Rubio calls for 'frequent, detailed & transparent updates' from White House regarding Trump's health” (The Hill, 10/03/20) “Marco Rubio likens Senate to essential workers in push for SCOTUS confirmation” (Florida Politics, 10/06/20) “Rubio says Biden trying to co-opt Trump’s Venezuela policy” (The Floridian, 10/06/20) “In the Brief, Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) led their GOP colleagues to argue that the District’s rules violate the church’s First Amendment rights and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).” (Republicans File Amicus Brief in Support of Religious Freedom in Nation’s Capital, The Epoch Times, 10/08/20) | 
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